The Student Room Group

Do cheap/quality USB sticks make a difference? Can they affect sound quality?

[INDENT]If you are putting music from itunes onto a USB stick to play on your car stereo, does the make/brand of the USB stick affect the sound quality in any way?

Also I heard the the bigger the memory/GB on the USB the lower the quality is this accurate or rubbish?[/INDENT]

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When connecting it directly to your car to play it might affect the quality depending on the connector (Essentially how old it is). But in all honesty, unless you've got a really serious sound system installed you won't notice the difference because it's so minor. If you are noticing something it's more likely to be related to something else than the quality of your usb.


Here's some further reading you can do, and some information on why it's not your USB that's bottlenecking if you're seeing poor quality.
Original post by Hal.E.Lujah
When connecting it directly to your car to play it might affect the quality depending on the connector (Essentially how old it is).


I agree that it won't be the USB which does any remotely noticeable bottlenecking, but I can't see why it would affect the quality at all. It's digital data, so why would anything at all be lost? It's like when you're playing music on a computer - since when did the hard drive you use make a difference?
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Upper Echelons
I agree that it won't be the USB which does any remotely noticeable bottlenecking, but I can't see why it would affect the quality at all. It's digital data, so why would anything at all be lost? It's like when you're playing music on a computer - since when did the hard drive you use make a difference?



I mean that if the USB was older generation, or damaged etc, it could be affecting quality. It's best not to totally rule it out :h:
Reply 4
Original post by Upper Echelons
I agree that it won't be the USB which does any remotely noticeable bottlenecking, but I can't see why it would affect the quality at all. It's digital data, so why would anything at all be lost? It's like when you're playing music on a computer - since when did the hard drive you use make a difference?


actually it can , when it spins up and down if you have an inferior sound card you can hear it in the background, especially if you are using high sensitivity headphones, and it can cause errors in the data stream. . But no i wouldn’t have said it should make a blind bit of difference especially in the car.
If you're streaming the music through the USB stick, it could theoretically cause bottlenecking if you're playing lossless music but it shouldn't be an issue if you're using a compressed format like MP3. Any loss in quality would be removed by simply copying it back to the computer though.
Reply 6
No all usbs have the same 'quality' storage space.
Reply 7
A cheap sound card can affect the sound, as it picks up other frequencies caused by the CPU/hard drive,etc.
Its why I always opt for a proper PCI one that has shielding, etc.

If you are porting USB to your car stereo though, its digital, so no, you won't affect the sound with a cheaper one AT ALL.
Its sending 0's, and 1's, to the stereo and nothing more. Nothing can be lost or changed.

Only if it is corrupted data will you get issues, which may be an issue for a really cheap one, but not any more I wouldn't think.

The sound then goes to the DAC of the car stereo which then changes the sound from digital to an analog form for output to the car speakers, which then passes to the interal AMP which amps the low signal to a higher one for transmitting. THIS, is where the sound can change, if the DAC isn't very good, and the amp of course also makes a difference, as the amp itself can change the actual sound.

If you are serious about car audio, its actually best to buy an external amp to give your speakers the best output (at least if they are aftermarket ones)
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 8
Original post by Hal.E.Lujah
When connecting it directly to your car to play it might affect the quality depending on the connector (Essentially how old it is). But in all honesty, unless you've got a really serious sound system installed you won't notice the difference because it's so minor. If you are noticing something it's more likely to be related to something else than the quality of your usb.


Here's some further reading you can do, and some information on why it's not your USB that's bottlenecking if you're seeing poor quality.



cheers, Im not seeing poor quality
Ive not really tried the usb properly yet im still putting the music on it (having probs as itunes has encoded all my files in MPEG 4 format :frown:

Ive bought a 8GB USB from sainsburys made by optima, I was just wondering if Im better buying something like a a sony USB or if the make of the usb makes no difference. I do want the best quality I can (im not a music fanatic just a bit ocd about audio lol) Ive converted each track from 256 to 320 bit rate cause I thought I might as well, not sure if it will make any difference.

My car stereo system its in a new ford fiesta its quite good sound I think but been looking at some stereo systems in halfords they will probably be amazing sound. Im not changing my stereo system though cant afford.
Reply 9
Original post by Kage
A cheap sound card can affect the sound, as it picks up other frequencies caused by the CPU/hard drive,etc.
Its why I always opt for a proper PCI one that has shielding, etc.

If you are porting USB to your car stereo though, its digital, so no, you won't affect the sound with a cheaper one AT ALL.
Its sending 0's, and 1's, to the stereo and nothing more. Nothing can be lost or changed.

