Mercedes-Benz is the latest car company looking to bolster its audio systems with Dolby Atmos. The luxury vehicle company is planning to add support for the 3D sound standard through its optional Burmester stereo add-on for high-end models starting in summer 2022.
Mercedes-Benz isn’t the first car company to offer Atmos; that honor goes to the Lucid Air electric sedan, which just started shipping and is the first car to support Dolby Atmos thanks to its 21 speaker “Surreal Sound” system.
But Mercedes-Benz’s implementation of Atmos looks to go even further, with a whopping 31 speakers scattered around the car (a list that includes six 3D speakers above passengers, four “near-ear” speakers for the two front seats, and an 18.5-liter subwoofer). Each seat also features two hidden exciters apiece (for a total of eight in the car), and everything is powered by two amplifiers with a total of 1,750 watts of power.
To start, Mercedes is offering Atmos in its top-of-the-line Maybach model, followed later by its S-Class cars featuring its new MBUX infotainment system. Unfortunately, given the price of both the Mercedes Maybach and S-Class cars, having the hardware to get the full Atmos experience won’t be cheap.
The entry-level S-Class vehicle, a 2021 S 500 4Matic sedan, starts at $110,850, and the Burmester 4D surround sound add-on that’s necessary for Atmos is an additional $6,730. Customers of the top-of-the-line Maybach model won’t have to worry, though — the upgraded sound system is already included in the base $185,950 price tag.
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