08 February 2012
Andy Snipper
COLOGNE, Germany, Feb. 7, 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
The all-new Ford B-MAX 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.
The tuning top hits used by Ford audio engineers include the following tracks.
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