Only if it is corrupted data will you get issues, which may be an issue for a really cheap one, but not any more I wouldn't think.

The sound then goes to the DAC of the car stereo which then changes the sound from digital to an analog form for output to the car speakers, which then passes to the interal AMP which amps the low signal to a higher one for transmitting. THIS, is where the sound can change, if the DAC isn't very good, and the amp of course also makes a difference, as the amp itself can change the actual sound.

If you are serious about car audio, its actually best to buy an external amp to give your speakers the best output (at least if they are aftermarket ones)


when you say it changes the sound from a digital to an analog form how do you mean? I thought music off a usb was digital and that analog was when you plug in the aux. Sorry I dont understand sound.
Reply 10
Original post by inthedark1
when you say it changes the sound from a digital to an analog form how do you mean? I thought music off a usb was digital and that analog was when you plug in the aux. Sorry I dont understand sound.


Speakers can't handle a digital signal. If they did get a digital signal output, the speaker would be fully extended for example for a 1, and not extended for a 0. It's voltage.

When you plug a digital device into anything that has to output sound, a DAC (Digitial Analog Convertor) converts the digital signal to the original analog signal inside the circuits (this is where a bad sound card can pick up other sounds, etc), and it then gets passed to an AMP (amplifier) which takes that low volume signal into something louder. This then gets passed to the outputs, and to the speakers in the form they can play

When you plug something into AUX, it is already a analog source, so the sound goes straight to the AMP to be made louder.
A phone for example when plugged into the AUX already has a DAC, and AMP inside it.
When you plug into the AUX port, you are essentially double amping the signal.
It goes from your phone amp, to the head unit's amp. This colours the sound, depending on the make of amp inside the unit, and of course when plugging in a digital source, the quality of the DAC.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 11
It shouldn't affect the quality. Then again you could convert a CD (if you got the music from a CD) into flac (lossless) or wav (lossless also) but these formats can't be read by most players I think.
Reply 12
Original post by Kage
Speakers can't handle a digital signal. If they did get a digital signal output, the speaker would be fully extended for example for a 1, and not extended for a 0. It's voltage.

When you plug a digital device into anything that has to output sound, a DAC (Digitial Analog Convertor) converts the digital signal to the original analog signal inside the circuits (this is where a bad sound card can pick up other sounds, etc), and it then gets passed to an AMP (amplifier) which takes that low volume signal into something louder. This then gets passed to the outputs, and to the speakers in the form they can play

When you plug something into AUX, it is already a analog source, so the sound goes straight to the AMP to be made louder.
A phone for example when plugged into the AUX already has a DAC, and AMP inside it.
When you plug into the AUX port, you are essentially double amping the signal.
It goes from your phone amp, to the head unit's amp. This colours the sound, depending on the make of amp inside the unit, and of course when plugging in a digital source, the quality of the DAC.


ah right, thanks for clearing that up. Im used to just plugging in and hoping for the best lol but at least I have a little insight into how it works now :smile:
Original post by Kage
Speakers can't handle a digital signal. If they did get a digital signal output, the speaker would be fully extended for example for a 1, and not extended for a 0. It's voltage.

When you plug a digital device into anything that has to output sound, a DAC (Digitial Analog Convertor) converts the digital signal to the original analog signal inside the circuits (this is where a bad sound card can pick up other sounds, etc), and it then gets passed to an AMP (amplifier) which takes that low volume signal into something louder. This then gets passed to the outputs, and to the speakers in the form they can play

When you plug something into AUX, it is already a analog source, so the sound goes straight to the AMP to be made louder.
A phone for example when plugged into the AUX already has a DAC, and AMP inside it.
When you plug into the AUX port, you are essentially double amping the signal.
It goes from your phone amp, to the head unit's amp. This colours the sound, depending on the make of amp inside the unit, and of course when plugging in a digital source, the quality of the DAC.


I know that digital is superior sound to analog, but would have thought with the way this works analog would be better. For example if you plug into aux (an analog source) the sound goes straight to the amp of the car speakers. Whereas if you use USB (digital source) the sound has to be 'messed with'/converted by the DAC first and then ends up as analog anyway. So I dont see how digital results in better sound. Unless the DAC still maintains the quality of the digital, but then if its converted to analog thats all it will be.


