So I've just replaced the factory footwell woofers and rear sub (still one to go ' cos it requires PITA grinding out of the mounting hole).
I've been doing listening tests incrementally using bluetooth from my phone to an adapter plugged into the AUX input and decided to compare this to exactly the same music tracks burned onto a CD. These are HD tracks (24 bit/96kHz) so the CD player is at a disadvantage due to down sampling to 16 bit/44.1 kHz - but has a significant advantage in that the digital signal is sent directly to the amp over K-Bus (I assume with some digital protocol conversion?), whereas the AUX in presumably has to do an analog-to-digital conversion first?
Prior to the speaker replacement there wasn't a big noticeable diff between Bluetooth audio and CD sound (probably because it was so muddy-sounding due to the factory woofers)- but there sure as hell is now! The diff is night and day with the new subs cleaning up all the mud, and I am pretty damn sure the diff is now mostly due to the AUX doing a bad-sounding A-to-D conversion (Bluetooth isn't that bad!)
This creates quite a dilemma - the Chinese infotainment unit I have been looking to purchase relies on AUX for sound, s it's now become an unacceptable option for music.
There's a Bluetooth option that plugs into the CD changer that would bypass the AUX sound problem I assume? Can anyone confirm this?
Then there's CDs - but the damn CD Stacker doesn't want to play CD-Rs! or perhaps it just doesn't like my CD-Rs? Do CD-Rs work in other people's CD Stacker? (I have a 2003 zed btw)
I've been doing listening tests incrementally using bluetooth from my phone to an adapter plugged into the AUX input and decided to compare this to exactly the same music tracks burned onto a CD. These are HD tracks (24 bit/96kHz) so the CD player is at a disadvantage due to down sampling to 16 bit/44.1 kHz - but has a significant advantage in that the digital signal is sent directly to the amp over K-Bus (I assume with some digital protocol conversion?), whereas the AUX in presumably has to do an analog-to-digital conversion first?
Prior to the speaker replacement there wasn't a big noticeable diff between Bluetooth audio and CD sound (probably because it was so muddy-sounding due to the factory woofers)- but there sure as hell is now! The diff is night and day with the new subs cleaning up all the mud, and I am pretty damn sure the diff is now mostly due to the AUX doing a bad-sounding A-to-D conversion (Bluetooth isn't that bad!)
This creates quite a dilemma - the Chinese infotainment unit I have been looking to purchase relies on AUX for sound, s it's now become an unacceptable option for music.
There's a Bluetooth option that plugs into the CD changer that would bypass the AUX sound problem I assume? Can anyone confirm this?
Then there's CDs - but the damn CD Stacker doesn't want to play CD-Rs! or perhaps it just doesn't like my CD-Rs? Do CD-Rs work in other people's CD Stacker? (I have a 2003 zed btw)
