Sweden’s renowned technology companies, Dirac and Polestar, have expanded their collaboration to enhance the audio performance of the new Polestar 3 using Dirac Opteo Professional, an advanced automotive sound optimization solution developed by Dirac.
The Polestar 3 is equipped with a top-of-the-line Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound audio system, delivering a powerful 1610-watt output. When combined with Dirac Opteo Professional, this system provides a clear, well-balanced, and immersive sound experience that remains consistent throughout the vehicle, regardless of the seating position.
Roger Hjelm, Head of Connected Car at Polestar, expressed the goal of delivering a high-end audio experience in the Polestar 3 that allows passengers to fully appreciate the depth and breadth of the soundstage, regardless of their location in the car. To achieve this objective, Polestar collaborated with Bowers & Wilkins to create a leading in-car audio system and partnered with fellow Swedish innovator, Dirac, to ensure optimal speaker performance. This collaboration with Dirac, a renowned name in automotive audio innovation, ensures that customers enjoy the finest sound system available in the market.
Achieving exceptional sound performance in vehicles requires ingenuity and expertise. The car cabin poses significant acoustic challenges as in-car speakers traditionally struggle to match the performance of high-end home or theater audio systems, regardless of their price or design. The positioning of speakers in a vehicle cabin cannot be as ideal as in a home theater, often resulting in interference between speakers, distortion, and reduced audio clarity. This interference becomes more pronounced with the addition of more speakers. Additionally, the car cabin itself introduces unwanted sound coloration, resulting in muffled and booming sound, making it difficult to discern the sound’s origin.
To address these challenges, Dirac Opteo Professional, featuring patented multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) mixed phase impulse response correction technology, works in harmony with the Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound speaker system. This solution enables all the speakers in the car to intelligently cooperate and correct each other’s impulse response. By “erasing” the car cabin and mitigating its unwanted effects, Dirac’s solution achieves ideal loudspeaker responses, maximizing fidelity and delivering exceptional bass performance. Occupants experience rich, balanced, and dynamic sound in every seat, including deep, clean, and precise bass that is rarely heard in a car. With immersive content, the Polestar 3 provides a concert-like audio experience, where transparent and authentic sound envelops passengers, akin to a live concert hall.
Lars Carlsson, Dirac’s General Manager of Automotive Audio, highlighted Dirac’s leadership in automobile audio optimization and its commitment to pushing the boundaries of automotive sound technology. As modern vehicles become more complex, automakers like Polestar rely on Dirac to achieve their distinctive sound. The Dirac Opteo Professional solution digitally optimizes speaker performance, ensuring a flawless listening experience in any vehicle.
Built upon Dirac’s Intelligent Audio Platform (IAP), the Dirac Opteo Professional solution incorporates a data-driven measurement system, semi-automatic tuning tools, integrated sound optimization algorithms, and middleware compatible with any hardware platform. This comprehensive solution empowers manufacturers to achieve perfected sound faster, more effortlessly, and consistently across different vehicle models.
The Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound audio system has been exclusively designed for the Polestar 3. It features 25 high-performance speakers and incorporates the brand’s proprietary technologies, such as Tweeter-on-Top and Continuum Cone, to deliver an unparalleled audio experience. Bowers & Wilkins aims to faithfully reproduce the original recording, embracing the philosophy of True Sound, as intended by the artists.
In conclusion, Carlsson expressed his pride in partnering with Polestar, another Swedish technology leader, and highlighted how the Dirac-enabled Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound system in the Polestar 3 goes beyond delivering a premium sound experience solely in a car. It provides a premium sound experience comparable to a high-quality home theater system. Dirac remains committed to collaborating with Swedish tech leaders who push the boundaries of product performance through innovation and design.
