New Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Gets Bose Audio Upgrade

For more than fifty years a Ferraris music came from the engine compartment, and while this has hardly changed with its new lineup of V8- and V12-powered supercars, the Italian marque is starting to get just as serious about in-car audio performance as it does about producing a melodic exhaust note.

To that end top-tier audio supplier Bose has teamed up with Ferrari on the prancing horse brands four-seat 612 Scaglietti. An ideal car to consummate the relationship, the 612 Scaglietti is the largest Ferrari ever made, and with that delivers up the most accommodating interior in the automakers lineup; acoustically beneficial.

In keeping with Ferraris development and production methodology, the new Bose system has been custom-designed for the car, first tested in the audio manufacturers automotive design labs and then fine tuned while circling the Italian brands Fiorano test track and surrounding area.

The relationship between Ferrari and Bose makes a great deal of sense. Not only do many of Ferraris customers enjoy Bose audio equipment in their homes, from the brands popular Wave clock radio line to full home theatre systems, but thanks to similar relationships with more mainstream automakers Bose is also the most recognized audio manufacturer in the U.S., according to J. D. Power and Associates 2005 Automotive Component Branding Study released in October.

Bose supplies OEM audio systems for other top-tier marques such as Maserati, Maybach and Porsche, as well as those less vaunted but nevertheless premium brands including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Cadillac, Hummer, Infiniti, Lancia, Mercedes-Benz and Saab. Bose also puts its name on entry-level brands, including Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Honda, Mazda and Nissan, although systems available in these are not made to the same tolerances as those in available to its higher priced partners. The audio system that comes standard in every new 612 is among its finest.

Creating one of its best audio systems to date didnt come without challenges. While the 612 is large for a Ferrari, its performance-oriented cabin is hardly as spacious as a large executive sedans. Most vehicles arent capable of traveling at the 612s 186 mph velocity either, therefore the system had to be sufficiently powerful to compensate for associated engine, exhaust, tire and wind noise. Most important, however, is that the sound system would need to be lightweight, in keeping with Ferraris performance priorities.

For instance, each of the cars nine speakers incorporates a neodymium iron boron magnet instead of a more conventional ferrite magnet. The coin-sized neodymium iron boron magnet puts out all the power and dynamics of the ferrite magnet albeit from a much smaller size and lower weight.

To optimize the sound of those nine speakers Bose engineers studied the 612 interiors inherent acoustics and general layout, taking more than a thousand individual acoustic measurements resulting in a highly efficient sound system. Bose chose a PowerND woofer on the rear deck and an Nd Richbass woofer in the passenger side footwell, each powered by dedicated two-state switching modulation amplifiers, while the remaining speakers get power from a digital amplifier that includes patented AudioPilot noise compensation circuitry and six channels of custom equalization.

A Bose exclusive, "AudioPilot technology continuously adjusts the music in response to background noise, automatically minimizing the effects of unwanted sound from different road surfaces, changing driving speeds, even an open sunroof," says a press release on the subject. A small microphone in the 612 cockpit regularly monitors sound levels, sensing music and ambient noise. Next, Bose digital signal processing analyzes the information, comparing it to the music signal, before determining the level of undesirable noise. Then, without any involvement from driver or passengers, the music volume is automatically adjusted to counteract the unwanted noise. Bose says that "Soft passages are heard above the noise, while louder passages, already clearly audible, are left unaltered."

Bose has taken a proprietary approach to automotive sound system design in developing the 612s audio components, saying that "superior sound quality is not something that can be added on to a vehicle--it must be designed in from the start." While this philosophy strongly supports choosing an OEM system over an aftermarket one, theres sufficient evidence to support the claim, with the benefit of fewer theft attempts being an added bonus.

"The team at Ferrari saw the value of the Bose approach to system design, and supported that with a high degree of cooperation and vehicle access," said Brandon Westley, President of the Automotive Systems Division at Bose. "The sound system in the 612 Scaglietti is a good example of our approach to automotive sound. The listening experience - not extra equipment - is the ultimate benefit."

The next Ferrari to get the Bose treatment is the new 599 Fiorano, after which it is expected each new prancing horse model will get a Bose system of its own.