Hello all, I drive a 2018 XC90 with Bowers and Wilkins. I usually stream on Apple music with Bluetooth and it sounds great. However Apple music or Spotify, doesn't provide option for lossless Audio via FLAC codec. Also Bluetooth compresses the audio and its not the best quality. So, I decided to up the game and try Amazon Music HD via Apple Carplay(with lightning to USB cable) and it sounds phenomenal. For someone who have not tried this, Amazon Music HD offers lossless audio in two quality ranges: HD and Ultra HD.

HD tracks are 16-bit audio, with a minimum sample rate of 44.1 kHz (16/44.1 is also referred to as CD-quality), and an average bitrate of 850 kbps.
Ultra HD tracks have a bit depth of 24 bits, with sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps. In comparison, Apple and Spotify offers Standard Definition (SD) with a bitrate up to 320 kbps.

I was able to test and play 24 bits 48kHz just fine. I decided to play a song with 24 bits depth and 192 kHz sample rate(Max that Amazon offers) to test the true potential of the Speaker system.



Amazon displays audio properties for each audio track

However, Amazon says that Iphone's can support HD/Ultra HD (up to 24-bit, 48kHz) and we need to use an External DAC to play songs at higher sample rates (96 or 192 kHz). If I use a DAC, I would need to 3.5mm AUX to play songs, which I do not think exists in 2018 XC90. So I think only option is USB.

My questions are
- when I use Apple's lightning cable to connect to USB via Apple Carplay, can the datastream coming out of this wire be 24-bit, 192kHz ? In other words, Is my phone pushing the right sample rates via USB to the car ?
- Does the sound system(Amp) itself work with such sample rate ? or is it doing some downsampling ?
- Did anyone try using Amazon HD ultra music or Tidal with Bowers and Wilkins ? Can you please share your experiences.