[Str8Blck328I]

Hi guys/gals I have a 2011 328I and have had extensive work done on the Stereo system - but now I would like to add a Lossless Mp3 player - the issue I am having is finding one that will somewhat work like I am accustomed to with an Apple product- Basically I would hope to be able to find one that will communicate with the car like the iPod does- and be able to scroll through the different bands/songs etc.

also in case someone with way more knowledge on this subject then myself- answers - I was told if I run the player through the Bluetooth - I would basically be losing a lot of what the lossless player would be providing in the those formats since the bluetooth in the car is not up to the standard of what the player would be putting out- and to be honest I am still unsure if going the USB route ends up working for Lossless playback and basically I may lose the functionality of the connection to the car-

So here I am just asking in case someone has already tried to work this out and can give me some pointers-

appreciate and if I wasn't too clear please don't hesitate to ask questions.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Str8Blck328I

also in case someone with way more knowledge on this subject then myself- answers - I was told if I run the player through the Bluetooth - I would basically be losing a lot of what the lossless player would be providing in the those formats since the bluetooth in the car is not up to the standard of what the player would be putting out

Generally speaking that's correct, most Bluetooth audio codecs aren't up to the task of high data rate audio transmission.

Also, unless you're listening to music in your car while it's parked in the garage with the engine off, you really won't hear much of a difference with lossless vs compressed (aac/mp3). If you're still set on lossless audio formats, you can't beat the trusty CD player.

[ewicky]

CD or just plug a USB flash drive into the car's USB port. Then, the car will handle track browsing and selection, lossless decoding, and DAC in the amp (if you have Logic7).

Also, I figure it's worth mentioning, that even if you can't hear the quality difference with the engine on and especially while driving, the Logic7 surround settings can. People complain of "3D swirling" or fading in and out of the back speakers, but that's really only due to compression codecs of the source. If you play lossless audio with surround turned on, it sounds fine. And that IS noticeable even when driving.

[jwalker87]

Have you tried just upping the bitrate and using an ipod? You can set it as high as 320kbps in itunes, and I would be surprised if you can tell a difference between that and lossless in an in-car environment.

[dmatre]

320kbps bitrate on a USB stick, played back through the USB connection, is about as good as you'll need/want in a moving car.

There is a noticeable loss of fidelity when compared to Sirius/Radio/128kbps media, and almost zero difference CD to MP3@320.

[ctuna]

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...4#post23244354

Go to the beginning of this thread.

This relatively cheap device (dension clone) will play with
a quality as good as the indash cd player with mp3's .
mp3's at 320 kbits sound as good as any format as far as
I can tell . Nothing is lossless, but a lot of things aren't crap.
The bluetooth through it is not as good but not bad for bluetooth.
In addition it gives you bluetooth phone if you need it.

Why does this work so well . It goes through the Most Bus and
not the damm Aux.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by Str8Blck328I

... 2011 328I... I would like to add a Lossless Mp3 player - the issue I am having is finding one that will somewhat work like I am accustomed to with an Apple product- Basically I would hope to be able to find one that will communicate with the car like the iPod does- and be able to scroll through the different bands/songs etc...

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

...If you're still set on lossless audio formats, you can't beat the trusty CD player.

Everyone's "musical ear" and "taste in music" is different, so trying NOT to get into those subjective factors:

1) "CD quality" music files (NOT compressed) have "higher fidelity" or "sound better" or more realistic to MOST listeners than "compressed" MP3 or other similar compressed files.
2) When one compresses a CD ".wav" file to an MP3 file, it has about 15% the size of the original .wav file. That is somewhat comparable to pixels or "resolution" in an image file.
3) So AFAIK, the Best sound reproduction a particular system can produce depends upon the quality of the music file INPUT. A .wav file (uncompressed) will give better sound on a particular system than an MP3 file (compressed).
4) Generally, a "hard-wired" Input (without conversion to Radio waves & back) will give BETTER clarity due to LESS Loss of data, no buffering, etc. (Data Transfer Rate?).
5) USB input from a Flash Drive can be "CD-quality" if you "Rip" CD's to .wav files or save your music files in .wav format from whatever source (assuming the source is "CD-quality").
6) You can save your music files in folder by Artist, Album, Composer, etc. and with file names that indicate the Title, Composition, or whatever you want to see on the display. The Radio Display then shows you what folders are on that Flash Drive, and when you select a Folder, shows each Title in the selected Folder (at least three lines at a time).

So USB offers the dash display it appears you are looking for, and the BEST sound quality the system is capable of delivering. Perhaps your 2011 model differs from mine, as I understand at some point ~ 2010 - 2011 BMW went to a "keg" system that allows Flash drive content to be saved in the Head unit? My 2007 System does NOT do that. It simply saves the folder info for up to 4 different flash drives, and INPUTS the .wav file data directly from the Flash Drive.

So personally, I have 4 different 32 GB flash drives with different music genres on each. My music files, used on my home stereo, are all .wav format, so that's about 50 albums, or 50 hours of music on each 32GB Flash Drive, the equivalent of Eight 6-disc CD Changer cartridges; I COULD "convert to 8-track cartridges, but you get the idea. I usually play classical music in the car. I/My Driving am/is "AGGRESSIVE" enough without being "Rocked".

Try USB input with .wav files on Folders on a Flash Drive. It will be "music to your ears".

