[jmciver]

Well, I tried the Deezer app (free version) and now the Tidal HiFi app (free trial), and all I can say is this….

If you spent the money on the B&W system (or HK with upgraded Bavsound speakers & subs like I did), you are doing yourself and your system a disservice by not putting high quality sound through the system. I still don't consider myself an audiophile, but my system came alive with the Deezer app (the free version was a step up from Pandora free and SiriusXM which I had been listening to). Then Tidal HiFi, with the "Master" quality set, really made my system come alive. The fact that the X7 is quiet like a coffin, even when driving, makes the listening experience even better.

The only downside I see with Tidal is that the CarPlay integration is a bit glitchy compared to the other apps

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Well, I tried the Deezer app (free version) and now the Tidal HiFi app (free trial), and all I can say is this….

If you spent the money on the B&W system (or HK with upgraded Bavsound speakers & subs like I did), you are doing yourself and your system a disservice by not putting high quality sound through the system. I still don't consider myself an audiophile, but my system came alive with the Deezer app (the free version was a step up from Pandora free and SiriusXM which I had been listening to). Then Tidal HiFi, with the "Master" quality set, really made my system come alive. The fact that the X7 is quiet like a coffin, even when driving, makes the listening experience even better.

The only downside I see with Tidal is that the CarPlay integration is a bit glitchy compared to the other apps

Glad the tidal hifi worked out. Today was listening to both Eric Clapton “ badge” live and some old ZZ at 9/10 volume for kicks. I did take another posters advice and went off my normal studio DSP setting to stage 3D and the Clapton sounded magnificent. Bass is a little tight but system is still breaking in. Clear crisp unadulterated mids/highs with no discernible distortion. For the B/W haters I have to say high quality source material, solid EQ settings and some tweaks on DSP and macro bass/treble settings I felt I got my $3400.00 worth ☺️☺️☺️

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Then Tidal HiFi, with the "Master" quality set, really made my system come alive.

Originally Posted by Hammer110!

Glad the tidal hifi worked out

As any FYI to any Tidal HiFi people, I've been getting Tidal HiFi for $10/month ($120/year) for years by searching for promotions whenever I have to renew ... it's usually a Best Buy offering, so you just go to their website and search for tidal.


The downside is, sometimes I have to switch accounts - i.e., kill the old account and start a new one. This last July when I renewed again I was able to keep all of my credentials and keep the $10/month ... but if you do have to switch accounts, then you lose all your saved playlists, artists, etc UNLESS ... you use soundiiz

It's a website/app that allows you to export all of that and then reimport it into new accounts OR port your stuff from one service to another. It's pretty awesome.

In any event, I love Tidal simply because I like a pretty eclectic range of music (ironically very little rap) and they have most all of it and all of their music is CD quality minimum (which, IMO, is the highest quality a car stereo, or most systems, can realistically utilize/present.)

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

As any FYI to any Tidal HiFi people, I've been getting Tidal HiFi for $10/month ($120/year) for years by searching for promotions whenever I have to renew ... it's usually a Best Buy offering, so you just go to their website and search for tidal.


The downside is, sometimes I have to switch accounts - i.e., kill the old account and start a new one. This last July when I renewed again I was able to keep all of my credentials and keep the $10/month ... but if you do have to switch accounts, then you lose all your saved playlists, artists, etc UNLESS ... you use soundiiz

It's a website/app that allows you to export all of that and then reimport it into new accounts OR port your stuff from one service to another. It's pretty awesome.

In any event, I love Tidal simply because I like a pretty eclectic range of music (ironically very little rap) and they have most all of it and all of their music is CD quality minimum (which, IMO, is the highest quality a car stereo, or most systems, can realistically utilize/present.)

I have been doing that trick for years for most subscription services I use . Most notably with SiriusXM, I have been paying only $6/mo as opposed to the typical $16+/mo for the non-promotional rate. Usually near the end of my subscription period they will reach out with a small discount offer in the mail. I usually ignore it to wait for a better deal. A few times I let my subscription lapse for about a month, waiting them out. Sure enough, they would call me with another offer. When I get them on the phone I have always been able to negotiate the lowest "promotional" rate available since the initial free trial period ended - for both my M3 and X7.

For Tidal I get the military discount, which is $11.99 after the free trial period so based on your experience it does not look like I will be able to do too much better, but I will still look . With so many streaming services out there, the competition is pretty tough - which is good for consumers like us .

[bradythedog12]

Originally Posted by Hammer110!

