Any Audi owners out there? 24/96 to Audi Music Interface?

[sturgl]

So this is obviously a bit off topic, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

 

Here's the question: Can anyone confirm that the Audi Music Interface (MI) will properly play back 48khz files (16/48, that is)?

 

The Gory Details - read at your own risk.

I've a 2009 Audi with the MI. I've started tinkering with my non-iPod options (a la thumb drive), as I am clearly too lazy to connect and detach my iPod as needed. So here's my recent discovery: while Audi provides clear documentation that the MI does not support any of the lossless formats, it makes no statement as to bit depth or, particularly, sampling frequency. A bit of experimentation has proved that it will not play 24-bit files, as expected. Fine. Here's the interesting bit: when I convert 24/96 flac to 16-bit AAC (using Foobar), I get a 96khz file. 16/96. Hmmm... Surprisingly, the file actually plays back in the car - but very slooow and low. Like a tape player with dying batteries. Or good barbeque.

 

Moving on. When I convert to mp3 (320kbps), I get a 16/48 file - more in line with expectations. This could work. BUT, I've a hunch that the Audi MI is also playing the 48khz file just slightly lower and slower than it should - than it would a 44.1 file, which it probably "expects". I could probably just force a conversion to 16/44 and compare - but I thought I'd bear my soul to a few thousand of my closest friends instead. Your thoughts?

 

Oh, right... why not use dbPoweramp, you ask? Because I've used it in the recent past, converting 24/96 flac to 16/44 WMA for the above purpose - and I get this "ringing" sound around cymbals, steel pan, anything metallic. No such problem with conversions of lower-rez files. So I'm tinkering with my converters as well, hoping to settle on a single process that consistently "just works". That way, I can listen to the music I purchase from HDTracks, etc. in the car, along with all my other stuff.

 

 

[okli]

Hi sturgl,

 

I've ordered my Q5 due in March 2012 with AMI and I suppose I'll face the same problem as your's that's why I'd like to ask you if you found some acceptable working solution. I have all my music on a NAS, using Naim equipment at home and have an idea to batch convert my FLACs to 320 kbps mp3 files on a USB HDD to be connected to the AMI. I have dbpoweramp and foobar and before start endless experiments a hint from you / someone else already gone this way will be very appreciated. I assume that I have app. 20%-30% 24/96 Flacs (mostly from hdtracks.com) and the rest are normal CD rips (16/44.1).

 

I hope you enjoy the music in your Audi ;-)

 

regards,

Ilko

 

[sturgl]

I've found that conversion to 16/48 mp3 @ 320kbps using Foobar works pretty well. I'm not a great fan of AMI - I definitely seen better interfaces from Lincoln (Microsoft Sync) and Cadillac at very least. AMI aside though, the sound emanating from the B&O set up is darned good for a car. I've read about some upgrading the subwoofer in these systems, but I honestly can't see any reason why. ...not, at least for the music I generally listen to (mostly jazz).

 

The biggest problem I have now isn't so much fidelity as it is the AMI UI. You get a bunch of albums onto the onboard HDD, and it becomes a bit difficult to quickly find what you want. A good problem to have, I suppose...

 

More food for thought: I recently traded my 2009 S5 for a 2012 S4. I assume your Q5 will have the same onboard HDD that my S4 has (the S5 did not have this). Audi doesn't provide much guidance here... but I can tell you that it is very easy to import music files from a thumb drive to the car's HDD. You must purchase a USB dongle ($60 or so), however. I already had one for/from my S5, so that was fine for me. The other, native option is to copy your music to a SD card. AMI can then import your music from the SD card.

 

Fun, eh? I know you'll enjoy your Q5 when it arrives - that's one heckuva nice vehicle.

 

Finally, check out the Audi forums for various bits of useful info on your Q. www.audizine.com or www.audiworld.com