[danallxt]

Question for those in the know...that's not me for sure.
All my music is 320kbs MP3 format on USB which i currently use in the M240
I know the system can decode and play the higher quality FLAC files.
What i am wondering, if someone (me) without a discerning ear (hearing loss) is likely to hear the difference between the flac files and a 320 MP3 on this BMW HK sound system. I guess i can test it myself with identical recordings, i really don't want to redo my thousands of music files.

[Coconut]

From my experience playing great quality MP3's (320kbs) vs FLAC on both premium stock and aftermarket systems, taking into account the mediocre/good quality of the BMW HK system, I would say you won't be able to hear a difference on the HK system. I know I wasn't able to with FLAC files on premium stock system. On a really good aftermarket system with quality components and proper tuning, I was able to hear a difference but it wasn't drastic. If your system is capable, you would be able to just slightly make out the otherwise lost frequencies (<20hz, >20hz) due to compression and maybe lower noise floor. I'd say with a good system, 320kbps MP3 is 85% and FLAC gives you that extra 15%. On the HK system, with a trained ear MP3's are about 95% with FLAC giving you that 5%.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by danallxt

Question for those in the know...that's not me for sure.
All my music is 320kbs MP3 format on USB which i currently use in the M240
I know the system can decode and play the higher quality FLAC files.
What i am wondering, if someone (me) without a discerning ear (hearing loss) is likely to hear the difference between the flac files and a 320 MP3 on this BMW HK sound system. I guess i can test it myself with identical recordings, i really don't want to redo my thousands of music files.

I agree with Coconut, it's not worth redoing anything. I have a mix on mine and I can barely tell the difference. The HK system is really good, but 320kbps MP3 is quite high quality and you're driving around not listening in a chair.

I already had a bunch of FLACs that I listen to at home on a high-end setup, so the advantage for me is that I can plop the same files on a flash drive and listen to them in the car without having to convert anything.

[danallxt]

jpcoop and coconut
thanks a bunch, i really appreciate it when folks take the time to respond to a question
thanks again

[OriginalFake]

Originally Posted by danallxt

Question for those in the know...that's not me for sure.
All my music is 320kbs MP3 format on USB which i currently use in the M240
I know the system can decode and play the higher quality FLAC files.
What i am wondering, if someone (me) without a discerning ear (hearing loss) is likely to hear the difference between the flac files and a 320 MP3 on this BMW HK sound system. I guess i can test it myself with identical recordings, i really don't want to redo my thousands of music files.

A lot of people with a discerning ear can't tell the difference between file types in a truly blind test on legit hifi systems so you're definitely fine.

[fortysecond]

Originally Posted by Coconut

From my experience playing great quality MP3's (320kbs) vs FLAC on both premium stock and aftermarket systems, taking into account the mediocre/good quality of the BMW HK system, I would say you won't be able to hear a difference on the HK system. I know I wasn't able to with FLAC files on premium stock system. On a really good aftermarket system with quality components and proper tuning, I was able to hear a difference but it wasn't drastic. If your system is capable, you would be able to just slightly make out the otherwise lost frequencies (<20hz, >20hz) due to compression and maybe lower noise floor. I'd say with a good system, 320kbps MP3 is 85% and FLAC gives you that extra 15%. On the HK system, with a trained ear MP3's are about 95% with FLAC giving you that 5%.

Agree with concept of additional 5-10% that lossless gives you towards MP3.

However I was quite surprised with additional 20+% between Spotify and ALAC on the same album. I would say that difference was dramatic for me. In other words - I'm still not happy with HK system that is all muddy (if EQ is not tweaked in somewhat 'V' shaped spectrum setting).

Yes, we all understand the codec Spotify uses and compression that cuts details from all possible angles, but I was not expecting that streaming quality is so awful when compared with lossless. Just an idea for people to check their favorite albums in lossless format while driving

ALAC and later FLAC albums that I listened to, this week, showed that HK system can actually play and build a scene. The sound is crisp, fresh and open when compared to streaming bag of dust.

[advr6]

I've loaded some high res 24bit 192 khz files on a 512 GB SanDisk USB stick and the sound quality is worse than lower res files played through Apple Carplay. Anyone else have the same experience?

The same files played through my home audio system sound great.

[Searay55555]

Originally Posted by advr6

I've loaded some high res 24bit 192 khz files on a 512 GB SanDisk USB stick and the sound quality is worse than lower res files played through Apple Carplay. Anyone else have the same experience?

The same files played through my home audio system sound great.

Uh oh! I also have a lot of high res DSD files and 24/96, etc that I play on my server on my home system. I’ve tried to collect lossless quality and above as much as possible. It will be easy to copy everything to a USB, but I’m wondering about compatibility issues. My Aurender home server will play almost any format. I guess I’ll find out when I finally get the G87 at the end of the year (hopefully).
I’m sure it will all work out better than my E93 hard drive in the tech package.