George

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

Try USB input with .wav files on Folders on a Flash Drive. It will be "music to your ears".

George

this.

or if you want it to be truly integrated, upgrade the internal hard drive in your CIC so you have more storage space, and stick them directly into the cars storage.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1426773

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

Everyone's "musical ear" and "taste in music" is different, so trying NOT to get into those subjective factors:

1) "CD quality" music files (NOT compressed) have "higher fidelity" or "sound better" or more realistic to MOST listeners than "compressed" MP3 or other similar compressed files.
2) When one compresses a CD ".wav" file to an MP3 file, it has about 15% the size of the original .wav file. That is somewhat comparable to pixels or "resolution" in an image file.
3) So AFAIK, the Best sound reproduction a particular system can produce depends upon the quality of the music file INPUT. A .wav file (uncompressed) will give better sound on a particular system than an MP3 file (compressed).
4) Generally, a "hard-wired" Input (without conversion to Radio waves & back) will give BETTER clarity due to LESS Loss of data, no buffering, etc. (Data Transfer Rate?).
5) USB input from a Flash Drive can be "CD-quality" if you "Rip" CD's to .wav files or save your music files in .wav format from whatever source (assuming the source is "CD-quality").
6) You can save your music files in folder by Artist, Album, Composer, etc. and with file names that indicate the Title, Composition, or whatever you want to see on the display. The Radio Display then shows you what folders are on that Flash Drive, and when you select a Folder, shows each Title in the selected Folder (at least three lines at a time).

So USB offers the dash display it appears you are looking for, and the BEST sound quality the system is capable of delivering. Perhaps your 2011 model differs from mine, as I understand at some point ~ 2010 - 2011 BMW went to a "keg" system that allows Flash drive content to be saved in the Head unit? My 2007 System does NOT do that. It simply saves the folder info for up to 4 different flash drives, and INPUTS the .wav file data directly from the Flash Drive.

So personally, I have 4 different 32 GB flash drives with different music genres on each. My music files, used on my home stereo, are all .wav format, so that's about 50 albums, or 50 hours of music on each 32GB Flash Drive, the equivalent of Eight 6-disc CD Changer cartridges; I COULD "convert to 8-track cartridges, but you get the idea. I usually play classical music in the car. I/My Driving am/is "AGGRESSIVE" enough without being "Rocked".

Try USB input with .wav files on Folders on a Flash Drive. It will be "music to your ears".

George

if you want to go to just one flash drive, the system will accept an exfat formatted 128gb flash drive.

that's as large as it will handle.
it does increase the load time when listing the file tree.

[Str8Blck328I]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

Generally speaking that's correct, most Bluetooth audio codecs aren't up to the task of high data rate audio transmission.

Also, unless you're listening to music in your car while it's parked in the garage with the engine off, you really won't hear much of a difference with lossless vs compressed (aac/mp3). If you're still set on lossless audio formats, you can't beat the trusty CD player.

- I think you missed the part about the system being upgraded- and I actually don't do a lot of driving with the widows all the way down- If you were referring to any loss of sound because of that. But thank you for your reply

[Str8Blck328I]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

Have you tried just upping the bitrate and using an ipod? You can set it as high as 320kbps in itunes, and I would be surprised if you can tell a difference between that and lossless in an in-car environment.

I'll keep this in mind. ty! But I am curious to know if one could lol As I said the System has been really uograded- your talking 7K worth- so idk if everything I am seeing in reply's would be under the same assumptions.

[Str8Blck328I]

Originally Posted by ewicky

CD or just plug a USB flash drive into the car's USB port. Then, the car will handle track browsing and selection, lossless decoding, and DAC in the amp (if you have Logic7).

Also, I figure it's worth mentioning, that even if you can't hear the quality difference with the engine on and especially while driving, the Logic7 surround settings can. People complain of "3D swirling" or fading in and out of the back speakers, but that's really only due to compression codecs of the source. If you play lossless audio with surround turned on, it sounds fine. And that IS noticeable even when driving.

I don't hear my engine as it is LOL But I may try the USB - I am actually looking at a 64GB I have just siting on my desk- I believe I had the Logic 7 - but I relplaced the amp or prob more correct added 2 amps - HI's - Low's - system truly has been transformed - now I am just wondering - if a lossless layer would add to it but it seems everyone is saying no- but I am in the market for a player as the IPOD I have is not up to the task anymore LOL

[nsjames]

the response given is still the best answer.

use a USB drive with .wav files. .wav files are full uncompressed audio, the same as CD audio.

[ctuna]

I agree that usb is the best way to get as little loss as possible.
If you are going to do mp3 it comes in all resolution's. I can tell
little difference between 320 kb mp3 and wav files . Also you have
consider the source material and how it was recorded. You can often
tell the difference between stuff recorded 60's and pre 60's very easily .
And it gets way different when the CD error where the dynamic range
is way different.

There where some blind test's done that are on ytube somewhere.

Make your own mp3's at high res or just copy wav files .

You will still loose something with bluetooth although the aptex codec
if you have it on both the transmitting and receiving device is suppose
to make it less so.
If you can some how do wi fi wireless that is pretty much lossless.

[freakystyly]

The only true audiophile way of listening to music in your car:
https://thevinylfactory.com/news/ama...ecord-players/