Sponsored
- First Name
- Rick
- Joined
- May 26, 2026
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 177
- Reaction score
- 148
- Location
- Riverside, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- OBX SAS Avalanche Gray
- Your Bronco Model
- Outer Banks
At least according to my car audio shop, no. I was told it's high quality.
Do you have info that contradicts?
OP
OP
- Thread starter
- #33
Ummm no i don't ..... but comparing it to Apple Music this is what came up:
"Audio Quality: Apple Music wins with Hi-Res Lossless and Dolby Atmos support; Deezer offers CD-quality FLAC (16-bit/44.1 kHz) in its HiFi tier but lacks spatial audio. "
And to @Brian_B 's point, streaming from pretty much any high quality service isn't going to have the returns you hope for, not when the default BT audio codec for the bronco is....SBC, which is the lowest spec audio codec for bluetooth, designed to essentially work with everything. but it also means that your audio stream is going to get compressed to 320kbit/s whether you like it or not.
I *think* the chipset in the larger head unit that supports HD FM Audio supports higher bitrates, but don't quote me on that, as I only researched what's in my own vehicle.
So streaming those big fat files from deezer/apple/slopify with a firehose won't matter when the stereo uses a straw to talk to your phone. The local high quality files have the capability of sounding better, except for the obvious problem of having to use sync natively in the car, which is quite awful compared to AA/carplay, IMO.
This could of course have been solved, had Ford decided to give us a line-in on the head unit like pretty much every other modern car for the last 25 years has had, but alas, that ship has sailed.
Granted, all of this can be offset with some good speakers and power behind them to hide all the codec sins with some volume that doesn't clip under load. And having good overlap on all your various channels to cover the full spectrum of what you're listening to will give that nice full satisfying sound that you're after anyways.
Just remember that psychoacoustics are 100% a thing. I consider myself an audiophile to some degree, but I can objectively say that the difference between the vinyl's I buy for enjoyment, and the accompanying flac files that come with them is basically zero on a good set of headphones. I just like putting on a record for the deliberate nature of it, and making music something to experience vs just 'some background noise'
I *think* the chipset in the larger head unit that supports HD FM Audio supports higher bitrates, but don't quote me on that, as I only researched what's in my own vehicle.
So streaming those big fat files from deezer/apple/slopify with a firehose won't matter when the stereo uses a straw to talk to your phone. The local high quality files have the capability of sounding better, except for the obvious problem of having to use sync natively in the car, which is quite awful compared to AA/carplay, IMO.
This could of course have been solved, had Ford decided to give us a line-in on the head unit like pretty much every other modern car for the last 25 years has had, but alas, that ship has sailed.
Granted, all of this can be offset with some good speakers and power behind them to hide all the codec sins with some volume that doesn't clip under load. And having good overlap on all your various channels to cover the full spectrum of what you're listening to will give that nice full satisfying sound that you're after anyways.
Just remember that psychoacoustics are 100% a thing. I consider myself an audiophile to some degree, but I can objectively say that the difference between the vinyl's I buy for enjoyment, and the accompanying flac files that come with them is basically zero on a good set of headphones. I just like putting on a record for the deliberate nature of it, and making music something to experience vs just 'some background noise'
Sponsored
I believe the B&O has a line in.... If you count a USB 3.0.... which has a bit rate "straw" of about 625Mbps.... Maybe it is only a 2.0 but that is still a 480 Mbps "straw".
You'll find this amusing then, a good friend of mine is a USB hardware developer, and holds some of the patents on the USB tech that's been licensed to Ford/Toyota/GM/etc. He *rages* against Ford because they 100000% did not follow the spec, and implemented it improperly, severely limiting the bandwidth that port is capable of. it's USB-c form factor, but that's USB 2.0 underneath.
Looks like you answered me before I got my edit in.... Appreciate the heads up on that. Yes Ford does have a habit of disappointing me. But then again so does ever other automotive manufacturer in one manner or another..... Hell at my age I am just disappointed in people in general.
Oh well.... I just need to learn how to make due with what I have and make it all work to the best of my ability given what I have to work with.
All these last few Posts have been informational on the BT profile, USB architecture, and various Streams.
I still prefer Apple Music convenience and quality, and XMS for majority of my longer drives.
The comments to upgrade audio to work around the compressed file limitations… sounds like my indirect path while seeking simply more clarity in Bronco’s audio. Tried & disappointed with the rear 6.5” speaker route other than it basically guided me towards a more complete upgrade.
Nice Memories! The mention of Turntable & records… I finally packed up my records for lack of use. Although I used to enjoy putting a record on to also hear the little needle sounds between tracks and dust; that was true music compared to streaming. Moving to CD’s was a lacking experience compared to all associated sounds & care of records.
I still prefer Apple Music convenience and quality, and XMS for majority of my longer drives.
The comments to upgrade audio to work around the compressed file limitations… sounds like my indirect path while seeking simply more clarity in Bronco’s audio. Tried & disappointed with the rear 6.5” speaker route other than it basically guided me towards a more complete upgrade.
Nice Memories! The mention of Turntable & records… I finally packed up my records for lack of use. Although I used to enjoy putting a record on to also hear the little needle sounds between tracks and dust; that was true music compared to streaming. Moving to CD’s was a lacking experience compared to all associated sounds & care of records.
- First Name
- Brian
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2023
- Threads
- 62
- Messages
- 8,586
- Reaction score
- 15,280
- Location
- Central CA
- Vehicle(s)
- '23 BB 4dr 7MT, '22 BSport OBX, '87 B-II XL
- Your Bronco Model
- Big Bend
The real way to get around the compression thing, if you really want to - is to go straight to your amp and bypass the head unit entirely.
Many aftermarket amps have multiple input options, and are selectable from some sort of external interface.
The popular Kicker Key does not have this, but kits like Musway have an optional additional HD Bluetooth input dongle and physical optical input interface you can select between, in addition to the speaker-level inputs.
Many aftermarket amps have multiple input options, and are selectable from some sort of external interface.
The popular Kicker Key does not have this, but kits like Musway have an optional additional HD Bluetooth input dongle and physical optical input interface you can select between, in addition to the speaker-level inputs.
Seems like the only sensible approach for best sq is bypass HU with a player stuck somewhere hamdy like an uber driver LOL, or replace HU entirely but with what?
Sponsored
Similar threads
