Review on HIDIZS AP80 PRO Hi-Res Bluetooth MP3 Player by Yousef Abood

First of all let me say that I have an Acura (2018) and for some strange reason they don't let you play FLAC files from USB which would make me very happy! The bad thing is that there is nothing that allows me to swap out the main unit for a secondary with all the bells and whistles, so at least they can give us a software update so we can play FLAC files. !I'm fed up with the faint system sounds (amplifier installation is imminent) and I've been missing FLAC files in my car for about 10 years. I'm a person who HATES the lack of options! MP3s aren't truncated these days and FLAC doesn't require licensing fees, so what's the problem? I kept trying to find a way to play FLAC files in my car (I didn't care whether it was driving or at the gym) without plugging it in. on AUX as I know it's audio only. So I started looking into these devices as they seemed to be the only ones that could do it. I checked for the price based on the price positioning and features and decided to go for it. This device is very small - it was what I wanted, which was something out of the ordinary. It looks big in photos, but it's not even half the size of my phone. The screen worked for me. What I don't like: Inserting the micro SD card is awkward, there's no cover, and there's no eject button. The instructions are almost useless! I had to figure out a few things myself to get it working. The driver (which I had to look for) did not install on Windows 10. He kept saying that the device needs to be plugged in and turned on. I did it anyway and never installed the driver (after the latest firmware). Bluetooth didn't work in my car. I tried different ways and the only (small) success I had was switching the quality to Basic and Hiby. THEN I would see it in my car list but it wouldn't connect. I wanted to at least hear this LDAC to see if it helps. Connecting to AUX is the only way to get the DAC working and analog is the only way. Bluetooth (I tried it on my phone) gives you steering wheel control, cover art, and file info, but audio suffers. If you connect it to AUX, you will only get music and no controls or information on your car screen! It got boring quickly! Maybe one day they will make a BT version powerful enough to play music with pristine quality. What I liked: Sounded good. Compared to USB with MP3 on the standard system, I could finally hear the stereo separation clearly and with more detail. Somehow the Acura USB sounds worse than the Accord 13 with music. I'm sure this device will sound good in headphones, but I was looking for automatic sounds. It moved fast, so that's a plus. It scanned files quickly and played music quickly. Well after a day of working with it I realized that listening to a port I NEVER want to play music on - the AUX port is too expensive for me! The weird thing is that this is the only port it plays through. Then I started thinking. I knew my phone had a NEW version of the ESS DAC and I don't really need a full DAC as I don't want an AUX connection so I kept that in mind. My phone also had BT 5.0 but I don't play music that way as it's tasteless. I knew that the overall performance of my phone was superior to that of this device. Then I started thinking again and realized that my car has Android Auto. So when I plug it in, it plays files DIGITALLY over USB! So today after three experiments I connected the phone. up to AA and wow - it's louder, cleaner, sharper than this unit - PLUS I can use my screen to view and control file info, complete with cover art! In fact, the display looked more impressive than if I was using my phone's BT to play files! To think I had the answer to my problem all along! Since I bought a 512GB card (I already had 128GB in my phone) I decided to keep it and use it for high-resolution music. I knew my phone was high-end and sounded the best, but once I started researching, I realized it was better than this unit — unless listening with headphones was your primary goal. Also, the USB connection allows me to play them digitally instead of analog! My phone has an ESS DAC so it plays the same files so I don't lose anything. I never listened to music on my phone, I preferred to watch videos. I usually switch phones, so I didn't want to get used to the phone and then switch it again, but I can leave this one for a while. That's why I wanted the device, but I would have preferred FLAC on a USB stick! This device was great - if you are walking or in a public place you need it, but in a car - your phone will work better. Sorry, but these are facts.