Living with iPod
My iPod always challenges car systems, with its gigantic music library. Sync didn't love my iPod, taking several long minutes to recognize and import its track information each time the player was connected. Scrolling through track listings was laborious and required a lot of button pushing, and the iPod's controls were disabled while it was connected, replaced with a Lincoln logo and the notification "connected." Smaller music libraries would probably fare better -- but if you're a heavy iPod user, be sure to try out the connection and operation before you buy.
Listening to CDs, on the other hand, was a breeze. The same in-dash slot swallows and regurgitates both CDs and DVDs, one at a time. Gracenote recognized the track information on nearly every CD that I tried to play, even displaying album art accurately. Playback was skip-free on nearly every road surface I tried, including some of the pothole-ridden streets of downtown Los Angeles.
Popping T2 into the DVD slot revealed another challenge for the MKT's system -- the touchscreen monitor. It was necessary to wipe away fingerprints before viewing video. Not a big deal -- just keep a screen cleaning kit in your glove compartment. But you have to smudge the screen again to actuate the DVD menus, building an OCD-like touch-and-clean cycle. The video function is more of a toy than an actual usable feature, though, so I didn't really mind.
The 10 GB Jukebox hard drive shared with the navigation system in the MKT has enough space for 2,400 tracks of audio, according to THX. I couldn't figure out what the sampling rate was, nor could I discover any way to alter the rate for a balance of sound quality vs. storage capacity, but the default setting worked just fine for non-critical listening. The convenience of being able to store a passel of favorite tunes on the hard drive trumps quality concerns, and the Jukebox performed as advertised. I wish I could dive deeper into its functions, like I can with my iPod, but I was basically satisfied with its function.
The sound
Which brings us to the real point of this test drive -- the sound!
The MKT turns out to be a wonderful space for listening to music in stereo or in 5.1 Surround. It really depended on the source material as to which processing sounded better. The THX system can create a 5.1 soundscape from stereo source material with a system called "DTS Neural Surround," even if the source material is not 5.1 encoded. When it works well, DTS Neural Surround can create a clear, dimensional soundstage with precise placement of instruments and performers, and a really vivid sense of the room where the recording was made. That was the case when I listened to Amos Lee's album. In stereo (with surround off), the music sounded great, reproduced with great fidelity and nice dynamics.But when I turned on DTS Neural Surround, things became almost holographic. I felt like I was in the room with the band. I could point to the drums, to the guitar, and to the microphone that Amos Lee was singing into. It was really dramatic and fantastic, just the kind of experience that you hope for with an audio system -- car or home. Led Zeppelin, however, didn't fare as well. In stereo, the band sounded great. Bonham's drums and John Paul Jones' bass held down the bottom, while Jimmy Page's guitar and Robert Plant's vocals sliced through the upper ranges of sound. When I switched on the surround sound, things got muddy. The bass lost its punch, the drums seemed to wallow, and Page and Plant wandered all over the soundstage. When I switched off the surround again, the band reappeared, tight as ever, and ready to rock. To my ear, surround sound is not a "one-size-fits-all" process to be applied to every recording. If I found any pattern in my listening, it was that newer, digitally recorded material responded better to DTS Neural Surround's intervention. Older, more analog material (for lack of a better term) was better served by pure stereo.
No static at all
I also spent quite a bit of time listening to FM radio in the MKT. I didn't perform any scientific measurements on the system, but it had some of the cleanest reception of any car radio I've experienced recently. Music sounded fantastic, without the feeling of compression that much FM radio seems to have lately. News and talk radio were both very clear, with both male and female voices coming through without distortion or muffling. Even with all the CDs, MP3 players and other source material available in the MKT, I'd still be willing to be that 50% of my audio would be plain old radio on a daily basis, so I was thrilled to discover such great performance.
Aftermarket or afterthought?
Back in the early days of car audio, we used to replace the factory sound systems with specialty aftermarket equipment. Within the past decade or so, the manufacturers have gotten wise, and most now offer audio upgrades for their models. THX is one of the entities that have taken car audio to another level -- customizing sound for a specific vehicle, rather than providing an equipment solution that's designed to move from vehicle to vehicle. Tuning a vehicle for sound like that is beyond the reach of most consumers. THX told me about a famous sound re-recording mixer, the real "golden ears" of the film industry, who has spent $100,000 customizing his car sound system. I'm sure it sounds amazing.
This is the golden age
If you're really into sound, you're living in the golden age of automotive audio. THX, Bose, Mark Levinson and other premium brands are getting involved with auto makers, and sound is becoming more than an aftermarket affair. If you're really serious about your audio, the sound system in your next SUV could be part of the buying decision process. Seeing the THX brand on the Lincoln MKT's dashboard might tip the scales in its direction. Listening to the system will definitely give you something to think about -- does the vehicle wrapped around your sound system live up to your audio?
