- Tracks from artists as diverse as Black Eyed Peas, Fugees and Eagles help tailor audio system to new Ford B-MAX's acoustics
- Sound engineers listen to tracks thousands of times to "tune" car audio to meet acoustic demands of each new Ford's uniquely-shaped interior
- Mariah Carey, John Coltrane and classical composers including Vivaldi also make the cut in pursuit of the perfect sound set-up for B-MAX
BRENTWOOD, Essex, 13 February, 2012 – Every car – like every room or auditorium – has unique acoustics qualities. The size and shape of the cabin, the materials in the seats and dashboard, the ratio of glass and steel – all of it impact the sound quality in a new car.
When Ford engineers set out to fine tune the perfect sound system to match the acoustics of the new B-MAX multi-activity vehicle, they found they needed a special tool -- the perfect music playlist.
Radiohead, Black Eyed Peas, the Eagles and jazz legend John Coltrane rubbed shoulders with classical composers Vivaldi and Carl Orff on the B-MAX playlist as engineers used key moments in the songs and pieces to fine-tune the B-MAX sound system.
The classic opening to the Eagles' anthem Hotel California features the ideal "dry" sound for testing bass, ambience and tone, says Ford of Europe audio engineer Matthias Terstegge. He should know. He has listened to it thousands of times while developing the B-MAX and other Ford cars.
He also listened out for the powerful kick bass in Black Eyed Peas' track Just Can't Get Enough to test the woofers in the B-MAX; tuning the low frequency filters in the amplifier unit to retain a strong and punchy bass sound without door buzz and rattles.
Bass sounds are evenly distributed but the treble is sensitive to seating position, so engineers tuned the tweeters using Vivaldi's Four Seasons concertos and John Coltrane tracks to ensure a good front/rear balance. The soaring Four Seasons violins were an exacting challenge for the B-MAX's high-frequency tweeters. If they're not set right, the sound could have been more piercing than pleasurable.
"Creating a great-sounding system is much more than choosing a good quality amplifier and speakers," says Terstegge, a guitarist whose passion for music and electrical engineering background led him to his current role. He compiled the B-MAX playlist from other experts' recommendations, tracks from his own collection or a song he heard on the radio and jotted down the name.
"Each car interior has completely different acoustics, and detailed tuning can make a dramatic difference to what the driver hears," he says. "The human ear can detect subtle differences in the sound and you can't beat simply listening to the system for that final tuning. The tracks we use really help identify what needs tuning. But after thousands of plays, I feel like I never want to hear them again."
The all-new Ford B-MAX; including DAB radio as standard across the range, will be available with an exclusive premium quality Sony audio system. It features eight high performance speakers and a 4 x 25 Watt Sony amplifier. Drivers can select music from the built-in CD/radio unit, including Digital Audio Broadcast, or from their own portable music players connected via USB or Bluetooth.
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Notes for Editors
1. The tuning top hits used by Ford audio engineers include the following tracks. You can find the playlist athttp://www.last.fm/user/FordEu/library/playlists/64a5p_ford_b-max_tuning_hits
| Artist | Track | Tuning potential |
| Yello | Oh Yeah | Kick bass / Low voice |
| Fugees | Nappy Heads | Low bass / Mid bass / Door buzz |
| Talking Heads | Flowers | Kick bass / Door buzz / Woofer distortion |
| Radiohead | Packt Like Sardines | Kick bass / Door buzz / Woofer distortion |
| Peter Gabriel | Growing Up | Low bass / Kick bass / Door buzz |
Joan Baez
| Diamonds And Rust
| Ambience / Treble / Tonal balance
|
| Black Eyed Peas | Just Can't Get Enough | Low Bass/ Kick Bass/ Door Buzz |
| Mariah Carey | Butterfly | Ambience / Treble / Tonal balance |
| Susanne Vega | Tom's Diner | Center imaging |
| Jennifer Warnes | Somewhere, Somebody | Center imaging / Mid bass /Tonal balance |
| Steve Strauss | Mr. Bones | Center imaging / Mid bass /Tonal balance |
| John Coltrane | My Lazy Bird / My Favorite Things | Treble / Tweeter distortion |
| Carl Orff | Carmina Burana | Treble / Tweeter distortion / Dynamics |
| Vivaldi | Four Seasons: The Summer | Treble / Tweeter distortion / Stage width |
| Eagles | Hotel California Live | Low bass / Mid bass / Ambience / Stage width
/ Tonal balance |
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford products in the UK, please visit www.ford.co.uk
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