Thanks. I really makes me happy to see so many of you make the effort to get 5.1 files to play in your cars. It really makes a difference.
And thanks to the other members, like Funz51 for keeping the flame burning.

Everyone have a great Christmas, or whatever holiday you chose. Be safe in those cars and watch out for the morons. There are plenty out there this time of year!

 

I did a test in my TLX since I saw in this thread that the RDX couldn't play 96kHz files. I ripped DVD-A tracks in both 48 kHz and 96kHz of the same album and tested them in my car. The 96kHz sounded like it was downmixed to stereo whereas the 48kHz had the expected MCH response. Is this expected or I shouldn't have been able to hear the 96kHz track at all?

 

Worked as "advertised". 96kHz (mch) is downmixed to 48kHz (stereo). Anything greater than 96kHz will not play at all, from my experience. If you want mch output the files can't be greater than 48kHz.

 

as stated in the UG and this site, burn your 5.1 as 48/24 as the highest. 2 ch can be 96/24. I can barely tell the difference in 48 and 96 in a car.

 

Yep. The ELS guy told me it has to do with the MOST Bus that the Acura head end uses, not the ELS portion, but in order to do 5.1 you need to be 24/48 Zero Compression .flac files. It's not that big of a deal in the car, hearing 48 instead of 96. It's really a matter of perception.

Once the holidays are over and hopefully the world starts getting back to normal I want to try a USB stick in the new TLX. Not that I'd switch at this point, I need the space in the RDX for work and real life. My TL days are pretty much past me now.

 

Has anyone tried ripping home theater audio reference tracks to USB and testing car response with an SPL meter in the car?

 

So far I have been pretty pleased listening to FLAC files off the USB in the RDX. So I appreciate this thread a lot. However I noticed since my newest software update to the RDX a few days ago, music off of my iPhone sounds more punchy. My iPhone is a new 12 Pro. I was using a 6s Plus prior. Do you guys think it's the phone or could it be the update?

 

The update could indeed be the culprit; there have been reports of audio quality changes on other threads.

 

I noticed this before the update but I've been having a lot of listener fatigue due to the treble-bias. Someone likened the system to Bose and I do see the similarity in the lack of full-body sound and treble-bias. I've been spoiled by full-body sound at home so not having deep bass where I expect it has been disappointing.

Can anyone give good examples of tracks with decent bass response?

 

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. I listed to it using Amazon Music HD and an iPhone 8. You can sign up for HD music first 90 day free trial.

 

I’ve got that on CD. Thanks for the reminder to rip that one.

 

After you rip the CD, then compare the quality you can potentially get on Amazon HD music using the same song.

 

I just sampled some of Tidal's Dolby Atmos playlists in my RDX Advance. It is the fullest, clearest sounding surround music I've ever heard in my RDX. It was a great listening experience! I also think the newest RDX software update (d.1.5.1) has increased low frequency and mid frequency response. In other words IT SOUNDS GOOD!

 

back down your treble by two or more and mid by three. Leave bass alone. It softens that shrill you hear when you turn it up.
Download via my links I still have up and put on a stick. Some awesome bass tracks on there.

 

spl is useless if all you hear is shreek. Not enough amp juice and speaker handling is only 20w per speaker. Not enough to bother to measure.

 

I'll try that. Thanks!

 

I've been on Amazon HD Music for nearly 2 weeks and I don't hear any discernable quality difference from CD. I've compared my CD rip of "Beat It" against the Amazon HD one and they sound the same. I think the problem is there's no way to offload the highest quality track to a USB stick where it would benefit the most. Amazon Music HD over the CarPlay is going to be no better than CD quality due to the limitations of the iPhone itself. Forget about multichannel FLAC on the iPhone as it's not capable even if Amazon Music 3D is available.

 

Thanks, I tried your settings changes and the system sounds great once again. I do feel the latest OTA update changed the sound quality somewhat.

