I don’t have much experience in high-end luxury cars but I have owned a spectrum of brands from European,domestic and Japanese manufacturers.
Honestly I have never been impressed by a factory system. The H/K in our older Mercedes was a joke. We all know Bose is a gimmick. I’ve heard the Fender systems are pretty good but I’ve never had the chance to demo them.
The best I think I’ve heard is the Logic 7 in BMW.
What are some of your favorites?
I have the upgraded JBL system in my Prius. It is absolutely crazy how much bass it has and it sounds better than any other car I’ve been in (minus my increased road noise, lol)
What year? I can assure gen 2 jbl was pretty mediocre at best
I suspect Dynaudio is high on the list, if it’s anywhere near the quality of their various speakers.
My 1999 VW Passat’s Monsoon sound system was the best I’ve ever owned.
My 2007 Audi A4 has an ‘Audi Concert’ system, still sounds pretty good to me.
Naim in the Bentley Continental or Bentayga
Bermester in Porsche Panamera
Mark Levinson in the Lexus LS500
Second the Mark Levinson.
I use car audio to help me appreciate my dedicated room. Don’t ask it to do more than adequacy.
The Nakamichi systems that are in Lexus cars are next level. Absolutely amazing tonality and instrument separation.
All the recent vehicles are Mark Levinson branded Harman QLS/QLI systems.
Gotcha - it’s been a while since I’ve had a Lexus lol
Was just an FYI… I agree on the Nak. A friends son bought an older IS300 and the stock stereo system totally rocks, especially for the era and system complexity.
I’ve not heard it, but am interested in how the Grand Wagoneer’s McIntosh stacks up.
Mc. Intosh made by Alpine audio.
Best I have owned: Volvo B&W
Best I have heard: Lexus Mark Levinson
The funniest bit is that those bespoke systems have one manufacturer, but are just premium branded, just badge engineering.
An excellent example that I’m aware of is PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) where the Hi-Fi option was cobbled together from different parts, like head unit from Magneti Marelli, Bosch or Harman, amplifier from a number of different manufacturers and speakers usually from JBL, all branded as a single Philips (in Germany and sometimes the Netherlands), Denon (in Germany and some other markets) or JBL (default in most markets).
So if you don’t like our don’t appreciate one brand’s credentials as sufficiently Hi-Fi, just get your car in a different market.
The Mark Levinson system in my Lexus has a clarity to it I’ve never experienced in a car stereo. It changed what I thought about Mark Levinson audiophile amps and all that. I’d like to hear a Mark Levinson home system someday.
Harmon Kardon in Saab is a good one. Not audiophile, but adequate!
Acura has had some nice systems too
I have never heard a factory car audio system that I liked or was impressed with. Which is surprising because I think it wouldn’t take a huge amount of money for the luxury segment to invest and attain good sound. I think they know the general market and that customer base does not typically look for better sound and thus the $ is spent in other parts of the car. It’s a shame.
I’ve heard that Acura’s ELS system is among the best but I haven’t heard them.
I have only heard the Posche high end stuff. It is excellent, but I am only comparing to Bose or JBL systems in other vehicles.