The Most Powerful Factory Car Audio Systems, and Why Watts No Longer Win
Lexus' 2,400-watt Mark Levinson system led on power, but the LS it came in has ended production. The new race is about speakers and spatial sound.
Contents · 3 parts
For years, luxury carmakers sold their audio systems by the watt. The numbers are still impressive, but the most-quoted system on the list is leaving the market, and the brands now compete on how many speakers they fit and how well they place sound around the cabin.
The power ranking
The five factory systems most often cited for output are Lexus' Mark Levinson setup in the LS at 2,400 watts, Naim for Bentley at 2,200 watts, Bang & Olufsen in the Audi A8 at 1,920 watts, Burmester's high-end 4D system in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class at 1,750 watts, and Meridian's Signature system in the Range Rover at 1,600 watts, according to evo India. Naim lists 2,200 watts and 20 speakers for the current Continental GT, and 21 speakers for the Flying Spur, on its Bentley models page.
| Car | Output | Speakers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Levinson | Lexus LS | 2,400 W | 23 |
| Naim | Bentley Continental GT | 2,200 W | 20 |
| Bang & Olufsen | Audi A8 | 1,920 W | 23 |
| Burmester high-end 4D | Mercedes-Maybach S-Class | 1,750 W | 31 |
| Meridian Signature | Range Rover | 1,600 W | 35 |
What changed
The leader by output is going away. Lexus said the 2026 LS 500 Heritage Edition, limited to 250 cars in the U.S. at $99,280, is the final version of the current LS, with production ending in fall 2025 and no successor announced, Jalopnik reported.
Meanwhile the attention has moved to immersive sound. Mercedes-Benz added Dolby Atmos to the Burmester 4D system, with 31 speakers and eight seat-mounted transducers, starting with the Maybach, What Hi-Fi reported. The Range Rover's Meridian system has the most speakers on this list, at 35.
Our read
Wattage was always a weak guide to quality, and the market has noticed. Speaker count, placement and spatial formats such as Dolby Atmos now sell the upgrade, and they suit electric cars, where a quiet cabin exposes every detail. Expect the next spec war to be fought in channels, not watts.
