Car advertising SBC Codec only, Not AAC

[B5Bob]

When I got in this car in October, the audio quality was better than any other car I'd been in. My wife and I both commented on it, before anything else - performance, driving dynamics - "wow, this sounds great!"

I noticed a few days ago that the audio quality was noticeably worse and confirmed in my phone settings that the connection was over SBC, which is an inefficient Codec not designed for music. (The music source was FLAC, btw so it's not a source problem.) I believed when buying the car that the car supported AAC and my ears tell me that's what I was connected to since October. But it no longer connects using AAC and it isn't even telling devices that it's an option (see attached). It's the same phone and I have tried forgetting and re-pairing from both devices, as well as rebooting the Tesla interface.

Is this a bug? Has Tesla removed this option or put it behind a subscription or upgrade?

 

[B5Bob]

I thought for sure I posted an edit, but it seems that's time limited:
- The title should read "SBC Codec", not SBD
- Car is '23 M3 RWD
- Phone is Galaxy S20 FE
- Same result on Galaxy S21

 

[jjrandorin]

I thought for sure I posted an edit, but it seems that's time limited:
- The title should read "SBC Codec", not SBD
- Car is '23 M3 RWD
- Phone is Galaxy S20 FE
- Same result on Galaxy S21

(moderator note)

Thread title changed to "SBC Codec" as mentioned above. I am a volunteer mod but have been doing it for a couple years now. The site owners have the site set so that the time to edit a post is fairly short. Additionally, when you create a thread, its "really" short (I dont know exactly but 5 or so minutes comes to mind).

 

[Kevy Baby]

I thought for sure I posted an edit, but it seems that's time limited:
- The title should read "SBC Codec", not SBD
- Car is '23 M3 RWD
- Phone is Galaxy S20 FE
- Same result on Galaxy S21

FWIW, streaming music across BT has always been crappy - too much loss for my taste. But then again, I also spent a lot of money upgrading the sound system in my car.

• For as technologically advanced as this car is in drive systems, battery management, etc., it is sorely lacking in the entire infotainment system. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, they degraded the codec (though I am far from the expert in this area). We used to have a mid-2000's quality USB music interface, but it was downgraded to a mid-1990's level
• The only way to get truly lossless music into the car is either a USB drive or one of the Tidal higher-end services (you'll need to find info elsewhere on Tidal). Personally, I have over 12,000 titles on a Samsung T5, a fair portion of which is lossless FLAC files.
• With a RWD, you have the "Partial Premium" sound system (all other 3's have the "Premium" system). Mainly, the Premium has a subwoofer, the A-Pillar speakers (and possibly some others - I haven't kept up on this) are hooked up.

 

[B5Bob]

FWIW, streaming music across BT has always been crappy - too much loss for my taste. But then again, I also spent a lot of money upgrading the sound system in my car.

• For as technologically advanced as this car is in drive systems, battery management, etc., it is sorely lacking in the entire infotainment system. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, they degraded the codec (though I am far from the expert in this area). We used to have a mid-2000's quality USB music interface, but it was downgraded to a mid-1990's level
• The only way to get truly lossless music into the car is either a USB drive or one of the Tidal higher-end services (you'll need to find info elsewhere on Tidal). Personally, I have over 12,000 titles on a Samsung T5, a fair portion of which is lossless FLAC files.
• With a RWD, you have the "Partial Premium" sound system (all other 3's have the "Premium" system). Mainly, the Premium has a subwoofer, the A-Pillar speakers (and possibly some others - I haven't kept up on this) are hooked up.

Yeah, I read all the threads before my purchase. I don't need audiophile grade audio, but I can definitely tell the difference between SBC and AAC.

If anyone else would like to test, I used the Android app "Bluetooth Codec Changer" to get the screenshot above. It worked fine for me and then I uninstalled it, but I can't vouch for it.

I'm taking a trip in a few weeks so maybe I'll spring for a month of premium connectivity to test the theory that it's somehow related, but I kinda doubt it. If it were, I would think that would be a selling point they'd push - Enhanced Bluetooth Streaming Audio! In fact, the connectivity page identifies Bluetooth specifically as a feature of "Standard Connectivity".

 

[B5Bob]

I subscribed to a month of premium connectivity and I also got a brand-new phone (Pixel 7 Pro) and no AAC. My theories in order of perceived likelihood:

1) It never had AAC and I'm an idiot;
2) It had AAC and it's been removed, either on-purpose, to save licensing costs, or because of a bug
3a) It has AAC but only for iPhone users
3b) It has AAC but only for "Premium Interior" cars

 

[canbonbon]

Did anyone find a solution to this issue? I am having AAC issues too. In my case AAC 5.1 media plays only certain channels.

 

[cappo3]

Is there any way to check the codec an iPhone is using while connected?
I also have the feeling that the audio quality went down the drain on my 2020 3P. Can't even listen to an audiobook without cranking up the volume only to understand the dialogues.

 

[DDotJ]

Just took delivery of my Model Y and was shocked to see only SBC being offered. The Model 3 I had supported AAC. I wonder if this is a change from Intel to Ryzen or if Tesla mysteriously just dropped support for AAC.

 

[B5Bob]

Just took delivery of my Model Y and was shocked to see only SBC being offered. The Model 3 I had supported AAC. I wonder if this is a change from Intel to Ryzen or if Tesla mysteriously just dropped support for AAC.

I forgot about the Ryzen thing. If I had to speculate, it was to save money on licensing. Whether it was Tesla or AMD who made that call, I dunno...

Thank you for confirming it's not just me.