To play to the interest in music displayed by its younger owner base, Volkswagen is going to offer Monsoon Audio Systems on several of its cars.
So, starting with the 2000 model year in a few weeks, VW Canada will offer what it calls the "sound-drenching power" (which actually means the reverse of what VW wants it to mean, but what the heck) of the 8-speaker Monsoon system on Golf GTS, GTI, Jetta and Passat models.
It will be standard equipment on GTI VR6, Jetta GLX and Passat GLX, and a $425 option on the 4-cylinder Golf GTS, GTI, Jetta GLS and Passat GLS.
VW says Monsoon "customized its system for optimal performance in the 2000 models by specifically tuning it to the acoustic environment of the Golf, Jetta and Passat individually."
Monsoon's goal is to "envelop the cars' occupants in clear, crisp, high-performance sound with a strong bass response and no unwanted resonance, even at high volume." The sound comes out of four woofers and four tweeters, each with its own amplifier, and each amplifier channel has active crossovers to direct low, mid-range and high frequencies to the appropriate speaker.
But first the sound is processed by an 8-channel (each with Dynamic Distortion Limiting), 200-watt amplifier with 103 points of active equalization. The cassette receiver in VW's Monsoon system comes with Digital Signal Procession, self-diagnostics and circuitry to minimize noise interference, and there's an optional 6-disc CD changer that goes in the trunk.