Compressed audio files are the written word's equivalent of CliffsNotes. Sure, you understand the artist's thesis, but all the fine details are lost alongside the missing information. Audiophiles know this. For most, us included, the lost information goes unnoticed when an audio compressor cuts all audio frequencies above a certain point (that's called a brickwall filter in the biz), rounds off sharp spikes in amplitude, or converts true two-channel stereo sound to data-shrinking mono audio where possible. To put it in perspective, a 128-kbps audio file, standard iTunes stuff, contains ten times less information than a CD.
With today's cloud-storage, take-it-anywhere, satellite-radio digital age, most of the acoustic entertainment we listen to is some kind of compressed audio. To improve the general user experience, Harman created Signal Doctor. By analyzing audio files in real time, Signal Doctor returns some of the lost amplitude and adds some of what the brickwall filter lopped off, or at least what it thinks was lopped off.
Signal Doctor can't recreate what was lost. But it does, as we learned at Harman's office in Farmington Hills, Michigan, richen the sound of compressed audio. Tire, engine, and road noise has the potential to render the enhancements moot in no-frills transportation. Those lucky enough to travel in sound-proof luxury vessels will surely notice a difference.
- Feature: The History of Car Radios
- Tech Dept.: Faking It—Engine-Sound Enhancement Explained
- Tech Dept.: Tesla Across America—How Elon Musk is Building an EV Infrastructure
Harman is currently working with OEMs to integrate Signal Doctor with the head units of new cars. Expect to see a little Dolby NR–like Signal Doctor symbol in new cars within the next year. If you can't wait, JBL, a Harman brand, has Signal Doctor in its line of Authentics Bluetooth speakers for the home.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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