Meridian – the Sound of
Range Rover Evoque
Meridian and Range Rover both share a
British heritage. They also share a common
desire to push the boundaries of experience,
and a common ability to develop technology
to conquer new challenges.
The driving experience is changing. Today,
we regularly spend more time listening
to music in the car than we do at home.
So when Range Rover sought to create a
truly class-leading listening experience for
their customers setting new standards in
automobile entertainment, they came to
Meridian.
Conventional consumer audio systems,
whether in-home or in-car, have followed
a traditional pattern in which the power
amplifiers supply a full-range audio signal to
the loudspeakers, where a passive crossover
divides the signal into frequency bands to
be supplied to woofer and tweeter. This
approach requires a number of signicant
compromises in the design of the system,
including the need for excessively large
power amplifiers to overcome the lower
efficiency of passive systems, and the
need for the passive crossover to employ
components chosen for their power-handling
capacity rather than their audio quality.
Range Rover Evoque
Thirty years ago, Meridian developed some
of the first active loudspeakers available,
going on to use digital signal processing
(DSP) to create crossovers that would
be impossible – or prohibitively complex
or expensive – to realise in the analogue
domain, and becoming the first consumer
audio manufacturer to do so.
Meridian DSP-based digital active
loudspeakers use a fully-digital crossover
followed by digital to analogue converters
(DACs) to drive individual amplifiers which
power the loudspeaker drivers directly,
maximising efficiency and allowing a level
of performance usually associated with
loudspeakers at least four times the size.
The Systems
Meridian and Range Rover have designed
two powerful and unique in-car audio
systems for Evoque.
The Meridian Sound System is a 380watt, 12-channel stereophonic system
featuring 11 loudspeakers including a special
dual-channel subwoofer.
The Meridian Surround Sound System
is a full 15-channel stereo/surround
system running 825 watts and driving 17
loudspeakers mounted around the vehicle
Meridian in-car audio
System Highlights
Ground-breaking digital in-car
entertainment system, customdesigned for Evoque
12-channel, 11-speaker stereo
Meridian Sound System and
15-channel, 17-speaker Meridian
Surround Sound System available
Digital Active loudspeaker system
featuring Meridian DSP Loudspeaker
technology
High sound output level with minimal
distortion
Full frequency range with deep bass
extension
Advanced DSP-based Dynamic
Volume Control automatically
compensates for ambient noise levels
Exceptionally high efficiency, powerto-weight ratio and compact size
Meridian Cabin Correction uses finetuned DSP to match vehicle interior
acoustic space
Meridian Audio Limited
www.meridian-audio.com
cabin, including centre and surround
loudspeakers.
In addition to Dolby PLIIx and DTS Neo:6,
the Meridian Surround Sound System
incorporates the unique Trield™ system
which decodes stereo information to drive
multiple loudspeakers for a clearer, more
stable stereo image wherever you sit. It
delivers involving, enveloping surround-sound
as well as an impressive stereo image for
everyone in the vehicle.
Both systems deliver exceptional sound,
with crystal-clear highs and full, deep bass.
Both use specially-selected, road-rugged
materials and employ the most advanced
digital technology. They also both support an
extensive range of sources – such as inputs
®
for iPod
USB media, and other compatible sources
in addition to the built-in DAB radio and CD/
MP3 disc sources.
Loudspeakers
The loudspeaker drivers used in the Range
Rover Evoque have been specically
designed and developed by Meridian
engineers, in collaboration with Jaguar Land
Rover’s drive unit suppliers.
Bass and midrange drivers feature mica-filled
polyproplylene cones. The mica filling adds
both stiffness and damping, which helps
to ensure a smooth frequency response
throughout the operating bandwidth. To
minimise total weight while delivering the
highest possible performance, low-mass
materials have been specifically-selected
for the drivers. Low moving mass drive units
store less energy and provide better transient
performance as the voice coil and cone can
respond rapidly to input signals.
