JBL MS-8: The Future of Car Audio

Filed under: Car Audio



In March of this year, JBL's BMW 325i earned the MECA Phat SQ award for the highest sound-quality score at Spring Break Nationals. At the center of the award winning sound system was JBL's new MS-8 O.E.-integration digital signal processor connected to the BMW’s factory-installed headunit.

JBL's MS-8 is the newest technology in car audio OEM integration. The MS-8 is designed to provide a realistic soundstage to every listener in every seat of the vehicle. The heart of the MS-8 is a proprietary equalization algorithm that provides the competition grade sound quality that the MS-8 can deliver. The MS-8 also uses Lexicon's Logic 7 soundstage enhancement processing to create a seamless front image for all of the listeners.

More info and video after the jump.

The real beauty of the MS-8 is the simplicity it provides to the installer and end-user. The Product Marketing Manager of Harman, Andy Wehmeyer, put it best when he said, "The MS-8 is a game-changer. A great-sounding system no longer has to cost a fortune, require extensive modification of the car or require that the local installer is a Ph.D.-level acoustician."

And the icing on the cake is that the MS-8 can be connected to any headunit. This means all those new cars with integrated dash/headunits/ac controls can now have upgraded after market audio without having to do surgery on the vehicle.

Included in the MS-8 package:
- Pre-amp/amp
- Small display
- Wireless remote control
- Binaural microphone
- Setup CD

Installation Process:
- Provide input signals to the MS-8
- Assign speaker locations
- Place the binaural microphone (look like headphones) on your head
- Insert the setup CD and follow seating/head orientation directions
- The system will then auto-tune itself and you are done unless you want to make further adjustments.

JBL MS-8 Features:
- 8 speaker level inputs
- 8 line level inputs
- Auxiliary input
- Fully configurable electronic crossover
- 31-band EQ
- USB port for software updates
- Estimated Price: $799



The video below briefly shows the MS-8 with an intro to the device provided by Andy Wehmeyer of JBL. The MS-8 part of the video starts at the 2:00 mark.


The expected release date has been pushed back to Spring of 2008, and if this device can perform as well as everyone expects, the wait will be well worth it.