What wrong with bluetooth audio.....

[AL210]

I have been using bluetooth for connection from my phone to head unit for MP3s.

I'm in the middle of upgrading my system and am wondering if this method is going to limit my future fidelity.

What are your thoughts and what methods of playback are best to capture the maximum dynamic range of music? Are bluetooth mp3 really that bad?

Click to read more...

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

I don't see why bluetooth streamed MP3's would be any less quality then flash drive MP3's or burned CD MP3's...

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I have been using bluetooth for connection from my phone to head unit for MP3s.
I'm in the middle of upgrading my system and am wondering if this method is going to limit my future fidelity.

The short answer is "it depends". It depends on the Bluetooth protocol of the source and the receiver. Bluetooth is getting better for streaming audio quality, but manufacturers are not all making it easy to see what version of BT they're shipping. From a marketing stand point this is good, because people don't give a crap about protocols, they want to know what they're getting for their money. From a technical standpoint, for this niche of customers who are concerned about loss of audio fidelity, hiding this information is bad.

Right now I can't even tell you which head units will have the best possible Bluetooth streaming music quality. At least with phones you can go to smartphone review sites and dig around for the detailed specs. You're better off transitioning your music to USB flash media and using Bluetooth only for Pandora and the like where the audio is already compressed quite a bit.

 

[AL210]

You're better off transitioning your music to USB flash media and using Bluetooth only for Pandora and the like where the audio is already compressed quite a bit.

I never thought of doing this. I'm going to put some on a flash drive and see how much of a difference I can notice.

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

deff a noticeable difference imo........ cd's all the way

 

[Alrojoca 10+ year member]

Here is some info from a reputable source kind of confirming what Trumpet said. Sound quality - Getting the Best Sound Out of Your Portable Music Player in the Car

Basically with a newer version and compatible BT, the choice is USB-BT-Aux (from doc port, not headset). CD is the benchmark of course but there is no point in mentioning it and the article did not mention it either.

 

[bradl79 10+ year member]

Aux and bt have a diff. I used to use bt then i switched to aux. Got more sound

 

[Alrojoca 10+ year member]

When I try using my aux port before, it was decent. Some say any wired signal will be better than a wireless signal. USB is considered digital.

One thing I hate since I got a newer phone, is that I have to go in to my phone settings and connect to BT after I turn the ignition off and back on. Before all I needed to do was play my phone while my Hu was on BT. Maybe I need a newer HU although I know there are no guarantees It will work the way I want it.

 

[loudlittlefvkus 10+ year member]

I tried using BT in my car a couple times, but my subs wouldnt play that way. i would hook it back up with a usb, and theyd play fine without changing any settings on my headunit. i tried looking for an answer but couldnt find any, anyone have any ideas? i thought the sound quality was a lot better for the BT compared to the usb, at least with my headunit.

my headunit is a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X696 and i have a Galaxy s3 streaming mp3 files from Music Player

 

[Alrojoca 10+ year member]

On mine everything plays fine just the volume is 3-4 numbers lower than USB but similar to the cd volume.

it's decent but not better than the USB.

Both phones I used were apple and i had no issues no issues, I think some people are having issues using other phone brands, playing theough BT they get a mono signal or only front speakers, I would not be surprised issues with not getting good SQ from the USB would have to be with the phone or MP3 player brand used or compatibility issues, where apple always seems reliable and simple when it comes to play music

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

If your headunit has bluetooth then it most likely has a SD or USB slot, if so then you can just use that instead.

 

[Staynlean 10+ year member]

Playing through USB for me has MUCH poorer quality than flash drive and especially a CD.

Iphone5 user, does this make any sense to anybody?

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

deff a noticeable difference imo........ cd's all the way

give up the fight bra they won't be around too much longer

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Playing through USB for me has MUCH poorer quality than flash drive and especially a CD.
Iphone5 user, does this make any sense to anybody?

Because the internal DACs on iDevices are pretty much crap. There's a list on Crutchfield of all the 2012-13 units that have iPod DAC bypasses (80PRS and a bunch of other models are on there). Or you can spend $100 and get a Pure i20 which features a beast of a DAC and iPod bypass. Try to find the units with Burr-Brown or Wolfson DACs at resolutions of 24-bit or higher.

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

Playing through USB for me has MUCH poorer quality than flash drive and especially a CD.
Iphone5 user, does this make any sense to anybody?

I have the same song as mp3 on my USB and on my CD and I can't hear any difference.