High-end audio company Harman International announced today that it has teamed up with Lincoln, with the Ford luxury brand leveraging Harman’s Revel brand premium audio technology on its next-generation Lincoln MKX.
The refreshed Lincoln MKX will be launching in 2015, and with the new and exclusive deal, Lincoln will be using Revel sound systems for the next ten years, marking the first time home stereo equipment maker Revel’s products will be used on a vehicle. In a statement, Harman global car audio VP Phil Eyler said that the company had “waited literally 20 years” to find a carmaker to partner with, and Lincoln just might be the “perfect fit.”
According to Harman, Lincoln and Revel have been working closely from the start of the next-gen Lincoln MKX’s development, ensuring that all the 19 speakers used on the vehicle would be placed at an optimal position. Quotes from the Harman/Revel press event suggest that the MKX’s speakers would be strategically located inside the car, allowing the music to reach occupants’ ears at “exactly the right time.” In specific, Revel and Lincoln would be situating the tweeters with midrange speakers in the MKX’s door panel, and not placing them in the conventional location, which is in the A-pillars.
Furthermore, the Revel Ultima sound system will come with three listening modes, which drivers can access via the Lincoln MKX’s MyLincoln Touch infotainment system. Stereo would be the conventional mode, Audience would make drivers and occupants feel as if they were watching their favorite artists perform live (or so the mode suggests), while On Stage would make listeners feel as if they were right on stage with said performers.