srs

Thanks for the links. I did download and try Microsoft's Windows Media Encoder. I tried several "distribution" (output) formats - computer playback; Hardware devices (CD); and File archive (lossless). All gave the same "I won't play it" message in the MMI.

Anyone have better results?

Steve

William Wynn

How about an SD Card for Dummies? How do you get itunes on these cards and is it worth doing. What brand and capacity should one buy? I have no clue.

I agree; give us a hard drive; why mess with these things?

m444

I think the Audi MMI sample rate is limited, so maybe a lower sample rate is needed.

This is an interesting link;

http://www.a5oc.com/forums/showthrea...+path+analyzer

and this

http://www.a5oc.com/forums/showthrea...79/index.html?

DigiSage

I read that when playing files off SD card or USB drive, id3 tags are not used and you only see file name information. And that the only way to make use of id3 tags is to import the files to the MMI's hard drive. Is this true?

Songer

Are you sure the deck has an analog preamp section for the iPod connection? I thought when you used the iPod connection, the analog signal is digitized for processing. The additional layer of DA processing (iPod + deck) is why I have read the iPod connection is inferior to the SD card fidelity.

xtr3ma

Id3 tags works, title album and artist. Lack of any of those, it will only display file names.

SD is the lowest cost per GB storage with the smallest footprint. If u know how to copy files, u should know how to use it.

Cyniclaus

Kind of disappointing that a $50k luxury car with a $850 premium audio upgrade can't play lossless.

And now I hear it purportedly degrades the quality of iPOD output? Anyone have a link confirming that?

helix139

iPods are generally incapable of outputting a digital signal over the standard dock interface. The only way it could conceivably be done (and not having studied the hardware I don't even know if this is possible) is with a complex app that would have to bypass the DAC and output a digital signal over the standard mini jack, or a custom app that would process and output the digital signal over other pins on the dock, but this would require custom wiring, and both of those would require a custom solution to receive the signal as it isn't the standard analog line out that the doc connection normally outputs.

The reason this is the case is because the recording industry would throw a fit if Apple sold a device that would allow a person to easily transport and output a perfect digital copy of a copyrighted work. In other words, this is just another form of copy protection.

So in summary, you cannot readily and easily output digital sound from an iPod or other MP3 player. It will always output an analog waveform subject to interference and the inherent loss in all analog transmission and conversion back and forth from analog to digital.

Songer

Right. My question was if, when using the iPod, you must go through two separate DA conversion as opposed to the single conversion with an SD card. It's possible that the deck has a separate all analog preamp and amp section for analog signals. If so, then the iPod connection should sound about the same as an SD card barring any large difference in DAC quality.

That is pretty unlikely though. The deck probably takes the analog signal from the iPod and converts it to digital again for processing/distribution before a second DA conversion to the speakers. In general, one DA conversion (SD card) will always sound better than DA -> AD -> DA (iPod cable to deck).

helix139

I think you've got it mostly right, if not entirely. I think it has been confirmed on here that all Nav B&O systems are digital to the amps. In that case you have DAC->ADC->DAC from ipod to stereo to speaker. Non-nav is an analog system at the very least from the head unit to the amp. At the very least you have one DAC in this system if the signal is just passed through and/or processed as an analog signal after the iPod, but there is also a possibility of DAC->ADC->DAC also if the signals in this system are processed digitally and have to be converted back.

If the SD Card is digital all the way to the amp (possible in the nav systems), then there is only one conversion. If it is converted to analog somewhere along the way, then it boils down to whether or not the B&O has a better DAC than the iPod (very likely).

So in non-nav and non-B&O, iPod MAY be as good or better than SD. In nav with B&O, SD should be as good or better than iPod unless the DAC in the amps is just terrible.

But I could be way off