 

I agree with you. I was out for an hour today listening to Amazon HD (HDUltra -96 downloaded files on my phone) and hi res (96 stereo and 48 5.1)on my stick, and listened carefully. Yes they changed the balance, more bass and changed mids and highs in a way that takes the hard edge off a bit. Remember, the tone controls work with the volume control. Sometimes turning mid or treble down then the volume up a little will sound just as loud, but will change the curve to be a bit more lower-mid accentuation. Basically, don’t just always reach to turn up the mid and high, since you may make the balance worse. It’s all in the balance.
good to hear you are enjoying!

 

I don't understand the comments re treble being emphasized and not enough bass. However I'm not playing 5.1 or FLAC's. Just HQ compressed via USB connected Android Auto on my 2019 RDX Tech. There is a notable difference between being connected via Bluetooth and via USB.

My hearing is OK for my age as I can hear 40Hz to 15kHz tones. I listen to a mix of music from 60's & 70's rock to modern indie pop - lots of 90's and 2000's such as the Smiths, Radiohead, Audislave, Kings of Leon, Nora Jones etc etc. So plenty of material with deep bass, kick drum, cymbals, and high hat.

I have my bass set lower by two notches and treble set at zero/flat. Bass set to flat is overwhelming for my ears at any volume level over 8. I typically listen between 8 and 10 while driving between 80km/50mph to 100km/60mph. This is unchanged since before the last firmware update - I updated about 3 weeks ago.

What I did notice is that every time I accidentally enable the "DTS Neural Surround", the system sound changes dramatically. Bass disappears and imaging & stage become like listening to mono. Also, with the DTS NS enabled, when listening to HD AM Radio, carried over FM sub bands, the sound seems to be coming from the front dash centre speaker only. Disable DTS NS and the HD AM uses more then the centre speaker.

If you're lacking bass, first thing I would do is TURN OFF the DTS Neural Surround feature.

.

 

You might be on to something! I hate processing in general, so I would have no issue turning off DTS Neural in the car.

 

True, iPhones can only play up to 24bit/48kHz tracks, essentially CD quality, over CarPlay to the ELS system. But Amazon Music HD is CD quality FLAC minimum, far better than Apple Music, Spotify or SiriusXM. I’ll take the variety of available tracks from Amazon over either a USB stick with a limited number of tracks, or a complicated DAC-plus-dongle to get a slight improvement (to my ears) in a relatively noisy car environment. YMMV

 

Is the iPhone limitation still applicable when using CarPlay over USB with Amazon HD? I would think the signal being kept digital to the car would allow full quality and multichannel support if offered by the streaming service? Since the phone is not being asked to "play" the song itself and it just a WiFi connection in this case I would not think it would limit it...

 

No, iPhone is not capable of MCH sound output. This is well known. As a matter of fact, playing Amazon Music HD through your iPhone means you are limited by the device's (iPhone) limitations, which is no better than stereo 24-bit 48kHz audio. When playing a song, just click on the yellow/gold "Ultra HD" or whatever symbol and it will list the track quality, device capability, and current downloaded quality. The only way you can get the most out of Amazon Music HD will be with compatible devices in the home (ie. high-end receiver, PC, etc.). iPhone is not an audiophile device.

 

The Amazon Music HD streams and downloads are copy-protected, so I’m pretty sure the ELS system wouldn’t be able to play them natively, even if you were able to download them to the phone at the highest quality. Amazon Music HD is only stereo, regardless of the quality, so multi-channel playback won’t happen from that service, regardless of the capabilities of the playback system.

 

Amazon Music HD appears to offer 3D music, which I can only assume is MCH tracks. As I said in my previous post, the only way to access the full capability is with high-end AVR or PC, etc. at home.

 

According to the website and the app, Amazon 3D tracks can only be played on an Amazon Echo Studio device. It may be coming to any Dolby Atmos device, but not currently. Agree that only home audio devices get the best quality out of Ultra HD tracks (24/96).

