Soundaktor (German for "sound actuator") is a
vehicle audio
Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the vehicle occupants. Until the 1950s it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-t ...
system used to simulate engine noise in the cabin of some
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
automobiles. It consists of a
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
mounted on the
firewall
Firewall may refer to:
* Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts
* Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
between the engine and the cabin, which adds noise to the cabin in order to replicate the driving experience of older vehicles that had lower levels of sound insulation.
[.][.] This system was introduced in 2011 on VW's
Golf/GTI,
and has also been used on the
Jetta/GLI, and
Beetle Turbo.
The same technology has also been used in other cars from
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
, including the
Audi S3
S3, S-3 or S03 may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Si3'' (flim), originally titled ''S III'' and also known as ''Singam 3'', the third film in the ''Singam'' franchise
* ''Expedition to the Barrier Peaks'', code S3, a 1980 ''Dungeons & Dragons'' adve ...
and
Å koda Octavia vRS
Å koda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Å koda Motorsport, the division of Å koda Auto respons ...
.
[.]
The sound generated by this device has been described as "a sort of buzzy, fizzy noise".
It has been reported to play a
digital recording
In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storage de ...
of engine noise,
but Volkswagen claims that these reports are false, and that it reproduces the actual engine noise of the car.
[.] Some diesel cars produced by the Volkswagen Group also have an "exhaust soundaktor". This system uses additional speakers in the exhaust system of the car to generate "a low-pitched, roaring sound" intended to make the car sound less like a diesel and more like a conventional gasoline engine.
Other vehicle manufacturers have also used artificial engine noise systems, implemented in other ways. Some models of the
BMW M5
The BMW M5 is a high performance variant of the BMW 5 Series marketed under the BMW M sub-brand. It is considered an iconic vehicle in the sports sedan category. The majority of M5s have been produced in the sedan (saloon) body style, but in so ...
add noise to the car's audio system, for instance,
and the 2015
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
also added a system for sending the car's engine noise through its speakers.
[.] Multiple manufacturers have shaped the engine compartment or installed resonant pipes within it in order to direct greater amounts of actual engine noise to the cabin,
a system also used by VW before switching to Soundaktor.
See also
*
noise pollution
Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is main ...
References
{{reflist
Volkswagen Group
Automotive technologies
Sound production technology