lester_strud

I posted this on another forum but didn't get a response so thought I would try here. Sorry if you've seen this before.

Has anyone had any issues with the ipod AMI playing music really quietly. When I switch back to the radio it's much louder and sounds much better. I connected a 2nd generation Ipod Nano and had the volume setting on the player at max. Could this be a cable issue? I have a 2012 with 3G MMI Navigation and the blue gromit AMI cable. Is that the right cable? Is there something I'm not doing right?

urojohn

In my experience the IPOD has much better and equal sound volume, I have a 2011 with 3G MMI. The radio, especially Sirius is much poorer sound quality. The cables sound correct, I would have it checked under warranty. I use the largest IPOD.

clochner

It's b/c the iPod uses an analog connection. Your SD cards and Jukebox hard-drive are your friends in this respect. Convert your iTunes songs to mp3s (to the highest quality - PM me if you want instructions here) and then transfer them to SD cards and/or your car's hard-drive. You will maximize the sound quality this way. I've never used my iPod/iPhone as an audio source in my car.

Sandy S

My ipod works fine. I liked it so much I got one to keep permanently in the car. I don't have my owner's manual handy to check, but look for a way to adjust the input volume for the various input sources on the Nav system. Otherwise have the dealer handle it under waranty. You may also want to try a second IPOD if someone has one just to rule out a problem there.

xxShadowxx

Ipod isn't digital, SD card and internal HDD are. There is a pretty noticeable difference in sound quality so I recommend using an SD card. You can copy your entire iTunes library directly to an SD card via copy and paste, and be on your way.

AlA4

I have to agree with this. I used an ipod for a 18 months in my 2010 S4 and just bought an SD card. I used the highest quality wma lossy file format for creating the files on the SD card (apple lossless on the ipod) and the difference is night and day. The SD card sounds so much better. Anyone have any luck creating wma lossless files that will work on the MMI? Audi says it supports wma version 9.0 lossless but I haven't found any software that will create lower than version 9.2 and this version doesn't work. From what I have read, the highest quality lossy wma is closer to the orginal than the highest quality mp3 and I have to agree by my ear.

troposphere

IPod is digital.

clochner

The connection to the car is analog, which is what matters here.

helix139

Yep, it uses the iPod's poor DAC which has a ton of bass rolloff rather than the B&O DAC in the amplifier if you have Nav or the MMI if you don't.

troposphere

It's my understanding that the DAC of the MMI that provides the high quality digital to analog conversion.

It bypasses the internal DAC of the Pod.

Much like the difference between plugging a pod into a high end stereo w/ a mini to rca plug adapter vs using a high quality DAC like the Peachtree IDAC.

In any event my 2012 S4 w/ pod adapter sounds great.