'God-tier audio in a car’ — I heard the new Cadillac’s AKG Dolby Atmos sound system and I’m never going back

You may think you’ve heard God-tier audio in a car. But unless you’ve had an opportunity to test drive (or at least sit in the passenger seat of) one Cadillac’s 2026 EV line of cars, no you haven’t.

The Cadillac Lyriq, Escalade IQ, Vistiq, and Optiq all outfitted with the new AKG-tuned and calibrated Dolby Atmos systems are next level for audiophiles, audio engineers and music fans, providing reference-grade audio, to the point that professional engineers have bought them to use specifically as a reference for the Dolby Atmos mixes.

I know that for a fact, because I not only did I meet one of the engineers who went out of their way to get the Lyriq, I also managed to get a behind-the-scenes explainer on the new audio system on a press trip that included a visit to NAMM (more on all that later) and I had the privilege of driving it around for a week.

Now, as exhilarating as the listening experience is, the price of even the less expensive vehicle is still cost prohibitive to many of us mortals (around $54K for the Lyric and $124K for the Escalade IQ), especially considering that the most base level models of some of the cars don’t come with the AKG systems.

I did also have an issue with the display’s available search function when looking for music, which I’ll also touch on. And while there’s plenty more to say about the car in general — some of the interior fabric covering feels a little less than premium, the self-driving is quite good, and the drive itself is quite smooth — I’m going to focus on the AKG-assisted audio system and what the experience of using it is like.

Image 1 of 4

James Dean in that Mercury 49; me in the Lyriq — Caddy's awesome EV line

The journey? I’ll be honest, the first thing in my mind when taking on this assignment was the opportunity to travel across the country to Los Angeles on a press trip. And yes, the street tacos and overall energy of the city have been sorely missing from my life, but I was quickly smitten by all that AKG via Harman, and Cadillac, had rolled out.

AKG, for its part, showcased their new line of affordable, studio-grade microphones, while Cadillac offered up listening sessions in the 2026 Lyriq and Escalade IQ models. I even got to experience a cross-pollination of sorts.

Having arrived on a Tuesday, I was ferried to Larribee Studios the following morning in a Lyriq while enjoying a curated playlist of Dolby Atmos-enabled songs, such as Boom by DJ Tïesto, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, plus a few more that I’ll probably name drop later in this article.

At Larribee Studios, I witnessed a group of studio musicians run through a few songs, all captured by the new AKG mics — the C104, C114, and C151 for the curious. Those songs were then quickly mixed in Dolby Atmos, which we finally got to listen to in either the Cadillac Lyriq or Escalade IQ, sitting in the parking lot.

On Thursday, I also got the opportunity to drive the Escalade IQ from the hotel in West Hollywood to NAMM in Anaheim, where I received a demonstration with that same curated playlist in a different Cadillac Escalade IQ, along with a presentation on the mics.

If that wasn’t enough, I also spent a week with the Cadillac Lyriq, driving through the snow-covered streets of Southeast Pennsylvania and listening to all the Dolby Atmos music I could find (there’s less of it than you would think). I also spent quite a bit of time listening back to a (very mid) song of my own that I made using only those new AKG mics in the car.

Not only was I able to just enjoy a lot of music that I love in a more spatially sensitive format, but I even had the experience of using the car’s sound system for reference the way an audio engineer would.

Image 1 of 3

Sound quality

After spending a lot of time listening, you could say that I have some impressions on the sound quality of the “AKG Studio” systems built into these Cadillacs. And they’re very positive.

The sound systems aren’t the kind where Cadillac just licensed the name of a renowned audio company (AKG is very well known among producers, engineers, and musicians), slapped it on, and called it a day.

No, the collaboration between Cadillac and AKG included building in passive noise cancellation throughout the car as well as active noise cancellation meant to minimize outside sound between 30 and 50 Hz from affecting what one hears inside the car. Not only is this critical for a good audio experience, but it also creates a quieter, more peaceful drive. Some of the drivers are isolated so that they don’t resonate through materials they’re not supposed to, like the doors. And the actual interior is tuned and calibrated for the best listening experience possible, the way one would with a listening room or recording studio.

If you’ve ever used something like Dirac Live, you know how big a difference calibrating your listening space is for getting a clearer, more honest sound. And if you haven’t used room calibration before, then know that it makes a huge difference by adjusting the audio to counteract errant sound waves and reflections.

What does this mean in terms of actual listening then? The 19 speakers in the Lyriq (the Escalade IQ has 42 including the subwoofers) create this immersive listening experience where clarity and sound separation are just as on display as crazy surround sound-like listening experiences.

