Alpine develops 700 watt digital 5.1 surround sound for Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Alpine Electronics, the car infotainment specialists, has developed a new bespoke sound system for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Designed specifically to get the best sound performance within the Vantage interior, Alpine has created a new subwoofer technology to maximise bass performance whilst custom speakers enhance the surround sound arrangement. In keeping with Alpine's strategy to use digital high power amplifiers, the Vantage is equipped with a substantial 700 watt amplifier that employs Dolby Pro Logic II home cinema technology to bring surround sound to stereo sources like a CD or FM radio. "We are proud to be providing the soundtrack to the Vantage," says Alpine's sales and marketing director Dave Sheen. "Research tells us many Aston Martin owners are real audio enthusiasts who enjoy listening to music on high end systems. The audio experience in the Vantage must therefore perform. We are delighted that Aston Martin selected Alpine to develop this important element and think that the surround sound experience is the perfect accompaniment to this car." In its quest to accurately reproduce sound Alpine developed a unique subwoofer design, UR or Ultra Reflex. By tuning the acoustic alignment (rising responses) and filtering, the 15 litre subwoofer behaves like a much larger box creating considerably more sound for the space actually used. Speakers designed by Alpine but manufactured by a Scandinavian Audio specialist confirm the commitment to audio brilliance. The bespoke speakers provide excellent linearity across the bandwidth, even at high volumes, an important, yet sometimes forgotten requirement in a sports car. To deliver the true surround sound performance, a dashboard mounted centre fill speaker delivers an ideal balance of sound ensuring occupants enjoy the audio sweet spot right in front of them. About Alpine Since 1978, Alpine has been at the forefront of in-car entertainment development, producing some of the world's most advanced audio systems, on-board navigation and multimedia applications. As a result of focussing exclusively on high-fidelity in-car systems, Alpine has been nominated No.1 for customer satisfaction in the US for six consecutive years and is specified as original equipment in some of the world's most prestigious marques. Specification Aston Martin V8 Vantage Premium Sound System includes: - Watt Digital 5.1 amplifier, featuring Dolby Pro-Logic II technology - Four 4 inch mid-bass speakers - Two 1 inch soft dome tweeters - One 4 inch co-ax mid-bass speaker mounted in the dashboard - One UR 8 inch twin coil subwoofer and enclosure mounted behind the occupants Dolby Pro Logic II Dolby(r) Pro Logic(r) II technology processes any stereo (two-channel) music audio into five playback channels of surround sound. Using a matrix surround decoding technology, Dolby Pro Logic II detects the directional cues that occur naturally in stereo content and uses these elements to create a five-channel surround sound playback experience.