USB Music

[Tri-Cities Owner]

I have a question concerning the use of USM Media in the Harman Kardon Premium Audio System. I am posting this because I do not completely understand the Car Multimedia System User's Manual descriptions for use of USB Media in the USB Port.

My question is can I plug a "USB Stick (thumb drive, hdd or whatever else you want to call it) with the supported audio files (MP3, WMA, FLAC or OGG) on the root drive and the software provided in the audio system will provide playback or do I have to plug in a MP3 players or similar device?

And while we're at it, what is the recommended best file format for playback of audio out of the above supported formats?

Thanks

 

[MurlinatoR]

I have a question concerning the use of USM Media in the Harman Kardon Premium Audio System. I am posting this because I do not completely understand the Car Multimedia System User's Manual descriptions for use of USB Media in the USB Port.

My question is can I plug a "USB Stick (thumb drive, hdd or whatever else you want to call it) with the supported audio files (MP3, WMA, FLAC or OGG) on the root drive and the software provided in the audio system will provide playback or do I have to plug in a MP3 players or similar device?

And while we're at it, what is the recommended best file format for playback of audio out of the above supported formats?

Thanks

And the answer to your question is YES. You can simply plug in your USB and the OS will read the files/folders and allow you to use voice activation to pick songs or the buttons on the steering wheel or dash.

As for format, use FLAC if you have the ability to rip music to that format. It is lossless and carries the exact same quality as the form from with it was taken (ie. CD) but uses MUCH less space than the other formats.

 

[Berzerker]

And the answer to your question is YES. You can simply plug in your USB and the OS will read the files/folders and allow you to use voice activation to pick songs or the buttons on the steering wheel or dash.

As for format, use FLAC if you have the ability to rip music to that format. It is lossless and carries the exact same quality as the form from with it was taken (ie. CD) but uses MUCH less space than the other formats.

Eh, that?s not correct. FLAC is much higher quality, yes, but it comes at a much higher file size. Your average MP3 will be between 6-8MB, where as your average FLAC clocks in at around 25-30MB. Even other popular formats like AAC are still much smaller files than FLAC. It?s a ?lossless? format because there?s no loss from compression (literally to a smaller file size) like there is with a ?lossy? format with AAC or MP3.


Still, you should use FLAC if you can, your music will sound better with the HK sound system, but be prepared with a big enough USB drive to fit all your music.

If you have MP3s already, don?t bother converting to FLAC, you get zero benefit from converting. All you do is just increase file size for nothing. If you have CDs to rip, rip them into FLAC.

To answer OPs first question though, yes you can just buy a flash drive, format it to NTFS or exFAT, and put files in it. Bonus points if you organize it by artist, then album.

 

[Tri-Cities Owner]

MurlinatoR - thanks for the info regarding using USB drives. I tried one out using some MP3 files and it works great though the audio quality is somewhat lacking.

Bezerker - thanks for the info and I will try creating some flac files.

What software do you use to convert cda files to flac?

Thanks

 

[Tri-Cities Owner]

FYI - As a quick follow up to my earlier post I am using CyberLink Power2Go Version 11 to rip the files to FLAC format. I do not have a software choice so the conversion is being made using the best audio quality. The MP3 file for a song was around 4.5 MB and the FLAC version was 26 MB. I'm using a 256 GB USB drive so the file size isn't a concern.

 

[Kazz]

MP3 file sizes will vary by bitrate. 192Kbps is considered the max bitrate as any higher has no real benefit in MP3 - from all I've heard.

 

[mldavis2]

My opinion (worth exactly what you paid for it) is that, unless you are sitting in your car with the engine OFF and not moving, you are wasting your time trying for concert hall sound quality. I don't do that, but maybe some do. MP3 is good enough, and my wife will continue to use her iPod plugged into the aux port for her sound. I'll have to evaluate the SiriusXM for value before I subscribe to that. So USB with MP3 should be good enough over road and engine noise. Anything else is overkill.

 

[MurlinatoR]

My opinion (worth exactly what you paid for it) is that, unless you are sitting in your car with the engine OFF and not moving, you are wasting your time trying for concert hall sound quality. I don't do that, but maybe some do. MP3 is good enough, and my wife will continue to use her iPod plugged into the aux port for her sound. I'll have to evaluate the SiriusXM for value before I subscribe to that. So USB with MP3 should be good enough over road and engine noise. Anything else is overkill.

You may be better suited saving the music on your phone and then streaming it through the bluetooth or AppleCarPlay/AndroidAuto? Then you have access to multiple systems that way.

 

[mldavis2]

You may be better suited saving the music on your phone and then streaming it through the bluetooth or AppleCarPlay/AndroidAuto? Then you have access to multiple systems that way.

That requires a lot of memory on your cell phone, and if you're like many people, you have a gazillion apps on there that suck up RAM. Don't know. I'll have to do some research. I have the capability to rip into any format, but most of what the wife likes is on her iPod and I'd hate to have to move all that stuff from Apple iPod to Android cell phone. And I haven't checked but I don't think you can just copy all that #@!$ Apple format stuff onto a USB. Need to check on that, too.

 

[MurlinatoR]

That requires a lot of memory on your cell phone, and if you're like many people, you have a gazillion apps on there that suck up RAM. Don't know. I'll have to do some research. I have the capability to rip into any format, but most of what the wife likes is on her iPod and I'd hate to have to move all that stuff from Apple iPod to Android cell phone. And I haven't checked but I don't think you can just copy all that #@!$ Apple format stuff onto a USB. Need to check on that, too.

