Hi all,

New to the Defender and have a question for the group regarding audio quality. My car has the mid-level Myridian sound system. To my ear music from Spotify streaming directly on Pivi sounds better than music coming from Apple CarPlay. Has anyone noticed the same? Is it possible to connect ACP using a cable instead (if that makes a difference)?

Thanks in advance!

Spotify and Apple Music should sound broadly similar. Spotify uses Ogg Vorbis up to 320 kbps and AAC up to 256, Apple Music through wireless CarPlay uses AAC up to 256. If they sound different, it's most probably down to mastering.

With wired CarPlay, you can also get Apple Music in ALAC/lossless AAC (be sure to check settings to allow lossless). Spotify is currently limited to lossy. Most people struggle to tell lossless from lossy in car, provided you are running the best available lossy.

What software revision is PIVI using?

I can't comment on Apple, but I can say that the sound quality on Spotify direct is superior to running Spotify through Android Auto on USB C cable. Only problem is that if you use Android Auto for navigation there is sometimes a conflict where it tries to override the Spotify source from direct (Pivi) to via Android Auto. The difference in sound quality and volume is very noticeable.

Yeah that's exactly it! The volume was the first thing I noticed, and then the music just sounded better. The difference is music sounding "punchy" using direct vs "tinny" on ACP.

Latest OTA (2.4.1 I think)

I use Tidal, and I think it sounds best playing through the USB port without using CarPlay. Like mentioned above, wireless CarPlay supports up to 256kb/s AAC files. The Pivi system supports MP3, AIFF, M4A, FLAC, AAC, and ALAC files and has a minimum bitrate of 192kb/s and up to 24-bit 44.1-kHz FLAC files, which is the gold standard for audiophile enjoyment. Wired Tidal sounds significantly better than wired Spotify and the built-in Spotify.

Yes, many have noticed that music streamed directly through the Pivi system can sound better than Apple CarPlay. This is likely because Pivi may apply its audio processing or use a better streaming codec than CarPlay, especially if you're using wireless CarPlay. Yes, you can connect Apple CarPlay using a cable, and it often improves audio quality over the wireless connection

I prefer the playback from the Spotify App in Pivi Pro vs the Spotify App in CarPlay as well. The difference is significant to my ears - meridian audio (not surround) sound.

Spotify is *always* lossy. It’s also easy to mistake loudness and compression in the mastering for sounding “better” whereas it’s really just louder with a lower dynamic range. And you’re using the same DAC whether you’re listening to Spotify via Pivi or via CarPlay. Also make sure your phone settings are set for lossless streaming and try wired rather than wireless CarPlay for lossless streaming.