I know you can play FLAC files on a USB drive for the very best performance, which does sound amazing but the library is limited and downloading to a USB is not nearly as convenient.
I am talking primarily about streaming. I use Youtube music and download/stream the highest quality. Any other tips or music services anyone uses for even better quality ?
I will say this stereo is the best stock system I have heard in any car. Crisp and clear but the bass kicks when needed. Streaming MP3's has never sounded so great IMO.

 

Plugging phone into usb removes a possible bottleneck (bluetooth), but most regular streaming is compressed to BT level anyway (at least on newest phones). I think it sounds better plugged in on AA, however I get almost constant issues with AA wireless adapter which is the worst setup imo...

 

If you’re streaming from a plugged in phone, I expect the streaming service is the only variable you can change. Just did a quick search and it seems Quboz and Apple Music are quite often considered the best in class (excluding the niche services with small music catalogs). YouTube music doesn’t appear to get much love for its quality.

 

Interesting. The built in wireless adapter ? or do you have an aftermarket ? My AA wireless connects right up when I start the car. I have a 2023.
I assume if I just plug it in to USB it will override the wireless AA.

 

Ours is a 21 so no native wireless - AAwireless dongle was used. Better to stream via the head unit; even better via USB. Try plugging in first, if any issues, turn off AA wireless on phone or car...

 

I am by no means an audiophile but Apple Music through the wired CarPlay sounds incredible in our RDX.

 

I'm an Android guy. You tube music, if you set it to high quality (data be damned) is pretty damn great.

 

I'm not an audiophile, but I usually see audiophiles streaming via Tidal. The Android Auto and/or Carplay datalink is wifi or USB (earlier RDX models require a dongle for wifi) but regardless will have more than enough capacity for very high quality audio, the bandwidth constraint is getting streaming music from the cloud to the phone, and from posts I've seen it appears the Tidal app does this with the best sound quality.

 

I can say I agree on my 2023 Tech. I have heard people say service with high quality audio sound good. So I decided to give it a try since you can get a free trial. Honestly, I haven't been impressed so far. The stream from Tidal sounds less vibrant and less full than YouTube Music despite playing at a higher bitrate. As I'm also using via Android Auto, the interface is a PITA as Tidal doesn't play well with google voice commands and the keyboard doesn't want to open on the screen as it keeps telling me the keyboard is active on my phone. I did hear a rumor that YouTube does some back end processing on their part. I am also willing to consider maybe the models with the full 16 speaker studio 3D may see more benefits from a service like Tidal where the 12 speaker system just sounds better with the more processed music like YouTube.