As a new Macan owner I was surprised to learn that despite the specifications claimed by Porsche in its manual, that the PCM 3.x would play and order WAV files , that it would not order them into the file structure that Porsche claim (artist/album/track). This rendered the fact that it would play files useless for practical purposes.
Note only 41.6MHz 16 and 24 bit plus 48MHz 16 bit WAV files would play in my testing.
Without wanting to open up a debate about the need for higher res files versus low quality MP3 etc files, there are audiophiles that can hear and appreciate the significant differences that do exist between lossless and compressed file types in a vehicle environment.
To discover after purchase that Porsche's claims are false and misleading was a major disappointment (and also contrary to this country's consumer law).
I was unable to find anything on the forums and other searches where anyone had solved the issue, so if there is something around already, you will now have 2 versions!
The service department at the local (company owned) Porsche dealer validated my concerns – PCM 3.x (and I am told but have not tested PCM 4.x) will not play and order WAV files either by USB, Jukebox or iPod reliably and consistently.
It is sometimes possible to have one or two artist/album/tracks work, but not much more than that. I suspect this is due to ID3 tags not being supported by the WAV format.
I have now spent many hours researching and testing and learned how to play high res files - and like many things it is a quite simple solution. So for those other frustrated souls....
1. Convert as necessary the files you require into AIFF/AIF file type. This is best done using a converter that has a tag editor such as Media Center so that you can ensure that all fields are correctly populated.
(AIFF/AIF is an uncompressed file type like WAV, but with ID3 tag support).
2. Using iOS 11.2.2 it is possible to play up to 192kHz 24bit files. I have not tested higher rates or bit depths, as I have not found higher hi-res files generally available as yet, (plus my home DAC will only play to this level).
3. Import the files by drag and drop from MC into iTunes.
4. I found that some album art would not transfer over for some reason, but that is easily solved within iTunes by drag and drop. This was very few albums.
5. Connect to the PCM via USB and go for it.
Note that the AIFF files will not play direct via USB or load onto Jukebox as the file type is not recognised – it must be done via an iPod device. I use my iPhone 7 plus.
There are lightning splitters and external drives available but I have not tested any as yet, so getting substantial additional storage whilst still charging should be easy.
Hope this helps a few other frustrated audiophiles out there.
Note only 41.6MHz 16 and 24 bit plus 48MHz 16 bit WAV files would play in my testing.
Without wanting to open up a debate about the need for higher res files versus low quality MP3 etc files, there are audiophiles that can hear and appreciate the significant differences that do exist between lossless and compressed file types in a vehicle environment.
To discover after purchase that Porsche's claims are false and misleading was a major disappointment (and also contrary to this country's consumer law).
I was unable to find anything on the forums and other searches where anyone had solved the issue, so if there is something around already, you will now have 2 versions!
The service department at the local (company owned) Porsche dealer validated my concerns – PCM 3.x (and I am told but have not tested PCM 4.x) will not play and order WAV files either by USB, Jukebox or iPod reliably and consistently.
It is sometimes possible to have one or two artist/album/tracks work, but not much more than that. I suspect this is due to ID3 tags not being supported by the WAV format.
I have now spent many hours researching and testing and learned how to play high res files - and like many things it is a quite simple solution. So for those other frustrated souls....
1. Convert as necessary the files you require into AIFF/AIF file type. This is best done using a converter that has a tag editor such as Media Center so that you can ensure that all fields are correctly populated.
(AIFF/AIF is an uncompressed file type like WAV, but with ID3 tag support).
2. Using iOS 11.2.2 it is possible to play up to 192kHz 24bit files. I have not tested higher rates or bit depths, as I have not found higher hi-res files generally available as yet, (plus my home DAC will only play to this level).
3. Import the files by drag and drop from MC into iTunes.
4. I found that some album art would not transfer over for some reason, but that is easily solved within iTunes by drag and drop. This was very few albums.
5. Connect to the PCM via USB and go for it.
Note that the AIFF files will not play direct via USB or load onto Jukebox as the file type is not recognised – it must be done via an iPod device. I use my iPhone 7 plus.
There are lightning splitters and external drives available but I have not tested any as yet, so getting substantial additional storage whilst still charging should be easy.
Hope this helps a few other frustrated audiophiles out there.
