These Cars Have The Greatest Manufacturing unit-Installed Sound Systems – Jalopnik

Imagine you are driving on a lonely nation street, the sky erupting in a shiny orange sundown on a light winter day. You’re sitting again on the headrest whenever you hear the acquainted intonations of the Radiohead music “Karma Police.” The acoustic guitar and piano sound natural, like Thom Yorke and his bandmates are sitting proper subsequent to you. The drums flutter to life, and also you hear every cymbal crash. The bass has a guttural, enveloping high quality that you simply really feel in your bones.

Not each car can reproduce this expertise, however just a few makes and fashions have factory-installed sound techniques that make you’re feeling like you might be within the entrance row of a Radiohead live performance. We’re speaking audiophile-level sound design, not the chintzy audio system of a finances automobile.

In every of the automobiles on this checklist, the sound system has distinctive options, together with one with a setting that mimics Abbey Road Studios (the place The Beatles recorded their albums), and one other (just like the beautiful $400,000 Cadillac Celestiq) with so many audio system scattered across the inside that you could be battle to search out all of them. In every case, there are some particulars that make the sound system really distinctive.

Like any cocoon, the Volvo EX90 wraps you in a sound envelope that may transport you to a different realm — assume Pink Floyd progressive rock taking part in from each nook of the car or blasting the extremely orchestrated synth pop of a band like Bear’s Den. The 2025 EX90 is quiet and wonderful for lengthy automobile rides, which is strictly what it would be best to do with this sound system.

The EX90 has 25 audio system powered by Bowers & Wilkins scattered all over. B&W used 3D printing to assist with prototyping speaker design and placement, serving to craft all the pieces from the grilles to the speaker drivers. Reading by way of the specs detailing how the EX90 was fine-tuned for audio, it is apparent that some true audiophiles labored on the tech. The sound is tuned for a vibrant audio expertise from every seat. There’s an Abbey Road Studios Mode that mimics the natural audio from the well-known studio the place The Beatles recorded a lot of their albums.

In my very own exams, the one phrase that describes the speaker system is distinct. I performed an artist known as Iceage (a high-energy punk band), which I take advantage of for testing distortion, and the EX90 barely blinked. Cymbals and different percussion have been nonetheless distinguishable throughout essentially the most frantic segments. Even when a number of guitars collide, you possibly can nonetheless hear each.

Mercedes is thought for its high-end encompass sound in lots of makes and fashions, usually that includes the Burmester model and its distinctive emblem on the audio system. In my exams through the years, the S-Class has transportive audio that sounds devoted to the unique artist, proper right down to the guitar solos on songs by Bruce Springsteen or the heavy synth of a band like The Cars. The bass shouldn’t be crushing or overwhelming however nonetheless distinct and heat.

The Mercedes-Maybach S 680 is without doubt one of the finest examples of how sound design in a car could make music come alive. There are 30 audio system within the new 2026 mannequin from Burmester. To enhance the audio, the S 680 even performs a low-level tone to counteract any noise from the street. In a YouTube demo by DM Sound, you possibly can see the sliders you should utilize to manage your particular person sound desire.

Lincoln went huge on sound techniques in a lot of their bigger SUVs, together with the Lincoln Aviator, which may come customary with the Revel Ultima audio system, relying on the trim degree. That similar Revell audio system can also be customary on the Nautilus Black Label and the Navigator Black Label fashions, and it is the most effective you can find in any American-made automobile. The Aviator — which was not too long ago up to date for the 2025 mannequin — will get the 28-speaker system as customary gear within the Black Label trim and is exclusive in the way it locations a number of the audio system, together with a number of over heads of the motive force and the passenger.

A blogger at Simply Amazing Living famous how the sound system appears to envelope you in 360-degrees of music. Some of the audio system even sit above your head to create extra of a concert-style listening expertise.

I’ve extensively examined the Revel system in a number of take a look at automobiles through the years, and it’s arguably the most effective when it comes to a sturdy, natural audio that fills the inside. The Navigator has the added bonus of a curved dashboard that may play immersive video and audio experiences. For instance, in my very own latest take a look at, I found that there is one sensory expertise that exhibits a widescreen waterfall that stretches throughout all the entrance of the car and performs audio of the speeding water.

The Autobiography model of the Range Rover is in contrast to most Land Rover trim ranges when it comes to the distinctive Meridian Signature Sound System with as much as 29 audio system.

In my very own exams, the Range Rover Autobiography sound system gives wealthy, natural audio. I’ve examined a number of artists that stress take a look at most audio techniques — for instance, the gothic rock artist Chelsea Wolfe can convey a subpar sound system to its knees, producing a muddy and distorted mess. The Range Rover Autobiography does not flinch at one in every of her songs like “Spun,” which has a low-level bass half all through the observe. The Autobiography replicates it properly.

