Dolby, Apple Music, UMG Partner With Mercedes on Audio Offering

Mercedes-Benz teamed with Dolby, Apple Music and Universal Music Group (UMG) on creating an in-car experience they said Sunday is “the benchmark for music production and playback quality.” The collaboration builds on the integration of Dolby Atmos immersive audio in the Burmester 4D and 3D sound systems that’s optional in Mercedes-Benz vehicles with the latest generation of the carmaker’s Mbux entertainment system. UMG is giving recording artists a chance to base their song approval process on how the final mix sounds in a Mercedes vehicle and introduced the seal “Approved in a Mercedes-Benz” as a “gold standard of sound,” it said. The music label plans to set up a studio environment in Sindelfingen, Germany, based on its Capitol Studios’ Studio C, a global reference music studio for Dolby Atmos mixing. The Burmester 4D sound system uses eight in-seat resonators with “sound massage” and surround speakers integrated into the seats, Mercedes said; on the audio side, it has 31 speakers, including six 3D speakers that emit sound from above, four near-ear speakers in the front seats, an 18.5-liter subwoofer, eight sound transducers and two amplifiers rated at a total 1750 watts of power, it said. Dolby Atmos will first be available in the Mercedes‑Maybach S‑Class, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, plus the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV.