I’m all ALAC. But again, I don’t generally listen to much streamed music. If I like it enough to listen often, I’ll buy it and RedBook is good enough for me.
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It is also an album that garnered near universal praise from critics and listeners alike. It’s like a grocery store that doesn’t sell milk.
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Seems like a nail in the coffin. Count me out.
Did they actually think no one on planet earth was going to test their bit stream claims?
The very serious substance about Apple AAC lossy is that it sounds very, very good.
It may be marketing but they deliver what they promise.
It sounds good in my home system that is set up for 24 bit 192 kHz and even in my car Streaming 4G and then transmitting via BlueTooth to the car system.
Now lossless streaming up to 24 bit 192 kHz from Apple Music is a fact.
- At no extra cost for existing users, neither do subscription costs for new customers go up EUR 9,99/month that’s it!
- Music that is already purchased in lossy (but very good AAC) can be re-downloaded lossless at No Charge
- No installation of software required, it’s all automatically implemented via Apple System updates.
- But mind your mobile contract and bill when on the road!
Apple has you covered you can set streaming resolution separately to lossy less data consuming format for mobile networks. - Mind you, BlueTooth headphones speakers keep playing lossy, even the best currently available BlueTooth protocol is lossy. I sense a new headphone / portable speaker generation on the horizon, with Spotify and Apple Music now offering lossless.
- Lightning adapters/DACs typically handle up to 24 bit 48 kHz, but there are new 3rd party devices already that do 24 bit 192 kHz. So if your iOS device has enough memory you store high res music on it and take it on the road.
I am Listening to lossless as I type this post and Apple does not dispoint. They just upgraded my streaming facility for free. Thanks Apple!
My nickname has nothing to do with Apple, I don’t work for them. I happen to like their product infrastructure, it works all seamlessly together and with any USB DAC like the Sprout, Stellar Gain Cell DAC, or DSDAC, or any AirPlay 2 compatible streaming device.
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Jack,
@dawkinsj and @vkennedy61. That article is total rubbish!
The test was performed more than 15 h ago (release of article), yet the real lossless functionality went life only 6 h ago. That is why the author got no hi-res.
Mind you that the file format is encoded as ALAC, not FLAC and that the indicators the author talks about might not recognise ALAC as lossless, that does not mean that the music offered by Apple it is not lossless.
I can not imagine that a company like Apple does not do it’s homework before going finally public with this lossless endeavour.
High enders may be snobs in a pursuit to do something completely different than mainstream, but the lossless ALAC files play fine on my NAD AirPlay 2 compatible streamers and it sounds very good.
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Apple promised lossless, not bit perfect.
The reasons we have such a hard time getting bit perfect is because:
The entire music and audio equipment industry seems incapable and/or unwilling to present the audience a standardized format.
Don’t go out and blame a single company. It’s the entire industry.
- 16 bit 44.1 kHz is the redbook standard that the industry should have embraced
Than the confusion starts with high res:
- 16, 24 or 42 bit PCM, or prefer DSD?
- 44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 176.4 kHz PCM or even higher multiples of sample frequencies that are totally ridiculous
- 48 kHz, 96 kHz, 192 kHz or 384 kHz or higher multiples of sample frequencies that are totally ridiculous
- DSD 2.8 MHz (DSD64), 5.6 MHz (DSD128), etc. etc.
Common sense, ease of distribution of music is completely out of the door with the industry. We have not improved a bit since the 80’s 90’s redbook CD’s and decent analog is still as good.
The only things that went up are confusion and cost of the equipment.
John Darko states absolute correctly, benefits of high resolution files are completely insignificant when compared to recording and mastering quality even on LP,s or redbook CD’s or a bit lesser extent even lossy file formats.
Other much more important factors determining the SQ are room properties, speakers amps, DAC’s, servers, streamers, power supplies, even cables.
At the end, very end, of this ladder the file format matters.
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The limitations of apple core audio kick in too quickly. I have find no means of outputting bit perfect using my Mac mini. Everything goes through core audio and gets resampled (just like windows with direct sound), if the stream sample rate does not match the core audio sample rate. And no, there is no automatic sample rate setting available in apple music app.
Let’s wait and see if apple releases apple music for windows. Then we may use wasapi or asio for bit perfect.
