Bluetooth streaming audio quality

[LawHawk]

Hello. Happy CX-9 owner here (wife has a 2012 Touring with tech package) and I'm strongly considering buying a second one, a 2013 Touring with tech package, for myself.

One thing that has bugged me about the 2012 is the audio quality on Bluetooth streaming music. Sometimes it's great, most of the time it's mediocre, and sometimes it's awful. Does anyone know what makes it get better and worse? Any tips on keeping it sounding great?

 

[HOLOHOLO]

I've had mixed results too. I get the impression that the bluetooth data stream varies at times, with the connection quality, (even if the phone is right by the unit). Different iPhone models and versions of the iOS can use different bluetooth standards.

Bluetooth bandwidth is limited to begin with, and after any dropped packets or compression are factored in, it can make certain types of music sound worse than others. A string quartet would sound like krap, for example. A bass-heavy pop song, OK, until you pushed the volume. Then the bass gets raspy.

I think all you can do is start with the best quality (high bit rate) recording and reconnect if the sound degrades badly. BT interference might be a temporary factor, that you can correct.

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

Have you ever considered that it might be the quality of the Music?

The MP3 or whatever might be low quality, if you want to check, all you would need to do is play the same track on the AUX input with a wire..

 

[LawHawk]

Thanks for the replies. It's definitely the connection and not the recording quality. The same song through aux sounds perfect. Even just listening to one song one time, it will sound great at one point in the song and then get really crappy for another part of the song. I have not noticed any correlation with speed, location (industrial neighborhood versus residential versus highway), presence of another BT device in the car, etc. Also no correlation with using my phone versus hers (both iPhone 4s).

 

[not_too_shabby]

FYI, if you go for a 2013 with the USB connection. The USB integration with the iPod is good right up until the point you turn the car off. Read this thread for more details. 2013 CX-9 and 2014 CX-5 have the same issue.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ith-2014-CX-5-GT-Tech-Stereo-and-other-issues

 

[LawHawk]

Thanks for the heads-up. I wish it was at least consistent between all the different owners of the same vehicle. The nice thing from my perspective is that if all else fails, I am fine falling back on just connecting via aux cable, which is what I have been doing with my last two vehicles, and I am find with doing that forever. But It would be really nice if I could have playlists/controls on the vehicle screen and still have it sound great.

 

[not_too_shabby]

I think the latest conclusion of the thread I posted above is the 2013 CX-5 resumed playback after restarting the car while 2014 CX-5s do not. The difference between the 2013/2014 models was causing the inconsistency in what people were reporting.

The 2013 mazda CX-9 appears to behave like the 2014 CX-5 unit. They added pandora but messed up the ipod functionality. Not only does it not resume where you left off after restarting the car, but it can take minutes sometimes to read the data before you can even listen to your device, whether it be iPod or a USB stick.

 

[HOLOHOLO]

Bummers. Hawk, interesting that another phone such as android did not make a difference, cuz the quality of their BT radios would vary from those of the iPhone(s).

Just points back to the low performance of the Mazda unit, and proves the fact that even when you stream large, fresh data packets to a device, there's no guaranty that it can retrieve and process all that data. When it's weakly received and full of errors, you'll get that awful sound that you and I have experienced.

For me, it's the same phone and tunes every time, but one day it may sound decent and the next, like garbage.

 

[sts7049]

i haven't noticed any degredation in quality in my 2011 cx9 streaming bluetooth. i stream via spotify on my SG3 and have spotify set to stream on "high" (middle setting). the only tip i figured out is not to have the music volume turned up all the way on the phone, a few ticks from max gives the best result, then regulate volume from the head unit.

 

[mcleanrd]

2012 GT here and found the same issues with sound quality when using bluetooth (I use an iPhone). I've notice setting the device volume at 50% solves the issue I was having which was kind of a crackly/trebly output.

 

[BBro420]

The sound quality from my two HTC android phones is outstanding! Might be a compatibility issue with the i-stuff.

 

[LawHawk]

I just got my new 2013 Touring with tech, and it seems to me the audio quality issue is fixed. I have not driven it much yet, but I have not had any quality problems. Also, the "delay" is much shorter than it was on the 2012.

Also, on the 2013, I can pause and fast forward/rewind right on the nav screen, which is really great. Can't do that on the 2012.