Glad the tidal hifi worked out. Today was listening to both Eric Clapton “ badge” live and some old ZZ at 9/10 volume for kicks. I did take another posters advice and went off my normal studio DSP setting to stage 3D and the Clapton sounded magnificent. Bass is a little tight but system is still breaking in. Clear crisp unadulterated mids/highs with no discernible distortion. For the B/W haters I have to say high quality source material, solid EQ settings and some tweaks on DSP and macro bass/treble settings I felt I got my $3400.00 worth ☺️☺️☺️

Nice!

Somewhat off-topic but specifically related to this post… which version of Badge (live). Personally, I love the Steve Gadd drummed version off One More Car, One More Rider!! But the 24 Nights version was my favorite until that one.

[bradythedog12]

Ok. I got some new headphones a few weeks ago (the new Sony WF-1000XM4) and it came with a free trial of either Deezer or Tidal (or some other one that I can’t remember). I hadn’t bothered with it until today… after reading through the last few posts and the fact that I knew I was going to be in the car for a couple hours of driving today. So I downloaded Tidal.

WOW!! I have the B&W and it sounds pretty darn good with Spotify and SiriusXM but, as stated, a great streaming service like Tidal takes it to a whole other level. I couldn’t believe it. Jammed the Rival Sons Feral Roots album in Master format and was blown away. Then for fun I took on Ratt’s Invasion of Your Privacy (Master) and that was great too. I bring the Ratt up because crap recordings it the 80’s generally sucked so it was great to hear it in this quality!!

As most have said but most recently jmciver, “ If you spent the money on the B&W system (or HK with upgraded Bavsound speakers & subs like I did), you are doing yourself and your system a disservice by not putting high quality sound through the system.”

Thanks guys!! Have a great weekend!!

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by bradythedog12

Nice!

Somewhat off-topic but specifically related to this post… which version of Badge (live). Personally, I love the Steve Gadd drummed version off One More Car, One More Rider!! But the 24 Nights version was my favorite until that one.

2015 remastered “forever man”. Most likely why it sounds so good.

[bradythedog12]

Looking that up it says that’s the remastered version from 24 Nights (originally from 1991 - which also has an incredible version of White Room)!! So now you need to check out the one from OMC, OMR, which came out in 2002.

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

As any FYI to any Tidal HiFi people, I've been getting Tidal HiFi for $10/month ($120/year) for years by searching for promotions whenever I have to renew ... it's usually a Best Buy offering, so you just go to their website and search for tidal.


The downside is, sometimes I have to switch accounts - i.e., kill the old account and start a new one. This last July when I renewed again I was able to keep all of my credentials and keep the $10/month ... but if you do have to switch accounts, then you lose all your saved playlists, artists, etc UNLESS ... you use soundiiz

It's a website/app that allows you to export all of that and then reimport it into new accounts OR port your stuff from one service to another. It's pretty awesome.

In any event, I love Tidal simply because I like a pretty eclectic range of music (ironically very little rap) and they have most all of it and all of their music is CD quality minimum (which, IMO, is the highest quality a car stereo, or most systems, can realistically utilize/present.)

Thanks!!!! My Tidal 3mos trial coming to end November and Best Buy does in fact have 120/yr HIFI program. Saved me 120 bucks lol !!!

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by bradythedog12

Looking that up it says that’s the remastered version from 24 Nights (originally from 1991 - which also has an incredible version of White Room)!! So now you need to check out the one from OMC, OMR, which came out in 2002.

I will have to check it out. The other came up on Tidal.

To those still bashing B&W more proof that set up and content is the differentiator

After a couple weeks with the wife’s M50i I now find the HK in my F10M5 to be sorely lacking. High volume is muddy as hell. Mids and highs are not as distinct and spacious as they are in the 7. Now granted different cabin, roof speakers etc in 7 but same source material in both and very similar EQ settings.

B&W for the win 👍👍

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by Hammer110!

I will have to check it out. The other came up on Tidal.

To those still bashing B&W more proof that set up and content is the differentiator

After a couple weeks with the wife's M50i I now find the HK in my F10M5 to be sorely lacking. High volume is muddy as hell. Mids and highs are not as distinct and spacious as they are in the 7. Now granted different cabin, roof speakers etc in 7 but same source material in both and very similar EQ settings.

