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    The Computer Audiophile

    By The Computer Audiophile •

    Apple Music Lossless Mess Part 2: AirPlay

     

     

    Earlier this month I dug into Apple Music's Lossless and Hi-Res offerings, running several bit perfect rests on the audio output of my Macs and iOS devices. The results were less than stellar (link). This week I dug into Apple Music lossless over AirPlay. One would think that the results would be similar if the only thing changing is the method of transporting the music. However, it's still the Wild West and Apple has made the waters even more muddy with AirPlay. 

     

    Before I get to the details, I want to thank the Bluesound team. This team was very helpful while I was testing and researching AirPlay and Apple Music Lossless. These guys really know what they are doing and are on the leading edge of supporting and developing solutions that may seem simple to the end user, but are quite complex behind the scenes. 

     

    NOTE: Be sure to read the UPDATED parts below, suggested by @Marco Klobas


    Let's Dig In

     

    Just like my previous article, I want to start with some basics. 

     

    What is bit perfect and why should I care? In the simplest terms, bit perfect means that the audio hasn't been changed. The music sent, in this case from Apple Music, into the playback device hasn't been altered. The source is what has been delivered to Apple by the record labels. Apple is just the delivery company.
     
    If you care about high quality, getting the lossless streaming you're paying for from Apple Music, Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon Music, etc... then you should care about bit perfect because without it you have no idea what's happening to your audio. If this isn't a concern for you, no worries. 

     

     

    Testing Methodology 

     

    Testing AirPlay was much more difficult than straight USB connected audio devices. There are AirPlay 1 devices, AirPlay 2 devices, Shairport devices, and a host of applications that don't follow any specific set of standards when sending audio via AirPlay. 

     

    My bit perfect testing consists of a Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 that identifies and decodes HDCD on all sample rates from 44.1 up through 192 kHz. When an unaltered HDCD music track is played, the HDCD indicator on the DAC is illuminated. The HDCD flag is on the 16th bit for lossless CD files and the 24th bit for high resolution files. Any alteration, DSP, volume leveling, etc... changes this least significant bit and won't enable the HDCD indicator to illuminate on my DAC. Apple Music's lossless audio that I tested was 16 bit / 44.1 kHz and the Hi-Res audio was both 24 bit / 176.4 kHz and 24 bit / 192 kHz. That's the hardware piece. 

     


    Feeding the DAC I used four devices.

     

    • A Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB. This converts USB audio to AES or S/PDIF on BNC. This device doesn't use AirPlay, but it helps set a baseline for testing.
    • A Bluesound Node 2i that supports AirPlay 2 and uses the newest version of Apple's AirPlay 2 chip. 
    • An Apple AirPort Express 802.11n (2nd Generation) serial number C86HV7S1DV2R. This device supports AirPlay 2 and features optical S/PDIF output over Toslink. 
    • An Apple AirPort Express 802.11n (1st Generation) serial number 6F94552G2U6. This device supports AirPlay 1 and features optical S/PDIF output over Toslink.
    • A Sonore signatureRendu SE Optical. This device supports ShairPort, an open source version of Apple's AirPlay 1.

     


    Sending audio to the above devices I used the following.

     

    • An Apple iPhone 12 Pro running iOS 14.6 and the Apple Music app.
    • An Apple Mac Mini (M1) running macOS 11.4, and Apple Pro Display XDR.
    • An iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (2nd Generation) running iOS 14.6.

     


    With respect to source files, here's what I do. 
     
    I have a list of roughly ten known HDCD albums (although I could use more if needed). Many of these albums were only released as HDCD encoded CDs/files. There is no alternate lossless version. For example, Reference Recordings only releases CDs that are HDCD encoded. Pearl Jam's Live On Two Legs was only released as an HDCD master for its lossless CD version. 
     
    I set a baseline by playing my own local copy of the albums and make sure the HDCD indicator illuminates. I played some Reference Recordings albums through Apple's Music desktop application on macOS and made sure the app could handle bit perfect playback. All was good there. On iOS, I used other apps such as Qobuz, to play the identical music through the identical hardware. All was good through the Qobuz app. Again, there are no alternative versions of these lossless albums. It's the same music on all the services that offer lossless streaming.
     
    Absolutely there are possible holes in my methodology, but I believe I've minimized them as much as possible. If anyone can identify a hole, please let me know and I will retest. 
     

     

    Results Without Context

     

    Here is a list of the results, straight up without any context. 

     

    On iOS

    1. Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to AirPort Express 1st Gen - bit perfect at 44.1.
    2. Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to Sonore Rendu (ShairPort) - bit perfect at 44.1.
    3. Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - NOT bit perfect at 44.1.
    4. Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - NOT bit perfect 44.1.

     

    iOS Notable

    1. Qobuz, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - bit perfect at 44.1.
    2. Qobuz, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - bit perfect at 44.1.
    3. Tidal, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - NOT bit perfect at 44.1.
    4. Tidal, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - NOT bit perfect 44.1.
    5. Tidal, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to AirPort Express 1st Gen - bit perfect at 44.1.
    6. Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, USB output with CCK - not bit perfect at 44.1.
    7. Qobuz, lossless streaming content, USB output with CCK - bit perfect at 44.1 and 192.

     


    On macOS

    1. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to AirPort Express 1st Gen - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    2. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to Sonore Rendu (ShairPort) - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    3. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, Airplay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    4. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.