Also out of interest which would produce better sound, plugging an ipod touch into the stereo system or a USB stick? As you said an ipod touch will already have a DAC inside it so the sound will be double' DAC' d' before it reaches the cars amps right? The USB stick has no DAC so it will only pass through one DAC in the car stereo. So would the Ipod result in better sound..

Thats how I now understand it anyway.
Reply 14
Original post by civilstudent
I know that digital is superior sound to analog, but would have thought with the way this works analog would be better. For example if you plug into aux (an analog source) the sound goes straight to the amp of the car speakers. Whereas if you use USB (digital source) the sound has to be 'messed with'/converted by the DAC first and then ends up as analog anyway. So I dont see how digital results in better sound. Unless the DAC still maintains the quality of the digital, but then if its converted to analog thats all it will be.


Also out of interest which would produce better sound, plugging an ipod touch into the stereo system or a USB stick? As you said an ipod touch will already have a DAC inside it so the sound will be double' DAC' d' before it reaches the cars amps right? The USB stick has no DAC so it will only pass through one DAC in the car stereo. So would the Ipod result in better sound..

Thats how I now understand it anyway.


The iPod Touch would probably have a much better DAC than your car head unit would, so it may sound better through AUX, even if it is amped up twice (once in the Touch, and again in the head unit)

Either way with any digitial device, the sound has to be converted back. A great DAC won't mess with the sound all that much at all, and it should come out pretty much perfect.

If you are plugging from a analog source, most likely it is digital within, so it is still using some kind of DAC to transfer from digital to analog to exit the headphone out, or similar.

If you plugged in an analog device though, through and through, it is just being amped twice, i.e a tape player.

That said, a digital device will have superior sound quality dependant on bitrate of the say MP3, or whatever, than a tape for example would.

That said, if it is converting, you could run FLAC (compressed lossless sound through say your phone), through the DAC of the phone, and into both amps without much loss in sound.

To be all that bothered though in any loss of sound of this kind, or magnitude, you would have to be pretty into audio in general anyway, and so, you would most likely have after market speakers/head units etc.

I have recently upgraded the sound in my car, and its tonnes better than it was. I simply plug my phone into the AUX, and play Spotify through it at 320kbps, to the speakers I have.
I haven't gotten an amp yet, but it would certainly clear the sound up if I was having issues with audio headroom.

EDIT:

No, if its going in through an analog source, say through the AUX, it isn't being double DAC'd because the AUX connection is already analog. It is being DAC'd inside the Touch once.
It is being amped twice however.

If connected through a USB device, the internal DAC of the head unit, since USB is digital, is converting the sound and out through the amp. It is however only being amped the once.

That said, if you connect your Touch through to a line out connection at the bottom, into the car stereo if its possible in a pure digital form, it bypasses both the DAC in the Touch, AND the amp on the Touch, and is done 100% in the head unit.
However, the DAC in the Touch is probably of higher quality than a head unit DAC, dependant on make, but whether you would be able to tell the difference is negligable.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Kage
The iPod Touch would probably have a much better DAC than your car head unit would, so it may sound better through AUX, even if it is amped up twice (once in the Touch, and again in the head unit)

Either way with any digitial device, the sound has to be converted back. A great DAC won't mess with the sound all that much at all, and it should come out pretty much perfect.

If you are plugging from a analog source, most likely it is digital within, so it is still using some kind of DAC to transfer from digital to analog to exit the headphone out, or similar.

If you plugged in an analog device though, through and through, it is just being amped twice, i.e a tape player.

That said, a digital device will have superior sound quality dependant on bitrate of the say MP3, or whatever, than a tape for example would.

That said, if it is converting, you could run FLAC (compressed lossless sound through say your phone), through the DAC of the phone, and into both amps without much loss in sound.

To be all that bothered though in any loss of sound of this kind, or magnitude, you would have to be pretty into audio in general anyway, and so, you would most likely have after market speakers/head units etc.

I have recently upgraded the sound in my car, and its tonnes better than it was. I simply plug my phone into the AUX, and play Spotify through it at 320kbps, to the speakers I have.
I haven't gotten an amp yet, but it would certainly clear the sound up if I was having issues with audio headroom.

EDIT:

No, if its going in through an analog source, say through the AUX, it isn't being double DAC'd because the AUX connection is already analog. It is being DAC'd inside the Touch once.
It is being amped twice however.

If connected through a USB device, the internal DAC of the head unit, since USB is digital, is converting the sound and out through the amp. It is however only being amped the once.

