What is the best way to use my phone as a music player?

[HPRifleman]

I have been using an older iPod connected via USB to play songs. This has worked well until my iPod decided to give up the ghost. Now, I would like to use my Samsung Galaxy S4 as a music player via Bluetooth.

 

The S4 connects seamlessly via Bluetooth so I thought this would be straightforward. Unfortunately, I have two problems with this method. One, MFT will only play one song no matter how many times I tap the "forward" button, and two, the volume is really low. So low that I have to turn the car volume up really high just to hear the song at normal loudness. I never had these problems with the iPod.

 

From some of these threads it looks like many of you have had success using your phones as music players. Are there any hints at the best method for this? Do I need any apps to help the process?

[Kelleytoons]

With phones (actually, even with music players like your iPod, but we'll get to that in a minute) you need to be running an application that "manages" your music.  The bluetooth signals that are being sent by the car just tell the device what to do, not the other way around.

 

With your iPod the application software was inherent in the device itself -- that was what was "waiting" for outside signals to talk to it.  So with your phone you do indeed need to be running something, even if it's just your music player.  The car will then send signals via bluetooth to tell the player software to do whatever it does.  In general, you start your music player app and then it plays, and the car signals only tell it to do something other than that (IOW, pause or advance to the next track).   So the signals are only modifying what is already going on in the phone.

 

The same goes with volume -- you need to set your volume on the phone to whatever it is you'd like, and the car signal that comes from that only changes the volume from that basis.  It sounds like you just have your phone music volume turned too low.

 

I don't use Android so I can't tell you about that, but with the iPhone just using the built-in Music app is the best bet for playing music via MFT.  However, be aware that bluetooth fidelity is not nearly as good as wired or direct access.  My own advice is to copy your music to a USB stick and use that in your car, as MFT does some really cool things via playback control of the USB module it cannot do over bluetooth (like playing whatever album or artist you name, or playing a particular tracklist or randomizing your songs).  You will also get the best fidelity (assuming you are using music recorded at, say, 320 for your MP3s).  The other control you can have here you can get no other way is to level the gain of all your tracks, perfect if you don't play albums but rather play various mixes of songs (so they stay the same level and don't blast or get too quiet).  Truth be told, the only reasons NOT to use a USB stick is if you are using a music service, like Pandora or some such, or you want to listen to a song in the car and then continue to listen to it as you move out of it without pause.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Kelleytoons

[ScubaDadMiami]

I have been using an older iPod connected via USB to play songs. This has worked well until my iPod decided to give up the ghost. Now, I would like to use my Samsung Galaxy S4 as a music player via Bluetooth.

 

The S4 connects seamlessly via Bluetooth so I thought this would be straightforward. Unfortunately, I have two problems with this method. One, MFT will only play one song no matter how many times I tap the "forward" button, and two, the volume is really low. So low that I have to turn the car volume up really high just to hear the song at normal loudness. I never had these problems with the iPod.

 

From some of these threads it looks like many of you have had success using your phones as music players. Are there any hints at the best method for this? Do I need any apps to help the process?

I am using a Galaxy Note II, so it is possible that these directions will be very slightly different for your model.

 

First, my Samsung has a protective feature to make sure that you don't blow out your eardrums with headphones. So, even if you have the phone's volume up as high as it will go, the second that you get a headphone connection, the volume will automatically reduce. The phone thinks that any Bluetooth connection is a headphone. The fix is to connect, and then turn up the volume on the phone.

 

I can't say anything about the music player issue. I use my phone for streaming music, not as a player, and I do not have the issues that you mention with trying to repeat the same track.

Edited September 27, 2014 by ScubaDadMiami

[Kelleytoons]

Ah, volume protection,  This is a setting on iPhones that can be turned off (and mine has been since time began) so I didn't even think about it.

 

Are you sure Android doesn't have the same ability to turn it off once and forget about it?

[fazzman]

I use Google play music to manage all my albums. Connect then turn the volume up on the phone. Before the volume gets maxed out it will warn you that loud music is bad for you. Hit ok then proceed to turn it up.

[fazzman]

Also if you grab a charge cable and plug it into the usb port you can play your music wired. Will also charge your phone while you stream.

