Best sounding engine configurations

Hagerty 5 and 10 cylinders

After the coupe 20vt engine its the 1jz, rb20der, rb25det, rb26det, 2jz.
But it would be sacreligous to actually own a turbo 6 over a turbo 5.
And the 2.0 20vt engine is the only 5 pot i love. Cheaper tax bracket and more refined smoother sound because the cylinders are smaller bores at 400cc each.

Put an focus/volvo next to a coupe - both with blueflame systems on, its garunteed the coupe will sound smoother.

Not sure why but the Fiat Coupé 5 cylinder always sounded better than the Volvo derived unit. If I was pushed I would say the original old Audi 5 cylinder non turbo was the best sounding out of the box 5 cylinder, closely followed by the latest pre-opf Audi's.

For me the BEST sounding 5 Cylinder motor ever was found in the Rally Quattro's of the 80's

Does the Volvo have a different crank / firing configuration hence slightly different sound?

A bit like how Yamaha managed to make an in line 4 engine sound like a V4 with their cross plane crank in the R1..

I understand that the crank angle is the same for all 5 pots (72 degrees) and that the firing order is 12453. Audi's latest RS3 set the new compact car lap record at the Nürburgring with fancy 12453 graphics. Without digging out my old Quattro Rally books I believe that the original Audi 5 pot was reverse flow too, so it can't be that!

The Fiat, Volvo derived unit and the later Audi's are all crossflow, so it can't be that either!.

I always thought it just the length of the primary exhaust header; i.e. the long 5th branch of the manifold.

I know if you look for equal length headers in relation to Subaru on YouTube then you can hear that change in warble.