Like I said, there are certainly successful implementations and getting a name-brand stereo generally means you’re getting more power and more speakers than a base model, so a difference will be heard from that point of view. But HK in one car isn’t the same as HK in another… and that goes for all brands. So it’s silly to brand-chase in automotive.

Much like phone cameras, software is playing a bigger role these days in what we hear in these systems, and that’s a moving target when we’re talking the inside of a vehicle.

Brand-named car stereos are a gimmick in general. Some are of course better than others from car to car, but one brand isn’t any better than another. Literally just a marketing tool