The sound system runs at 1,600 watts and options audio system within the headrests. Active noise cancellation — much like what you may expertise with a high-end set of headphones just like the Apple AirPods Max — helps scale back street noise and different distractions. Another benefit of a transparent, high-end sound system in a car just like the Range Rover Autobiography is you possibly can hear information and podcasts extra clearly. In my exams, there simply wasn’t a lot street noise, making it simpler to listen to a full of life dialogue and even take heed to an audiobook.

The spacious inside of the refreshed 2026 Jeep Wagoneer gives an distinctive listening expertise — the sound permeates in all instructions. Jeep makes use of a high-end McIntosh sound system with 19 audio system scattered everywhere in the giant inside, which is accessible as customary on the Series III trim degree. McIntosh is thought for its craftsmanship, usually going to nice lengths to design a brand new audio system to ensure it meets the expectations of audiophiles. In my expertise testing the car, the Wagoneer can produce clear audio even should you elevate the amount to a a lot greater degree, which may trigger distortion in different sound techniques.

In my exams, the Wagoneer has the large open house (the car has 179 cubic toes of passenger seating) to convey a traditional rock band like Dire Straits alive. Once you have heard “Money for Nothing” blasting on the McIntosh sound system, with the enduring intro taking part in nothing however electrical guitar utilizing encompass audio, it is arduous to return to a budget-friendly automobile with weak audio.

Meanwhile, the Grand Wagoneer mannequin has an equally spectacular factory-installed sound system from Mcintosh as effectively, sporting 23 audio system as a substitute of the Wagoneer’s 19 audio system.

We needed to embody the extraordinarily uncommon Cadillac Celestiq, which appears to be like like an idea automobile you may see at an auto present however by no means on an precise roadway, though it’s a actual manufacturing car. The Celestiq is a limited-run car that makes use of custom-made parts and prices round $400,000. Yes, the engineers hand-stitch the leather-based seats for you, together with every of the 150 different bespoke parts.

What units the Celestiq aside much more — past the custom-made components and futuristic design — is the luscious sound system with 38 audio system powered by AKG Studio Reference. The time period “reference audio” is thrown round quite a bit in audiophile circles, nevertheless it means the sound system comes near what the artist supposed within the unique recordings, with out including any additional frills or results. 

While most vehicles have one essential amplifier to maintain the tunes flowing, the Celestiq has three of them to energy these 38 audio system located across the inside. There are three audio system simply within the entrance doorways, 4 within the rear doorways, one in every A-pillar, plus 4 within the ceiling.

In phrases of transporting you to a different realm, the BMW 7 (which now we have known as virtually excellent within the luxurious phase) can also be a prime choose for the sound system, as a result of 36-speaker Diamond Surround Sound System. It’s a marvel to behold, virtually matching the 38 audio system within the Cadillac Celestiq.

The Diamond system helps you to rapidly modify the sound profile. You can mimic the sound of being at a live performance, or pipe the music solely to the rear audio system, with one fast faucet, as YouTube consumer DM Sound demonstrated. You also can modify the depth of the 3D encompass sound.

One of my favourite exams concerned driving a BMW 7 throughout two states listening to synth rock bands like Wolf Parade and taking part in means too many R.E.M. songs simply to see what they sound like on a 36-speaker encompass sound system. The essential discovering I had on the time was that the BMW 7 is insulated like most luxurious vehicles, to the purpose that you do not hear a variety of street noise. It makes the stereo much more lush and natural when all you hear is the music.

The Audi S8 comes customary with the Bang & Olufsen sound system, sporting 17 audio system and powered by a high-end Class D amplifier working at 1,920 watts. One really distinctive function of the S8 sound system is the tweeters that pop up within the dashboard.

You have good management over the sound profile within the S8. For instance, you possibly can modify the encompass to be extra like a film, pipe all the pieces to the entrance or rear for extra of a two-speaker stereo impact, or additional tweak the main target to being a combination between a film and stereo sound.

I’ve examined a number of Audi automobiles together with the A8 and the S8 through the years and observed that the Bang & Olufsen sound system is an effective instance of reference audio. My exams concerned taking part in a few of my favourite artists, akin to Bon Iver and Jeff Tweedy, to see if little audio highlights come by way of clearly. For instance, Bon Iver does not thoughts leaving “mistakes” in a few of their songs. You can hear fingers swiping over guitar strings like you might be sitting at a live performance within the entrance row. Jeff Tweedy is generally an alt-country artist, however I’ve heard slight percussion thrives that weren’t as noticeable on vehicles with a lower-end sound system.