B R E A K I N G T H E S

B R E A K I N G T H E S O U N D B A R R I E R Inspired by how humans process sound, Meridian’s Signature Sound System has revolutionized intelligent audio design 66

SMART SOUND Artificial intelligence is the buzzword of the future, but intelligent audio design is just as exciting a concept. For most people the intelligence in ‘intelligent audio’ starts and ends with the choice of radio station, source device or album track we’d like to listen to. But for Meridian Audio, brand partner of Land Rover, that’s just where inte lligent audio begins. “It’s there in the science, the unique engineering excellence and the craftsmanship that combine to make your listening experience as pristine, immersive and as effortlessly enjoyable as it really possibly can be,” says Rayner Sheridan, Meridian’s Director of Marketing. “It’s truly exciting to witness just how advanced intelligent audio technology has become.” In his job, Rayner witnesses first-hand how Meridian today applies its intelligent technology to a broad range of products, from connected home systems to private yachts and luxury cars. But ensuring the best possible audio experience through digital intelligence has been the focus of Meridian since the 1980s. Back then, the company carried out cutting-edge research into the benefits of a totally digital signal path for audio. The audio expertise gleaned from that research would later result in the world’s very first digital loudspeaker for the home, the D600 – a landmark achievement in the industry that hit the market in 1989. The company has led the way with its intelligent approach to digital audio technology ever since. Using Digital Signal Processing (DSP), today’s Meridian loudspeakers deliver levels of accuracy, precision and performance that are impossible to achieve in analogue models. DSP loudspeakers embody all the elements that, in a conventional sound system, are in separate places: crossover, conversion, power amplifiers and the loudspeaker drivers themselves. This allows the company’s DSP technology to create a pure and accurate reproduction of the sound, just as the artists in the recording studio intended, and fit to match the spread of high-resolution audio bolstered by high-bandwidth broadband connections and online streaming services. The result is a definably clearer, more authentic sound, intelligently packaged for a truly digital audience. For Meridian’s work to enhance the driving and listening experience of Range Rover owners, its intelligent approach to audio technology is mirrored in its Signature Sound System. The technology is used for Meridian’s in-car solutions and is powered by its exclusive Trifield 3D technology. Trifield 3D technology is a world first and is inspired by how humans naturally process sound waves and audio input. It features dedicated height channels that add a sense of true scale between, for example, musical instruments, ensuring that audio is consistent and concert-like for everyone in the vehicle, no matter where they are seated. The listening experience is further perfected with Cabin Correction technology, which intelligently optimizes bass notes to the interior specifics of any car cabin, as well as Digital Dither Shaping, which makes sure that quality is always kept at its very best, regardless of whether audio is streamed from radio, USB or Bluetooth ® devices. One of the cars equipped with Meridian intelligence and innovation is the new Range Rover Velar model (see pages 20–31), which can be equipped with the Meridian Signature System, delivering a full 1,600 watts of power. The system consists of 23 high-quality speakers including a subwoofer strategically positioned within the cabin, each carefully calibrated to create a luxurious yet completely natural soundstage for each passenger. To achieve the perfectly integrated listening experience, Meridian worked with Land Rover designers and engineers on every detail of its in-car audio systems to create a unique, elegantly engineered, holistic-system approach where all elements work seamlessly and aesthetically together, thus offering the ultimate audio performance while on the move. This level of performance is only possible as a result of Meridian’s detailed knowledge of DSP coupled with the company’s extensive research in psychoacoustics and how we as humans perceive sound, which in turn has formed the base for all of its exclusive technologies. “The introduction of the D600 loudspeaker marked the beginning of a new approach to sound processing and design,” Rayner says. “Since then it has greatly widened our understanding of what is possible when we think about intelligent audio technology.” The clarity of the Range Rover Velar cabin is matched by the seamless perfection of Meridian’s Signature Sound System 67