The materials selected are also very stable
and thus ideal for use in an automotive
environment where extreme conditions are
commonly encountered.
or other personal stereo player,
The tweeter features an ultra-light
aluminium alloy dome to maximise efficiency
and provide extended high frequency
performance. Again, a low moving mass
design provides superb transient handling
and negligible distortion across the operating
bandwidth of the driver.
All the drivers used in Meridian’s Evoque
sound systems feature powerful neodymium
magnet assemblies. These combine high,
uniform magentic field densities with low
mass, improving efficiency while once again
keeping weight at a minimum.
The materials selection process has resulted
in a series of drive units that, taken together,
deliver tight bass, coupled with a very natural
mid-range and high frequency performance.
As a result, less filtering and compensation
is required in the electronics, resulting
in superior sound quality throughout the
system.
Meridian Audio pioneered the use of
active loudspeaker technology, in which
the amplifiers that power the drive units
are co-sited in the loudspeaker enclosure
and the crossover is carried out at line
level (or digitally in the case of a Meridian
DSP Loudspeaker system). This is seldom
physically possible in the automotive
environment, but the same principle applies,
Range Rover Evoque
Meridian in-car audio
in that the loudspeaker drivers are directly
connected to the amplifier outputs and as
tightly controlled as possible, while digital
crossover technology maximises system
efficiency.
The amplifiers themselves are driven
by high-precision digital-to-analogue
converters, the signals being derived from
DSP-based crossover designs which exhibit
very tightly-defined characteristics that are
either impossible to realise or prohibitive in
conventional analogue designs. This makes
it possible to create extremely precise
crossover filters that achieve a high level of
matching with the frequency responses of
the drivers for a smooth, full-range response.
DSP Active Loudspeakers are ideal
for the automotive environment. They
are exceptionally efficient, typically
requiring signicantly lower power levels
– conventional passive systems with
speaker-level crossovers waste a signficant
proportion of the amplifier power as heat.
They can also deliver higher sound pressure
levels with the benefit of driver protection,
and extended frequency response, especially
at low frequencies. Meridian calculates that
a DSP Active Loudspeaker system can
typically deliver the same performance as
a conventional system with loudspeakers
approximately eight times the volume.
Four of the Range Rover Evoque loudspeaker drivers (not to scale).
L to R: 25mm HF, 100/25mm coaxial, 165mm LF. Top right: cutaway of the subwoofer assembly.
Range Rover Evoque In-Car Audio System
Meridian in-car audio
Making the cabin a listening space
The advanced DSP capability provides the
ability to provide other features too, notably
Meridian Cabin Correction. Derived from the
Meridian Room Correction system employed
in Meridian’s advanced home entertainment
surround controllers, Cabin Correction tunes
the audio system precisely to the acoustics
of the vehicle cabin.
The interior of any vehicle presents
significant acoustic challenges to the audio
systems designer, with various resonances
and problem areas. It is, however, a known,
fixed environment – and thus can be
compensated for. A series of sophisticated
digital filters tunes out resonances and
standing waves in the vehicle cabin and
these are an integral part of the DSP driving
the system.
Consistent listening
The Dynamic Volume Control feature of the
system constantly monitors ambient noise
levels in the cabin. As a result, when that
level changes – for example as a result of a
change of road surface, or a window being
opened – the system can automatically
compensate by varying the system volume,
and thus providing the listener with a
consistent listening experience in which
the ratio between audio system volume and
ambient background is always balanced as
desired.
All the best seats in the house
The Meridian Sound System is a multispeaker stereo system, while the Meridian
Surround Sound System additionally offers
surround sound decoding. In addition to
the Dolby PLIIx and DTS Neo:6 systems,
the Meridian Surround Sound System
incorporates Trifield technology, a system
unique to Meridian in the consumer
electronics field. Trifield takes a stereo
signal and “decodes” it for multiple speakers.
In particular, it uses the centre front
loudspeaker of a surround array and the
surround speakers to create a stereo image
that is not only much more stable than one
created simply by left and right: it is also
remarkably stable in all locations in the
vehicle.
