Sennheiser and Continental debut speakerless, 3D car audio system

Adding more entries into their 3D audio portfolio, Sennheiser took the wraps off its collaboration effort with Continental: a fully speakerless 3D car audio system. By using Continental’s Ac2ated Sound system with Sennheiser’s Ambeo platform, the two companies hope to compete in the car audio space as 3D sound gains in popularity.

Instead of the normal speaker drivers, the Sennheiser and Continental collaboration uses a system that somewhat resembles a stringed instrument. An acoustic actuator excites a surface in the car, and the car interior itself acts as a sort of resonance chamber — as opposed to using bulky, heavy speaker drivers. While it may not put a dent in your gas bill, Sennheiser claims this new system is up to 90% lighter than traditional car audio systems, which can run up to 88lbs (40kg).

Of course, as this is an Ambeo product, it also offers all the processing necessary for 3D sound applications. So if you want to take advantage of surround sound: this is the car audio system to watch out for.

While this may seem a little out-there, auto manufacturers might take a note from the system, as its weight and space savings should be attractive to the EV market. However, its not known how much power this sound system actually draws.

Currently there’s no availability set, but as soon as that changes: expect to see more coverage at our audio-loving sister site SoundGuys.