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I use both.

The USB port has an old 32GB iPhone connected that is now in use as an iPod. The only thing that doesn't happen is that the tracks don't get flagged as played. This isn't a big deal for me as I record Radio Paradise via Radio Lover and just update the recording when the music gets stale.

The SD card is currently used primarily for concert video playing. I think it's a 64GB and it works fine.

I also have an old 8GB iPod connected to the AUX input for "favourites".

Greg

Thanks Greg...

Anyone else using USB or SD with their 718 for music and noticed any difference in performance (song access etc.) and/or features?

 

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I ended up buying a Sandisk high speed 128Gb SD card and it works great.

On the other hand, I also discovered that the car supports the bluetooth audio control protocol and so I can stream directly from my Android phone, control the playback and even see the audio track info in the car displays. It's more compressed so doesn't sound quite as good of course. But it's a real plus if you have a music subscription service. You can basically download anything the service offers to your phone and play it in your car. If you like it and want higher quality you can buy the uncompressed version.

 

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The uncompressed version of what? Bluetooth streaming is, by its nature, not capable of high-resolution bitrates, even in the latest 4.0x versions and A2DP protocols. Algorithms such as Apt-X help combat this, but the trick with those is that both the source device and reproduction device have to use the algorithm -- and that's contributed to the non-adoption of an algorithm standard in the consumer audio space.

Bluetooth simply can't deliver high-resolution audio, which is why I personally don't use wireless headphones unless absolutely necessary.

What I mean is that I can listen to anything my subscription service (Google Play for example) has in my car, albeit over bluetooth. If I like the music enough I can buy the cd and rip it to my SD card for higher fidelity playback. It's a good way to discover new music for example. Also, works great for audible books and podcasts that are on my phone.