Audi’s $11,000 Car Stereo

Audi, never one to up the ante, has rolled out a concert-level sound system for its flagship A8 and S8 sports limousines. And in this case, the sound will not leave you furious, the result will signify greatness.

Bang & Olufsen of Denmark supplied the nuts and bolts of the operation. They had the internal and external specs of the machines, of course, and went to work, also factoring in drive speed, wind effect, and friction between the tires and the road. That’s a lot of factors, but the system wasn’t designed to disappoint.

A total of 14 active high-end loudspeakers carry the sound to all corners of the vehicles through two separate sets of amplifiers at an output exceeding 1,000 watts. A dazzling little augment to this is that at system activation, two lens speakers slide out of the dashboard, enhancing the listening experience even more.

The sound system uses B&O’s patented Acoustic Lens Technology, which is designed to provide wide horizontal sound in high frequencies without losing sound quality.

The price of this option: US $11,500.