This one is much better it actually works with the real RPM's!
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2012 BMW M5 -- Fake engine sound through stereo?
- Thread starter jond
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This one is much better it actually works with the real RPM's!
I don't like at all. I don't like backing tracks when I go see a band live (even Rush does not get a pass, Tool doesn't use them) and I don't like aural manipulation.
New Porsches use that sound port/ tunnel practice and while cheating a little bit they are still the sounds that your car makes.
New Porsches use that sound port/ tunnel practice and while cheating a little bit they are still the sounds that your car makes.
OK, then I change my mind. I thought it was an actual pick-up of the engine sounds and might be used as a diagnostic tool as well. I can't imagine BMW engineers thinking that owners would want to constantly hear a fake revolving soundtrack with no shutoff??? Doesn't make any sense or have any use
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Oh wow. That detail changes everything for me. It went from a question to just lame.
Next they'll have speakers on the outside of the car...
Just to understand their point of view, I think the BMW sound people would argue that they are using every tool at their disposal in order to provide the best integrated sound design and experience possible. Listening to the before/after sounds, they are "tweaking" the sound of the engine rather than replacing it. Sounds to me like the intake noise is louder, for instance.
However, I personally think when you do this, you are compromising engineering honesty, if I can make up such a term. You are masking the true nature of the machine you created, adjusting people's perception of it, in order to avoid doing something else. In this case, I think they wanted the car to be very quiet inside, so they put a lot of insulation. That damps out the road noise and such, but now you can't hear the engine. So some bright guy said, "Oh, we can just play the sound through the speakers! No one will notice or care because it will be perfectly mixed and synced with the engine." It might be well mixed and synced, but it is like fine furniture. You want to know your chair is well constructed with dowels and mortise and tenon joints rather than staples, even though the staples will probably do fine. That's why you wanted the ultimate driving machine, but now it's losing that identity.
The situation is kind of like how Honda started its downhill trend in the early 2000s. Making compromises in order to make a product for the broadest market, but slightly digging a hole for yourself in reputation and corporate philosophy. Over time, hole just gets bigger.
However, I personally think when you do this, you are compromising engineering honesty, if I can make up such a term. You are masking the true nature of the machine you created, adjusting people's perception of it, in order to avoid doing something else. In this case, I think they wanted the car to be very quiet inside, so they put a lot of insulation. That damps out the road noise and such, but now you can't hear the engine. So some bright guy said, "Oh, we can just play the sound through the speakers! No one will notice or care because it will be perfectly mixed and synced with the engine." It might be well mixed and synced, but it is like fine furniture. You want to know your chair is well constructed with dowels and mortise and tenon joints rather than staples, even though the staples will probably do fine. That's why you wanted the ultimate driving machine, but now it's losing that identity.
The situation is kind of like how Honda started its downhill trend in the early 2000s. Making compromises in order to make a product for the broadest market, but slightly digging a hole for yourself in reputation and corporate philosophy. Over time, hole just gets bigger.
That's the best word for it.
And to make this even more cheesy/poserish is they use sound samples, not even real engine/exhaust sounds through a microphone. WoW, simply, WoW. So basically, that 17 year old kid with the 15 year old honda civic with a fart can and a straight pipe is LESS of a poser than BMW is. Nice.
But the difference with Ferrari and other manufacurers spending millions on acoustic engine/exhaust sound is that: IT'S REAL.
But the difference with Ferrari and other manufacurers spending millions on acoustic engine/exhaust sound is that: IT'S REAL.
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My 2012 GTI also has a piece of electronic installed to amplify the engine noise into the cabin.
Called the Soundaktor : http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33595&highlight=sound+maker
Many owners rip it out first thing.
I honestly have no idea why OEM's would even waste their time with such a worthless part
Called the Soundaktor : http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33595&highlight=sound+maker
Many owners rip it out first thing.
I honestly have no idea why OEM's would even waste their time with such a worthless part
at first glance the idea is super lame; maybe ill feel differently about the execution if i get to experience it for real.
Well the new 911 has an induction sound from the engine bay. Actually... Sadly my McLaren does the same thing... sound induction from the engine bay!
Pathetic but that's life in the 21st century. Ferrari spends millions to "create" a sound similar to a race car. Is that really natural either?
Pathetic but that's life in the 21st century. Ferrari spends millions to "create" a sound similar to a race car. Is that really natural either?
It's natural in that it's a sound created by the physical actions of the engine. A tube transmitting induction sound is also genuine sound from the engine. Playing electronic sound samples is just going too far for many people. As someone already alluded, it really is just like a singer lip syncing. Even though the concert may be awesome with great singing, once you are found to be faking it, you lose credibility. It's just that an engine's central purpose is not to make sound like a singer's is, so it's not quite as bad.
I get your point and agree, but any sound is "REAL" if it can be heard. BMW is taking the position that whether the exhaust, tires, engine, or speakers make it the end result is the same: the occupants hearing a designed noise.
