Autoblog

We've grown used to seeing automakers with a reputation for designing beautiful cars branch out into other consumer products. Porsche is a fine example, and Ferrari is no stranger to peddling assorted branded wares. It looks like Pagani will be adding its name to this list with a new hi-fi home audio system. Built of carbon fiber and aluminum, the system's main control unit emulates the look of the sound system from its supercars. Drawing inspiration from the unique four-pipe exhaust system from the Zonda, the bass tubes lie at the bottom of twin 350 watt tower speakers situated aside the control unit and amplifier. Audiophiles are sure to appreciate dual vinyl turntables, one for both 33 and 45 rpm discs as well as a CD player.

Pricing likely falls squarely into the "if you have to ask" territory, so we'll just admire this awesome unit from afar. Those of you who can afford a Pagani automoile can now enjoy your musical tastes both from the drivers seat of your Zonda and from the comfort of your own living room. Thanks for the tip, Tom!

[Source: Home Tone]

Click above for a high-res photo gallery of the Naim Audio System

Dropping us yet another hint that ultra-luxury automobile buyers really do listen to Kanye West when their windows are rolled up, Bentley Motors has announced an exclusive partnership with British high-end audio manufacturer Naim to fit the world's most powerful in-car production amplifier to their full model lineup.

The bragging rights center around an 1100-watt amplifier driving up to 15 speakers (depending on the model). Cutting-edge technology on each system includes Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Dynamic Equalization to offer passengers an 'as-live' in-car audio experience. To adapt the system to each particular Bentley model, Naim analyzed each car and then designed a unique speaker drive unit for it. According to Bentley, the painstaking measures taken to match the acoustics to the particular vehicle are so effective that even with rapper Kanye West belting out tunes at full system power, only a low level of sound can be heard from outside the car. Too bad the same thing can't be said for the Honda Civic that my teenage neighbor drives...

[Source: Bentley Motors]

When a new car lists "iPod Jack" in its feature list, you never know just how much of a feature that really is. Sometimes it just means your iPod will play and charge while plugged in to the car stereo, but forget about changing artists or choosing a new playlist unless you fish it out of whatever oddly-shaped hole that's been left for it. And retrofitting for a lot of cars means an expensive stay at the electronics store, or wires that cross from here to there.

Toyota has just released an iPod integration retrofit kit that will make your new auxiliary input look like it came straight from the factory. And it will give you full control of all iPod functions from either the head unit or the steering wheel. Click Read to check out the full press release.

[Source: Toyota]

The naming is appropriate for a low-frequency addicted BAMF - Sub Mofo. If you're looking to jiggle the teacups in Aunt Millie's breakfast nook over in the next county, this is the vehicle for you! It appears to be some sort of promotional vehicle for mobile audio manufacturer Power Acoustik. In fact, Mofo is a particular model line of extremely beefy subwoofers from the California-based electronics manufacturer. The Mofo-10s appear to be part of what this truck's equipped with. From the specs, these woofers require serious current, so we hope that's a generator truck underneath all the line arrays, crossovers and electro-shock graphics. With a motor structure that weighs 270 ounces, a couple of these babies in the trunk of an RWD car, with the supporting cast of amps, active crossovers, stiffening capacitors, and a battery for good measure, you'd have plenty of snow traction. Subtle it's not, but it is an impressive way to go deaf. What?

[Source: techeblog]

A few short years ago, getting a CD player or better yet, a multidisc changer in your car was an upgrade. Now, the little silver disc has taken up residence with cassettes as cast-off technology. Even with the cheap digital to analog converters that are in car stereos, CDs have a sound advantage over lossy data codecs like MPEG, but only us geeks seem to care that hi-hats sound like someone whisking an egg. Besides, portability and flexibility easily trumps esoteric sound quality. Truth be told, even though the original CDs sound better, my mp3 player is so much more convenient that I'll be adding an auxiliary input to my factory stereo – no small feat on some cars.

Ward's Automotive Interior show, currently underway at the Cobo center, is allowing automakers to show their wares to the masses over the next few days, with the realization that future vehicles are bound to dispatch that awkward center control unit for something more intuitive and user-programmable. Several automakers have already realized that people have all sorts of portable devices, and as such, new car interiors bristle with input jacks and 12-volt power sockets.

[Source: Detroit News]

Microsoft, looking to get the message out about it's Zune doohickey, has turned a Toyota FJ Cruiser into an urban assault vehicle. The test run occured in a New York City neighborhood in the wee hours of a Sunday morning with the FJ Cruiser blaring out music at such a volume that it could be heard inside nearby apartments with the windows closed. Being young and living in the city doesn't mean you like obnoxious crap any more than anyone else. Rather than entice the general public to buy a Zune, these idiots just pissed them off. They likely all went out the next day and bought the most pimped iPods they could afford, with the full boat car install kit, iFM radio, a spiffy little case, Shure E3 earbuds, the works. I know I would. That way, I'd be safe and snug in my bed, white noise ringing in my ears (that iPod headphone amp can give you blistering tinnitus) when the FJ Cruiser puttered back around. In the meantime, there's an open letter to Microsoft at wakeupmicrosoft.com - along with documentation of "the act."

[Source: engadget]

Fender guitars rock. Even the cheapies are easy to play and sound good in the right hands. Panasonic and Fender are teaming up to create an audio system that will be offered to auto manufacturers. Nigel and Slash have already been snagged by Volkswagen with their First Act package deal (buy a VW, they throw in the guitar that plugs into the car's audio system). We're guessing that the pitch for the Fender/Panasonic system will be along the same lines, though; and aimed at the younger demographic. The working partnership of Fender and Panasonic even trotted out Dick Dale at the NAIAS to promote their idea. Hey, in the right car, this could be magic. You could turn all that traffic-jam time into productive practice! Campers would no longer have to settle for singing "Blowin' In The Wind." With a guitar-enabled audio system, you could, as Bob Dylan told his band at Newport, "play f***ing loud."

[Source: Edmunds]

Audi is pushing the envelope in audio entertainment with a new research project that aims to deliver news reports audibly that are custom configured by the driver. Audi says the system, known as MACS My News, allows the driver to become “editor-in-chief” by choosing what type of content to hear and for how long. World news, sports and weather are a few types of content the system will be able to deliver, and it will all be controlled via spoken commands or Audi’s MMI (Multi Media Interface).

Foursprung has what appears to be an official release, though it doesn’t touch on what type of voice will be “reading” the content to be delivered. We assume it will be digital and synthetic, which we fear would be entirely too annoying to listen to at length. That is, unless it’s a cool digital voice like that of Johnny 5 or the supercomputer named Joshua from War Games.

[Source: Foursprung]