how cadillac is bringing the worlds best audio to your car I didn't cry. But I was close. Sitting behind the wheel of the shockingly luxurious and wildly sophisticated Cadillac Escalade iQ, parked outside of the GM Technical Center in Markham, Ontario, I'm here to get a deep dive into the Dolby Atmos audio system, equipped across the brand's lineup. Elton John's Rocket Man plays on the 36-speaker sound system and even for a non-audiophile like me, you can tell it's impressive. Then it happens…. Cadillac OPTIQ Chief Engineer John Cockburn tires to prepare us for how much we're about to love the Dolby Atmos sound system Cadillac OPTIQ Chief Engineer John Cockburn tires to prepare us for how much we're about to love the Dolby Atmos sound system But first, let's rewind to earlier in the day when John Cockburn, chief engineer of the Cadillac OPTIQ, had warned us we'd have a physiological response when we heard it. He even showed us images of people's reactions as they experienced Atmos for the very first time. Coming back to the present, the smile spreads across my face as Sir Elton flows into the chorus. And then, as the guitar fades into space and his voice kicks up, the words "Rocket Maaaaaan" swell up, as do the tears in my eyes. This isn't hyperbole. It really happened. The world-class cabin of the Cadillac Escalade iQ The world-class cabin of the Cadillac Escalade iQ "When you hear it, you can't go back," says Cockburn. "You'll be ruined." He's probably right. Now I'm not entirely unfamiliar with Dolby Atmos. Developed first for movie theaters and then for home theater use, my team actually helped launch the technology via a content series for AVSForum.com. You can check it out here. But now, this audio experience is finally ready for the car. Thanks to Cadillac. A critical component of the Dolby Atmos sound system are these ceiling-mounted speakers, allowing for a true 4.7.1 surround-sound experience. A critical component of the Dolby Atmos sound system are these ceiling-mounted speakers, allowing for a true 4.7.1 surround-sound experience. So What Exactly is Dolby Atmos? Before we go any further, it's worth a quick second to explain what Dolby Atmos is. The technical definition is that it's a 3D sound rendering of a music object. It makes use of 7.1.4 surround sound, which means there are 7 channels for the main speakers (front, center, surround, and rear speakers), 1 sub channel, and 4 height speaker channels. In layman's terms, it is a truly authentic studio translation. Professional audio studios record in 7.1.4. If you're not listening to music in 7.1.4, you're not hearing what the studio and the artists intended. It's that simple. Software Program Manager Mark Hobe gives jouralists and influencers a detailed rundown of the systems that all need to work together in order to make Dolby Atmos possible in the Cadillac lineup. Software Program Manager Mark Hobe gives jouralists and influencers a detailed rundown of the systems that all need to work together in order to make Dolby Atmos possible in the Cadillac lineup. How it All Began The journey to this point began several years ago when Dolby held a demo in Detroit and invited automakers to drop by. "We heard Grammy-nominated engineer Ryan Ulyate play Tom Petty tracks he'd remixed into Atmos, alongside Elton John, classical, and new releases," says Cockburn. "It was a revelation." "At the time, 85% of the Billboard 100 already had Dolby Atmos versions. The recording industry had moved on, consumers just didn't have a great way to hear it. We knew Cadillac could change that." As the chief engineer of the OPTIQ, Cockburn knew Cadillac should have this technology in its cars. But he also knew he wanted the car he was responsible for to be first. So he got scrappy. The OPTIQ was already well along in the production phase. In fact, the interior was nearly ready. But you can't just stuff Dolby Atmos speakers into a car and call it a day. They need to be precisely located and tuned. When asked how that rework went, Cockburn described it as "Disruptive - but worth every bit of it." "We reworked interiors, electrical audio architectures, and body structures across every model. No shortcuts." In fact, the team even borrowed Bryan Pennington, Dolby's premier sound engineer, who has worked on over 1,000 films, to help perfectly tune each car and advise on speaker placement. The team worked fast, and rather than presenting senior management with a PowerPoint to convince them this project was essential to the next generation of Cadillac models, Cockburn followed the old journalism motto: show me, don't tell me. 2027 Mercedes-Benz C 400 4Matic Electric: All the Details how cadillac is bringing the worlds best audio to your car "After deep immersions in recording studios and with Dolby's engineers, we built a demo vehicle, fully integrated, precisely tuned, globally compliant - and presented it to Cadillac's leadership as a