Put some lossless files on usb stick and play theses via USB port, as comparison.
A lot of people are not too impressed by the HK system, however, with all the latest firmware updates, it's actually quite good I think, however very dependent on the quality of the source material you use

 

I have a usb with FLAC files which do sound good. But my point or my question is does Android Auto allow the same quality of audio (lossless FLAC or WAV) as when played straight from a USB stick? I suspect that when playing lossless audio from something like Tidal via the usb cable on android auto the quality is degraded. The biggest difference seems to be a lack of bass and the midrange sounds harsh as a result.

Interestingly when playing the same tracks from Tidal via the aux jack the sound is totally different and I mean night and day. The bass becomes much more pronounced and I find I have to turn the treble and mid back up to 0. Maybe its my phone or the usb cable i'm using which is causing the poor quality when using AA.

 

..does each individual input remember it's own EQ setting by any chance, or maybe there's EQ somewhere else in the chain? A lack of bass isn't how you would expect the sound quality to fall off even if it is being sent at lower quality. If there's a sub in the setup maybe that's been taken out over Android Auto for some reason..? Or it could even be just a levels issue.. if the level coming in is very low the amp will have nothing to get hold of, if that makes any sense..

 

I think you have a good point. It does seem as though it's a different EQ as in voice optimised for message alerts and so on. Every now and then I swear it sounds fine, but then I switch track and the bass has dropped right off again.

On a secondary not, Tidal's integration into Android Auto is pretty terrible

 

Audio quality is a general problem in these cars, it seems. The OEM systems (even HK) sound terrible to a lot of people.

That is why many of us chose to have other systems retrofitted. Having the power-amp in the boot helps making it an easy job. Many threads exist on the matter.
Mine is an Audison-box with full EQ, filters, delays and level controls for each speaker - this helps a lot.

On top of that, using a USB-dac directly into the new preamp provides maximum control.
However, even the built-in bluetooth connectivity is much improved now.

Android Auto would allow for the same initial quality as USB-dac audio (same transport mechanism, over USB>HDMI).
It would be let down by the factory preamp though. Weakest link in the chain and so on...

 

I just listen to the engine :biglaugh::biglaugh:

 

Problem with AA (android) is that uses BT to transfer the sound... at least in the Spotify case... so it switches down to the base audio quality. Not sure about Tidal but it should be the same.

 

As I understand all audio is via usb. I've been reading some posts on the Google forum and it seems poor audio quality via AA is a common theme across many different car manufacturers and different phones too so seems this is an inherent problem with Android auto. Think for the time being I'm gonna ditch AA. Pretty disappointed with the whole thing tbh.

 

Thought I'd resurrect this thread. Just recently jumped from Tidal to Qobuz for streaming. For those who haven't heard of Qobuz it's a French streaming service along the same lines as Spotify and Tidal. It specialises in Hi Res music with a lot of content at 24 bit and up to 192khz. I have the Hifi plan which is 16 bit 44.1khz basically CD quality.

It has only just recently offered Android Auto compatibility so I decided to give it a try. It is far far better than Tidal on Android auto. The interface is better and the big surprise is how much better the sound quality is. Tidal in my opinion is just garbage on Android auto. For all other streaming it's great but whatever they have done with the Android auto integration is terrible.

So now I feel like I'm finally getting the most out of the HK system and I have to say its put a big smile on my face! I have an Audio Pro setup at home, 2 Addon C10s in a stereo setup which sounds superb and listening to the same tracks on both the home setup and the HK, the HK system is right up there with it.

Confirmation again that the HK system is very sensitive to what you put into it. High quality Flac files I think are a must. Quality in definitely means quality out.

 

Thanks for this, I’m loving Qobuz on the HK System [emoji106] ... I’ve been messing with streaming services on and off for a while now, but Qobuz definitely hits the spot, with the added bonus that it still works on iOS 9, my B&O iPad 2 Dock has been resurrected [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I tried Qobuz on Carplay a couple of weeks ago and found that I couldn't get any playlists or artists coming up on the screen. All it would do is play is the list that I had already started playing on my iphone.
I had paid an annual subscription and tried to cancel it within 5 days because carplay did not work and they refused to pay saying their terms and conditions overall EU law, so be careful.
Now moved to Amazon which has HD and ultra HD and is cheaper and fully compatible with carplay.

 

I had similar issues with Tidal on Android auto. I think the intergaration of these apps with carplay/AA is very poor. I'd give Amazon a try except my wireless speakers don't have Amazon embedded so I want a service that can work at home and the car.