Does the Audi A6 not support lossless music?

[VanSophie]

Audi A6 supports some lossless audio formats, but it may not support the APE format. You can play lossless music using an SD card. Steps to play lossless music from an SD card: Download music: Download music in the lossless WAV format. If the music is in APE format, you need to convert it to WAV format using a player. Create a playlist: Download an MP3 format song and place it in the same folder as the music list and the lossless music. The generated playlist must be in the same folder as the songs; otherwise, it cannot be played. Copy the folder: Copy the entire folder to the SD card. Insert the SD card into the car, and it will be read and played normally.

[LeviMarie]

The Audi A6 is actually quite particular. The older infotainment systems might only recognize compressed formats like MP3. But the third-generation MIB system post-2016 has improved, with USB ports capable of playing lossless FLAC format music. Last year, I helped a friend set up his 2019 A6L, and testing confirmed that FLAC files copied to a USB drive could be directly recognized, with a noticeable improvement in sound quality. However, be mindful not to exceed 2GB for a single file, as the infotainment system might occasionally lag when processing large files. Newer models now come with wireless CarPlay, but if you use Bluetooth transmission, even lossless music will be compressed. For true lossless audio, you still need to use a wired connection.

[MacGarrett]

I've researched playing music in the Audi A6. The factory head unit's support for lossless formats varies by model year: pre-2018 models basically only play MP3; mid-cycle refresh added WAV and FLAC support; the latest version can even decode DSD64. But there's a catch to note - even among lossless formats, FLAC has much better compatibility than APE. Once I connected an external HDD to the USB in the center armrest, all APE files showed as corrupted, but switching to FLAC made them play smoothly. The B&O audio system paired with lossless music is a perfect match, with noticeably deeper bass extension.

[VanRafael]

Practical experience tells you: Owners of the 2014 A6 model shouldn't bother with lossless audio - the head unit simply doesn't recognize it. However, post-2017 models can happily play FLAC files, just remember to format your USB drive as FAT32 as the car stereo can't read NTFS. Using an SD card is far more reliable than Bluetooth transmission, as Bluetooth's limited bandwidth forces transcoding and compression. I've personally tested this - the same song downloaded in lossless format from QQ Music plays at only 256kbps via Bluetooth, but reaches 1411kbps when played from a USB drive. The difference in sound quality is immediately noticeable.