[MarcoZandrini]

Originally Posted by shaguar

Marco,

Do you mind sharing your amp tune if it’s not a hassle?

I also have the Eton components with the Match Amp/DSP, and I feel the tunes on this forum are leaving something on the table for these speakers.

Part of the problem is the digital to analog converter (DAC) circuitry in the factory head unit. Basically, it sucks. That's why I've used the DAC built into the amp. It's produces sound that's full and clear. As you may have read, I started with the USB module and my iPhone 7. It was great when it worked, but the iPhone seems to have issues interfacing consistently with the USB module. I then installed the Bluetooth module. Worked great for a while. Then when I'd select a song to play I'd get a pop in the left rear speaker. Weird as BT sends only the L and R channels. So, in the end I bought a FiiO M3 Pro (love the name) digital audio player. I had to run a USB-C (for the FiiO) / USB-B mini (for the AF USB module) cable (https://tethertools.com/product/teth...-mini-b-5-pin/) from the console to the amp. This works great. I have the remastered Dark Side of the Moon album that I converted to .wav files via iTunes. I loaded the album on the micro-SD card that goes into the FiiO player. It literally blows my mind away with the clarity, fullness and dynamic sound. I've also downloaded some Rachmaninoff albums from "High Definition Tape Transfers" website (https://www.highdeftapetransfers.com/). The songs are in a lossless FLAC file format. Great sounds!

[ctemkin]

MZ, meant to thank you again for your advice.

I installed the MEC module with a USB input and connected it to a Fiio with the tethertools cable you recommended. I used my laptop to select the various options, but initially it would not work. After checking any number of possible problems and exhausting my knowledge of profanity, I eventually discovered that the "global priority" that is supposed to enable administrative-type messages to override the MEC USB input in fact caused all the head unit input to override the MEC USB input. Once I disabled "global priority," it worked.

It does sound very good. I am using lossless files I ripped from CDs using iTunes. I am not great at A/B comparisons, but it seems to me that music sounds more resolved through the Fiio and the MEC USB input than the same files do through a thumb drive and the USB input in the console in the front seat.

[MarcoZandrini]

Originally Posted by ctemkin

MZ, meant to thank you again for your advice.

I installed the MEC module with a USB input and connected it to a Fiio with the tethertools cable you recommended. I used my laptop to select the various options, but initially it would not work. After checking any number of possible problems and exhausting my knowledge of profanity, I eventually discovered that the "global priority" that is supposed to enable administrative-type messages to override the MEC USB input in fact caused all the head unit input to override the MEC USB input. Once I disabled "global priority," it worked.

It does sound very good. I am using lossless files I ripped from CDs using iTunes. I am not great at A/B comparisons, but it seems to me that music sounds more resolved through the Fiio and the MEC USB input than the same files do through a thumb drive and the USB input in the console in the front seat.

Did you install the AF driver for the USB port. It's a necessity. install it and then click on the .exe file. I had this issue as I thought a simple install of the driver was that was required. You need to take the extra step to install the actual driver.

Unfortunately, iTunes doesn't provide lossless file AFAIK. I found this site: https://vox.rocks/blog/10-best-sources-to-download. I'm into both classic rock and classical music. I've downloaded several Rachmaninoff albums-amazing clarity.

[ctemkin]

Sorry to have to bother you again, but I could use some additional explanation.

(i) Where does the driver figure in? After having ripped a lot of CDs, I copied the iTunes folder onto a micro SD card and then mounted that card in my Fiio. The Fiio had no trouble reading these files.

(ii) If you are using iTunes to rip CDs, one of the options is lossless, which I believe is ALAC.

It would be great if I could put the DSD layer of SACDs onto the card, but I don't know if there is a legal way of doing so.

[MarcoZandrini]

Not a problem.

The driver is a bit of software the laptop uses to properly interface with the amp.

The problem is that files from iTunes are likely either MP3 files or converted MP3 files. Why? The MP3 algorithm was developed so that a complete album could fit onto a CD. A CD can hold a maximum of 700MB. An album of lossless format songs can easily exceed 700MB. So, several "tricks" are used to reduce the size of each file. These include deleting any "music" with a frequency of 15khz or greater, compressing the "music" (think elevator music) and stripping out supposedly inaudible artifacts. Together, these decrease the number of MBs stored on the CD. Why FLAC is a lossless format, it can not improve the sound of an MP3 derived song. That is, the missing music can not be retrieved nor can the music be uncompressed.