Sure, there are some songs where the Dolby Atmos is wild in an experimental way. For example, when putting on Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return), the guitar starts swirling around in a counterclockwise motion when the band kicks in and before the vocals start.

Or consider Daft Punk’s drumless version of Lose Yourself to Dance, a song on that curated playlist where all seems normal until the backing vocals kick in. All of a sudden, you hear “Come on, come on, come on” creep up from the back on the right side of the car and then the left. And then, all of sudden, another vocal pops in sitting near the back of the car flanked by the ping-ponging come ons.

But there are also songs with a more stately mix, such as Tom Petty’s Wildflowers where nothing crazy is happening, but all the audio elements just have more separation and clarity. Audio elements are off to the side in different positions — the shaker is off to the left and in the back, for instance — but this feels less like someone slipped some illegal mushrooms in your tea and more like you’re sitting in the middle of a band playing around you.

Now, there’s a lot of music not in Dolby Atmos. Newer stuff like Raye, Chappell Roan and more out-there artists like Björk may offer that immersive listening experience, but a lot of rock comes only in stereo (at least at the time of writing). Still, as long as Dolby Atmos is enabled (and it’s turned on via a slider that requires a bit of menu diving), the AKG Studio sound system will still upmix any stereo audio so that you’re getting the music from every seat in the car — and you’re still getting an immersive listening experience. It’s not Dolby Atmos, but you still get some clarity and immersion that you wouldn’t otherwise. My 2013 Honda Accord certainly can’t compete.

The one issue

After 1,200 or so words, you might be thinking that I may be seeing through rose-tinted glasses (or whatever the auditory version of that is). But not all is perfect.

I’m a music nerd. That means that most of the music I listen to is esoteric, obscure, and/or not a priority for streaming services to properly catalog. I don’t mind the fact that I’m limited to using Amazon Music for the Cadillac since it’s one of only three services that currently offer Dolby Atmos, the other two being Tidal and Apple Music (which is also not currently supported on the Android-based infotainment system). I don’t even mind that there’s a limited amount of music even available in Dolby Atmos.

But I do mind how limiting the search function is. For some background, the Cadillac EV line doesn’t support or use Apple CarPlay as that’s an overlay — and the company wanted a system built from the ground up.

The Android-based infotainment system is, overall, seamless and intuitive, even though I didn't find the menu diving for certain audio settings as easy to navigate as the rest of the system. It also includes three years of data so that you’re not controlling or navigating your music through a phone.

I don’t mind that and even appreciate offloading that chore to the car. But it needs some refining. If I look up an artist and press on their name in Amazon Music, I don’t get a page listing out their discography or top songs. Instead, the first listed song (which is not necessarily their biggest song) for that artist starts playing. That makes looking for music almost impossible to the point that you’ll probably want to do some searching (and playlist creating) away from the car.

Of course, this might be an intentional limitation as I can imagine Cadillac doesn’t want you scrolling through 20 versions of your favorite Chopin Sonata while flying 60 miles an hour down the New Jersey Turnpike.

So we turn to the voice assistant, which responds to “Hey Google” (this is Android system after all). Though the voice recognition is impeccable (it hears me even over almost maxed out volume), it seems to not always understand my requests. For example, when searching for the artist Elsiane, it always plays a song from LCM or LCN (I think I even got a Spanish language artist at one point) instead of my intended request. I had to actually spell it out, despite going through this process multiple times to get to where I wanted. I understand that a bit, considering the similarities in name.

However, I also wanted to listen to (and show off — I did a lot of that with my week-long loaner) the drumless version of Lose Yourself To Dance by Daft Punk. This song is from the one Daft Punk album that’s mixed in Dolby Atmos. It might not be the most popular version of the song, but I feel like I was very clear in my request.

If I say “Hey Google, play the drumless edition of the album Random Access Memories by Daft Punk” or “Hey Google, play the Daft Punk album Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition),” it categorically ignores the words “drumless edition” and plays the original album. It doesn’t matter how I word it, either. I ended up having to do a search for Daft Punk, then not click on the artist name (otherwise it would just play the first song that pops up for Daft Punk), but scroll down in the search results to find the Drumless edition of the album. Then (phew!), I press on the album title and use the search buttons on the display or steering wheel to forward to that particular song.

Verdict

Despite my issues with the Cadillac’s music search functions, whether through the touch panel or voice assistant, I could easily continue to wax lyrical about the audio quality of the new Cadillac EV line for a few thousand words more.

Sure, new cars are expensive generally and these models are certainly not within range of a struggling musician. But if you’re in the market for an EV and have the cash, there’s probably no better sounding car out there right now. And I haven’t even talked about the fact that it can park itself…

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.