Mercedes Benz has announced that its cars will have optional Dolby Atmos object-oriented directional audio starting 2022 onwards. Dolby Atmos is a type of spatial audio technology pioneered by Dolby first adapted to movie theatres in the early 2010s and more recently has become a staple of home audio systems and personal audio devices like Apple's AirPod earbuds. This will be available in cars equipped with the MBUX interface that has the Burmester 3D or 4D audio sound system.
Mercedes Benz cars like the S-Class which feature the 4D sound system have 31 speakers that help create the 3D effect. There are more than four near-ear speakers that sit on the front seat and all four seats get two sound transducers. There is a total output of 1750 watts with an 18.5-liter subwoofer.
The S-Class comes with a Burmester sound system
This feature will likely be restricted to premium Mercedes models like the S-Class, E-Class, the Maybach models, and even the G-Wagon, but other than that, one doesn't believe more mass-market Mercedes Benz models will get this technology.
In recent times, Apple's adoption of Dolby Atmos on the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and AirPods has accelerated the penetration of object-oriented directional sound technology. It adds a sense of realism to the audio by giving the user the feel of where the sound field originated from.
The technology is content-dependent and is only supported by Apple Music and Amazon Music in India. It first featured on Brave when one talks of movies in 2012.
