Alpine adds brains to in-car equalization with IMPRINT architecture

We've already seen a few of Alpine's latest products take advantage of its IMPRINT sound system architecture, but now we're finally getting a few more details on what the technology actually brings to the proverbial table. Put simply, it utilizes Audyssey's MultEQ acoustic correction technology to "measure and analyze the entire interior space," after which it combines results with a set of equalization filters to produce the best sound for each environment. As if that weren't impressive enough, the integrated RoadEQ is also there to "compensate for music distorted by vehicle / road noise." Granted, this all sounds fairly spectacular on paper, but whether or not it actually redefines your in-car listening experience remains to be seen heard.

[nickels @ Jan 14th 2008 10:48AM]

sounds good, if it works ill be getting one of those :)

[JOSE @ Jan 14th 2008 10:52AM]

it does work...i got a cda 9887 the imprint tuner is the best thing ever sounds great in all the seats u can truly hear the difference between regular eq settings and this auto tuning module

[RD. @ Jan 14th 2008 1:36PM]

I have one too. It does make an amazing difference. The technology is actually Audussey's, as you mention in the article, and is in many high-end home set-ups as well. You can add this technology to your stock system as well with Alpine's PXE-H650.

[David @ Jan 14th 2008 11:57AM]

I wonder if my exhaust would throw this thing off...

[RD. @ Jan 14th 2008 1:36PM]

The measurements are made in a silent car. Alpine has a proprietary system for boosting certain frequencies that help eliminate standard road noise. Your exhaust may not be included in this, but then again, why would you want to block out that great sound?

[Jeff @ Jan 14th 2008 12:04PM]

home receivers have been doing this for probably 20 years. The put out a flat frequency test tone, measure the frequencies they get back, and auto-adjust their EQ's until the measured response is the same as the original tone.

It doesn't sound like there's much new here, except maybe that second part (about compensating for road noise).

[phlavor @ Jan 14th 2008 2:49PM]

What's new is that they are incorporating it into a box that roughly 1/20th the size of that receiver that also contains everything else in your stereo rack.

[phlavor @ Jan 14th 2008 2:41PM]

This is why factory stereos sound better than just throwing speakers and a head unit into a car. The manufactures have custom EQ modeling built into their units. So people on the car audio competition circuit spend a lot of time and money doing speaker selection, placement, and equalization to compensate for a small, shaped environment with an array of absorbing and reflecting surfaces. In the end it costs a lot of money to achieve what the manufacture already gives you (balanced sound) and even more to surpass it.

That being said, Alpine has made a huge step in the right direction by incorporating this technology into a commercially available head unit and hopefully leads a trend.

[Shane @ Jan 14th 2008 4:39PM]

@phlavor:

Are you kidding me? Most factory systems produce sound so mangled that it is ridiculous (unless perhaps you pay for the "upgraded" package). OEM systems often have the infamous "smiley face" EQ curve that professional sound engineers have come to loathe. This is to make the customer perceive that a poor system actually sounds good. The worst part is that no amount of manipulating the tone controls on the system will get rid of this curve. It is built into the system. Alpine and others now make boxes to counter this and make your factory system sound a bit more realistic without the hyped low and high end.

The factory speakers often don't sound too bad on their own with an aftermarket system.

Case in point...I replaced my factory unit with an Alpine and the sound was much cleaner without the boomy and muddy bass I could never seem to get rid of in the factory system.

[Rick @ Jan 17th 2008 10:26PM]

Wow, that looks exactly like the Alpine my friend had in his car. In 1988.

[Ross Gardiner @ Mar 5th 2008 9:05AM]

The audyessy multeq system is nothing like previous systems found in car audio and home gear.
There are fundamental differences that put it out on its own.
First of all it takes between 6- 8 measurements across the listing area to gain an accurate representation of the acoustics (I have personally checked this against 50k’s worth of B&K analyser, believe me it is very accurate), the results are combined using fuzzy logic ( the first audio application that uses it )
The filters are also unique, not using bands but a single shaped filter for each speaker across the audio range… the filter is shaped using up to 500 control points which correct time as well as frequency response. The resolution of this filter is far superior to parametric eq often used by other auto set up methods..
In the 50 mins setup time, it does far more than you can do with manual control and conventional tuning methods.

[kuade @ Jan 14th 2008 4:06PM]

Hi, I just purchased the CDA-9886 but that model requires an additional component from Alpine in order to use the IMPRINT sound, too bad it's not available yet. Alpine has good products so IMPRINT wasn't really the reason I bought the head unit. Honestly I don't think I will ever use the IMPRINT technology on my car. I don't see the point in spending $10,000 in stereo equipment for a car worth $8,000.

[Pouya @ Jan 14th 2008 5:11PM]

This technology is nothing new, even for single DIN car stereos. My Pioneer P1-R had this technology five years ago (maybe even longer as I don't know the exact date the stereo was released) and I have seen it in numerous other products. None of them work very well. They all play noise out of the speakers and measure and analyze it with a microphone for time alignment and equalization purposes, but the results are not very good. It generally overboosts the highs and makes the tonality sound thin. It is incomparable with proper tuning with an RTA.