Songs Over Pixel 2 Bluetooth Sound Better than Songs on SD Card When Played in Vehicle?

[PowrDroid]

I've got a Pixel 2 XL and a Ram 1500 using UConnect 8.4A as my sound system. I have the "premium" 9 speaker Alpine system with subwoofer. I have disconnected the center dash speaker and replaced the two dash tweeters with Polk Audio speakers. Otherwise the sound system is stock.

(Copied and pasted from another thread to get a wider audience)

I have over 1,000 songs on a SD-Card (mostly ripped CD's and FLAC files converted to 320 kbps mp3) in my Ram 1500 with UConnect. A couple days ago I decided to test out the Pixel 2 XL bluetooth audio quality, run it in conjunction with Google Maps turn-by-turn direction, etc. Just see how it worked. It worked flawlessly.

One thing that jumped out at me was the sound quality of the mp3 files played by Pixel 2 over bluetooth. They seemed to sound better than the SD card. Better dynamic range, better bass. I always notice how mp3's butcher high tones in songs like the sound of a sustained cymbal, and how the songs generally sound kind of flat, but dang if the bluetooth sounded better. I ended up playing the same song on my phone and then via the SD card and I thought the bluetooth sounded better.

The song was the same mp3 file from the same source, just loaded onto my phone and my SD card from the same saved file on my computer. Am I drinking the Kool Aid too much? This seemed real to me.

 

[N4Newbie]

I don't normally do Bluetooth audio in my car (play songs from an SD card, like you), so this is strictly a guess.

When you say played via Bluetooth, do you mean a music player app on your phone playing through the Bluetooth audio system - sort of like oversize earbuds? If so, then I would guess your music player's built in equalizer is better tuned to your musical tastes.

 

[PowrDroid]

When you say played via Bluetooth, do you mean a music player app on your phone playing through the Bluetooth audio system - sort of like oversize earbuds? If so, then I would guess your music player's built in equalizer is better tuned to your musical tastes.

Yep, Poweramp through the vehicle system. You might be onto something here, although my equalizer settings in Poweramp is somewhat similar to the equalizer settings in my vehicle--slightly amplified on the extremes and flat in the mid-ranges. Maybe there is a cumulative effect of two equalizer settings making the overall sound seem richer.

 

[for3nsicguy]

I have exactly the same vehicle and infotainment system, but I am using the smaller Pixel 2. I have tried the same comparisons using Poweramp and local files through the SD card...and came to the same conclusion. There is something about the audio quality from files accessed on the SD card reader in that vehicle that isn't quite right.

Glad to see your post...I have been wondering for quite some time if it was just me.

 

[PowrDroid]

I have exactly the same vehicle and infotainment system, but I am using the smaller Pixel 2. I have tried the same comparisons using Poweramp and local files through the SD card...and came to the same conclusion. There is something about the audio quality from files accessed on the SD card reader in that vehicle that isn't quite right.

Glad to see your post...I have been wondering for quite some time if it was just me.

I've noticed when listening to songs on a USB stick they have the same quality as the SD card. So perhaps there is something with the output of the USB/SD card module or there is something with the input stage of the amp that receives these signals that isn't quite optimal.

Anyone reading this should know that music coming from the SD card sounds pretty good, it's just that there is a slight difference with Bluetooth and it sounds better to my ears.