Sony is introducing at the CES Show what may be the the first in-dash hi-res car audio deck that can produce music above 22kHZ.
A prototype single DIN hi-res audio pre-amp was revealed at the Sony CES press event Monday night. We understand the deck may be due this summer. It has a unique chip set that allows it to produce superior high frequency above 22kHz. Typical car audio decks produce music in the 60Hz to 22kHz range, even those that support FLAC files.
The Sony pre-amp can work with a special Sony amplifier and tweeter that are also designed to handle higher frequencies above 22kHz. The products will be on display at the Sony Car Audio suite at The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas during CES week.
While the human ear cannot technically hear above 22kHz, we humans are still able to appreciate music with superior range because of musical nuances that filter into our hearing range to create richer sound. say industry experts.
Hi-res audio also restores the fullness of sound of analog recording that has been lost in compressed MP3 files as shown in the chart below.
Chart: Huffington Post
I think it’s a step in the right direction. Some of us would like to enjoy our music at the highest possible level. The industry is focus on quantity and there should be more focus on making cars sound better. This will be for the dealers that are focus on the audio experience.
If Sony would bring back the quality of the Mobile ES line with the offerings of today’s technology, they would be on the cutting edge once again. Every manufacturer is offering bluetooth, multi-format playback capability, HD radio, smartphone control, blah, blah…. No sense to offer something with beyond 20KHZ as the premium feature unless you can add some icing on the cake.
Waste of an engineering team.
“While the human ear cannot technically hear above 22kHz, we humans are still able to appreciate music with superior range because of musical nuances that filter into our hearing range to create richer sound. say industry experts.”
And let’s not forget that we are dealing with road noise, engine noise, exhaust noise, and the phone calls, etc. This is NOT needed in an automobile, especially since we can’t hear it, and the time and engineering focus for Sony would be better spent on producing an innovative line of AV units that could compete or surpass current/past offerings from Alpine, Clarion, Kenwood/JVC, or Pioneer.
Doesn’t make you wonder why Sony posted so much lost earnings in the past 2 years…
The dogs will be happy !