One would hope so, but unfortunately doesn't always work that way. Bluetooth Audio has a myriad of supported codecs: SBC, MPEG-1/2, AAC, ATRAC, etc... An iPhone playing say, mp3 files or aac files converts those files to uncompressed PCM data that it can send to the DAC. Send the audio over USB is also in PCM format (up to a supported sampling rate of 92khz, anything higher has to be downsampled). However, bluetooth is a lot trickier. First a codec has to be agreed upon, and then the audio recompressed with that codec. One optimization could be bypassing transcoding of AAC content, since that codec is supported on the bluetooth side, but transcoding will be necessary for other codecs like MPEG-3, which is not supported.

At the end of the day, the only way to really know is to get some really high-quality audio files and try playing it both ways (over usb, and over bluetooth) to be sure =)

 

Good points.

Well, irregardless of the codec used, you're still playing it over a Bose audio system, which by any audiophile's account is no where near the high end of the market for sound systems. Couple that with traffic and wind noise, however quality you get out of the bluetooth audio will be more than adequate as long as you're using a high quality recording to start with.

 

Yeah, that's why I was sure to add the Burm and insulated glass on my order

 

Nice. I've never heard the Burmeister before so I didn't choose it as an option. Seemed kinda price for a sound system that I think I could do better aftermarket. Only thing I would worry about is the installation and having some joe blow tear my car apart and not be able to put it back together properly.

Btw, you're really close to where I am. I work in Sunnyvale, but live in San Jose.

 

Yeah, I'm coming from the opposite direction... on my Lotus I did a complete aftermarket system (McIntosh MX-5000, MCC-301M, Focal drivers, Critical Mass 10" sub, almost $3k in audio equipment), and while it was a good improvement over the original Alpine all-in-one and Blaupunkt drivers, it was far from great. After a lot of playing around and tinkering, I finally blame the car It had an exposed aluminum chassis that was very reflective, poor positioning of the treble units (aimed directly at the windshield, instead of at the listener), and flimsy plastic body panels, that did not act as good baffles for the drive units. In addition, very poor noise insulation, meaning that the system sounded best when you were parked with the engine off

In contrast, my CLS has a fairly mid-fi Harman-Kardon stereo system, which sounded absolutely amazing (CD player at least, sat radio was bleh, and the ipod connection terrible b/c they were using the analog output pin on the dock connector, and the line picked up a lot of signal noise). Harman's car audio division is a multi-billion dollar business (and they do systems for BMW, Ferrari, GM, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, MB, Rolls Royce, and Toyota, under like five different brand names), and I'm sure they spend millions in R&D, to get their OEM systems designed just right for a particular car. The car manufacturer probably also works close with them, to modify the car design in a way that ensures good audio. It's not just sound insulation, but also the positioning of the speakers, phase alignment, interior volume and dimensions, eliminating resonances, a bunch of parameters go into the sound system as well as the car itself to ensure synergy.

Moral of the story? The car itself is often the biggest factor to great sound. The weakest link in the chain will always hold you back, and the great thing about an OEM system is that it's often designed to minimize those weak links. There's some people who've spent tens of thousands trying to get good audio in their home (some of Burm's own systems run over $100k), yet are fighting a poorly designed listening room. So, in some respects, the Burm at $5k could be a really good deal, if it's as good as people say Nobody in my area has one, so I'll have to wait and see, but I have more faith in Burmester than myself to put together an awesome sound system.

Btw, coincidentally, I live in Sunnyvale and work in Cupertino, but my wife works in San Jose

 

Good points again. Definitely the factory install will be nice and clean. Without listening to these speakers ahead of time, I couldn't justify it. Plus, I never expect too much from car audio anyways due to the outside environment interfering. I'm a home audio junkie and spent a good chunk of change on my HT and for me audio needs to be as close to perfect as I can get it there. I'm hoping that the Bose system will be adequate. I'd just be happy if the subwoofer is powerful enough to feel the bass. I'm not holding my breath but I can dream.

Btw, I also noticed that you too have an Audi TT. I have a 2001 225 coupe. Still running strong and still in pretty good shape. When is your CTT coming in? Mine will be arriving in about 2 weeks or so. Are you planning on putting a clear bra on yours? And if so, are you doing it through the dealer or 3rd party? I found a 3rd party for about $600 which includes hood, bumper, and fender. Just wondering if there is a better deal to be had.

 

I have an October build date, so gotta while to go I was thinking about doing the clear bra, I had it on my last two cars. Problem on a white car is the film edge can collect dirt, forming an obvious line. On a black car, as the film accumulates dirt and scratches, it becomes very obvious, and can't be cleaned, you just need to replace the film occasionally.

I've heard from several friends tho that it's better ot just respray your front bumper (and whatever other body parts) every year or two. Supposedly not as expensive as one might imagine, and your car will always have that like-new look. Also not a bad excuse to add a body kit (amoritze the cost!)

 

I wouldn't go with the cheapest option when it comes to clear bras. Had them redone on several cars in the past that came with them from the dealer or installed by previous owner and everytime the installer cut into the paint. If you get installed on the entire hood and fenders rather than the normal half you won't run into the edge issues. Also if you respray parts on a car it will almost always depriciate the cars value. Buyers will never really know why the front end was repainted.

Give premier films a try if you guys are serious about top quality clear bra. They are no where near the cheapest but by far the best at it.

 

Yeah, $600 is almost a little too cheap, for a car of this caliber C4SxM5 hit the nail on the head, premier in fremont is the best of the best, price runs around $1k I think. Omega Tintwerks and Greg Simms at Mobile Clear Film Portection also supposed to be very good.

 

Ok, I don't mind paying more as long as the quality matches the price. I'll give Premier a call. Thanks.

 

So, I had a chance to listen to try out the bluetooth audio on a iPhone 4 today, on a 2011 turbo with burmester! I unfortunately forgot to bring a docking cable with me, so I could not compare with the USB, but my initial impressions were very good. I went thru an array of iTunes Plus (256kbps AAC) tracks, and it all sounded very good. The sound was a little underwhelming at first, it seemed very focused towards the front of the car (was a bit lacking the surround effect). Bass was a bit boomy too, the sound settings were all at 0, I turned the bass to -1 and found that better. I also had the A/C on, and the engine running, and this car did not have insulated glass, so there was quite a bit of background noise too. I think with the Burm, you *really* do need the noise insulating glass to enjoy.

One nice feature about the bluetooth audio, besides being able to control tracks and volume from phone or PCM, is that there are 3 profiles: relaxed listening (seems to reduce dynamic range), surround, and a "live" one to give a more "immediate" sound (it's some spatial dsp tricks, but the effect is nice). There's also a sound conditioner (I'm guessing not exclusive to BT audio mode) that changes the sound patterns based on cabin noise. As I had the car parked, idling, I kept turned this off. The Burm being run off BT audio, especially with more quiet songs and vocals, really shined. I really need to play around with it more

Next time I'll go with a CD and docking cable, and compare all 3 modes of playback! Hopefully the car won't be so hot inside either, so I can leave the A/C fan and engine off.