mobile audiophile media player

[LyriqJoe]

I'm looking for thoughts on a mobile iPhone app that plays WAV and DSD (various Hz). I bought "better" audio in my vehicle, and currently can only appreciate the sound quality through SXM channels. I would like to play selections from my music server (through the internet or downloaded onto my phone). I have tried Plex, but the fidelity is not there; I have yet to determine what codecs Plex supports. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Joe

 

[MrBoat]

I'm looking for thoughts on a mobile iPhone app that plays WAV and DSD (various Hz). I bought "better" audio in my vehicle, and currently can only appreciate the sound quality through SXM channels. I would like to play selections from my music server (through the internet or downloaded onto my phone). I have tried Plex, but the fidelity is not there; I have yet to determine what codecs Plex supports. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Joe

What do you mean by "bought better," since a great system should be able to still deliver hi-fi performance even via FM radio. The Alpine in my truck delivers a decent hi-fi experience via Bluetooth and Pandora, for example. CD is a step up from there but then we are still dependent on the quality of the actual recording, more often than not.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm looking for thoughts on a mobile iPhone app that plays WAV and DSD (various Hz). I bought "better" audio in my vehicle, and currently can only appreciate the sound quality through SXM channels. I would like to play selections from my music server (through the internet or downloaded onto my phone). I have tried Plex, but the fidelity is not there; I have yet to determine what codecs Plex supports. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Joe

What exactly have you got. Is this a higher end factory system or some hack job from a shed installer?

There is a huge variation in sound quality from the offerings of the various car brands.

 

[jinjuku]

I'm looking for thoughts on a mobile iPhone app that plays WAV and DSD (various Hz). I bought "better" audio in my vehicle, and currently can only appreciate the sound quality through SXM channels. I would like to play selections from my music server (through the internet or downloaded onto my phone). I have tried Plex, but the fidelity is not there; I have yet to determine what codecs Plex supports. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Joe

From PLEX website:
Passthrough Codecs

Audio streams encoded with certain codecs can be passed through, untouched, to the selected audio device. Supported codecs vary based on the selected Audio Device Kind.

• Enable passthrough codecs intentionally. Streams with codecs not selected for passthrough are provided to the output device as PCM audio.

How are you feeding your system from the phone?

 

[LyriqJoe]

From PLEX website:
Passthrough Codecs

Audio streams encoded with certain codecs can be passed through, untouched, to the selected audio device. Supported codecs vary based on the selected Audio Device Kind.

• Enable passthrough codecs intentionally. Streams with codecs not selected for passthrough are provided to the output device as PCM audio.

How are you feeding your system from the phone?

Yes, I am currently using PLEX on my iPhone. I was (naively) expecting the PLEX player to have its own CODECs (as part of the app), which based on the quality of the audio to my vehicle's audio system (via BT) is not to my expectations. My goal is to find an iPhone app with its own CODECs to process hi-def WAV and DSD files, understanding that the BT connection will limit the fidelity.

thanks for the comment, Joe

 

[Trebdp83]

Regardless of the app, I believe the iPhone Bluetooth connection will result in the use of AAC to the connected system.

 

[LyriqJoe]

What exactly have you got. Is this a higher end factory system or some hack job from a shed installer?

There is a huge variation in sound quality from the offerings of the various car brands.

True, there is some variability in "high-end" vehicle audio brands, but as mentioned, the issue is with the PLEX app, given that SXM sounds pretty damn good. My goal is to play my existing home music server content through an iPhone app into my vehicle's audio system. The quality of PLEX listening is much less than either regular FM or SXM radio, so I'm looking for suggestions for other apps to provide (1) connectivity to my home music server, and (2) have their own s/w CODECs. One of my vehicles connect my iPhone via BT, and the other via USB; the USB connection has somewhat better fidelity. Both vehicles exhibit the same poor-quality sou

thanks for the comment, Joe

Regardless of the app, I believe the iPhone Bluetooth connection will result in the use of AAC to the connected system.

Interesting, if that's the case, then whatever encoding I have, it will be down-converted to a lossy format... thanks, I will research this more with my Apple "techy" buddies.. Assuming you are correct, then my "mission" is a lost cause, unless I buy a hi-def portable player, which were all-the-rage a few years ago. That still might not achieve my goal; I would need analog "in" connections to the car audio, after the portable player did the decoding to analog... starting to 'sound' like a lost cause... sorry, I could not resist the pun!

thanks for the thought!

Joe

 

[Eppie]

True, there is some variability in "high-end" vehicle audio brands, but as mentioned, the issue is with the PLEX app, given that SXM sounds pretty damn good. My goal is to play my existing home music server content through an iPhone app into my vehicle's audio system. The quality of PLEX listening is much less than either regular FM or SXM radio, so I'm looking for suggestions for other apps to provide (1) connectivity to my home music server, and (2) have their own s/w CODECs. One of my vehicles connect my iPhone via BT, and the other via USB; the USB connection has somewhat better fidelity. Both vehicles exhibit the same poor-quality sou

thanks for the comment, Joe

Interesting, if that's the case, then whatever encoding I have, it will be down-converted to a lossy format... thanks, I will research this more with my Apple "techy" buddies.. Assuming you are correct, then my "mission" is a lost cause, unless I buy a hi-def portable player, which were all-the-rage a few years ago. That still might not achieve my goal; I would need analog "in" connections to the car audio, after the portable player did the decoding to analog... starting to 'sound' like a lost cause... sorry, I could not resist the pun!

thanks for the thought!

Joe

Roon has added the ARC phone app to allow streaming from your home Roon server to a mobile phone. Might yield better quality than Plex. It's an expensive solution but there is a 14-day trial period.