Harley Davidson Forums

Audio Systems Find answers to all of your stereo, speaker and other audio technology questions here.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Bluetooth vs thumb drive?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old May 6, 2015 | 04:46 AM
Share
  #1  
ridedaddy's Avatar
ridedaddy
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,220
Likes: 14
From: chatham il
Default Bluetooth vs thumb drive?
I have a kenwood excelon in my bike and have wondered if there is a sound quality draw back to bluetoothing my music from my iPhone? Would I be better off putting my music on a thumb drive and using the front usb on my head unit?
 
Last edited by ridedaddy; May 6, 2015 at 11:41 PM.
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 05:43 AM
Share
  #2  
N-Truder's Avatar
N-Truder
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 115
Likes: 1
From: Northern Indiana
Default
If your an audiophile, (I'm not), thumbdrive will give you better sound quality.

One thing to be careful about with a thumb drive, you take a chance of hitting it and ruining the port on your HU.

Bluetooth will run your battery down quicker.

Some HU will display song info using thumb drive.

50/50 decision...
 
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 05:52 AM
Share
  #3  
ridedaddy's Avatar
ridedaddy
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,220
Likes: 14
From: chatham il
Default
I've never used a thumb drive for one simple reason to be honest. I have several playlists, I don't always listen to the same music. I listen to heavier rock music by myself than I do if the wife is with me and so on. The have the thumb drives that have the little bitty heads on them now, I wouldn't think it would be to risky using one of those?
 
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 06:48 AM
Share
  #4  
haze324's Avatar
haze324
Elite HDF Member
Veteran: Army
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,150
Likes: 459
From: S. FL
Default
100% better sound quality with a USB. You can use a mini USB that doesn't stick out, and for playlist you can create folders.
 
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 02:33 PM
Share
  #5  
AAWAV's Avatar
AAWAV
Road Warrior
10 Year Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,505
Likes: 31
From: Las Vegas
Default
Originally Posted by haze324
100% better sound quality with a USB. You can use a mini USB that doesn't stick out, and for playlist you can create folders.
Absolutely. BT will impact sound quality in a negative way.
 
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 03:57 PM
Share
  #6  
ridedaddy's Avatar
ridedaddy
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,220
Likes: 14
From: chatham il
Default
Now I need to figure out how to export all my music from iTunes!!
 
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 04:04 PM
Share
  #7  
SBates08's Avatar
SBates08
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 10,637
Likes: 1,246
From: Lake, Ms
Default
Originally Posted by ridedaddy
Now I need to figure out how to export all my music from iTunes!!
Copy them to another folder then convert them to MP3 format. After that I'd suggest you run them through the mp3gains website and set them all at 93db.

http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

2010 Limited with some stuff
 
Reply
0

Trending Topics

Old May 6, 2015 | 04:08 PM
Share
  #8  
Blowby's Avatar
Blowby
Road Captain
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 575
Likes: 190
From: USA
Default
Drag and Drop. I have one of the ScanDisk USB's but 16gig's



 
Reply
0
HD Forum Stories

The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders

story-0

7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles

 Verdad Gallardo
story-2

8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-3

10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-4

Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026

 Verdad Gallardo
Old May 6, 2015 | 04:51 PM
Share
  #9  
jamess71's Avatar
jamess71
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 563
Likes: 4
From: Raleigh, NC
Default
A question for you guys that have used both thumb drives and bluetooth. How would you compare the two? Sound quality wise? Thanks
 
Reply
0
Old May 6, 2015 | 05:04 PM
Share
  #10  
TexasMotorcycleRider's Avatar
TexasMotorcycleRider
Grand HDF Member
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 3,913
Likes: 692
From: Spring, TX
Default
Originally Posted by jamess71
A question for you guys that have used both thumb drives and bluetooth. How would you compare the two? Sound quality wise? Thanks
I use both and don't notice any difference. I might if I had a better system.
 
Reply
0



Advanced Search
Reply Closed Thread Share
Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:24 AM.

story-0
7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson built its reputation on nostalgia, but every so often, the company took a hard left turn into the future.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-20 11:18:19


VIEW MORE
story-1
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles

Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-29 16:50:35


VIEW MORE
story-2
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

Slideshow: Not every Harley gets it right, but these are the ones that genuinely earned their reputation.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-15 14:23:21


VIEW MORE
story-3
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-01 20:01:09


VIEW MORE
story-4
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In

Slideshow: Killer Custom's "Jail Breaker" build focuses more on stance and visual aggression than mechanical overhaul.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-18 19:20:32


VIEW MORE
story-5
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?

Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-07 16:15:30


VIEW MORE
story-6
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's new RMCR concept revives the café racer formula with modern hardware-and it may be exactly the reset the company needs.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-04 12:23:37


VIEW MORE
story-7
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II

Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-02-24 18:19:44


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy

Slideshow: There is no shortage of great motorcycles to buy, but we would avoid these ten.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-02-19 14:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-13 18:33:17


VIEW MORE