Playing lossless music through my new Crosstar’s system.

[No Vice]

Can anyone confirm that the onboard system reads Flac or Alac music files when stored on a pendrive ? Has anyone tried to upgrade the speakers or the sound deadening in the doors ? Or is it best left alone ?

[Nicksey]

I only use MP3 files through the USB port. These I copied from the original CD using a Brennan.
As to the speaker set up, well mine is slightly biased to the front via the toggle setting and sounds good to my ears.

[sebastiand]

The manual says:

You can use the following formats to play sound or
video files on a USB flash drive.
When playing a sound file: MP3, WMA, AAC*1
,
FLAC, PCM/WAVE
When playing a video file: MP4, AVI, MKV, ASF/
WMV

So according to it, it is supported.

My personal opinion is that MP3 320Kbps quality is already overkill for any audio system you run inside a car.

[Kremmen]

I was thinking the same

Inside a car isn't an audio studio

[No Vice]

You may be right but in the day I recorded a large number (11,000 tracks) of my lps (vinyl) on to my 160Gb ipod in ALAC and they play completely hassle- free in a mate’s 10 year old Civic which detects my ipod. Unfortunately the audio system in my 2025 crosstar is nowhere near that quality or shall we say, has other virtues that I haven’t yet been able to discover. It’s a sentimental thing…..

[sebastiand]

Yeah I can fill you. I mean if I had all those FLACs even if I consider running it a placebo in a car. I'd just want to run them.

Different story is at home in an isolated room with hifi hardware.

But try converting one song to 320kbps then play it in both cars. I guess the test will show the same results. If that is the case then you can probably reach that quality by replacing the audio on the Jazz. I guess the civic had better speakers.

[No Vice]

I guess the civic had better speakers.

The point is that my new crosstar doesn’t recognise  an ipod. In the Civic it was a preset.

Hence I need to convert my files to something the Crosstar can read. Flac might be pushing it so maybe I’ll settle for mp3 or even AAC v1

[Marco1979]

Did you use the appropriate USB port? One is for charging only, the other connects to the audio system. Not sure if iPod is recognized, but I believe USB can be chosen as an input in the audio menu.

[Sean Regan]

I use a USB stick The contents are some mp3 files I've copied from my own CDs, but most are YouTube rips.
I really don't know why Honda thought a little car like mine needed eight speakers.

[sebastiand]

I guess the civic had better speakers.

Hence I need to convert my files to something the Crosstar can read. Flac might be pushing it so maybe I’ll settle for mp3 or even AAC v1

If you want I can try some flac in mine. I think I've never used an USB device to play music in car yet. (In my dad's Honda Fit second generation, I used to use "Aux/3.5mm cable"; in my other car I just use "Bluetooth Media Audio" + Spotify; and in the Jazz 2026 so far I've been using "Wireless Android auto" + Spotify without issues but i only got the car a week ago.

But in my opinion head unit should be powerful enough to process a flac. Video files are heavier.

[Kremmen]

The latest gen Jazz does have flac in its list of compatible formats

Page 330 of the online manual

[No Vice]

If you want I can try some flac in mine.

That would be great. All my digitally encoded music files are in an unloved ipod that I lent to a mate for him to copy the same original Alac files onto a pendrive for me in different formats: Aac, Flac and mp3. He is currently unwell with a shocking cold.

[sebastiand]

I tested a flac and it worked (as stated in the manual).
I copied some old flac i had in some old HDD in a USB pen drive and started playing automatically when I selected USB. I only played a little part of the song, then switched to Android Auto (Spotify).

Note: I think this also supports iPOD I've read ipod in the manual. But I do not have an iPOD to test.

TLDR: You should have no problems running a .flac file in the Jazz.

[No Vice]

Gracias, Chano ! Vivo en Tenerife.
I wonder if we have different versions of the head unit. My Crosstar dates from April 28th 2026. Today I hope to try my ipod,  and copies on pendrive  in Flac and MP3 today.
I´ll let you know how it goes.

Chris

[coldstart]

I'm not so surprised that lossless audio files (FLAC) work in the Jazz.
The manual clearly states that the following formats are supported:
Playing a USB Flash Drive
You can use the following formats to play sound or video files on a USB flash drive.
When playing a sound file: MP3, WMA, AAC*1, FLAC, PCM/WAVE
When playing a video file: MP4, AVI, MKV, ASF/ WMV

The manual (afaik) stays quite obscure as to the filesystems supported!
(I know: For updates it is restricted to 16 to 32 GB max and FAT32 only)

However, for audio system use, it only states that a device with (a by today's standards ridiculously low) 256 MB "or higher" storage capacity is recommended, forgoing any mention of the filesystem.

I have a (very compact) SanDisk 32 GB thumbdrive (formatted to FAT32) for my music but it is getting too crowded.
Anybody with larger thumbdrives and good results? And what is the filesystem type?

Thank you!

P.S. With lossless audio files you are bound to quickly outgrow 32 GB anyway.