Bwalter

I'm currently plotting my evil plans to conquer and rule over a 2011 Q5, and I have some questions about the integration of the soundsystem and the iPod/iPhone, MP# playback, etc.

Back in the mid/late 2000s the iPod integration was lousy. You had to spend a ton for it, replace the 6-disc changer and it would only load the first six playlists on the iPod (as discs). I never got it because that was just a half-assed solution, period. There were also 2 SD card slots for playing MP3s that way but I never really took advantage of it, because so much of my music is purchased from iTunes and thusly encrypted.

Now... in the new Audis with B&O I understand there's a 40GB hard drive, separate iPod integration, AND the SD card slots. This brings my questions:

1) The SD Card slots and internal Hard Drive synced from an iPod don't play protected media, from my understanding. Does this media even get copied from the iPod to the HD?

2) Can I control my permanently-docked iPod from the soundsystem so that I *CAN* hear my protected media right from the iPod? If so, how well does this work?

3) Are all my iPod's playlists accessible?

I guess I'm looking for feedback from you owners and leasers out there that have these things and use them. I want to know if I don't need to worry about it 'cuz it's so much better than it used to be. There's no multi-disc changer anymore and at a basic level I just need to know I can listen to all the stuff I've bought on iTunes.

snowcat

Yes, you have full access your music menus (including playlists) from the MMI and it looks great. In fact, it's the best integration I have ever experienced, and the sound quality makes people shocked that they are hearing mp3's (mine are ripped at 256). You cannot copy in anything from the iPod however.

I get in and out of my car frequently, so rather than jacking in my iPhone all the time I bought a 160GB iPod Classic and loaded it with everything. Didn't even take the plastic wrap off of it because it'll never be used elsewhere. That said, I have not tried to use the built-in HDD yet.

DrV

I concur. My HDD is loaded to the brim, my SD's are both 4Gig's with some room to spare and I have a 80Gig dedicated iPod jacked in. I just love the capacity and sound quality!

m1964

Only Audi with Navigation package have HD, B&O alone does not give you HD. If you have B&O w/o NAV you get 1 SD slot + iPod port.
You can see your directories/playlists on MMI screen and chose using Q5 controls...