The Bugatti Chiron is a brand-new supercar that has 1,500 horsepower, a $2.6 mιllιon price tag, two metric tons of carbon fiber, aluminum, titanium, glass, and leather, among other distinguishing features. It also has speaker tweeters made of diamonds. For what is allegedly unmatched accuracy and aural fidelity, each of the car’s four tweeters has a one-carat diamond membrane. Accuton, the company hired by Bugatti to supply these extremely rare speakers, has a good explanation of the advantages of employing diamond as a material for high-frequency sound reproduction.
Given that conventional loudspeaker cones exhibit distortion when stressed to the maximum, businesses have begun experimenting with either rare materials or wholly new technologies, like planar magnetic headphones. Diamonds, though? What alternatives, such as kryptonite and unobtainium, were taken into account when these tweeters were designed?
The biggest surprise of Bugatti’s Veyron replacement, as revealed in a 20-page press release, must be these unearthly speakers. An investigation into the acoustic benefits of diamonds by the Fraunhofer Institute led to the creation of Accuton. The study’s findings stated that “membranes made of CVD diamond enable audio frequencies of up to 100kHz to be transmitted, values that are not achievable with any other material.” Although human hearing stops at 20 kHz, diamonds appear to offer properties that are desired for achieving improved sound reproduction. Therefore, the extravagant decision may really follow Bugatti’s adage that “form follows performance.”