proposal for the entire EV and Escalade lineup," says Cockburn. "The response was immediate. We then reworked interiors, electrical architectures, and audio software across every model. The OPTIQ being first was really just a coincidence, a matter of weeks in a very tight, concurrent launch." As a result of all this, Cockburn took on an additional role inside Cadillac, as executive champion for Dolby Atmos. From there, he fought to make sure the engineering team at the Markham facility was chosen to handle the development work involved in getting this complex system integrated into not just the body, but the brain of every Cadillac. And that, perhaps, is the real reason I'm at the Technical Center, learning about the 1,000+ engineers who work on projects like this, seeing inside their secretive test labs and learning how Cadillac's next-gen software-defined vehicles are taking shape. Cadillac Canada brags about their dominance in the luxury electric car space. Cadillac Canada brags about their dominance in the luxury electric car space. And maybe it should come as no surprise that it's a Canadian team handling this. Cockburn himself, while working in Detroit, is a Canadian. And Cadillac has made a particularly impressive impact on the Canadian luxury EV space as of late. Recently, Cadillac's US division announced it had just surpassed 100,000 fully electric units sold. But in Canada, the success is even more pronounced – if not in pure volume, at least in terms of market penetration. Not only is Cadillac the number one luxury EV brand in the country, but the best-selling luxury EV in Canada is the Cadillac OPTIQ. The second best-selling luxury EV in Canada… is a Cadillac (LYRIQ). And the third best-selling luxury EV in Canada is… You guessed it… a Cadillac (VISTIQ). The AKG door-mounted speakers in the Cadillac OPTIQ The AKG door-mounted speakers in the Cadillac OPTIQ Built for Music Lovers AND Musicians Built for customers who appreciate high-quality audio, Cadillac wanted to do more than that to stay true to the music. While on an early engineering test drive across Europe, the Cadillac team brought several OPTIQs to Abbey Road Studios in the UK. It's there that Giles Martin, Head of Music and Sound for Universal Music Group, certified just how big an achievement this was. Martin took a Beatles track he had personally remixed into Dolby Atmos and brought it to the car. "He said he didn't think it was possible to translate the studio experience that accurately," says Cockburn. "We spent another hour in the car listening to music he had a personal connection to. By lunchtime, the Abbey Road engineers and staff had swarmed the vehicles; everyone wanted in." The high-tech interior of the performance-focused Cadillac OPTIQ-V The high-tech interior of the performance-focused Cadillac OPTIQ-V Making this all possible, isn't just the speakers or the mixing, it's a tiny detail Cockburn made sure each car included – a USB port. This detail allowed Martin to take his music directly from the studio to the car without needing to have it listed on an approved streaming service like Apple Music or Spotify. "… artists and engineers can do ‘car checks' - fine-tuning unreleased music in our Cadillacs," says Cockburn. In fact, "Many producers have since bought one specifically for that purpose. We keep hearing the same thing: Cadillac has created a studio on wheels. Artists are signing off on final mixes based on what they hear in the car." Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing about to head out onto the track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing about to head out onto the track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park What's Next? It's hard not to be impressed. Cadillac doesn't always get the credit it deserves, but it's starting to. For several decades now, the brand has been making amazing performance machines. I recall first drives of V models at places like Circuit of the America's in Austin, Texas-home of the US Grand Prix F1 race. More on that in a moment… Back then, the performance really was on par with the Europeans. But the rest of the cars' features weren't quite. As my day switches from nerding out over engineering prowess at the Technical Center to track time behind the wheel of Caddy's V models at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, the smile keeps growing on my face. From launch control on the Escalade V to going 156 mph (251 km/h) in the CT5-V Blackwing, it's clear the performance backbone of the brand is still as strong as ever. And so my next stop with the Cadillac folks will be the F1 race in Montreal. If you haven't heard, Cadillac is in F1 now. It's kind of a big deal. There may be no better way to tell the story of how technology meets performance than the global stage that is Formula 1. Watch this space for updates. Cadillac's F1 car Cadillac's F1 car 2027 BMW i3: All the Details
+26 others
