Meridian develops in-car audio systems for new Land Rover Freelander 2

British audio specialist Meridian has developed a pair of in-car audio systems for the new 2013 Land Rover Freelander 2, spending around 1500 hours fine-tuning them.

Land Rover has given the 2013 model a major overhaul, with new colours, new exterior design features, new engines and upgraded equipment levels. That includes the option of two bespoke Meridian audio systems.

The Meridian Sound System is a 380W, 12-channel stereo set-up with 11 speakers, including a dual-channel subwoofer.

Alternatively, buyers can opt for the Meridian Surround Sound System, an 825W, 16-channel stereo and surround system with 17 speakers.

Both systems employ the latest Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technologies to tailor the sound to the car's interior acoustics using Meridian cabin correction. In addition, Digital Dither Shaping enables "the most natural details of the music to become clear", the company claims.

And the systems automatically compensate for extraneous noise within the cabin by means of Dynamic Volume Control.

This is not the first in-car project Meridian has undertaken for Land Rover. It also designed the in-car audio systems for the Range Rover Evoqueread our extended review and watch the video here – and more recently it's had a hand in the refreshed Jaguar XJ executive model.

Meridian will be even more involved in future Land Rover models, being consulted in packaging reviews to make sure the body-in-white attributes are suited to premium sound systems, reports our sister title Autocar.

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Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.