B&W for the win 👍👍

While I don't have B&W, just an "upgraded" HK system with Bavsound speakers (some say it is just a pinch below B&W sound quality), I will echo that statement of the standard HK system . I recently had my X7 in for service and was provided a new 7-series as a loaner. It had HK and also the same sound quieting in the cabin as the X7. But after listening to my upgraded system for a few months (and this was before getting Tidal), the HK system in that 7-series loaner sounded just as you described …

So for those of us with HK, a reasonable speaker upgrade along with a good music source, can get you there as well…

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by jmciver

While I don't have B&W, just an "upgraded" HK system with Bavsound speakers (some say it is just a pinch below B&W sound quality), I will echo that statement of the standard HK system . I recently had my X7 in for service and was provided a new 7-series as a loaner. It had HK and also the same sound quieting in the cabin as the X7. But after listening to my upgraded system for a few months (and this was before getting Tidal), the HK system in that 7-series loaner sounded just as you described …

So for those of us with HK, a reasonable speaker upgrade along with a good music source, can get you there as well…

Good point….but the M5 has the upgraded HK system but not with BavSound. I did the speaker swap including ghost subs in my M4 with HK and there was a discernible difference. Due to the slight hassle of install (I’ve installed a bunch of personal car systems and boat systems) I didn’t remove speakers when sold and I’d think twice about doing it again :-). M4 was a small working space 😂😂😂😂

[sotti]

For sound quality, I know Amazon and Apple have hi-res audio.

What is the system capable when playing via carplay?

When people report having success via tidal, is that the BMW app implementation?

[rich5741]

Question for everyone on here - I assume you are playing over Android Auto or CarPlay? Vs streaming via Bluetooth?

I think streaming on Bluetooth alone needs to use SBC codec (I doubt the BMW has the advanced high codecs for Bluetooth), so wouldn’t that take out all the benefit of high bitrate sources?

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by rich5741

Question for everyone on here - I assume you are playing over Android Auto or CarPlay? Vs streaming via Bluetooth?

I think streaming on Bluetooth alone needs to use SBC codec (I doubt the BMW has the advanced high codecs for Bluetooth), so wouldn’t that take out all the benefit of high bitrate sources?

Good question don’t know the answer but car play uses wifi and BT in our M50i. Assuming the BT is the conveyor of tunes from source. You can also plug phone in directly via cable. I can say that I don’t notice a discernible difference between direct connection and wireless. Will say again that with the higher quality source material it’s night and day. Her Lizzo tracks at very high volume have zero distortion and sound amazing. My tastes run a little different but all of it sounds very good. Switch to SiriusXM or standard Pandora /Spotify and big difference

[gsobol]

Originally Posted by Hammer110!

Good question don’t know the answer but car play uses wifi and BT in our M50i.

Hmm.... actually you need BT to initiate the sync, but after that CarPlay REQUIRES WiFi connection to the vehicle, so .... the only question is, will Spotify or any other streaming over CarPlay actually use WiFi (this being higher bandwidth) and if yes, does that make any difference in sound quality.

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by gsobol

Hmm.... actually you need BT to initiate the sync, but after that CarPlay REQUIRES WiFi connection to the vehicle, so .... the only question is, will Spotify or any other streaming over CarPlay actually use WiFi (this being higher bandwidth) and if yes, does that make any difference in sound quality.

Good info thx didn’t know. I can tell you definitively that the sound quality from the same phone is hugely different when the streaming source is Tidal (Masters/HIFI) compared to Spotify, or Sirius. Wife has Spotify and sounds markedly different than tidal. Spotify on my phone sound markedly different than Spotify or Pandora on same phone. It’s night and day.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by rich5741

Question for everyone on here - I assume you are playing over Android Auto or CarPlay? Vs streaming via Bluetooth?

I think streaming on Bluetooth alone needs to use SBC codec (I doubt the BMW has the advanced high codecs for Bluetooth), so wouldn’t that take out all the benefit of high bitrate sources?

There's basically 2 modes, bluetooth steaming (SBC) and an android auto wireless connection which requires Wi-Fi to initiate:

If your smartphone is running Android 11 and above, then congratulations, your phone is compatible with wireless Android Auto. This means you won’t have to plug in your phone with a cable every time you want to use Android Auto in your car — of course, provided your car has wireless support as well.

Wireless Android Auto works via a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection and requires both your car’s head unit as well as your smartphone to support Wi-Fi Direct over the 5GHz frequency.

So, presumably, AA is sending all data, no matter what, via Wi-Fi to the head unit, thus one would assume bitperfect audio.

