ELS Surround Blows Away Competition on Day One at SAE

DETROIT, March 8 -- SAE show attendees who participated in the Panasonic ELS Surround Sound Challenge on the first day of the conference overwhelmingly preferred ELS Surround, Panasonic Automotive's revolutionary new DVD Audio surround sound system, over the other competitive premium sound systems in Panasonic's side-by-side competition. The Challenge is taking place inside the Panasonic booth (# 2579) on the show floor at Cobo Convention Center.

All told, 249 people participated in Day One of the survey. Of the 48 people who compared ELS Surround in the 2004 Acura TL against the Bose system in the Cadillac CTS, 83% preferred ELS Surround: Of the 113 people who compared it with the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus RX 300, 74% preferred ELS Surround; and of the 88 people who compared it with the Harman Kardon Logic 7 system in the Mercedes E-320, 70% preferred ELS Surround. The competition will continue throughout the SAE World Congress, with the cumulative results to be released at the conclusion of the show on Thursday.

The high-resolution ELS Surround system is the first DVD-audio system in a vehicle to provide six independent and discrete channels of sound, instead of the usual two found in stereo systems. Moreover, it is the only system that is personally tuned for the vehicle by five-time Grammy winning producer Elliot Scheiner, providing vehicle occupants with the opportunity to fully experience the true in-studio surround sound as mixed by Mr. Scheiner, as opposed to the computer-simulated mix found in other premium automotive sound systems. ELS Surround allows separate instruments and voices to be recorded and played over each of the six channels. The system incorporates speakers in the right and left front, right and left back, and central dashboard, as well as a sub- woofer. In addition to the vehicle-comparison stations at the SAE show, the Panasonic Automotive Systems exhibit includes displays that explain and demonstrate the ELS Surround technology.

Based in Southfield, Michigan, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. of Osaka, Japan -- one of the world's leading developers and producers of innovative digital and other electronic products for consumer, business and industrial use. Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America also acts as the North American operating company of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company, an internal division company of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., which coordinates global automotive industry systems and components operations.