 

Okay, I do see that the iPhone is limited when playing the Ultra HD Amazon songs... but how is it there are ways to play higher quality from an iPhone using a DAC? My assumption was that the lighting port to USB was not limiting the quality from HD streaming which is how an external DAC would work. I understand if you are using the iPhone to play the music it is device limited but wouldn't the USB into the RDX support the higher quality if the RDX DAC is handling the music? I will have to try this out when the wife comes home to see what Amazon Music shows as the device capability when plugged into the RDX...

 

In the past, it would have been something like a firewire cable that could maintain copyrighted MCH music transmission. These days, we get that over HDMI and various other technologies that offer encryption. A lightning cable doesn't qualify as a cable with the proper encryption. Apple isn't going to give you better than 24-bit 48kHz if the cable doesn't support it.

 

That should work for locally downloaded, non-copy protected music, i.e., ripped from SACDs or purchased from audiophile websites like Immersive Audio. But not for Amazon Music HD, whether streamed or downloaded.

 

24/48 is not bad at all. 48 and 96 can barely tell difference in the car. CDs are half the 24/48, not essentially the same. I have many 5.1 24/48 and a thousand 96 recordings that sound as good as your gonna get from the system , comparing to downloaded Amazon hd ultra music, you cannot tell. Many times, it is not the sampling rate but the source just sucks, or is a terrible mix. A decent system like ours can make that distinction. If you are listening to compressed music, fm, am, Sirius, the system is gonna sound bland, like most other systems, cuz your source sucks.

 

From the Amazon music website...

Which iOS devices support Amazon Music HD?

Most iPhones and iPads released since 2014 (devices running on iOS 11, or later) can support HD/Ultra HD (up to 24-bit, 48kHz) without any additional equipment. In order to play songs at higher sample rates (96 or 192 kHz), iPhone customers can connect an external DAC capable of supporting those higher sample rates.

 

It is known that the DAC provided by Acura maxes out at 24-bit/48 kHz.

If you follow this thread, we are asked to downmix 96kHz tracks to 48kHz before putting it on USB stick:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rdx-...p-step-971819/

I can't comment on if this limit is for MCH only or also for stereo. Anyone know any different?

 

Okay, so it seems the RDX has the same limit as the iPhone... guess there is not much else to do. My concern was on high quality stereo playback rather than multi-channel anyways.

 

Always wondered what the exact difference was for Studio versus 3D Studio...Acura RDX ELS Studio premium audio system is offered in two configurations:

• ELS Studio (Technology Package)
  • 12 speakers
  • 12 channels
  • 550 watts

ELS Studio 3D (A-Spec and Advanced Package)

•  
  • 16 speakers
  • 16 channels
  • 710 watts

 

what? The RDX plays 96/24 stereo and 48/24 5.1. There is a plethora of info on this on his site. You just have to wade thru it.

speaking of power, that 700 watts plus is peak, gotta be. All the speakers are rated at 20watts, and the sub 50 watts..add it up. Advertising peak and not rms is just a shame, and they all do it. My sub peak pushes more power than this whole system. They need to get an aftermarket high quality maker to do something special and offer a bad-ass beautiful system. Hard to get out there.

 

which I can attest to. I have a dragonfly usb dac that is terrific. But you get analog out. I guess you could plug it into the aux input. I might just try that.

 

That’s what I was thinking but I wasn’t sure. Either way, the iPhone doesn’t appear to transmit 96 kHz. Guessing USB will do it for stereo sources.

 

Would be interesting to see if it makes a difference using the external DAC through the analog RDX input... let us know how it goes.

 

Newsy1904, you are a gift from heaven! I have tested the same track with the stupid DTS Neural on and also off. If you want your bass/LFE back, definitely make sure that "DTS Neural Surround" is turned OFF!

This reminds me back in the day when DTS was still relevant, there were some receivers/players that had a bug and couldn't properly decode the LFE from the DTS track. It was encoded about 10 dB lower than the rest of the track so devices that properly decode DTS know to amp it back up on the receiving end. The odd thing is we're typically not playing DTS tracks in the car unless they were rips from 5.1 DTS Audio CD's.