First Dirac-Enabled Denon Automotive Sound System Debuts at CES 2025
January 7, 2025
First Dirac-Enabled Denon Automotive Sound System to Debut at CES 2025 – Showcasing New Levels of Audio Immersion and Spatialization in the Vehicle Environment.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, January 7, 2025 — Building upon extensive collaborations in the home theater and headphone markets, Dirac and Denon today announced that they have now expanded their partnership to the automotive market. At CES 2025, the two companies will showcase the first result of their automotive industry collaboration in a Denon Car Audio Concept System enabled by Dirac that sets new standards in immersive, spatialized sound in the vehicle environment.
The demonstrations will take place January 7-10, 2025, in Booth #W6510 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The system is featured in a Tesla Model Y demo vehicle and will also include key audio immersion technologies from fellow Audio Foundry members – including a new transducer design from Tymphany and Sonified by Trèves exciters in headrests and headliner. we
“Dirac and Denon share the same commitment to pioneer the future of audio across all product categories and listening environments,” said Dirac Vice President of Automotive Hendrik Hermann. “At CES 2025, we will in partnership debut and demonstrate the Denon Car Audio Concept System that features Dirac’s sound optimization and spatialization technologies that establish a new benchmark in immersive, spatialized audio performance in the vehicle environment.”
To date, Dirac and Denon have collaborated to create the highly successful Denon PerL earbuds that feature Dirac Virtuo spatial audio technology and an extensive lineup of Denon audio video receivers (AVRs), including the AVC-A1H, that feature the Dirac Live room correction solution.
Dirac is also an established leader in the automotive market, and its audio solutions are currently featured in the cabins of leading automotive brands such as Volvo, Polestar, Genesis, NIO and BYD, among many others.
“Denon has a rich and long legacy of developing products and pioneering technologies that have defined and redefined consumer audio such as the earliest consumer CD players, Blu-ray players, and class leading AV receivers,” said Dan Shepherd, Vice President of Licensing and Partnerships at Masimo. “At CES 2025, this legacy takes a significant step forward as we unveil the world’s first Denon automotive sound system, optimized by Dirac, that leverages decades of experience in the multi-channel home theater market to create a new standard in immersive in-vehicle audio. We look forward to showcasing the future of automotive audio with Dirac and our other Audio Foundry partners at CES 2025 and beyond.”
Bringing 110 years of audio technology to automotive, Denon, along with industry partners, has created a new Denon Car Audio Concept System, featuring the brand’s DNA, intelligent design, and personalization – alongside selected innovative speaker technologies – for seamlessly integrated audio with Denon audio performance.
Featuring a total of 22 speakers and exciters, the Dirac-optimized and Dolby Atmos-enabled system includes height and headrest channels that create an immersive experience on par with Denon’s home audio products. Denon has always worked with leading technologies – and that approach is now brought to the car with dramatic results.
Speaking to the challenge of optimizing immersive sound within the auto environment, Hermann noted that, “Vehicle speakers can often interfere with each other to cause distortion and reduce audio clarity – and systems with more speakers create greater interference. A car cabin’s shape and materials can also lead to unwanted sound coloration, resulting in muddy, booming sound that makes it difficult to discern where sound is coming from.”
Dirac’s digital audio solutions address these challenges by enabling all the speakers in a car to work intelligently together and co-correct each other’s impulse response. The solutions remove the unwanted effects of the cabin and create ideal loudspeaker responses for maximum fidelity and unparalleled bass performance.
Furthermore, Dirac’s upmixing technology enables spatial audio experiences from regular two-channel stereo sources. Unlike similar technologies, Dirac’s upmixing technology does not add anything to the signal; it only utilizes what is already present, which ensures a pure and enhanced listening experience.
At CES, attendees will be able to dynamically change the level of audio immersion and EQ within the car to suit their unique listening preferences – and save their preferences for future listening.
About Denon:
Denon, a leading manufacturer of premium audio equipment, is dedicated to delivering the ultimate listening experience to music lovers worldwide. Since 1910, Denon has been at the forefront of technological advancements in audio engineering, setting the standard for high-quality sound systems that are built to last and cater to the diverse needs of music enthusiasts, from audiophiles to casual listeners. For more information, visit Denon.com.
About the Audio Foundry:
The Audio Foundry is a technology collaborative, empowering members to bring disruptive ideas to life in automotive audio and acoustics. Headquartered in Wales, United Kingdom, the Audio Foundry hosts a member alliance and fully equipped makerspaces staffed by experienced engineers and support team members. Founded in 2023, the Audio Foundry serves as an experimental retreat for OEMs, component manufacturers, and technology providers across the value chain including Analog Devices, Dirac, DSP Concepts, Masimo, MediaTek, Primax, Polestar, The CARLAB, Trèves Group, Tymphany and Zilltek. The Audio Foundry is dedicated to the discovery of novel technologies and experiences that enhance the automotive audio ecosystem. Visit www.audio-foundry.com for more information.
About Dirac:
Dirac develops digital software solutions that create a significantly improved sound experience for all types of sound systems. Our customers include enterprises, such as sound system manufacturers and streaming services, as well as consumers. Dirac is a global company with headquarters in Uppsala, Sweden and R&D facilities in Copenhagen, Denmark and Bangalore, India, with representation in Greater China, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the USA.