The quality of the sound and the fact that you can play it as loud as you wish without disturbing anyone outside are reason enough to pursue the technology. But when standing outside beside an open window, because all the sound was focused inward, I couldn't hear a thing. To my ear it was as good as any I've ever experienced in a car, including some with super-premium systems. Inside, the sound was full, rich and clear - not to mention loud. The difference is, the vehicle's surfaces take the place of the speaker membranes.ĪVG and Bongiovi displayed a Toyota Venza equipped with this technology at Detroit and Toronto.
The transducers are, in effect, vibrators like those on the back of a conventional speaker, stimulated by the audio signal.
Rather than conventional speakers scattered throughout the interior, the speakerless vehicle employs multiple small transducers, about the diameter of a toonie, mounted in the A-pillars and behind the headliner, and a couple of larger ones, about the size of a hockey puck, on the floor under the rear seat. Not just the rear glass but the entire interior of the vehicle becomes one big integrated speaker, focusing all the sound inward. It's a combination of the concept Magna is pursuing and Bongiovi's DPS technology taken to a much higher level. It's what Bongiovi is working on for the future that is really exciting: the speakerless car. The AVG Group, through an affiliate called Future Acoustics Inc., has worldwide distribution rights for the DPS technology in automotive applications.Īmazing as it is, the system Toyota offers just represents the here and now. If you're a regular reader of Toronto Star Wheels, you may recall Jim Kenzie raving about the technology in his report on AJAC's Best New Technology award candidates in February.Ī dealer-installed Bongiovi DPS system offered as an accessory by Toyota Canada - the first auto company in the world to adopt it - was runner-up for the AJAC award. That all sounds like gobbledy-gook to a non-audiophile like me, but the proof is in the listening and the effect on sound quality is truly dramatic. It is said to “analyze the audio signal in real time and digitally optimize it for playback in a vehicle - based on the actual acoustic environment of the particular vehicle - extending the frequency response of the speakers and maximizing the frequency-specific power distribution of the head-unit's amplifier.” (He's Jon Bon Jovi's cousin and helped the rocker get started in the business.)Ĭlients of Bongiovi's legendary Power Station Studios in Manhattan have included Madonna, AC/DC, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones and Mariah Carey, among many others.Ī recognized expert in acoustical engineering, Bongiovi has developed and patented what he calls “Digital Power Station” (DPS) technology. Magna says the system could be in production by 2015.Īnother Canadian supplier, Scarborough-based AVG (OEAM), aims to take the concept even further, with the help of legendary audio engineer and record producer, Tony Bongiovi.īongiovi's work began under the tutelage of Motown's Barry Gordy.īongiovi's work includes more than 50 gold and platinum albums by artists ranging from Jimmy Hendrix to Bon Jovi. The glass, which has a sealant that allows it to vibrate up and down with the bass notes, effectively becomes the membrane of the speaker.Īccording to Magna product director Greg Rizzo, it's like “sitting inside a subwoofer box.” But - here's the best part - you can't hear it outside the vehicle. Magna installed two exciters at the base of the rear-window glass and fed them the sub-woofer signal from an amplifier in the trunk. The company recently exhibited a product it calls AcoustiVision, which turns a car's rear-window glass, behind the rear seat, into a huge sub-woofer. Instead of a car being fitted with multiple speakers, its entire interior becomes one big speaker with sound directed inward and at the occupants inside it.Ĭanadian-based component supplier Magna International has been experimenting with the concept. They can play it as loud as they like - but you won't be able to hear it. The occupants of the neighbouring vehicle won't have to turn their music down, or even roll up their windows. Thanks to some new audio technology, now well along in the development stage, that scenario may soon become a thing of the past.
#Bongiovi dps review windows#
You pull up to a stop light and the car or truck beside you has its windows down and music blares out with an intensity that causes your own vehicle to vibrate.
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