A good car audio system can dramatically improve the driving experience. Not just because of the possibility of listening to preferred music without interference, but also because a well-tuned audio system can help reduce external noise and transform a car into a small auditorium.
Optimal hardware and software aren’t enough by themselves. Human ears do a better job than microphones in assessing a room’s acoustic characteristics; our ears are a very sophisticated tool for perceiving sound, capable of detecting very small changes in phase, tone, or direction, and able to filter out and prioritize sounds from specific directions and sources.
With extensive training, humans can achieve perfection in assessing and tuning audio system performance. For instance: Patrick Dennis,known as ‘Golden Ears’. He’s a principal audio engineer at Nissan Technical Center North America, where he has spent nearly 20 years perfecting the sound quality of Nissan and Infinii vehicles.
With impeccably-trained ears, Dennis helps create immersive, concertlike in-car audio experiences, even in acoustically challenging environments. “It’s not that my ears are naturally better than anyone else’s – it’s that I’ve been trained to identify certain things in the music that other people might not be able to catch”, he says, adding that a car “is not an ideal space for an audio system; you’re competing with noise from the powertrain, road, wind and surrounding traffic”. Plus, car speakers are often mounted far from passenger ears, and at less-than-optimal angles. Low in the doors, for example. Technology has enabled Nissan audio teams to precisely direct the music so it feels closer to the listener.
But also, speakers can be moved physically closer. The Bose Personal Plus audio system available on the 2025 Nissan Kicks, for example, includes headrest speakers for the driver and passenger. The sound is immersive, like wearing high-end headphones.
Software also plays a role in reducing external noise. For example, active sound management uses an interior microphone to identify low-frequency vehicle noises and neutralize them with opposite-amplitude, same-frequency sound waves — like noise-cancelling headphones. Dennis and his team work from early development stages to tailor sound systems to each vehicle’s interior. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration, and the satisfaction of achieving the perfect audio performance that enhances the customer experience. Nissan has supply deals with high-end audio specialists like Bose, Fender, and Klipsch.
