This months (September/October 2019) had this little ditty in there. They mention the Acura, they mention Elliot Scheiner, but not a single mention about 5.1, surround audio, "the screech", or USB playback.
2019+ Acura RDX: ELS 3D Studio 5.1 Surround Audio System
- Thread starter JonUrban
- Start date
Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:
For those with 19/20 RDX's, there was a software update today (D.1.2.1) that allegedly fixes a ton of issues and adds Android Audio to the system.
If you haven't noticed, it's an easy download in the car. Took about 5 minutes to install.
Hopefully they got the screech!
If you haven't noticed, it's an easy download in the car. Took about 5 minutes to install.
Hopefully they got the screech!
Got the update yesterday. Right after, my carplay was really choppy with big gaps in playback. Didn’t check it again this morning but I will check it today. It took a long time to start up this morning on my drive to work. Hopefully, this is not a set back.
I did CarPlay today all the way home (45 minutes) without issue. Even stopped for gas and the car picked up right where it left off when I restarted the car. (That wasn't always the case in the past. Usually had to pull out the USB and plug it back in again)
Hopefully yours was just a fluke. I am using IOS 13.2 (non-beta)
So the drive home from work was fine. It must have needed to fully reboot etc. no glitches at all using CarPlay. Next up the ssd drive.
Kernelpanic
New member
Thanks for the notice Jon. I am actually in the minority and prefer not to use Apple CarPlay. Just not a fan of it any any manufacturers vehicles. (I am a swap driver for GM) CarPlay is especially archaic to use in the RDX because the interface is relative positioning on the touch pad. The Acura absolute positioning is brilliant. I prefer to use the RDX maps and when I need directions and bluetooth for phone conversations. I would just rather enjoy the drive and not be distracted by text messages and CarPlay. Now if I can just find a source for more 5.1 FLAC surround audio I would be happy. Never even knew that the RDX could play these files until I stumbled upon this site. Thanks for what you do.
Waldo
New member
The first post here says the RDX won't play 24/192 stereo files, but I just tried USB in my new 2020 and I had a couple of 24/192 wav files that played just fine. Could this latest update have addressed that "shortcoming"? I'm still experimenting will all the other formats to see what else might have changed.
I was a little worried about having a USB drive hanging out in that port, where I could damage it over time. But I got this tiny one and it's so small that I can completely close the cover over the USB port with the drive in it. That's one less thing I have to worry about. Acura should load one of these with demo music and include it with each car.
Nice. I will break out my original test files and run them through the car this weekend. Hadn't thought of doing that, so thanks.
I'm looking at an RDX purchase. My 2012 Acura TL has served me well, but at 130,000 miles I'm concerned about a major repair bill. Visited the dealership today. They let me take home an RDX with the ELS 3D Studio 5.1 Surround Audio System. System showed update available, so I performed the update. Once done, no other updates were available. Here are my findings so far:
- It won't recognize Flac files unless they are down sampled with 0 compression. So that was not corrected in the update.
- I still think my TL system sounds has some advantages over the RDX system. For one, the RDX system bass is a bit boomy. In my TL system there is a specific setting for the subwoofer that could tame this if needed. No such setting in the RDX system that I can find. I can turn down the bass, but then all bass is turned down. Not a good compromise.
- Also the TL system must have a higher wattage amplifier, because I have to turn the volume up to max to equal a much lower setting the TL system. Other than that, the fidelity of the RDX system is awesome.
The dealer is offering me an awesome deal according to them. $8000 for my TL, but I will still end up with a higher payment. I just can't see myself giving up on multi-channel listening in my vehicle while the possibility still exists.
- It won't recognize Flac files unless they are down sampled with 0 compression. So that was not corrected in the update.
- I still think my TL system sounds has some advantages over the RDX system. For one, the RDX system bass is a bit boomy. In my TL system there is a specific setting for the subwoofer that could tame this if needed. No such setting in the RDX system that I can find. I can turn down the bass, but then all bass is turned down. Not a good compromise.
- Also the TL system must have a higher wattage amplifier, because I have to turn the volume up to max to equal a much lower setting the TL system. Other than that, the fidelity of the RDX system is awesome.
The dealer is offering me an awesome deal
according to them. $8000 for my TL, but I will still end up with a higher payment. I just can't see myself giving up on multi-channel listening in my vehicle while the possibility still exists.
So the folks at ELS had someone ask them a question along the lines of "Where can I get 3D audio files for my car and does the car do Dolby Atmos." They actually referred them to QQ!?
So, after telling them that it sucked not being able to have Acura owners buy 5.1 car ready .flac files from places like HDTracks, I in return asked them if the car could be adopted for Atmos with some type of upgrade since the height speakers are already in the car.
Here is the exchange:
So, after telling them that it sucked not being able to have Acura owners buy 5.1 car ready .flac files from places like HDTracks, I in return asked them if the car could be adopted for Atmos with some type of upgrade since the height speakers are already in the car.
Here is the exchange:
A key point of the ELS response was the focus on streaming Atmos audio sources and no consideration for a file that can be played from a local USB drive.
Cygnus_X1
Active Member
One easy solution would be to put an optical drive back in, either a DVD-A player or even better a BluRay audio player. I still don't understand why they took it out. And why would the system bus only be able to carry 6 channels of 48 kHz audio, unless that's a limitation of the Bluetooth or USB connections. Another problem that would be fixed by an optical drive btw. I've come to terms that Acura is catering to the MP3/streaming crowd which is a majority of their business.
I had a 2014 RDX that had an optical drive with DVD-A support and I had a 2016 RDX with an optical drive that only supported DTS CD for multichannel. I don’t miss the optical drive at all with my 2019 RDX. The convenience of having all my music on a small USB flash drive or SSD drive properly tagged with artwork outweighs the limitations of 24/48 lossless.
No more juggling discs!
Interestingly enough, if you go into Maintenance Mode on the 2019/20 RDX, the USB only system, and you go into the MultiMedia setup, there are menu choices for DVD and BluRay.
That does not mean you could just plug one in and you'd be good to go, but it does mean that the hardware interface (MOST Bus) is equipped to handle that type of input. Whether is would be able to read more than stereo is a whole different question.
Needless to say, since 99.999999999999999% of all buyers of this car stream music from their phones or MP3 stereo on USB sticks, I don't think they really care about the surround audiophile and our strange obsessions. I mean, someone must because it works, but that's the proverbial needle in the haystack.
That does not mean you could just plug one in and you'd be good to go, but it does mean that the hardware interface (MOST Bus) is equipped to handle that type of input. Whether is would be able to read more than stereo is a whole different question.
Needless to say, since 99.999999999999999% of all buyers of this car stream music from their phones or MP3 stereo on USB sticks, I don't think they really care about the surround audiophile and our strange obsessions. I mean, someone must because it works, but that's the proverbial needle in the haystack.
Maybe you could trick it with an ISO or VIDEO_TS folder off a flash drive?
Software update available:
https://owners.acura.com/Documentum/ota/2019_RDX.pdf
https://owners.acura.com/Documentum/ota/2019_RDX.pdf
Unrelated to the software update (I haven't installed it yet), but did anyone else know or notice that the system will playback a 6 channel 16/44.1 .flac file only in stereo?
I did mine on the way in to work today, but I did not notice any differences yet.
No, did it do it before the update?
Similar threads