[thedak]

Sync is such a POS just put your ear buds in.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Also if you grab a charge cable and plug it into the usb port you can play your music wired. Will also charge your phone while you stream.

I have tried this, and I get a message saying that there is a compatibility issue. I can't remember the exact message, but that's the gist of it. So, I can use the USB to charge, but not to play.

[Kelleytoons]

Sync is such a POS just put your ear buds in.

 

Well, that's a very odd and unqualified post so I feel the need to contradict it with facts.

 

First, in most states it's illegal to drive wearing ear buds and/or headphones.  It's an odd law (since you *can* crank your interior music up so high you can't hear the outside) but it's there and I would be careful about obeying it nowadays since police are trying to get folks on almost anything.

 

Secondly, MFT (which the OP has and is using) works great.  Sync itself is very limited in what you can and can't do, but using direct USB (for example) MFT will easily and correctly select a track, an album, an artist, a genre or a playlist with ease.  It can also easily turn shuffle on and off.  It's really the only way I recommend to listening to anything other than streaming music in your car (streaming, like from Pandora or Spotify, does require a phone or some such, and in those cases you really can't control much about it anyway).

 

The other advantage (and I admit it is an advantage sometimes) with using your phone or portable bluetooth device is that you can continue your listening seamlessly by switching to your earphones when you leave your car.  I have done this at times, although music quality will suffer.

[HPRifleman]

Thanks for the advice on the phone volume. That did the trick. Although I found that even if I turned up the phone volume all the way the music on the car speakers was still slightly quieter than sound from another source such as FM or Sirius. It is at least listenable although having to adjust settings just to listen to a different source seems.....unelegant.

[HPRifleman]

Also if you grab a charge cable and plug it into the usb port you can play your music wired. Will also charge your phone while you stream.

 

This doesn't seem to work in my car. Using a USB cable, MFT will only play ringtones and I cannot browse to actual songs or control playlists.

[fazzman]

Sync will tell me it cannot play protected media at first. But after a couple min or so it will start playing music. Thumb drive is the easiest way though. I think the phone has to many folders and directories. That's why it takes a couple min for sync to process it all. Bluetooth streaming is usually the way i go. Sounds good enough to me. But 90% of the time I'm listening to Sirius.

 

I have tried this, and I get a message saying that there is a compatibility issue. I can't remember the exact message, but that's the gist of it. So, I can use the USB to charge, but not to play.

[fazzman]

Depending on your phone and music player. Make sure you have the volume up in the music app along with the bluetooth volume. Some phones /players will have two separate volumes when streaming bluetooth.

 

Thanks for the advice on the phone volume. That did the trick. Although I found that even if I turned up the phone volume all the way the music on the car speakers was still slightly quieter than sound from another source such as FM or Sirius. It is at least listenable although having to adjust settings just to listen to a different source seems.....unelegant.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Although I found that even if I turned up the phone volume all the way the music on the car speakers was still slightly quieter than sound from another source such as FM or Sirius. It is at least listenable although having to adjust settings just to listen to a different source seems.....unelegant.

I have had that same issue, depending on the station. I also have that same kind of issue on my home system (such as switching from watching a movie from my PC versus changing over to a cable station). Could just be the current nature of the beast.

 

Somehow, I seem to have mostly corrected the issue in the C-MAX, and I had almost forgotten about this issue until you brought it up.  I am not sure of exactly what I did to make this happen, or if I just stopped noticing the change in volume level. I would think that I would never get accustomed to that sound level change, but I am going to re-check before confirming this.

 

Anyway, I recently played around with my sound settings. The only things that I remember changing were settings on bass, mid and treble, and I also changed to driver-centered sound. I am suspecting that the second item, if any, was what changed things.

 

Let me double check about there being less change in volume than I used to have, and I'll let you know.

[Kelleytoons]

You can also change the volume compensation (for increasing the volume as your speed increases).  I use this *a bit* but I don't recommend turning it up any past 3 or 4 (or the volume increase will be *very* noticeable as you accelerate).  That may have been what you did and then didn't notice as much change because (again, speculating) you don't change sources until you are moving (or, conversely, that you *only* change sources when you are not moving).