What I don't get is the X55 engine is a very Similar Block from the M135i to the M3/4 yet the sound is vastly different, I understand the N55 in the M135i is a Single Twinscroll and the is a S55s twin turbo but you wouldn't expect the sound to change that much, im thinking RB25DET in comparison to the RB26DETT and sound wise you can tell they are related yet different.
Yet with the N55 and S55 there is no sound similarity what so ever.
either way long story short the S55 should sound like a meaner N55 instead of sounding like a meaner N20.
That's so bizarre, because the twin scroll layout groups the exhaust pulses in the same way the N20 does. So, as a result, this layout yields a
dull buzz just the same, but the S55 could never sound like that without swapping the manifolds.
Anyway, it's pretty easy to get very different sounds from the exact same engine, never mind a similar variant, just by changing the exhaust, especially the manifolds. Only a very limited range of the total variety possible ever makes it into a production car, though, and the three main ones for a straight six (ignoring equal length, because that's so rare in a road car) are the RB25 / 2JZ / twin-scroll N55 style (
E Type); the RB26 / S55 / twin-turbo N54 and N55 style (
250F); then a kind of "log" style which hasn't really been used since the 1940s.
Based on what you say, it seems you are most put off by the difference in the "design target" for the eventual sound between the two engines: that's achieved with the precise frequency shaping produced by the branching, expansions, contractions, merging, parallel chambers etc. in the full exhaust tracts of each car. The same target would have a broadly similar effect for a quiet car almost independent of the manifold configuration, but a different target can and will sound markedly different, especially with the predictive tools available to engineers these days. Throw in the ability to change the manifolds / turbos, and you're miles away from where you started.
The end result is easily changeable, but aftermarket manufacturers prefer to play it safe and ensure "bolt-on" operation by putting all the major features in the same place, creating a largely similar "filter network" despite the extra sound volume.
It's even possible to get a kind of pseudo V8 sound by changing the manifolds, but the packaging is tricky for a straight 6.