Car audio - not a topic?

Thank you @frank009, I'll keep my eye out for the burmester. You needn't think twice about my staying away from the Genesis, at least I'm not.

And never mind EQ there either, in fact,  all that was available was a surround setting that could be increased. When I maxed that out, the salesman in the backseat thought his world had improved. My wife and I in the front row could not distinguish anything having changed anywhere. In the front (and apparently throughout), the music seemed to remain at the perimeter of the vehicle, never reaching us in the heart of the cabin. So strange! I have never experienced sound not filling a space, no matter the volume.

FYI:

I have a 2016 BMW 428ix coupe with H/K system (16 speakers + equalizer + class D amps).

Also have a brand new 2026 Mazda CX30 with Bose system (12 speakers + Bose spacial enhancements).

With everything set flat the H/K system wins by a huge margin.

Get custom DSP amplifier that you can adjust yourself. Makes huge difference.

My 2016 Lexus LS460L has Mark Levinson speakers and likely system. Sounds okay. Upgrading to Morel is 6k, not worth it because I believe the environment for high Sonics in a car interior will be lacking.

Going back to memory lane, I swapped out stock speakers and dashboard cassette radios to higher quality components. Pioneer was a common speaker or dash upgrades. Alpine and Blaupunkt were the best.  

I once invested in a decent car system.  At the end of a work day I returned to find the driver side window smashed and the system ripped out.  Just not worth it