That said, if you connect your Touch through to a line out connection at the bottom, into the car stereo if its possible in a pure digital form, it bypasses both the DAC in the Touch, AND the amp on the Touch, and is done 100% in the head unit.
However, the DAC in the Touch is probably of higher quality than a head unit DAC, dependant on make, but whether you would be able to tell the difference is negligable.



Thats interesting I always assumed that plugging in by usb/digital would always be better than plugging in via aux. Then again in my old car I was surprised at the difference between plugging both my old ipod in and my ipod touch through aux the latter sound was so much better.

But yea my car doesnt have a headunit as such the system is physically built into the car like below. I dont know if ford stereo systems DAC's are classed as good, I dont even know if Id be able to swap for a better system if its built in.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by civilstudent
Thats interesting I always assumed that plugging in by usb/digital would always be better than plugging in via aux. Then again in my old car I was surprised at the difference between plugging both my old ipod in and my iphone 5 through aux the latter sound was so much better.

But yea my car doesnt have a headunit as such the system is physically built into the car like below, I dont know how good ford stereo systems are classed as, I dont even know if Id be able to swap for a better system if its built in.


It would be possible but probably very complex. Thing is, if it has AUX, etc, its probably all you will need.
Its bound to have a good enough DAC, but dependant on if you want aftermarket speakers, and want better sound throughout the car, adding an external AMP (under the seat as an example) is a possibility to get the most out of them.

You would think so wouldn't you, but a lot of phones, etc have great DAC's in them.
My Samsung Galaxy S3 for example has a high quality Wolfson DAC in it, which is of very high quality for a phone.

Apple products tend to have great DAC's/AMP's but you probably will find a phone may be worse off than a dedicated player, as its produced better.

The iPhone 4s apparently is the best so far, for a phone, and has the strongest AMP.

Going via Line Out using the iPhone 5, or the Ipod Touch is probably your best bet if its possible. It'll bypass a lot of the conversion and gives the head unit all the power to do what it wants.

It may be worth trying anyway. Do it once through AUX, and again on a full digital out, and see which sounds better for yourself.

Whether you can connect via a true digital out, to digital in depends on the head unit though. You may not have a true Line In jack.

EDIT:

You could try putting one song on a USB, and the exact same song on the phone/ipod and see which sounds better to your ears.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 17
Original post by civilstudent
I know that digital is superior sound to analog, but would have thought with the way this works analog would be better. For example if you plug into aux (an analog source) the sound goes straight to the amp of the car speakers. Whereas if you use USB (digital source) the sound has to be 'messed with'/converted by the DAC first and then ends up as analog anyway. So I dont see how digital results in better sound. Unless the DAC still maintains the quality of the digital, but then if its converted to analog thats all it will be.


In general the difference comes in that signals are much easier to move around when their digital and there's no loss or noise being introduced. Whilst Analogue won't have the artefacts from converting to and from digital it can pick up noise from connections and any cables in use. In the Pro Audio world the noise on analogue signals is reduced by using good quality balanced cables but that requires better (and more) cables and extra electronics.
Reply 18
Original post by inthedark1
I do want the best quality I can (im not a music fanatic just a bit ocd about audio lol) Ive converted each track from 256 to 320 bit rate cause I thought I might as well, not sure if it will make any difference.


Hi, unfortunately converting tracks from 256 to 320 will not make any difference in quality, it will only increase the file size. As somebody else has said, if you got the music from a CD you could convert it to a higher quality file in the first place e.g. a 320kbps MP3 or ALACs which are lossless (very high quality and can be played in iTunes and probably your CD player). I prefer ALACs over FLACs because they can be played in iTunes. :smile:
Reply 19
Original post by Kage
That said, if you connect your Touch through to a line out connection at the bottom, into the car stereo if its possible in a pure digital form, it bypasses both the DAC in the Touch, AND the amp on the Touch, and is done 100% in the head unit.
However, the DAC in the Touch is probably of higher quality than a head unit DAC, dependant on make, but whether you would be able to tell the difference is negligable.


I think there's some confusion here. There are two ways of getting audio from the 30pin connection at the bottom. You can get digital out (by USB) or analog line-out (via 30pin to 3.5mm jack). The USB output will not be DAC'd nor amped by the iDevice. However, if you use a 30pin-to-3.5mm line out plug, then you'll be using the iDevices DAC, but it won't be amped (so you'll use ONLY the head-units amplification).

It's much more convenient to just use the 30pin USB cable from the iDevice, as it will charge the device, display track information on the headunit and usually allow control from the headunit itself. In an environment like that, you won't hear any audible difference between using USB line-out or analog line-out.

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