Aston Martin DBS - On test with BeoWorld

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Date: Tuesday July 7th 2009

Struer, Denmark - and BeoWorld have just got their hands on the beautiful Aston Martin DBS at the closely guarded Automotive R&D facility at Bang & Olufsen.

Our stunning white DBS had just been brought back to the factory for some audio ‘fine-tuning’, and was due to roar off back to Germany that very afternoon to Aston Martin HQ. I wonder if the employees held a raffle to see who got that job… i'd have bought a ticket or four for that one.

So, to the car. As you slide into the sumptuous, beautifully sculpted, hand stitched interior and take in the smell of the leather you cannot help but notice what appears to be two scaled down BeoLab 3 ‘top hats’ sunk into the top corners of the dashboard by the windscreen pillars. You also notice the beautiful sweeping brushed aluminium speaker covers where the doors meet the dash with the Bang & Olufsen logo etched into them. B&O do aluminium you know… very well too.

One push of the Start Button and the audio demonstration starts, from the large twin exhaust pipes at the vocal end of the raucus 6.0 V12 power plant. A low rasping burble as the engine idled certainly gave us the starting point for the demonstration of the optional £4,800 Bang & Olufsen sound system.

You cannot help but notice a large brushed alu silver disc next to your left leg as you sit in the drivers seat (there’s one on the other side too), and this also has the B&O logo etched onto it. Hmmm, I’m sure it has a purpose.

I was then told there was a 20cm subwoofer hidden behind me, along with a sound processor and a punchy ICEPower amplifier nestling out of sight, all ready to make some serious noise. Okay, fire it up!

The first thing you notice is the acoustic lenses motoring silently out of the dashboard. They may look BeoLab 3, but the design is actually taken from the lenses of the BeoLab 5 (I didn’t know they differed that much to be honest!) which of course do a rather adequate job of high end frequencies!

Bang & Olufsen use the cars standard head unit, but there are an endless list of sound options you can toggle through for Bass, Treble, Balance, Sound Dispersion, and a number of modes and settings. Apparently, neutral for everything is best.. but finding someone who will leave it at that is a little optimistic I think..

We started off with some acoustic tracks, which of course accentuated the ALT lenses which are naturally very strong. The midrange was very good, but not astonishing – perhaps it was overshadowed by the top end, but I really needed the full compliment of capabilities.. Bring on the bass!

Onto the cars electronic stage marched the Black Eyed Peas to give their rendition of ‘Don’t Phunk With My Heart’ and.. well.. WOW !!! The silver disc by my left leg rattled my trousers with bass you would expect from a BeoLab 2, and the hidden subwoofer must have jumped out of it’s hiding place. The bass was incredible, and I challenge any grown adult to resist the urge to drive round built up areas with the volume up and window down! Hell, you might even buy yourself a baseball cap and some hardcore techno CD’s, until your wife or partner threatens to leave you..

Now to driving with the stereo on.. Two clever microphones nestled just behind the rear view mirror constantly monitor the cabin noise, adjusting sound at the most detailed levels without even bothering to tell you. If it’s raining outside, the thud thud of the rain will be corrected by a slight improvement in bass. If you are roaring down the motorway at a constant speed, the volume will rise to drown out the drone.. you get the idea, and this is where Bang & Olufsen excel – creating sound that reproduces the original recording, at all times.

The part that really impressed me is a little touch that only Bang & Olufsen could think of, and why once again they have proved they can add expertise to any area of sound in any area..

Upon starting the car solo, the sound ‘leans’ towards the driver, giving the sole occupant the best seat in the house – nice touch. However, upon click fastening the passenger seatbelt buckle the soundstage magically and very noticeably adjusts back to the very centre of the vehicle. You can almost hear the processor saying ‘hey, let’s give the person next to you a treat!”... Now that’s genius!

As we skipped from track to track (on the CD player unfortunately), i couldn't fault the sound that the system made. However, with the sound of the V12 howling on a long open road - most people may turn the volume down rather than up. But hey, you paid your money - it's your call !!!

Would I buy the optional Bang & Olufsen sound system for my new DBS?

Have a guess…

My BeoWorld



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