Leading the Engineering team at Meridian and working with the JLR Audio and Infotainment teams, four Meridian Sound Systems were designed and developed for the Land Rover SUV range of vehicles.

The cross-functional teams collaborated on the design of loudspeaker drive units and their location within the cabin, the equalisation of the sound balance, HMI design/functionality and developing communication assests for promotional activities.

In addition to Dolby PLIIx and DTS Neo:6, Meridian’s proprietary Trifield processing was configured to provide the optimum performance for automotive applications and is featured on the optional Meridian Surround Sound System to provide authentic rendering of a musical performance for all occupants in the vehicle.

Please click on a model below to see some more detail of these projects >

Trifield DSP

The Meridian Sound System is a multi-speaker stereo system, while the Meridian Surround Sound System adds surround sound decoding. The Meridian Surround Sound System incorporates Trifield technology that takes a stereo signal and “decodes” it for multiple speakers. Trifield processing uses the centre front loudspeaker and the surround loudspeakers to create a stereo image that is much more stable than one created simply by left and right speakers and is stable in all locations in the vehicle.

In the case of a normal stereo system with only left and right loudspeakers, the stereo image you experience tends to be pulled towards the nearest loudspeaker. If you sit on the left, it’s pulled to the left, and if you compensate by adjusting the balance, listeners on the right, for example, will hear the image pulled even further to the right.

Meridian’s Trifield system also applies to listeners in the rear of the vehicle as well. The surround speakers are used to derive a stereo image too, so the experience is very similar to that in the front of the vehicle, with stable imaging that is much less listener-position-dependant than in a conventional stereo or surround system.

Loudspeakers

The loudspeakers used in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles have been specifically designed and developed by Meridian engineers, in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover’s drive unit suppliers. Bass and midrange drivers feature mica-filled polyproplylene cones. The mica filling adds both stiffness and damping, which helps to ensure a smooth frequency response throughout the operating bandwidth. To minimise total weight while delivering the highest possible performance, low-mass materials have been specifically-selected for the drivers.

Low moving mass drive units store less energy and provide better transient performance as the voice coil and cone can respond rapidly to input signals. The materials selected are also very stable and thus ideal for use in an automotive environment where extreme conditions are commonly encountered.

The tweeter features an ultra-light aluminium alloy dome to maximise efficiency and provide extended high frequency performance. Again, a low moving mass design provides superb transient handling and negligible distortion across the operating bandwidth of the driver.

All the drivers used in Meridian sound systems feature powerful neodymium magnet assemblies. These combine high, uniform magentic field densities with low mass, improving efficiency while once again keeping weight at a minimum.

The materials selection process has resulted in a series of drive units that, taken together, deliver tight bass, coupled with a very natural mid-range and high frequency performance. As a result, less filtering and compensation is required in the electronics, resulting in superior sound quality throughout the system.

Meridian Audio Cabin Correction

Derived from the Meridian Room Correction system used in Meridian’s home entertainment surround controllers, Cabin Correction tunes the audio system precisely to the acoustics of the vehicle cabin.

The interior of any vehicle has various resonances and problem areas. However, it is a known, fixed environment and can be compensated for. A series of sophisticated digital filters tunes out resonances and standing waves in the vehicle cabin and these are an integral part of the DSP driving the system.

Dynamic Volume Control

The Dynamic Volume Control feature of the system constantly monitors ambient noise levels in the cabin. As a result, when that level changes – for example as a result of a change of road surface, or a window being opened – the system can automatically compensate by varying the system volume, and provide the occupants with a consistent listening experience in which the ratio between audio system volume and ambient background is always balanced as desired.