Five years after introducing the first Advanced Sound System in the Audi A8, the sound gap is closed between the Audi A5 and the Audi A7, meaning that Bang & Olufsen systems are now available in eight different Audi series from the Audi A4 and up.
To complement the elegant design expression of the Audi A6, the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System adopts an organic and integrated design language, at the same time retaining the signature styling that makes Bang & Olufsen in-car sound systems so unique.
The shape of great sound
The petal-and-leaf shaped loudspeaker grilles of the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System are crafted with polished, platinum-coloured and anodised aluminium to perfectly conform to the interior lines of the car. The front door grilles for the new Audi A6 are the biggest grilles ever made by Bang & Olufsen for Audi, and they require unique competencies within aluminium processing, to achieve that end result. The grilles elegantly follow the interior design while simultaneously making a stunning visual impact in the car that underlines the exquisite nature of the sound system.
The two dashboard-mounted acoustic lenses provide the final touch, as they magically appear when the system is activated, to create an amazingly clear sound that is dispersed throughout the cabin. The beautifully crafted acoustic lens tweeter units represent an unmistakable Bang & Olufsen design language that runs through all variants of the Advanced Sound System, connoting both ingenuity and sophistication.
To achieve the optimum overall experience, careful adjustments have been made to adapt the system specifically to the new A6. For example, woofers and midrange boxes in the front doors are of a single construction to save space, however, despite the joint physical location, the air volume behind each loudspeaker is completely separated internally, allowing them to operate independently of each other and thereby create the spacious and precise sound that Bang & Olufsen car-fi systems are so famous for.
Taming the power
The total output of the system is no less than 1,330 watts, which are provided mainly by the compact and highly efficient ICEpower® amplifier. In order that such a huge amount of power can be brought under control, the performance of each of the 15 loudspeakers is optimised by the brain of the system, the Digital Signal Processor (DSP), which handles all equalisation, audio mixing and the various sound modes.
In addition, Bang & Olufsen sound engineers in conjunction with Audi spent over 300 hours meticulously fine tuning the sound experience to the unique interior acoustics of the Audi A6. As a result, the system is able to reproduce music exactly as the artist intended, and with the Movie Mode feature, it is even possible to recreate a true cinematic experience when viewing video material.
Jens Peter Zinck, Vice President and head of Bang & Olufsen Automotive, is extremely pleased with the latest result of the fruitful cooperation with Audi: “With the new Audi A6, the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System will be available in this segment for the first time, and shows another successful result of the close cooperation between Audi and Bang & Olufsen – a cooperation that has just celebrated its five year anniversary.”