Forgive me if I continue to consider Apple and HiFi as oxymorons. Am I supposed to be excited about Apple being years behind the ‘HiFi’ streaming curve? In any case, my experience with Apple has me asking the simplest of questions: what does Apple consider ‘HiFi’?
There is a reason I have no Apple hardware or software anywhere in my audio chain and never will.
I understand and share your perspective, generally. AAPL devices are far from being good, direct audio sources.
That said, I prefer their phones and their desktop computers. And, regarding this discussion, my iMac serves very well in my JRiver Media Center/Roon streaming system.
The system details are available in my profile, but, in short, all of my ripped and downloaded (AIFF and DSF) files are stored on my iMac, backed up on a NAS and “streamed” via Wi-Fi to a router in my listening room; and then fed to my DS DAC/Bridge II combo via galvanically-isolated Ethernet.
Sounds excellent, to my ears…
FWIW/Cheers.
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Do you know the exact definition of HiFi?
Don’t mistake HiFi with your definition of High End, whatever that may be.
In the 70’s there used to be a exact definition and whether you like it or not just about any device on the market, anno 2021, complies with that old definition. Including Apple devices.
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Remember and consider too that Windows didn’t have its crap together on audio until basically Windows 10. If you look at Schiit’s, well, schiit, you’ll see they consistently say, and I paraphrase (there really should be a paraphrase mark that doesn’t force people to use quotes because interpretation would be better, but I digress) “don’t bother trying to use this with anything prior to Win 10 because we basically got sick of having to build our own custom driver every damned time”. Any computer product will basically be built for a wide audience, and audiophiles ain’t that!
So as “bad” as Apple is, it’s better than just about anything else that isn’t custom and expensive. That’s one reason (ONE reason) Roon rolled out Rock. They own the stack on that. It’s an appliance built for their audio setup. And it’s pretty damned good.
Tidal bet on MQA. How is that better than Apple betting on Atmos/lossless? Before freaking out on “bit-perfect” let’s give Apple a chance versus judging everything with a day 1 hot take. Apple will still have plenty to complain about (integration in particular since they’re only very well integrated with Sonos outside of their own hardware), don’t shut the door before the paint has even dried on the frames!
Mike in Dayton
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Makes sense to me.
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Just for the info, airplay seems to force AAC encoding. So your computer is getting losless but you are listening to 256kb/s.
You are misinformed. AirPlay does 24 bit 48 kHz “for now”! AAC applies only if you have BlueTooth in the path. Get your facts from Apple direct, they publish it as it is:
Yeah, I see comments that MQA sucks, that Apple sucks and the list is much longer.
It must be a sad little world that those people are living in. If only the most expensive equipment and service seems to be capable to transport music into their brain.
I am sorry but instead of listening to flaws I listen to the music, it is the best way to enjoy and be happy. MQA, AAC (lossy), ALAC, FLAC, DSD it’s just a medium to transport the music and the difference in SQ of playback are so very small compared to recording and mastering quality.
It is much more rewarding to appreciate the music than the medium it is transported in.
Did you even look at the link? This is the software director from Naim speaking, and he documents his claim. He is not talking about the capabilities of airplay. He is just reporting what is really happening.
Anyhow, believe what you want. Supporting Apples initiative has nothing to do with pointing shortcomings that might future development.
And if you are enjoying what you are listening to, be it lossless or 256kbs, be happy.
So Apple is lying? Or it’s that guys equipment not fully compatible? Has that person set all settings correct on his Apple device that controls the streaming? Or is ALAC not recognized as lossless?
I do not think that Apple can afford to lie about it.
Neither will they have release the published statements without testing them. Although they can’t test with every device.
Like Mike above said, give it a bit more time.
If that person identified an issue with AirPlay 2 certified devices, that Apple has overlooked, they will set it right.
If his devices are not AirPlay 2 certified by Apple but just tested by the manufacturer at times lossless streaming was not available, it will be hard to blame Apple.
Mind you all music is now available in lossless and lossy formats. It may well be that the streamers memory needs to be reset in order to recognize that it needs to pick the lossless ALAC file rather than the lossy AAC file.
no, they are not lying. But this launch has been everything but smooth. i am pretty sure that they will address the most severe limitations (if you watch darko´s video, you will see some more). the product is just 1-day old. it will evolve.
But I feel like our responsibility, as a community, to point out the shortcomings. Lets try and work together to get to the point that we aspire.
Should they not move, it´s up to each of us do decide if their monthly fee is worth it.