Any time you put audio inside a small chamber there are acoustic problems. Cars, trucks, and SUV’s are among the worst places on the planet for a good audio experience, that is unless you do your homework and engineer in the workarounds to make less than perfect acoustics tenable to the ear.
The engineers at Nissan and Bose® have done all the homework needed resulting in an excellent sound experience in every Nissan vehicle, particularly the Altima.
Generally speaking, Nissan vehicles come with sound systems that are optimized for good sound in the cabin. While not akin to a recording studio experience, the sound you get is the result of plenty of research and design tweaking.
In the Nissan Altima, the optionalBose®;Premium Audio system features a 9 speaker system a Bose® amplifier sitting center. The 9 speaker system strategically places sound in the cabin and maximizes the Altima’s acoustical characteristics giving you a rich and rewarding audio profile.
ACOUSTICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING NISSAN ALTIMA’S AUDIO PROFILE
The acoustic experience your ears perceive in any environment is greatly affected by the type, shape, and positioning of the material interacting with the columns of air creating sound waves in the environment.
Material surfaces either reflect or absorb sound waves ranging from near total reflection to near total absorption. No material surface is perfect in either extreme, but generally speaking, hard surfaces like glass, plastic, and metal reflect while soft surfaces like carpet, leather, and upholstery absorb.
Positioning of the material, as well as positioning the speakers, enhances or diminishes the effects of reflection or absorption. Combined, all these factors contribute to acoustical wave creation in the cabin.
There are many types of waves created by a speaker source interacting with the acoustical environment. The pleasant waves allow you to hear every nuance of the musical performance, the unpleasant waves, most notably what are called standing waves, create acoustical interference patterns in the cabin that inhibit the pleasant waves from getting to your ears. Standing waves are the reason poorly designed automotive audio systems sound like mud.
ELECTRONIC FACTORS AFFECTING NISSAN ALTIMA’S AUDIO PROFILE
Driving the columns of air creating the soundwaves in the cabin is the electronic sound system’s job.
Electronics making up any sound system consist of batches of electronics nestled strategically around the cabin translating electronic signals to mechanical motion in speakers that the human ear perceives as sound. This speakers translate this motion to the air surrounding the speakers creating columns of air and wave patterns previously mentioned.
These electronics perform hosts of functions conditioning the mechanical motions of the speakers. These functions include:
- Amplification –making a small signal bigger so you get large sound waves
- Signal Crossover Control –sending high-frequency signals to small, tweeter speakers and low-frequency signals to large, woofer speakers
- Equalization –adjusting the spectrum of low frequency “bass” mid frequency “mids” and high frequency “treble” waves to achieve a pleasant acoustic balance
- Filtering –making sure that only the right signals get to the right portions of the audio amplification circuitry
Not all electronic audio systems are created equal. The overall quality of what your ears hear starts with the overall quality components that begin the audio signals processing resulting in its final amplification.
Any weak link in the chain creates a substandard audio experience and the Nissan Altima’s Bose® Premium Audio System is no lightweight.
PUTTING THE ELECTRONICS AND ACOUSTICS TOGETHER INSIDE THE NISSAN ALTIMA’S SOUND CHAMBER
In the Nissan Altima’s Bose® Premium Audio 9 speaker system, Nissan engineers worked closely with Bose® engineers carefully matching electronics, acoustics, and speaker placement to optimize the Altima’s cabin acoustic envelope.
To be sure, compromises were made, but in the end, we feel the result is a solid acoustical experience rivaling sound systems of much higher price point vehicles.
Without question, you would be hard pressed to recreate the same experience without your own professional level engineering and high end acoustic and electronic equipment. Simply put, the sound you get in the Altima rocks.
COME IN AND TEST DRIVE THE NEW NISSAN ALTIMA
Nissan of Cool Springs has an outstanding team of car enthusiast that step up and deliver an experience beyond expectation. Part of that experience is sharing the passion that is for quality sound on the road.
We would like to invite you to visit the dealership, we’re easy to get to at 212 Comtide Ct here in Franklin, and find out for yourself how our guys make positive buying experiences every day. If you can’t stop in, give us a call right now at 615-221-8301, give us a call to find out more about the Nissan Bose® Premium Audio Experience or any of the other great features of the Nissan lineup of vehicles.