Trield is based on a unique British
surround-sound invention, Ambisonics – and
both have been included in Meridian home
entertainment systems for many years:
Meridian was a prime mover in implementing
the system in the home environment.
Unlike conventional surround systems,
Ambisonic technology doesn’t simply feed
one channel to one loudspeaker. Instead
it decodes the entire sound field and
Range Rover Evoque Outline Specifications
25mm Tweeter
Nominal Impedance: 4Ω
Power Handling RMS: 25W
Power Handling Max: 50W
Sensitivity (1W/1m): 88 dB ± 2dB
Resonance Frequency: 1.4 kHz
Operating Freq Bandwidth: 3 – 20 kHz
THD @ 10W: <1%
100mm Midrange
Nominal Impedance: 2Ω
Power Handling RMS: 70W
Power Handling Max: 100W
Sensitivity (1W/1m): 87 dB ± 2dB
Resonance Frequency: 115 Hz
Operating Freq Bandwidth: 200 Hz – 5 kHz
THD @ 10W: <2%
Linear Excursion: ± 2mm
165mm Bass
Nominal Impedance: 2Ω
Power Handling RMS: 70W
generates a specific loudspeaker feed
for each loudspeaker in the array, so that
they all work together to create a coherent
surround image. Trifield does exactly the
same, but derives its source from a stereo
signal, giving it new life.
Because the stereo signal is decoded to
multiple loudspeakers around the vehicle,
the image that listeners experience is not
only more stable, it is essentially similar
wherever you are seated in the vehicle.
In the case of a normal stereo system with
only left and right loudspeakers, the stereo
image you experience tends to be pulled into
the nearest loudspeaker. If you sit on the left,
it’s pulled to the left, and if you compensate
by adjusting the balance, listeners on the
right, for example, will hear the image pulled
even further to the right.
Power Handling Max: 100W
Sensitivity (1W/1m): 89 dB ± 2dB
Resonance Frequency: 60 Hz
Operating Freq Bandwidth: 60 Hz – 3 kHz
THD @ 10W: <2%
Linear Excursion: ± 3mm
200mm Subwoofer
Nominal Impedance: 2 x 2Ω
Power Handling RMS: 2 x 70W
Power Handling Max: 2 x 100W
Sensitivity (1W/1m): 80 dB ± 2dB
Resonance Frequency: 37 Hz
Operating Freq Bandwidth: 30 Hz – 120 Hz
THD @ 10W: <2%
Linear Excursion: ± 6.5mm
Amplifier:
Amplifier Type: Class D with feedback.
Channels: 12 or 15.
Power Rating (0.2% THD): 380W or 825W.
Range Rover Evoque
Meridian in-car audio
Some systems attempt to deal with this
simply by placing a speaker in the dashboard
and feeding it with a left/right mix. This,
however, is not a very convincing solution and
tends to narrow the stereo image.
Meridian’s Trifield system, however, uses all
the loudspeakers in the vehicle, working in
concert to deliver a superb stereo image,
spread naturally across in front of the listener
instead of being drawn into the doors.
This applies to listeners in the rear of the
vehicle as well. The surround speakers are
used to derive a stereo image too, so the
experience is very similar to that in the front
of the vehicle, with stable imaging that is
much less listener-position-dependant than
in a conventional stereo or surround system.
Wherever you sit in the Evoque, you’re sitting
in the best seat in the vehicle as far as music
listening is concerned.
Tweeter 25mm
Midrange 100mm
Co-axial 25/100mm
(Meridian Surround System only)
‘Dolby’ and the Double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dol by Laboratories, Inc . ‘DTS’ is a trademark of DTS Inc . iPod is a trademark of Apple, In c., registered in the United St ates and i n other countri es.
‘Trifield’ and the ‘three fields’ device are trademarks of Trifield Productions Ltd.
Bass 165mm
Subwoofer 200mm (under seat)
Loudspeaker types and locations in the
Meridian Sound System and Meridian
Surround Sound System.
L538DS v1.6 • 20120719 REƒ
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