MEMRings

Hi - 2007 Q7. I've had a lingering issue for three or so years where the audio played from a USB stick is very distorted when the car is first started. The audio sounds very.... metallic... and is a little painful to listen to. All audio has an obnoxious, overbearing jingle bells overlay. One can tell what song is playing, but just barely. When the issue first started happening, it was only on VERY cold mornings and would clear up (clear audio) after the car had warmed a bit. Over time, the issue has appeared on warmer and warmer starts up until now where it almost always happens. I figured this was due to a long in the tooth battery with poor voltage retention in cold temps, but I had the battery replaced (OEM, dealer) after it displayed other symptoms of age and the issue persisted. Radio plays fine and the phone audio is fine, even right after very cold starts when AMI sound terrible. The AMI interface seems to be the only input that suffers. I've tried three different USB sticks, all top quality, with no change in behavior. Ideas?