{{Short description|Automotive audio technology}} '''Soundaktor''' is a vehicle audio system used to simulate engine noise in the cabin of some Volkswagen automobiles. It consists of a speaker mounted on the firewall between the engine and the cabin, which adds noise to the cabin in order to replicate the driving experience of older vehicles that had lower levels of sound insulation.<ref name="popmech">{{citation|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a7923/the-rise-of-the-fake-engine-roar-11291754/|title=The Rise of the Fake Engine Roar: To make engines sound better, some automakers are broadcasting motor noise through speaker in the cabin. Is this progress—or an affront to the purity of the engine note?|magazine=Popular Mechanics|first=Larry|last=Webster|date=August 2, 2012}}.</ref><ref name="c&d">{{citation|url=http://www.caranddriver.com/features/faking-it-engine-sound-enhancement-explained-tech-dept|title=Faking It: Engine-Sound Enhancement Explained; How car manufacturers are giving quiet vehicles raucous engine notes|magazine=Car and Driver|date=April 2012|first=K. C.|last=Colwell}}.</ref><ref name="ct"/><ref name="wapo"/> This system was introduced in 2011 on VW's Golf/GTI,<ref name="popmech"/> and has also been used on the Jetta/GLI, and Beetle Turbo.<ref name="c&d"/> The same technology has also been used in other cars from Volkswagen Group, including the Audi S3 and Škoda Octavia vRS.<ref name="ct">{{citation|title=5 Ways That Manufacturers Enhance The Sound Of Their Cars|url=https://www.carthrottle.com/post/5-ways-that-manufacturers-enhance-the-sound-of-their-cars/|magazine=Car Throttle|first=Matt|last=Robinson|year=2014}}.</ref>
The sound generated by this device has been described as "a sort of buzzy, fizzy noise".<ref name="ct"/> It has been reported to play a digital recording of engine noise,<ref name="c&d"/><ref name="wapo"/> but Volkswagen claims that these reports are false, and that it reproduces the actual engine noise of the car.<ref name="huffpo">{{citation|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/23/fake-engine-sounds-car_n_6533596.html|newspaper=Huffington Post|title=Your Car's Engine Roar Might Be Totally Fake|date=January 24, 2015|first=Hilary|last=Hanson}}.</ref> Some diesel cars produced by the Volkswagen Group also have an "exhaust soundaktor". This system uses additional speakers in the exhaust system of the car to generate "a low-pitched, roaring sound" intended to make the car sound less like a diesel and more like a conventional gasoline engine.<ref name="ct"/>
Other vehicle manufacturers have also used artificial engine noise systems, implemented in other ways. Some models of the BMW M5 add noise to the car's audio system, for instance,<ref name="popmech"/> and the 2015 Ford Mustang also added a system for sending the car's engine noise through its speakers.<ref name="wapo">{{citation|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/americas-best-selling-cars-and-trucks-are-built-on-lies-the-rise-of-fake-engine-noise/2015/01/21/6db09a10-a0ba-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html|newspaper=Washington Post|date=January 21, 2015|first=Drew|last=Harwell|title=America's best-selling cars and trucks are built on lies: The rise of fake engine noise}}.</ref> Multiple manufacturers have shaped the engine compartment or installed resonant pipes within it in order to direct greater amounts of actual engine noise to the cabin,<ref name="c&d"/><ref name="ct"/> a system also used by VW before switching to Soundaktor.<ref name="c&d"/>
==See also== * Noise pollution
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Volkswagen Group Category:Automotive technologies