Dirac and Denon are expanding their partnership and at CES 2025 they have announced their first collaborative automotive innovation – the Denon Car Audio Concept System, powered by Dirac technology. The companies claim the system sets a new benchmark for immersive, spatialized sound within the vehicle environment.
Featured in a Tesla Model Y demo vehicle, the system will highlight key audio innovations from Dirac and its Audio Foundry partners, including Tymphany’s cutting-edge transducer design and Sonified by Trèves exciters integrated into headrests and the headliner.
“Both Dirac and Denon are committed to leading the evolution of audio technology, across all product categories and environments,” said Hendrik Hermann, Vice President of Automotive at Dirac. “At CES 2025, we’re thrilled to showcase the Denon Car Audio Concept System, a groundbreaking collaboration that leverages Dirac’s sound optimization and spatialization expertise to raise the bar for immersive, spatialized audio in the car.”
Collaboration made waves
Dirac and Denon’s collaboration has already made waves in the consumer audio space, including the successful release of the Denon PerL earbuds featuring Dirac Virtuo spatial audio technology and a range of Denon AV receivers, including the AVC-A1H, which incorporate Dirac Live room correction.
Dirac audio solutions are already found in the cabins of top automotive brands like Volvo, Polestar, Genesis, NIO, and BYD, among others.
“Denon has long been at the forefront of consumer audio, pioneering innovations in products like early CD players, Blu-ray players, and award-winning AV receivers,” said Dan Shepherd, Vice President of Licensing and Partnerships at Masimo. “With CES 2025, we are taking this legacy into the automotive sector, unveiling the world’s first Denon automotive sound system, optimized by Dirac. This collaboration bridges decades of multi-channel home theater experience to set a new standard for in-vehicle audio. We look forward to showcasing this exciting future of automotive audio alongside our Audio Foundry partners.”
Denon Car Audio Concept System
The Denon Car Audio Concept System integrates 22 speakers and exciters, offering Dirac optimization and Dolby Atmos support. With height and headrest channels, the system delivers an audio experience on par with Denon’s premium home audio offerings. This system’s intelligent speaker technology ensures seamless integration for unmatched performance.
Addressing the unique challenges of in-vehicle audio, Hermann noted, “The acoustics of a car can cause distortion, interference between speakers, and unwanted sound coloration, leading to poor audio clarity. In a system with many speakers, these challenges can intensify. Dirac’s solutions optimize all the vehicle’s speakers, correcting their individual responses and eliminating unwanted cabin effects, resulting in clearer, more natural sound.”
Dirac’s advanced digital audio solutions also enable the upmixing of two-channel stereo sources to create a spatial audio experience without altering the original signal. This preserves the integrity of the audio while enhancing the listening experience.
