The liquid music now dominates the market: the term indicates everything that for the housewife of Voghera falls into the macro category of "MP3" but behind these three letters there is a very complex world. So it is a duty an introduction that I will do as soon as possible.
Analogical and digital: historical background :
Let's start from the story: the transition from analogue to digital has led to a change of paradigm: we have gained in comfort and usability of music but the quality has dropped. The MP3 is based on the principle of compression, cutting frequencies that are "useless" - and the quotes are a must for an audiophile - so as to save on the megabytes occupied by the track. The advent of this technology has allowed to bring entire collections in your pocket and that was fine: either because the mass did not have an education to listen to high level, or because headphones and earphones would not have allowed to reproduce the frequencies cut off, do you want because portable memory cost so much.
Over time, however, the trend has been reversed: apart from the phenomenon of the return to vinyl, the world of liquid music has evolved to recover that lost quality, embracing FLAC and the like that represent the closest in the digital world, to the analog listening quality. They weigh a lot but today the memories are cheaper, in addition the market offers headphones and audio systems that can do them justice and even portable players, even the sound chips installed on modern smartphones, are able to reproduce them.
Music in the car
But what happened to music in the car? In this world it is like a roller coaster ride, a continuous up and down: to have a good quality of listening you must first isolate the car from aerodynamic noises, rolling tires and engine. What's more, you need hardware of a certain level, all of which add weight. And the weight, as we know, is an enemy both of performance and consumption. So modern cars have begun to cut on insulating materials to save pounds, all without forgetting a typical problem of audio: the loss of quality in the conversion of the signal from the source (digital, MP3), to the speakers, analog.
The first problem led to the emergence of solutions such as active noise cancellation technology: the sound is a wave and the system generates a wave with the same amplitude but opposite phase with respect to the noise (the constant wind, engine and tires) , so as to erase it as signal theory teaches us. The second problem is more difficult but Clarion seems to have found the square: instead of converting the digital signal, using a converter and passing through an amplifier before arriving at the speakers, Full Digital Sound uses an entirely digital transmission channel.
Clarion FDS: audio and digital quality coexist
Converter and amplifier "disappear" by cutting the weight, eliminating the loss of signal quality and reducing the consumption of energy (even the electricity of the various accessories affects the consumption of gasoline), replacing everything with an LSI processor developed for cars that work with a 6-layer coil on the speaker . The signal is separated into 6 channels transmitted to its bobbin layers which transmits them directly to the speakers.
Full digital sound supports high definition audio and is scalable in various configurations (which may vary in the number of speakers). The system is far more efficient than analog amplification and has the only against the complication of the speakers to which conversion is required . On the other hand there is no doubt the advantage given by bringing the digital signal and making it analog as close as possible to the transducer, in addition to the fact that the amplification is made for the single speaker.
To all this must be added that the system accepts via USB the music of the smartphone so as to obtain a quality system minimizing the number of devices in cascade and taking advantage of only what we always carry with us, provided however to focus more on the quality of the sources that, in order to obtain tangible benefits, must in any case be in a loseless format . Through the app you can "tune" the listening in order to customize the experience to your tastes and the environment.
You save complexity and you save weight, but how does the system sound? Given that speaking of audiophile quality in the car is a blasphemy for audiophiles, circumscribing everything to the context you can certainly promote with praise the Clarion system. The test allowed me to listen to a crystalline sound much cleaner and richer in detail than high-end automotive systems, first of distortions and disturbances and in high resolution, to the point where you can easily appreciate the difference between an MP3 ( which in this case is highly discouraged) and a FLAC, the only format able to take full advantage of the quality of the plant.
With the loseless format, Clarion's FDS has succeeded in proposing a sound scene so detailed that it returns the position of the instruments in the recording studio, with an excellent level of detail, deep bass, vibrant voices: impressive when we consider the size of the system and the low consumption.
Clarion Full Digital Sound: the technique
Z3 is the beating heart of the Full Digital Sound, a control unit with the processor that accepts the various sources, from the in-vehicle infotainment system to a radio via third-party aftermarket systems, smartphones, iPods and so on, including USB and with digital tracks in high resolution up to 96 kHz. The system allows you to significantly reduce consumption compared to traditional, especially if we consider that it handles up to 1,400 watts of power, but also cuts the overall dimensions and the small controller integrates the two keys to go into sub-menus and a display.
The speakers connect to Z3 through cables that are not audio cables as usually happens but cables for the digital signal only: less tangles of wires, less space, easier installation! And the amplifier? No need, or rather its task is played by the active speakers, each amplified with the aforementioned coil, which allows greater control, accuracy of the soundtrack remarkable and free from distortion and interference: the test "on the field" the he confirmed. The signal arrives digitally up to the LSI chip in the speaker and only then becomes analog by the movement that produces the sound waves: in practice the DAC is in the Z7, in the tweeters of the Z3 or in the 10-inch Z25 subwoofer.
Summing up, Clarion's Full Digital Sound is an excellent example of technology applied to the pursuit of quality, all without forgetting the ease of use. Given that for the installation and the first "tuning" it is better to contact those who have ear and is an expert in car audio, Z-Tune comes into play during use. Available for Android and iOS, the application is easy to use and allows everyone to adjust the various parameters with a touch on the screen. In real time you can manage the settings of the individual elements of the system or draw the curve in the 30-band equator and have fun finding the perfect sound for our needs.
Clarion Full Digital Sound has succeeded in confirming itself as one of the best audio systems for audiophile quality, an excellent solution that is addressed to those who are able to appreciate the advantages that this system brings and, above all, to those who care the quality of digital audio sources. Of course, even with MP3 or quality streaming you notice the differences, but only the loseless is able to make the best sound FDS.
The cost is not very low: Z3, which includes the audio processor, control device and two tweeters costs 799EUR while the pair of Z7, speakers with integrated digital control circuit, costs 699EUR. To these must be added Z25W, a 699EUR digital sub, for a total of 2200EUR. Is worth? It depends: if you are among those who take care of listening, including the source, and you want excellent quality even in the car then yes!
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