Well, I originally made this post (and commented re Spotify requiring premium) almost a year ago back in 11/21. It’s possible that in the past year Tesla has changed the Spotify requirements. In the past Spotify premium was required to be able to be used natively in the Tesla OS.
I just have a wifi hotspot plugged in. Turning on wifi is still a bit slow, but way faster than re-initiating the iPhone hotspot, plus then turning on the wifi.
I got a separate hotspot other than my phone so than i only have to activate wi-fi in the car. The hotspot battery dies between drives but it wakes up within 5 minutes or so if driving. Since the separate hotspot handles more data without being throttled back like my phone, I’ll also use the hotspot for work in a pinch when necessary.
What I actually meant to ask was whether this whole Spotify Vs Tidal thing that everyone is praising here will make a difference on standard tesla audio if we don’t have premium audio in the car?
I'm gonna second what @drtimhill said. For some people, the difference between HiFi audio vs. 320 kbps MP3 audio is like night and day. Others literally can't hear a difference. For me personally, the difference is subtle, even with my M3's "premium" audio system. As for how much a difference it makes on premium vs. standard systems - that again is quite subjective, and no one else can answer that for you. I'd suggest paying for each for a month and doing some A/B testing with your own ears. You'll probably come to a conclusion pretty quickly.
Hard to say. I am a very picky listener, but I still struggle to discern any difference between Tidal and Spotify. If it were possible to compare them by switching instantly with the press of a button it might be easier but it’s not. By the time I stop Spotify and start Tidal it is hard to remember the quality. This is complicated by the fact that the two sources may be playing different masters and there are often volume differences. After matching vol I can’t hear a difference. However, I also can’t hear over 12kHz, so if there are high frequency differences they are lost on me.
Tidal is much better than Bluetooth. It is full CD quality whereas BT as implemented by Tesla doesn't support the latest BT standards, which still only get you about 900kbps. There is no fiddling to do with USB with Tidal.
I am confused by this comment. To play Tidal in HiFi lossless I believe you must use the car's built in Tidal app. There is no way to send HiFi audio rates (48kHz/16) over bluetooth. At least not by any protocols available in the Tesla. Are you talking only about non-HiFi Tidal perhaps?
