The all-new 2004 Acura TL features one of the biggest improvements in car audio systems in a decade, a standard DVD-Audio system with resolution 500 times better than CD.
The Acura/ELS® Premium 8-speaker Surround Sound System with DVD-Audio, DTS™ and CD 6-disc Changer, AM/FM Tuner and Dolby® Cassette was developed in collaboration with Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America and Grammy Award-winning record producer/engineer Elliot Scheiner. It will carry the "ELS" brand, to signify Scheiner's participation in the system's development
Scheiner, a five-time Grammy winner, is widely recognized as a leader in surround sound recording/mixing, and has produced/engineered a variety of DVD-Audio recordings including, Queen - A Night at the Opera, Eagles- Hotel California, REM - Automatic for the People, Faith Hill - Cry, Sting - Brand New Day, Van Morrison - Moondance, Doobie Brothers - The Captain & Me, Steely Dan - multi-Grammy winning Two Against Nature, America - Homecoming, and Grover Washington, Jr. - Winelight.
"The more I became involved in DVD-Audio and surround sound, I realized that since we spend so much time in our cars, a factory installed system would be one of the best ways to let everyone enjoy a multi-channel audio experience," said Scheiner. "And in the car, a premium DVD-Audio system is achievable since you're dealing with a defined listening space with controllable, pre-existing conditions."
With six discrete channels of music, the DVD-Audio format allows system engineers to create true "multi-channel" audio systems. This is a dramatic advancement over current "stereo" systems that only offer two channels of music. For the first time, an automotive audio system offers separate dedicated channels for center, left front, right front, left surround, right surround and subwoofer channels. These are the same six, individual, discrete channels recording engineers use to create multi-channel mixes in the studio.
Acura and Scheiner had three main objectives in designing the unique surround sound system featuring DVD-Audio. They looked to develop a system that would:
1). Reproduce music with extreme clarity and detail.
2). Deliver six distinct channels of sound with discrete imaging
3). Accurately reproduce the source material, to achieve a listening experience as close as possible to the original studio mix.
To accomplish these goals, the TL's audio system matches the world's first in-dash, six-disc DVD-Audio/CD changer radio with 8-speakers and a powerful 6-channel, 225 watt amplifier.
This new system takes full advantage of the vast amounts of data available from DVD-Audio discs and plays the six discrete channels of DVD-Audio in high resolution, 24bit/96kHz or DVD-Audio two-channel recordings in 24bit/192kHz. The system will also play multi-channel DTS™ CD's in surround sound as well as traditional two-channel compact discs in stereo.
The Acura/ELS Surround Sound System's 1.0-inch extended range tweeters, located on the top corners of the instrument panel, feature an elliptical balanced dome design that reproduces musical highs with incredible accuracy.
The four identical wide-range speakers, located in the front door and on the rear package shelf, were developed to reproduce the extended frequency response and dynamic range of DVD-Audio discs with detail and balance.
The center speaker, with its high-flux neodymium magnet, is located in the top center of the dash panel. It enhances the imaging of stereo source material while reproducing the dedicated center channel available from DVD-Audio and DTS CD sources.
"By using the same light weight cone material as the four wide-range speakers, the system achieves a balance similar to that which exists in the recording studio where we use five identical speakers to develop a surround sound mix," said Scheiner.
DVD-Audio also provides a dedicated subwoofer channel. To take advantage of the lower frequencies provided by this channel, the subwoofer design uses Kevlar in the construction of the cone, microcellular urethane foam edge material and a high linearity damper to achieve the best possible bass response.
"The new Acura/ELS Surround Sound System is really going to change the way people think about listening to music in their cars," said Scheiner. "It really has been amazing to see the reaction of people when they hear DVD-Audio in the car for the first time. It really opens up a whole new experience for them."
