Hello.

This is my first post since i'm soon to be a proud owner of a (2014) 991 4S.
This forum has been very helpful in the decision making (options) process!

Pardon my english. I'm from holland so english is not my first language.

I have a question regarding to best source for a Burmester system. It seems like the PCM cannot only play MP3 from usb or disk and I guess even 320kbps won't give the same quality as lossless or CD.
Does that mean i'm stuck using an Ipod with Apple lossless to get the best out of the system? Or do you perhaps have some other way to play music in the best quality possible? (besides CD / CD changer)

Perhaps there is also a noticeably difference between the different generations Ipod? The one I have now is a 30GB classis from 2005 Should I upgrade to a 6G 160GB classis you think?

Any help, tips and suggestions greatly appreciated!

Rgrds,
Johan

 

I use an iPhone 5, and the output is pretty respectable given the sound of the engine. CDs do seem to sound a bit more crisp, but I think if I were blindfolded, I couldn't tell the difference at most reasonable volumes.

 

Hello Johan,

I could answer in dutch, but that would make it unreadable to most other members here, so I'll keep it in english.

I personally think that mp3 sounds pretty nice when converted at 320kbs. Of course is lossless audio better, but in a car and espacially a sportscar with more engine and tyre noise you probably will hear not much difference. Unless you have very good trained ears

Suzy991

 

Leuk een nederlander

Thanks.

I do have a bit of a trained ear I guess, but won't be to critical.

Since I have two months to delivery I thought I could spend my time collecting music in the "right' format but it seems like I do not have to get rid of my 320kpbs collection

I understand you can play MP3 files from a local PCM disk?
Does it easly navigate / show album art?

 

Een nederlandse

You can play mp3 from a disk, but also from a USB stick if I did understand correctly. I also have to take delivery myself, so I don't know everything about it yet. I've played a little around when I testdrove a car for a car for a day. Didn't spend too much time on the PCM though. Wanted to spend as much time as possible, enjoying the ride and the sound of the PSE

Suzy991

 

Yes, there is a difference between MP3 @320kbps and lossless. It can be heard on the B system when still or driving. You may or may not be able to hear the difference based on your ears and what you listen to but it is definitely there on what I listen to-- classical, rock, blues, new age, etc. There is not a lossless decoder in the system except for MLP which is primarily used for dvd audio. I have not heard it in the car but people tell me that multichannel DVD-A discs sound tremendous if played through the CD changer. To my knowledge and based on my trials with flac and windows lossless, the USB piece of the PCM does not allow you take lossless off a USB stick, USB HD, or other device. I did not try dvd-a from a stick (I don't even know if it is possible...I just don't know). I converted my music to apple lossless (I have everything ripped to flac) and play it through an ipod. It sounds great. I bought one of the newer ipods only because I wanted the larger storage space, not because I needed the new ipod per se. I don't know if apple changed the DACs over time (for the better?) or not but I liked what I had on my old, old ipod and I like what I have on the new ipod. I also like the ipod for the control thru the PCM...it is much faster than the PCM indexing and controlling a 64GB USB stick. Hope this helps.

 

Yes, you can play mp3s from a USB stick, USB low power hard drive, ipod, dvd filled with mp3s, etc. As mentioned above, it is fastest through an ipod for indexing and control. PCM navigation is easy but there is not a touch based jukebox "spinner" effect you get with some apps in today's world. If you spin the selector **** rapidly it will convert to moving through the alphabet so you can get, for example, to the M's from the B's fairly quickly. It does not show album art. It does not show track playing time thru the center console screen but does on the PCM.

 

Thank you! That's very helpfull. For me at least, but I also think for Johan

I think I'm going to switch from my SD-cards that I use now in my Audi MMI to an iPod for use with the PCM. Too bad, Porsche doesn't use the software from their sister-brand. I really like the Audi MMI system, allthough the PCM isn't bad of course.

Suzy991

 

Jster,
It was very nice of you to answer the questions in his native Dutch. What did you say in English?. I feel like a dog when people are speaking of such things "waah, waah, waah, waah, iPhone, waah, waah, waah, alphabet, waah, waah, waah, art..."

 

There is a sound difference between ipods...so, you'll most likely notice it in the burmeister

http://macintoshhowto.com/itunes/whi...o-quality.html

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the PCM could display the album art? Now that would be heaps awesome!

 

They are now able to display album art.

 

I actually think the highest fidelity in the 991 is from Pandora, connected through my iPhone 5, hardwired to the PCM (assuming your phone is comnnected to the cellular network by LTE.

I find it a much fuller, discrete and more spatial sound than if you have selected an iPhone playlist, CD or USB files.

 

Maybe something has changed but Pandora best is/was a 192kbps compared to a CD at 1,1411.2kbps. Like I said, depending on how you hear things you may or may not get the personal benefit of going to 320kbps mp3 or lossless.

 

Thanks for all your replies. Very helpfull.
Looks like spending another 200 or so on a new Ipod would be a good investment.

@TTCarrera
Sounds interesting, can you let me know what pandora is? I bought my first iphone 10 days ago or something Do you think this could be better than an ipod too?