Using an iPhone for source of music

[Aaron0731]

I use the Pandora Premium music site with quality set to the highest. Phone is plugged in via USB to my HU and uses Apple Car Play. Should I be using the Sound Check feature in the settings? And I'm keeping the iPhone EQ to off. What kind of sound quality am I getting out of this?

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[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

I don't like streaming music with my sound system, but I haven't tried Pandora Premium.

A newer iphone connected with USB isn't bad SQ. For audiophiles, there are other "better" sources, but for the average person, I think that source is fine.

There are worse ways to do it for sure.

 

[JonM]

When you connect up your iPhone through your USB, it bypasses the DAC on the iPhone and uses the one on your head unit. I use both ALAC files and stream Tunein radio. What bit rate does Pandora premium stream in and how good is your DAC on your head unit.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I use the Pandora Premium music site with quality set to the highest. Phone is plugged in via USB to my HU and uses Apple Car Play. Should I be using the Sound Check feature in the settings? And I'm keeping the iPhone EQ to off. What kind of sound quality am I getting out of this?

i'd get out of pandora ASAP. their sound quality is sh*t on the premium its only 192kbps. Jump onto spotify premium or tidal which is either 320kbps or flac. You dont want the iphone to do any kind of processing and you want everything from the iphone dac to be defeated and all the processing done by the head unit only if your head unit has a 24 bit dac. If your head unit has a 16 bit dac, its not gonna matter, sound quality will be sh*t regardless.

I would worry less about this and more about the install and tune. Whatever source you do will require a different set of EQ presets and other options.