Crazy new tech allows passengers to listen to separate audio

Audio maker Harman has apparently created a new sound system for cars that will mean that you can listen to different music to the other people in the car without the use of headphones. No more will I have to argue over hip hop or house whilst riding in Tom’s used Ford Fiesta in Halesowen. The technology is being called ISZ which stands for Individual Sound Zones. Each passenger will have an ISZ and there will be minimal levels of disruption from the other passengers music.

There is also something called an ‘ISZ filter matrix’ which again, I don’t fully comprehend, but god it sounds cool. To be fair, the way they have achieved the ISZs is pretty obvious, they have inserted two speakers in each headrest, and then I believe the filter matrix syncs the cars original speakers to match with what is being played in each particular zone, so I’m guessing if you are in the rear left seat, the rear left speaker will play what is coming out of your personal speakers. Having said that, with a name like ‘ISZ filter matrix’ I would hope the technology is a little more sophisticated than that.

It doesn’t just have benefits in the music realm, but the new Harman Sound System also comes into effect with things like vehicle prompts and sat nav instructions, this is particularly exciting, I’ve lost count of how many times my favorite part of a song has been ruined by some inconsiderate robot informing us that there is a right turn in 500 yards. Apparently you can also turn your individual audio completely down, and then I assume you wont be able to hear anybody else’s music? The driver can also forward any phone calls to different passengers, I’m also guessing that you could have a kind of conference call if there are also mics in each headrest.

Harman have announced the tech is available and ready to go, we are unsure as to what cars will feature this tech, but we can tell you that Harman Sound Systems are currently used in BMWs, MINI and Mercedes, which has lead to speculation that the ISZ tech will feature in the new BMW 7 Series and the future Mercedes Benz GLE.