My idea of a sports car's "real" noise is what the engine/exhaust sound like when running at optimum performance. The sound it generates is supposed to be a byproduct, a mere resultant of the factors actually manipulated. Of course noise/emissions regulations are restraints but spending significant resources for acoustic engineers to "tune" the exhaust note is also a bit ungenuine to me as well; not that everyone doesn't do it.
Just wait 10 years when the capacitors start drying out in the amplifier and making crackling noises to go along with the faux-engine sound. And you can't turn it off. That'll be fun.
From what I've read, they haven't done this without provovacation. Eurpean countries have passed more stringent noise laws and they can't get away with making the exhaust that loud.
I don't mind the engine bay tube design because that's real engine noise being piped into the cabin. Engine noise generated electronically is just a big NO. Yuck.
Cheers,
Ian
I don't mind the engine bay tube design because that's real engine noise being piped into the cabin. Engine noise generated electronically is just a big NO. Yuck.
Cheers,
Ian
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Exactly. What if you get a blown speaker and you wind up digging into the doors, snipping wires just to stop the crackle.
They are trying to make cars do too much these days when at its core the vehicle exists to haul you and your stuff from A to B. As a driver, I want to be in complete control over everything, not just a systems manager. My wife’s 4-runner has daytime running lights that cannot be overridden, which means that in the event of an electrical problem you can’t stop that drain on the battery. Most other cars have nannies you cannot turn off, now, that essentially seize control from the driver. As far back as the Z3M coup, you could not completely turn the fan off; it was always on, running on low. Little things like that add up to water torture to me. The only thing I haven’t seen yet is lips sewn into the seat that smooches your ass while you drive.
Why not just pipe in music? A string quartet at a light, and Highway to the Danger Zone when you’re pulling g’s.
I remember reading about this awhile back and one of the first questions that popped into my head was what would happen when customers decide they want a new exhaust. A sound signature different than the stock pre-recorded sounds could be...interesting :wink:
If you think that is outrageous, check this out! There are companies out there that flavor their drinks with artificial sweeteners. It tastes like sugar, but get this, it's not sugar at all!!! What poseurs! As a purist, I dislike. It's taste bud manipulation, and compromises the true nature of what "sweet" is and adjusting people's perception of it. I mean, it is a taste that is completely manufactured, it's soooo fake. And many of these "fake sugars" don't even taste that much like the real thing. Let's hope this fad never catches on.
Put me in the minority but I don't think this is a big deal at all. People want a good sound, they give you a good sound. Half the leather inside most cars today is a fake synthetic leather and has a fake leather smell added to it. And last I checked there were quite a few people who bought those fake carbon fiber overlays to add to the interior trim of their NSX. You mean it's just giving the impression of carbon fiber but isn't actually carbon fiber??? Face it, you can add any manner of exhausts to manipulate the sound of a car without having one lick of impact to the engine performance. I pass by a base Mustang on my way to work which has an exhaust that roars like a caged lion. Yet I could probably out run that car running backwards with my shoelaces tied. People want a sporty engine sound and BMW found a way to give them that experience the same way we have artificial sweeteners, virtual surround sound, new car smell air fresheners (or any fake scented object for that matter), or flavorings (many "juices" have less than 10% juice). :smile:
Put me in the minority but I don't think this is a big deal at all. People want a good sound, they give you a good sound. Half the leather inside most cars today is a fake synthetic leather and has a fake leather smell added to it. And last I checked there were quite a few people who bought those fake carbon fiber overlays to add to the interior trim of their NSX. You mean it's just giving the impression of carbon fiber but isn't actually carbon fiber???
Face it, you can add any manner of exhausts to manipulate the sound of a car without having one lick of impact to the engine performance. I pass by a base Mustang on my way to work which has an exhaust that roars like a caged lion. Yet I could probably out run that car running backwards with my shoelaces tied. People want a sporty engine sound and BMW found a way to give them that experience the same way we have artificial sweeteners, virtual surround sound, new car smell air fresheners (or any fake scented object for that matter), or flavorings (many "juices" have less than 10% juice). :smile:
There have been fake orgasms for some time,too.
I prefer real ones, no matter how they sound.
I prefer real ones, no matter how they sound.
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Yeah but would you even be tell the difference? :wink: (When Harry Met Sally) If faking it didn't work women would have stopped pulling that stunt years ago. :wink::smile:
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LOL!
I think you guys are putting way too much weight into this - talk is cheap and in the end I think 90% of us would love to own a new M5, me included!
I like Vegas NSX's analogy - there are tons of fake or simulated things out in life today and most of it sells like hotcakes from fake carbon fiber vinyl to the latest things we drink. My wife told me Jamba Juice adds a lot of sugar and won't let our daughter drink too much *GASP to think a company with the name "Juice" in it has added sugar!
My point is if done right, most of us won't care and BMW knows that. I agree it is a bit cheesy but engineers these days can do anything very well. Should they? that is debatable but this is one reason why I love my s2000 / NSX, both are the purist forms of a sports car IMO.
The new exotics are just too fancy and when things break, uh oh~!
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