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How do HARMAN Audio Experts Tune-Up Your Ford Vehicles?

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HARMAN and Ford recently hosted a joint program at our Novi facility for 2 groups of local automotive media. The mission? To showcase the role that HARMAN’s Trained Listeners play in creating the ideal B&O PLAY listening experience inside Ford vehicles.

Starting in our world-class Reference Room, Ford’s North American speaker and amplifier supervisor Joe Kafati, HARMAN’s Senior Manager of Global Benchmarking Jonathan Pierce and Manager of Customer Acoustics Programs Brandon Wheeler teamed up for some intriguing show and tell modules that leveraged the launch of two new Ford SUVs: the new Ford EcoSport and Ford Expedition utility vehicles.

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Our media guests learned how our specialized benchmarking and tuning processes – reinforced by feedback from our global team of Trained Listeners - enable HARMAN to create great sound in vehicles of all sizes, and for all occupants.

 

Key themes included:

HARMAN’s approach to in-car audio combines the best of art and science, and subjective and objective assessments. The “recipe” involves understanding the artist's intent in relation to listener preference, and then measuring it as accurately as possible.

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But as our guests experienced first-hand that there’s even more to it than what meets the eye. To borrow an analogy from Jonathan and Brandon, even with the best ingredients you need a good chef to ensure that the meal is not bland. It’s our expert acoustic engineers who function as the “master chefs” to ensure our systems provide the auditory flavor that listeners prefer.

Feedback from the media in attendance was overwhelmingly positive. They enjoyed getting an inside look at an aspect in vehicle development that was new to them, and learn about it from the experts themselves.