helix139

Here's a summary from the way I understand it:

If you have Nav and B&O and are using...

iPod: iPod DAC is used. Signal is analog to the MMI, converted back to digital and sent to the amp for processing and amplification, and converted back to analog again
SD Card/Jukebox/Optical Drive/USB: B&O DAC is used. Signal is sent digitally to the amp for processing and amplification, converted to analog, and sent to the speakers.

If you do not have Nav or B&O and are using:

iPod: iPod DAC is used. Signal is analog to the MMI, and sent to the amp for processing and amplification, and sent to the speakers.
SD Card/Jukebox/Optical Drive/USB: MMI DAC is used. Signal is converted to analog and sent to the amp for processing and amplification, and sent to the speakers.

IncredibleMulk71

Being an audiophile and previous car stereo nut, I will agree that the SD card is the best sounding.

troposphere

Any DAC connected to an Ipod dock connector by passes the internal dac of the pod and uses the circuitry of the external converter as opposed to connecting through the earphone jack which includes the pod's dac in the circuit.

An IPod plugged into the Ipod jack of the B&O MMI should provide this connection.

prolific

I have a 2010 A5 and am experiencing a similar issue:

When I plug my iPod in, the sound will come thru and the beats/acoustics sound great but for whatever reason, the vocals on the track(s) are VERY quiet and muffled and clearly get drowned out by the beat/acoustic noise on the track - you can barely hear anyone singing or rapping, all drums and such, really weird.

Any ideas?

snagitseven

Sorry, but you are incorrect re the Audi Apple/AMI cable. The 30 pin connector of an iDevice has both analog and digital output pins and the Apple/AMI cable supports only analog file transfers which must first pass through the iPod/iPhone/iPad DAC. It outputs in analog, just like the headphone jack with the difference being the AMI passes through the MMI digital control signal and embedded album art (if you have the red grommet AMI cable; see link below).

Here's how the various audio sources work in an Audi since MY2009 (U.S.):

> iPod w/AMI - B&O: Digital>Analog (in the iPod)>Digital>Analog (using B&O DAC; then uses MOST digital transport all the way to amp analog output to speakers)

> SD Card/Jukebox - B&O: Digital>Analog (using B&O DAC; uses the MOST digital transport all the way to the amp analog output to speakers)

> iPod w/AMI - non B&O: Digital>Analog (in the iPod) and stays analog all the way to the speakers

> SD Card/Jukebox - non B&O: Digital>Analog (using Bose or other DAC at card's output) and stays in analog all the way through to speakers).

> If an optional Audi USB/AMI cable is used with a thumb or portable hard drive, the signal would be transferred digitally and controlled by the MMI in the same manner as an SD card or Jukebox.

> If an optional Audi Composite AV/AMI cable is used with a device such as an Apple TV, or the like, the signal is analog to the speakers (the MMI has no HDMI capability) and the device must control the sound and video (the MMI will be able to see a control signal or make selections).

Further info on the entertainment options of the 3G MMI Nav Plus can be seen here (for the C7 series but very similar to the B8).

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2840907

As to the OP's volume issue, things to check: ensure the Volume Limit in the phone's iTunes settings is off, the songs weren't originally transferred at a lower level, the MMI volume setting for the iPhone is set properly (I believe volumes might be able to be set for each source; I have to check this) or a bad or not fully seated AMI cable. In any case, the analog vs. digital output of the iPod/iPhone should have no bearing on the volume difference issue.

igord

Don't waste your money on the cable, the ipod/iphone "sound check" (volume limiting feature responsible for this) will re-enable itself after a few hours of non-use (eg overnight).

snagitseven

My iPhone 4s Sound Check and Volume Limit settings have been off for two years through several versions of IOS.
When you say "don't waste your money on the cable", which one do you mean? The blue grommet Apple/AMI cable comes with a new Audi at no charge. The red grommet cable is optional if you want album art and videos to play from the iDevice. Both cables work just fine for the applicable iDevices for most people (sound quality comparisons to SD cards or the Jukebox aside).

igord

Sorry, I'm talking about red grommet cable vs blue. Tried on ipod 5th gen, iphone 4 and iphone 5. The 'sound check' setting is disable-able, however it is re-enabled within 2min of reconnecting or within 2 min of an overnight restart. This issue had actually been reported by a few people over the years, calling Audi or Apple didn't help (check out what google results come up when searching for: audi ami 'sound check').

I'm just glad there is an SD option, not nearly as convenient, but not a very frequent issue compared to daily listening experience.