I dont know whether this has been thrashed out before, but it seems to me that even with the active exhaust on (and I reckon default should be on and you have to switch it off, and default for eco should be off and you have to switch it on, but anyway...) there are subtle differences in the engine note depending on whether you have engaged "dynamic" or are in "sport" or both.

I usually drive the car with the exhaust on, but have always noticed it has a different timbre when the car is in dynamic. Then I noticed it was different again (maybe deeper?) when it was in sport + dynamic. But then yesterday I drove it in sport but not dynamic and it was different still. not just the crackles, but the quality of the engine note itself.

I could make some uninformed guesses as to why that might be the case but rather than embarrassing myself, is this common or am I imagining it?

 

With my R, I definitely hear a difference between active exhaust on/normal, and active exhaust on /dynamic. I can even hear the difference at idle when I switch into dynamic...introducing some lower tones and a bit more volume...almost as if the exhaust has three settings instead of two. The dynamic also introduce more snap crackle pop. I have not however, heard any difference whether in "sport" or not, besides the fact the gear box holds the gears longer, thus when letting up, I get more crackle.
CRS

 

Cheers, in the S the difference in sport (but not dynamic) is that the sound is meaty but a bit smoother, and the crackles are more grumbles and coughs. The sound was similar to the sound of my 5.0 XKR which had an x-pipe. Interesting, I'll have to drive it more in sport and get it more through the rev range.

 

The 5.0 XKR is a beautiful ride. Good friend of mine has one with an X Pipe...very nice.
CRS

 

i notice no difference in sound between normal and dynamic with the active exhaust on in my R. Sounds exactly the same.