LOLOLOL Well, I have a 64GB SD card and keep all of my music on the SD card so that it doesn't bog down my phone.

Side note: I LOVE that all of the Apple lovers out there use GOOGLE for their email (gmail). LMBO

 

[mldavis2]

LOLOLOL Well, I have a 64GB SD card and keep all of my music on the SD card so that it doesn't bog down my phone.

My Samsung S6 doesn't use an external SD card which is the problem. USB is the only choice other than spending $600 for a new fone. Not going to do that.

 

[Berzerker]

MP3 file sizes will vary by bitrate. 192Kbps is considered the max bitrate as any higher has no real benefit in MP3 - from all I've heard.

320kbps MP3 will definitely give you some nicer separation on the high and mid-range. The file size isn't as large of a difference that I'd still recommend it (only another couple MB/song).

My opinion (worth exactly what you paid for it) is that, unless you are sitting in your car with the engine OFF and not moving, you are wasting your time trying for concert hall sound quality. I don't do that, but maybe some do. MP3 is good enough, and my wife will continue to use her iPod plugged into the aux port for her sound. I'll have to evaluate the SiriusXM for value before I subscribe to that. So USB with MP3 should be good enough over road and engine noise. Anything else is overkill.

If you can afford the space, the clearer range separation a lossless format like FLAC gives you is worth it, especially if you're going at high speeds were some of your sound can get drowned it. It helps you keep most of the quality.

That requires a lot of memory on your cell phone, and if you're like many people, you have a gazillion apps on there that suck up RAM. Don't know. I'll have to do some research. I have the capability to rip into any format, but most of what the wife likes is on her iPod and I'd hate to have to move all that stuff from Apple iPod to Android cell phone. And I haven't checked but I don't think you can just copy all that #@!$ Apple format stuff onto a USB. Need to check on that, too.

Music takes up storage space, not RAM. If you have the space to spare, there's no detriment to storing music on your phone and using it over USB.

I personally just have a dedicated USB drive with all my music on it. There being an extra power USB is nice since I don't need to worry about unplugging the USB drive if I need power (which I never do anyway).

FYI - As a quick follow up to my earlier post I am using CyberLink Power2Go Version 11 to rip the files to FLAC format. I do not have a software choice so the conversion is being made using the best audio quality. The MP3 file for a song was around 4.5 MB and the FLAC version was 26 MB. I'm using a 256 GB USB drive so the file size isn't a concern.

Yup, if you have the space just rip everything to FLAC. I have "ClariFi" and Surround set to "Audience Mode" and it sounds pretty good.

 

[Tri-Cities Owner]

Regarding using USB drives with the MEDIA source button.

The manual states that USB drives should be removed when the car is turned off and should be reinserted only after the car is restarted. This is a huge PITA, do you have experience leaving the USB drive in all the time as you can do on an AUDI or other cars?

 

[Slowy]

Im thinking to install this.

https://www.toms-car-hifi.de/zubeho...interface-kia-alle-modelle-mit-12-pin-stecker

Do not know yet how I install it and where, but want the connection options

 

[Berzerker]

Regarding using USB drives with the MEDIA source button.

The manual states that USB drives should be removed when the car is turned off and should be reinserted only after the car is restarted. This is a huge PITA, do you have experience leaving the USB drive in all the time as you can do on an AUDI or other cars?

Sounds dumb. The same problem exists when you unplug the drive vs turning the car off. In both situations, you're immediately cutting power to the flash drive. When it's not "ejected" normally, you run the risk of corruption on the filesystem, but with a basic folder and music file structure with no small files, you have an infinitesimally small chance of something actually going wrong.

FWIW, I keep mine plugged in all the time and haven't had any problems. I think you'll be fine.

Im thinking to install this.

https://www.toms-car-hifi.de/zubeho...interface-kia-alle-modelle-mit-12-pin-stecker

Do not know yet how I install it and where, but want the connection options

I'm not sure what that gives you, looks like just an SDCard slot? Why would you need that?

 

[Stingin' Away]

What am I missing? The car has bluetooth capability meaning you can stream from your phone. Why do you need to download it on the SD card or USB stick when the music is already stored on your phone?

 

[Berzerker]

What am I missing? The car has bluetooth capability meaning you can stream from your phone. Why do you need to download it on the SD card or USB stick when the music is already stored on your phone?

Because a) it's not on your phone or b) you want the full ID3 tag support, bluetooth doesn't support album art or searching your phone for music through the UVO system.

Also skipping songs and play/pause is a lot faster.

 

[Stingin' Away]

Because a) it's not on your phone or b) you want the full ID3 tag support, bluetooth doesn't support album art or searching your phone for music through the UVO system.

Also skipping songs and play/pause is a lot faster.

Fair enough. I guess I've never run into that problem before so I wouldn't know the hardship between the two. Thanks for explaining

 

[mldavis2]

Not all phones have removable SD cards to increase default capacity.

 

[Slowy]

[MENTION=472]Berzerker[/MENTION] I want to install this in the box in the middle and connect it behind the USB-Plug, so you cant see it. Maybe if im lucky i can use SD-Card and USB-Stick at the same time and also use the USB-Plug for getting energy to the phone.