Here are some pictures of the ELS Surround system in my Acura RDX. One of the reasons I bought this car was the fact that it did DVD-A and DTS. I am on the road a lot, and it's great to have surround sound in the car.
This is a Panasonic system designed by Elliot Schiener, and it has been engineered to be in this vehicle, so the sound is about as good as one can get from an engineering standpoint. This audio system will not rattle the rear view mirror or garner strange looks at gas stations, it just sounds great - that's all.
It's a total 5.1 system, able to play DVD-Audio HiRez 5.1, DTS CDs, as well as lo rez MP3 and WMA discs (although I have never tried those).
The six disc changer allows any combination of discs to be played together, and the large NAVI screen can display what's in what slot, either by format or title, should the disc have CD Text.
On the dash, directly behind the center speaker, is a small display that indicates the type of disc being played, the track number, and other things such as if Dolby Pro Logic II is active, the Bluetooth Phone link is active, and the temperature settings for both front seat locations.
Below you can see the display for a DVD-A playback, and a CD with Dolby Pro Logic II.
The speakers are layed out with surround in mind. In the front, the left and right speakers are 2-Way, with a large cone in the door and a smaller speaker in the roof column, aimed towards the listeners. This, along with the center speaker in the dash, gives an excellent front sound stage.
Passenger Side
Drivers Upper Speaker
The rear deck is removable, so speakers in that are out of the question. Instead, there are two large front directed speakers located high in the rear cabin. These provide an excellent rear stage, getting the sound over the rear passengers and the front headrests. One thing they did in the RDX was to compensate the system so that passengers in the rear would experience the surround effect better than in the earlier Acura systems. These speakers, along with the higher front column speakers, get the sound stage presented throughout the car very well.
The head unit is located at the bottom of the dash, out of the way. With steering column controls, access to this is only needed when loading or ejecting, although there are some controls on it worth memorizing!
The NAVI screen can be switched to audio mode at the touch of a button (or a voice command). Below is the display showing what is in each position of the player, along with the disc and track information of the disc playing. In this case, you can see I have 2 DVD-A's and 2 CD's in the player. The CD playing has CD TEXT, so the title of the disc and track are displayed on the NAVI screen.
Using the NAVI screen, you can also get to the controls for bass, treble, balance, fader, and more. Here is a shot at the Dolby ProLogic II screen. This can be turned on and off as you like.
The Dolby ProLogic in this car is amazing. I have been impressed with almost every CD I've played. I currently have been listening to the new releases by Elton John and Cat Stevens (I know, I'm showing my age!
), and passengers have asked if these were surround discs! It's that good. Up to now, I have been unimpressed with DLPII, but now I am totally sold on it.
Of course, this car is not cheap. With the "Tech Package", it's around $37,000. So, it's not something that everyone can run out and buy on the basis of surround.
Maybe someday the surround rebirth in the car will arrive, and lower priced cars will start to appear with it as an option. Think about it, most every car sold today has rear speakers. That's a start!
:sun
This is a Panasonic system designed by Elliot Schiener, and it has been engineered to be in this vehicle, so the sound is about as good as one can get from an engineering standpoint. This audio system will not rattle the rear view mirror or garner strange looks at gas stations, it just sounds great - that's all.
It's a total 5.1 system, able to play DVD-Audio HiRez 5.1, DTS CDs, as well as lo rez MP3 and WMA discs (although I have never tried those).
The six disc changer allows any combination of discs to be played together, and the large NAVI screen can display what's in what slot, either by format or title, should the disc have CD Text.
On the dash, directly behind the center speaker, is a small display that indicates the type of disc being played, the track number, and other things such as if Dolby Pro Logic II is active, the Bluetooth Phone link is active, and the temperature settings for both front seat locations.
Below you can see the display for a DVD-A playback, and a CD with Dolby Pro Logic II.
The speakers are layed out with surround in mind. In the front, the left and right speakers are 2-Way, with a large cone in the door and a smaller speaker in the roof column, aimed towards the listeners. This, along with the center speaker in the dash, gives an excellent front sound stage.
Passenger Side
Drivers Upper Speaker
The rear deck is removable, so speakers in that are out of the question. Instead, there are two large front directed speakers located high in the rear cabin. These provide an excellent rear stage, getting the sound over the rear passengers and the front headrests. One thing they did in the RDX was to compensate the system so that passengers in the rear would experience the surround effect better than in the earlier Acura systems. These speakers, along with the higher front column speakers, get the sound stage presented throughout the car very well.
The head unit is located at the bottom of the dash, out of the way. With steering column controls, access to this is only needed when loading or ejecting, although there are some controls on it worth memorizing!
The NAVI screen can be switched to audio mode at the touch of a button (or a voice command). Below is the display showing what is in each position of the player, along with the disc and track information of the disc playing. In this case, you can see I have 2 DVD-A's and 2 CD's in the player. The CD playing has CD TEXT, so the title of the disc and track are displayed on the NAVI screen.
Using the NAVI screen, you can also get to the controls for bass, treble, balance, fader, and more. Here is a shot at the Dolby ProLogic II screen. This can be turned on and off as you like.
The Dolby ProLogic in this car is amazing. I have been impressed with almost every CD I've played. I currently have been listening to the new releases by Elton John and Cat Stevens (I know, I'm showing my age!
), and passengers have asked if these were surround discs! It's that good. Up to now, I have been unimpressed with DLPII, but now I am totally sold on it.Of course, this car is not cheap. With the "Tech Package", it's around $37,000. So, it's not something that everyone can run out and buy on the basis of surround.
Maybe someday the surround rebirth in the car will arrive, and lower priced cars will start to appear with it as an option. Think about it, most every car sold today has rear speakers. That's a start!
:sun
