HARMAN has just received quite a prestigious award, or rather, several prestigious awards! The German magazine auto motor und sport recently held its annual Readers’ Choice Connectivity contest, and HARMAN systems took first, second, and third place in the Sound Systems category, as well as multiple top placements in the various Infotainment categories. These latest awards further cement HARMAN’s position as market leader in car audio and connected car solutions for the automotive industry. Today, already more than 50 million automobiles on the road are equipped with HARMAN’s audio and connected car systems.
One of Germany’s leading magazines about cars, motor sports, and technology, auto motor und sport provides readers with an overview of market trends and new products in the automotive sector. This year, more than 10,000 auto motor und sport readers voted for their favorite technology for networked cars in eleven different categories ranging from classic navigation systems via telephone integration to sound systems and the connected car.
The results of the voting recognized the outstanding quality of HARMAN sound systems, with the first, second, and third place awards going to vehicles equipped with HARMAN sound. Coming in at first place, the Bang & Olufsen 3D Advanced Sound System in the Audi A7 is the fruit of more than 400 hours of fine tuning by Bang & Olufsen’s expert sound engineers. The system features 19 speakers, dynamic driving noise compensation, a 19-channel amplifier, ICEpower amplifier, and above all, the revolutionary 3-D sound front and rear. Regardless of their seat, passengers are treated to a natural, clear sound reproduction independent of source and music genre, creating the impression of a three-dimensional sound stage that increases perception of the height, depth and size of reproduced music.
In second place is the premium audio system in the Volvo XC60. Working together, HARMAN and Volvo’s engineers took the car’s increased interior space into account and devised a tailor-made system with up to 15 individual speakers for a comfortable yet powerful sound experience. Featuring as many as 10 channels driven by a Class-D amplifier for robust, enveloping sound with crystal-clear highs and powerful, low-distortion bass that remains reliably rich and consistently smooth, the Volvo XC60 offers drivers and passengers a world of immersive sound.
In third place, the Harman Kardon Premium Sound System in the Kia Stinger GT features HARMAN Clari-Fi™ and QuantumLogic® Surround. Fifteen high-performance speakers, including two SVC subwoofers under the front seats, are perfectly positioned in the interior to deliver well-balanced audio, while a powerful 720-watt amplifier allows every passenger to feel as well as hear every note in their favorite songs. Designed to work in harmony with the Stinger’s interior design, the system’s ultimate goal is to transform the car into a place where music reaches a new dimension.
But there’s more—HARMAN’s connected car solutions were also recognized in several categories. In the Navigation System category, BMW took second place while Mercedes’ MBUX system took third place. HARMAN worked closely with Mercedes to develop the Mercedes Benz User Experience system, which takes the user experience to a whole new level thanks to technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality, voice control with natural language processing, and Over-the-Air (OTA) system updates. HARMAN also entirely implements the multimedia functions of the MBUX system, which was awarded first place in the Entertainment/Multimedia category. In the Controls/Display category, BMW’s Operating System 7.0 took first place, and in the Connected Cars category, the HARMAN powered BMW X3 was awarded second place.
HARMAN is thrilled by these prestigious awards, which further testify to the excellence of HARMAN’s audio and connected car solutions.