PCM / Bose / iPod weird audio problem

[gnetwerker]

New (to me) 2012 997.2, PCM 3.0 software version 2.20, and an old 160gb iPod classic that contains my entire music collection.

 

1) Music played through the Aux cable (source Aux selected) sounds fine;

 

2) Music played through legacy USB-to-30 pin iPod cable (source USB selected) sounds fine;

 

3) Music played through PCM iPod interface (source iPod selected) sounds bizarre -- the vocal tracks are pushed way into the background, almost like it was karaoke!  No setting of Balance/Fade changes this, no setting of "iPod surround" changes this, no other setting I can find changes this.

 

I strongly want to use the PCM iPod interface so I can use the PCM to select Artist/Album/Track, but I simply cannot make it work.  I've tried it with two different iPod classics, with no difference.  I have not tried it with other models of iPod (but there aren't any big enough to hold all of my music).

 

Independently, I tried loading all of my music on a USB stick (110Gb, over 15k tracks), and the PCM only loads a small part of it.  Folders beyond halfway just don't load, and on top of that the PCM spends 15-20 minutes "loading music data", so the system is essentially unusable on short trips.