Car Audio Redefined with Clarion’s Full Digital Sound System

Clarion is reinventing car audio with the recent launch of its Full Digital Sound (FDS) products, which are designed to change the way how sound is produced in any automobile. The FDS product lineup comprises a Z25W 10-inch subwoofer, Z7 6.75-inch speakers and the Z3 digital sound processor, which comes with a 1-inch tweeter.

In terms of car audio components, the components may sound like standard fare but the way the sound is produced makes them unique. Conventional car audio sound systems read digital audio, whether it is an MP3 or CD, and transmits it to a digital-to-analog converter to create an analog signal that can be amplified and heard through the speakers.

This analog approach to audio has remained unchanged in decades, including high-end systems that output sound to an external processor digitally. The current approach works for most applications, but analog wiring is predisposed to noise interference, and there is sufficient analog wiring in a car to go to each speaker. This interference can also be a problem when installing aftermarket audio products in a car, whether it is from the speaker crossovers, the car’s alternator or the speaker cable.

Clarion’s distinctive approach eliminates any noise that can arise by maintaining a digital signal of 1’s and 0’s until the speaker voice is driven to produce sound, utilizing Dnote digital signal technology and a six-layer voice coil. This also suggests that each speaker is active or inpidually amplified by a chip developed in-house. As a result, the sound becomes richer, crystal clear and livelier than a traditional car sound system.

Clarion intends to ship its new FDS components in spring of this year, but pricing is still to be determined.