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Ford reveal exclusive partnership with B&O PLAY: Your car audio will never sound the same again (review)

Ford have revealed an exclusive partnership with audio masters B&O PLAY, and will be shipped with the brand spanking new Ford Fiesta Vignale and other Ford models at later dates.

Let’s jump straight to the Opening Scene

The fun part
The moment came when the Ford Fiesta Vignale was revealed. Then came the moment when I jumped inside the drivers seat and started listening to a set of tracks from a playlist by the team at B&O PLAY, created to give us a broad sense of how the audio system sounds with different types of music.

My first look at the all new Ford Fiesta Vignale

Then came the moment when I connected my phone via the bluetooth connection and played my own music. I love music, I love all types of music, If I’m truly going to experience the B&O PLAY x Ford collab, I need to experience it with my own music right?

So I scrolled through my playlist and I selected a few tracks from different genre’s. I played a heavily bass’d reggae track by Jah Cure, ‘That Girl’, I played the Jay Z’s, ‘Big Pimpin‘, maaaaaaan, I even played Bruce Sprinsteen’s, ‘Human Touch’ at this moment I started to get thumbs up from the other Journalist’s that where around me at the time for my eclectic selection of music.

Ford Fiesta Vignale dashboard

But wait, that’s not it, I then dropped two house tracks back to back, Swedish House Mafia, ‘Don’t you worry child‘ and then the Black Coffee, Alicia Keys remix of ‘In Common’, it almost turn’t into a house rave in Ibiza when I looked around and saw the other journalist’s nodding their heads and signalling for a rewind! But time was short, I had no time to reload the tracks so I swiftly went onto the next tracks… Rudimental ft John Newman, ‘Feel The Love’, Michael Jackson, ‘Off the wall’, Toploader, ‘Dancing in the moonlight’, Maroon 5, ‘Sugar’ and by this time I was getting signalled to stop, time was running out so I quickly played one more track (as you do) Passenger, ‘Let her go’.

Let’s go back two hours before the opening scene

On a recent trip to Copenhagen to the ‘Science of Sound masterclass’ courtesy of Ford, B&O PLAY and Harman, I got the opportunity to experience the sounds and sites of the new Ford Fiesta Vignale that now comes with a nine channel in-car audio sound system designed by B&O PLAY.

The Elements installed in the new Ford Fiesta Vignale, includes speakers, subwoofer and amplifier

Why does this matter?
Everyone loves music in some way or form right? Of course they do. The Ford x B&O PLAY partnership means that you can now get a new in-car sound experience with a specifically tailored signature sound.

675-watt technology was perfected using more than 5,000 tracks from Adele to Jay-Z

Many anew cars seem to lack a good high quality audio system. The standard in car audio system that generally comes shipped with most cars are simply lack lustre. Picture this… You’ve gone to a car show room, you’ve test driven a new car, you’re totally excited and sign the deal, pay your deposit and await the arrival of your new car. On arrival you step inside your new vehicle, connect your mobile phone or CD and start to play music. What happens next is usually a set of mixed emotions when you realise that the music basically sounds shite!

Introducing the New Ford Vignale SUV

The problem is, you have already brought the car, you cannot return it, and the thought of sending it back to the manufacturer to get the speakers upgraded is simply a nightmare. The other option is to visit a car audio dealership, have them ripped out your door panels and install new speakers and a subwoofer and basically ruin your car and void your warranty. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

The sound system
The new B&O PLAY will be available globally and will be roll it out in phases, starting with the Ford Fiesta Vignale. The model I got to get my hands on was a 9 channel B&O PLAY audio system that packed a punch.

The Speaker placement, technologies and tuning are optimally aligned to ensure superior sound quality and audio accuracy for all seats and all driving conditions, so everyone in the car from driver to passenger can feel and enjoy an elevated listening experience.

The people at B&O PLAY take their jobs seriously

At the ‘Science of Sound masterclass’ I learnt how crafting good sound for the inside of a car cabin presents a unique set of challenges. I learnt a lot of technical specifications on sound and music and the listening experience. I learnt how the speaker placement is aligned within the car, how sound waves move, how B&O PLAY have gone through rigorous testing in order to bring this package to the new Ford’s and I also learnt that after learning about ALL OF THE ABOVE, the truth is, none of the technical specification matter if the sound doesn’t sound good!

Now let’s skip forward to ten minutes after the opening scene.

After stepping outside of the car, and receiving my high-fives, we all gathered together discussing the sounds and the quality and my playlist of course. Everyone I spoke to at that moment was impressed with the sound quality. The B&O PLAY system gave huge, warm sounds while maintaining its style and sleekness, I mean, the speakers are almost unnoticeable, they slot into the interior design perfectly.

Ford Fiesta Vignale – B&O PLAY speakers sit comfortably in the door panels, while keeping with the trendy styling.

Now I can bore you with a lot of tech spec now, but instead I’m going to show you photos and you can go to www.ford.com and www.beoplay.com for further information. The people at B&O PLAY take their music SERIOUSLY!!!

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