Lincoln to Debut Revel Audio in Next-Gen MKX

You’ll have to wait until 2015 to see the redesigned Lincoln MKX, but Ford’s luxury division unveiled details of the forthcoming SUV’s audio systems. Thanks to a 10-year deal that Lincoln inked with home-audio brand Revel, the next MKX will have two available Revel premium stereos. Eventually, Lincoln’s whole lineup will offer Revel audio in place of today’s available THX stereos.

Related: Lincoln MKX Concept Photo Gallery (22 Photos)

Revel is one of many brands under audiovisual giant Harman International Industries, whose other properties include Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. You probably recognize a few of those names, which appear in Lexus, Toyota, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and BMW stereos. But Revel, formed in 1996, markets home audio systems based on “science-based speaker architecture,” Lincoln says. This marks the brand’s automotive debut.

The next MKX will offer Revel premium audio as an option. Above that, Lincoln will offer a Revel Ultima stereo with aluminum speaker grilles and Harman’s Clari-Fi technology, which purports to rebuild the details lost in digitally compressed music like MP3s.

That’s just the start, Lincoln says.

“With the collaboration with Revel, the next-generation Lincolns, starting with MKX, will offer Revel in place of THX,” spokesman Stephane Cesareo told us.

Cesareo called it an “interesting move for the brand,” adding that Revel will collaborate more on hardware and software than THX ever did. Existing Lincoln models will stick with THX until they’re redesigned.

Pricing and other details are still unknown. The next MKX, which will likely share roots with the just-redesigned Ford Edge, shows up sometime next year.

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