I have no idea, but I'd be pretty surprised if the B&W DAC can handle anything higher than CD quality, so "high res" probably isn't making any difference as much as just CD quality ... that said, even if the B&W DAC can play high res, I'd be VERY surprised if it had any decent resolving capabilities as a good home DAC that does will run you at least $2000 for a Schiit Yggy and more like $3-4k just for the dac (ie. not the amp and speakers / headphones) ... and even if the B&W DAC can handle high res & does it well, then we'd have to have all the same questions about the amp, speakers, and listening environment (the X5's interior) and all THAT is assuming our ear are sensitive enough and trained enough to hear that resolution ...

If you can't tell, I'm pretty doubtful anything over CD quality is useful in the B&W or, really, any car audio system whatsoever. At least when it comes to a clean reproduction of the source ... my suspicion is, when most normals (non-audiophiles) think a car audio system sounds good, it's because the system has some funky DSP box injecting all kinds of effects into the playback.

AAANNNnnnyyyway ....

Yes, android auto wireless appears to stream Tidal tracks CD quality (and higher) bitperfect to the head unit ... just like with headphones, if you really want to be sure of the best quality, wired is probably best, plus wirelessly streaming high data rates probably chews up battery like an MFer.

[jmciver]

Well, I am not an audio engineer, I could not find the specific hardware specs for the current/modern BMW radio hardware, and I don't consider myself an audiophile, but….

1) WiFi can handle more data at a higher data rate, and at a greater range than Bluetooth - I think most people understand this basic fact about the two communications technologies. From what I do know about BMW CarPlay (which is what I use), is that BMW was one of the first to pioneer wireless CarPlay using both WiFi and Bluetooth. The way I have seen it explained, and what makes sense, is that the BT is used sync/manage the connection, but the data that is transferred between your phone and the car is via WiFi. WiFi has more than enough bandwidth to handle bit rate of the "Master" level Tidal tracks.

2) It is reasonable to believe that the DAC tech in cars, even high end systems like BMW's B&W, is not sophisticated enough to handle the full bit rate of Tidal, when compared to home systems that can run in the several thousand dollar range (but then B&W is a $3400 option…?). However, most of that "high end" DAC tech is nothing new and not even that expensive - just mainly marked up for maximum profit IMHO. The only exception being the high end stuff found in professional recording studios. But without the actual hardware specs, we won't be able to know for sure.

3) In addition to the DAC processor in the head unit, other key components like the amp and speakers also make a difference in how well the system sounds. As I mentioned above, the speaker upgrade to my HK system alone made a very noticeable improvement, before I started streaming the higher res audio.

4) As far as more battery usage, I really have not seen much more so far when compared to using other streaming services with lower res audio. After a few hour+ road trips, with my iPhone XR on the wireless charger in my X7, the battery has been able to keep up - with a net gain in charging the battery from what I have been able to observe. The only other app I have running in the background is Waze (via CarPlay), but not in "navigate" mode (so I can hear the Waze notifications in the background while driving).

I am no audiophile, and I was somewhat skeptical about how much better the high res tracks from Tidal or Deezer would sound over the "low res" tracks from SiriusXM and Pandora that I had been listening to for years in my M3 with standard HK and now my X7 with "upgraded" HK with the Bavsound speakers. Regardless of what DAC mode was used, or if it was on or off, I could hear a discernible difference in sound quality with the Master level tracks of Tidal - which was better to my ears. I really hear the difference when I switch between cars with different sound systems and using the same sound source. I did not try Deezer's "high end" service since I am currently satisfied with Tidal, but I will speculate Deezer would be the same level of sound improvement.

Another variable that comes into play is cell phone signal strength. After listening to only Master level tracks from Tidal over the past week or so, I noticed anything less than 3 bars, songs will start to drop sync. I never had this issue with Pandora, at a much lower bit rate and compressed audio streaming from my phone.

So for me, even if the sound reproduction in the head unit is actually hardware limited to CD quality, I still appreciate (and prefer) the difference in sound I hear with the Master level tracks from Tidal (or any other streaming service with comparable high bit rate sound availability). Whether or not it is worth it to you, and if you can hear a difference, is up to you of course. But then all of these services have free trials so you really have nothing to lose to see if this type of streaming upgrade is worth it to you and the sound hardware in your car.

On a related note, I streamed Tidal through my "modest" Sonos system in my living room for the first time a few days ago. The clarity and lack of distortion at any volume level was noticeable there, too. But then that makes sense as well…

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Well, I am not an audio engineer, I could not find the specific hardware specs for the current/modern BMW radio hardware, and I don't consider myself an audiophile, but….

