Lincoln Partners With Revel for Luxury Audio

Craig Cole
by Craig Cole

To deliver a proper luxury feel every high-end vehicle has to be equipped with an advanced sound system; it’s a prerequisite. To ensure its customers get the best listening experience possible Lincoln has just announced an exclusive 10-year partnership with Revel audio systems.

Revel is one of Harman’s numerous divisions and is probably best known for its ultra-premium loud speakers. Their focus is on the science behind great sound and how engineering can produce better acoustics.

The new Revel Ultima audio system is scheduled to debut next year in the 2015 Lincoln MKX. In this application it will feature a whopping 19 speakers. But beyond careful engineering and exhaustive tuning this technology is bolstered with several unique Harman innovations that help it perform even better.

QuantumLogic Surround (QLS) is the company’s next-generation surround-sound system. It can seamlessly break individual music tracks into separate channels, piping these isolated feeds to different speakers in the vehicle for an immersive experience.

SEE ALSO: 2015 Lincoln MKC Review

The Revel Ultima system will also feature Clari-Fi, a patented Harman technology that dramatically boosts the quality of digitized music. It works in real time to rebuild portions of songs that have been lost due to audio compression. It works with a broad diversity of inputs from MP3s and HD radio feeds to streaming services and more.

Going forward the Revel Ultima sound system will be available in every Lincoln. Naturally, tuning and speaker placement will be tweaked and fine-tuned for every vehicle in order to meet their unique design requirements. Engineers at both companies will work hand-in-glove to provide the best in-car listening experience.

This partnership should give Lincoln a differentiating feature in the luxury space, something this long-neglected brand desperately needs, though it remains to be seen whether the Revel name will really resonate with drivers (no pun intended).

GALLERY: 2015 Lincoln MKX Concept

Discuss this story on our Ford Forum.

Craig Cole
Craig Cole

Born and raised in metro Detroit, Craig was steeped in mechanics from childhood. He feels as much at home with a wrench or welding gun in his hand as he does behind the wheel or in front of a camera. Putting his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism to good use, he's always pumping out videos, reviews, and features for AutoGuide.com. When the workday is over, he can be found out driving his fully restored 1936 Ford V8 sedan. Craig has covered the automotive industry full time for more than 10 years and is a member of the Automotive Press Association (APA) and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA).

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 4 comments
  • Johnls39 . Johnls39 . on Dec 04, 2014

    Will be interesting of what the reviewers think of the system.

    • See 2 previous
    • Craig Cole Craig Cole on Dec 04, 2014

      It's really tough to say. The demonstration they gave in the 2015 MKX was VERY impressive but other systems deliver great listening experiences as well. To be honest it's been quite a while since I've heard a Bose setup in a Cadillac so I can't say which one is better. What I can say is this: the Revel system was DAMN GOOD.

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