This led the engineers to move the location of the subwoofers to the corners to improve bass amplification and dissipation.
Mazda engineers conducted a series of new studies to illustrate how sounds are transmitted through the vehicles’ cabin. Understanding how humans perceive sound directly impacted speaker placement around the cabin of the all-new Mazda3. With the all-new Mazda3, Mazda’s designers and engineers evaluated nearly every aspect Designing an Audio System Based on Human and Cabin Characteristics For them, it’s not about the numeric output of the engine. With every push of the start button, Mazda engineers want the cars they’ve designed to feel as if they’ve come to life. Borrowing from architecture, Mazda’s engineers developed a design that treats the floor mats and body panel as two walls, leading to an increase in efficiency while maintaining the same mass. Conventional thinking dictates that to better insulate a car from the outside noise, you must add to the mass of the insulation. One way they achieved a “quality of quietness” in the cabin of Mazda3 was to use two-wall construction of the floor carpet and body panel. Suppressing noise generation and reducing its volume, while at the same time controlling the fluctuations in and direction of sounds leads to a “quality of quietness” in the cabin that should satisfy all occupants.
The goal is to eliminate sound that occupants might find unpleasant, due to the way it fluctuates or to the direction from which it reaches the ear. When the engineers at Mazda examined how sound affected those in the cabin, they focused on the three sound characteristics that humans react to: “volume of sound,” “changes in pitch and tone over time,” and “the direction from which the sound originates.” Mazda has put great effort into measures for controlling sounds that penetrate the interior. “Since its early days as a Mazda Protégé and Mazda 323, Mazda3 has a unique history of breakthroughs by overcoming engineering and technological challenges that set the car apart from the rest,” said Kota Beppu, the program manager of the all-new Mazda3.įocusing on What You Hear and How You Hear Itįrom the moment passengers sit down in Mazda3 and shut the door, they experience a sense of tranquility, which separates them from the outside world. With the all-new Mazda3, Mazda’s designers and engineers evaluated nearly every aspect of the car, leading to engineering breakthroughs that enhance the way the car feels.