1) WiFi can handle more data at a higher data rate, and at a greater range than Bluetooth - I think most people understand this basic fact about the two communications technologies. From what I do know about BMW CarPlay (which is what I use), is that BMW was one of the first to pioneer wireless CarPlay using both WiFi and Bluetooth. The way I have seen it explained, and what makes sense, is that the BT is used sync/manage the connection, but the data that is transferred between your phone and the car is via WiFi. WiFi has more than enough bandwidth to handle bit rate of the "Master" level Tidal tracks.

2) It is reasonable to believe that the DAC tech in cars, even high end systems like BMW's B&W, is not sophisticated enough to handle the full bit rate of Tidal, when compared to home systems that can run in the several thousand dollar range (but then B&W is a $3400 option…?). However, most of that "high end" DAC tech is nothing new and not even that expensive - just mainly marked up for maximum profit IMHO. The only exception being the high end stuff found in professional recording studios. But without the actual hardware specs, we won't be able to know for sure.

3) In addition to the DAC processor in the head unit, other key components like the amp and speakers also make a difference in how well the system sounds. As I mentioned above, the speaker upgrade to my HK system alone made a very noticeable improvement, before I started streaming the higher res audio.

4) As far as more battery usage, I really have not seen much more so far when compared to using other streaming services with lower res audio. After a few hour+ road trips, with my iPhone XR on the wireless charger in my X7, the battery has been able to keep up - with a net gain in charging the battery from what I have been able to observe. The only other app I have running in the background is Waze (via CarPlay), but not in "navigate" mode (so I can hear the Waze notifications in the background while driving).

I am no audiophile, and I was somewhat skeptical about how much better the high res tracks from Tidal or Deezer would sound over the "low res" tracks from SiriusXM and Pandora that I had been listening to for years in my M3 with standard HK and now my X7 with "upgraded" HK with the Bavsound speakers. Regardless of what DAC mode was used, or if it was on or off, I could hear a discernible difference in sound quality with the Master level tracks of Tidal - which was better to my ears. I really hear the difference when I switch between cars with different sound systems and using the same sound source. I did not try Deezer's "high end" service since I am currently satisfied with Tidal, but I will speculate Deezer would be the same level of sound improvement.

Another variable that comes into play is cell phone signal strength. After listening to only Master level tracks from Tidal over the past week or so, I noticed anything less than 3 bars, songs will start to drop sync. I never had this issue with Pandora, at a much lower bit rate and compressed audio streaming from my phone.

So for me, even if the sound reproduction in the head unit is actually hardware limited to CD quality, I still appreciate (and prefer) the difference in sound I hear with the Master level tracks from Tidal (or any other streaming service with comparable high bit rate sound availability). Whether or not it is worth it to you, and if you can hear a difference, is up to you of course. But then all of these services have free trials so you really have nothing to lose to see if this type of streaming upgrade is worth it to you and the sound hardware in your car.

On a related note, I streamed Tidal through my "modest" Sonos system in my living room for the first time a few days ago. The clarity and lack of distortion at any volume level was noticeable there, too. But then that makes sense as well…

I’ve been downloading much of my Tidal content so that it can play in offline mode. This may address the issues you sometimes see with weak signal situations for cell service.

And yes all this DAC debate is for the most part fruitless. It’s a car, it’s going to have the inherent limitations of a car (outside noise, sub optimal acoustic profile, quality limitations of hardware etc.). That said I don’t believe the discussion was ever one of “is this true high end DAC quality” sound reproduction. Thread started out as an anti B&W bashers viewpoint that when properly set up the system works well. There is no debate that when used in conjunction with high quality source materiel either streamed of storage device the system sounds damn good compared to low quality source material. No comparison to high end home audio is needed they are apples and oranges…..it’s a 3400.00 system.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by jmciver

As another data point for those who want to tweak, below are a few pics of my EQ and other settings. But as I mentioned in my post above, the EQ settings are very similar to what many consider "good" settings. I like a bit of extra bass with my music and these settings give me that. My speakers and subs are the Bavsound upgraded units - not quite as good as the B&W speakers I will speculate, but better than the original HK speakers that they replaced…

Curious...How is it you have the B&W menus if your car was built with HK? Maybe I missed something in the thread.

Also, extensive experience with Tidal and Qobuz auditioning on my home audio system for a couple of months..I am a true 2ch audiophile listening to both of these sources on very revealing equipment. I can tell you unequivocally that Qobuz sounds better (to my ear) than Tidal, and the price is much better too. Tidal you're paying for a slightly (and I mean slightly) more expansive library and all that high rez crap that NO car DAC can reproduce anyway..And quite honestly it's meaningless since most of it all comes down to the recording, not the resolution.

