Using Bluetooth vs. USB to play music

[tfigs121]

I have a 2013 CX-5 I just bought. Is there any difference between playing music through my iPhone 6 on Bluetooth or USB? I like the USB port because it gives me access to my music menus like artists, albums, etc. Bluetooth does not. The problem I am having, as i posted in another thread is that the USB port does not charge, so if I want to charge, I have to use Bluetooth.

Thanks.

Thom

 

[LeeShadow]

If music files on your phone, you get better quality via direct USB than BT depending of course on the bitrate of the source files (beyond the other positives of album art, etc). My song files are encoded at 256 and 320 kbps, and I can hear the difference in quality.

For certain streaming services, there may not be a discernible difference.

 

[CX-5um]

On my samsung android phone I tried using the old school AUX line. Using there built in music app. Sound is much much louder vs Bluetooth. Example is with phone on max volume using bluetooth and BOSE volume at 24 = phone on max volume using AUX and BOSE at 6. Significantly louder using AUX. Nice surprise. Warning- set your BOSE volume to 5 before hooking up AUX with phone on max volume.

Better surprise- I can also overcome improve the BOSE sound signature by using samsung's built in 7 band equalizer and enhancements which are rather robust but you can't use the best sound features via Bluetooth. Has to be wired up via AUX. Right now I'm using the custom graph equalizer and turned on some additional enhancements found under "Extended" called Reverb/Room size/Clarity. All set to 1 and the sound is much improved. Louder and with more control. My sound as compared to before has more bass at the same time more "sparkle". You can do things the BOSE system simply cannot due to its limitations. One example is samsung's Bass Boost preset. It will minimize the treble and mids at significantly lower db levels than what the BOSE can do while adding more db for low end frequencies. Set the Bose fade to rear a few notches and you'll hear Bass at a higher ratio as compared to everything else.

Long story short a physical graphic equalizer would improve the BOSE system but samsungs android phones have built in features that can do some amazing things as well for free. I'm very familiar with samsung's music app and use it with my Sennheiser Momentum headphones. I always wondered why the sound wasn't as good in my car. The solution was using AUX instead of BT for more volume and to unlock the features I use. The drawback is you cannot use your steering wheel controls and other controls on the Mazda. Fortunately I listen to a shuffle mix.

 

[V8toilet]

Using the USB cable will give you better sound quality over a Bluetooth connection because the already compressed MP3 files are compressed over the Bluetooth connection resulting in compromised lows and highs. I can easily tell the difference on mine by just comparing them with the same song. I also have all amplified (725 watts RMS) aftermarket speakers with a subwoofer too so if you have the factory system it might be less noticeable as the factory speakers might not have enough power or sound quality for you to tell the difference.