How are you liking the Bavsound? I am deciding between it and the Bimmertech kits. I have the hifi system and it's not going to cut it for us.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Hammer110!

That said I don’t believe the discussion was ever one of “is this true high end DAC quality” sound reproduction.

Originally Posted by jmciver

WiFi has more than enough bandwidth to handle bit rate of the "Master" level Tidal tracks.

My point, if that's what you're referencing, wasn't a comparative analysis to a high-end home system, rather a capability assessment based on what "high res" is supposed to do in the first place .... which is to resolve very small details that normally get dropped like the echo off of the bass off the piano, when the singer's lips part, the scratch of the guitar pick on the string ...

The point isn't to ding (or compare) the B&W system, rather to simply ask: if the B&W system's DAC, amp, & speakers aren't capable of that resolving & reproducing those tiny details, then high-res (and any effort spent on it) wouldn't be worth much.


All of that said, this convo got me curious about what exactly is going on technically ... and, based on my research anyway,

Here's the net-net:

* High-res on Android Auto
There's a 99.9% probability Android Auto is resampling all streams to 48Mhz, i.e., a Tidal Master is being resampled all the way down to 48kHz, and even a standard Tidal HiFi track (44.1kHz) is being resampled even though the stream was 44.1kHz!. I'm pretty confident on Android Auto: you're not getting high res. Why?

Well, first, core Android on any phone resamples all audio to 48kHz, and there's only one way around this: use an app that streams "bitperfect" to an external DAC. So, for example, if you use UAPP or Tidal (but no other apps I know of) it'll send the stream unadulterated to an external DAC ... but you gotta have an external DAC! So, for example, if you plugged in an OTG DAC like THX's Onyx to your android phone, Android would pop up message that said "Allow Tidal to access THX ONYX?". Once you accept, then Tidal will stream high-res bitperfect streams to your USB DAC.

Ok, so then what happens with Android Auto, be it wired or wireless? Well, not that. Your phone is connecting to your head unit's android implementation; i.e., THAT'S the connection stream, not your raw audio files, which means your head unit is using Android's kernal to deliver audio, which means it's resampled to 48kHz like all standard Android audio.

The thing is, 48 kHz is pretty damn good!. IMO, back to the capability convo above, few normal people have the equipment to resolve details higher than that, much less the ear training ...

So that's why a Tidal Master is going to sound better than MP3 quality - you're basically getting CD quality, which is where it is for a reason: it's the highest quality most people can use. (see Nyquist)


* High-Res on Apple Carplay
I'm fairly sure the same thing is going on here too ... here's why:

According to Apple, with iOS 14.6 or later you can listen to high-res lossless if: "To listen to songs at sample rates higher than 48 kHz, you need an external digital-to-analog converter." Same as Android!

Further, Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm DAC adapter is MFi-certified and all MFI-certified devices have a capped data throughput at 24bit/48kHz, with anything above that being downsampled just like on Android.

And finally, the same is true with AirPlay: it's all capped at 48kHz (well, to be fair, Apple won't tell us, but we do know 24bit/96kHz and 24bit/192kHz streams aren't possible sooo... yeah, probably capped at 49kHz)

Even the MacOS it finicky with high-res; you can use apps like Roon or Audirvana to bypass MacOS's core audio layer, and, while Apple's Music app will technically play >48kHz files, you have to manually configure for it with the Audio MIDI setup app everytime!


SUMMARY
-----------
From what I can see, neither Android nor Apple iOS handle high-res files easily, and both are config'd to up/downsample streams to 48kHz no matter how they come through UNLESS you have a DAC specifically connected & config'd ... and neither Apple Carplay nor Android Auto connect as external DACs, rather as mini-OSs that use the standard core audio outputs, i.e., 48kHz.

IMO, this is totally fine given 48kHz is better than CD quality which is about the best quality any of us can use anyway.


.... and few last points to an already stupidly long ramble:

(a.) Most pop songs are mastered crappy and/or "compressed", meaning the audio highs & lows (aka, dynamic range) are leveled out so those big loud cymbal crash decaying resonances aren't there for high-res to reveal anyway.

(b.) Of Apple music's catalog, about 5M tracks are >= 24bit/48kHz with 70M tracks being CD quality so chances are most music you want is only available in CD quality anyway.


Sorry for the ramble and please correct anything I've gotten wrong technically.