     

    macOS Notable

    1. Apple's Music App, lossless local content, AirPlay 1 to AirPort Express 1st Gen - bit perfect at 44.1.
    2. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless local content, AirPlay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    3. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless local content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    4. Apple's Music App, lossless local content, USB output - bit perfect at 44.1.

     

     

     

    Setting the system-wide audio device to an AirPlay device is done by selecting the following item in the system menu at the top of the screen.

     

    2.jpg 1.jpg

     

     

     

     

     

    Once selected, it will appear in the Music app this way.

     

    Display in Music App.jpg

     

     


    Results With Some Thoughts And Videos

     

    Please see the UPDATED notes above!

     

    Sending Apple Music lossless content from an iOS device to an AirPlay version 1 device was surprisingly bit perfect, when all other methods were not bit perfect. My original guess was that this is because the AirPlay version 1 Express only accepted Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), so the sending app had no choice. However, this doesn't square with the fact that the Music app on macOS doesn't send bit perfect lossless audio to the same 1st gen Express. I retested this multiple times to make sure the results were identical on every test. The bottom line is that AirPlay 2 isn't currently receiving bit perfect lossless audio unless the system-wide output is set to an AirPlay 2 device, otherwise it's likely converting it to AAC at 256 kbps. Strangely, the Music app on macOS says it's streaming lossless audio only when sending via AirPlay 2 even if it is lossy because of the output selection only being done in the Music app, but the audio isn't bit perfect this way. The same app when sending via AirPlay 1, doesn't even pretend to send lossless, so it doesn't even display the lossless logo will display the lossless logo only if the system-wide audio device is set to the AirPlay 1 device.

     

    Currently, the only way to stream lossless audio from a streaming service, bit perfectly, over AirPlay is to use an AirPlay version 1 device and use Apple Music, Tidal HiFi, or Qobuz, or an AirPlay 2 device and Qobuz. It seems like Qobuz doesn't care what the device supports, it just send the lossless audio without changing it. Apple Music sees AirPlay 2 and dumbs the music down to lossy AAC.

     

     

    VIDEO One

     

    Here is a video of my testing Apple Music streaming lossless 16 bit / 44.1 kHz audio from an iPad Pro to an AirPort Express (1st gen) via AirPlay 1. You can see several things in this video.

     

    1. Shortly after I press play, the sample rate on the DAC changes to 44.1, the Lock light on the DAC turns green to indicated a solid signal is received, and the HDCD indicator illuminates blue to indicate the DAC recognizes the HDCD flag on the 16th bit of the audio signal. 
    2. At 0:25 into the video you can see the app shows its sending Lossless 16-bit/44.1 kHz ALAC content.
    3. At 0:35 into the video you can see what happens when I adjust the volume. As soon as the volume is not at 100%, bit perfection is lost and the HDCD indicator turns off. When I increase the volume back to 100%, the indicator illuminates blue once again. This is but one example of anything that changes the audio, destroys bit perfection and the HDCD indicator goes off. 
    4. At 0:47 into the video I change tracks. Shortly thereafter you can see the HDCD light go out, while no audio is playing for the split second, then come back on as soon as the track starts. 
    5. At 1:03 into the video you can see as soon as I press pause, the HDCD and Lock indicator lights go out.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    VIDEO TWO

     

    Here is a video of my testing Apple Music streaming lossless 16 / 44.1 audio from MacBook Pro to a Bluesound Node 2i via AirPlay 2. You can see several things in this video.

     

    1. The sample rate and Lock indicator are already good because the Node 2i had previously played this content. 
    2. When I press play, the HDCD indicator remains off, indicating something in the audio has changed, destroying the 16th bit.
    3. At 0:23 into the video you can see when I click the Apple Music lossless logo. The app indicates it's receiving lossless audio from Apple Music. The fact that it isn't sending this lossless audio to the AirPlay 2 device is not indicated anywhere for the consumer to see.
    4. Note: When sending this same audio to an AirPlay 1 device from the MacBook Pro, the lossless logo doesn't appear in the now playing window and the app says AAC if you click Get Info.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    VIDEO THREE 


    Here is a video of my testing Apple's Music application streaming LOCALLY stored  / my own CD rip lossless 16 / 44.1 audio from MacBook Pro to a Bluesound Node 2i via AirPlay 2. You can see several things in this video.

     

    1. The sample rate and Lock indicators are correct. 
    2. The HDCD indicator never illuminates, indicating the audio sent is not bit perfect. 
    3. I also adjust the volume up and down to make sure it's at 100%. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    VIDEO FOUR


    Here is a video of my testing Apple's Music application streaming LOCALLY stored  / my own CD rip lossless 16 / 44.1 audio from MacBook Pro to an AirPort Express 1st Gen via AirPlay 1. You can see several things in this video.

     

    1. The sample rate and lock indicator correctly adjust upon playback.
    2. The HDCD indicator correctly illuminates upon playback, indicating bit perfect audio.
    3. At 0:50 into the video you can see the track is local 44.1 AIFF file. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    VIDEO FIVE

     

    Here is a video of my testing Apple Music streaming lossless 16 bit / 44.1 kHz audio from a MacBook Pro to an AirPort Express (1st gen) via AirPlay 1. You can see several things in this video.

     

    1. Sample rate and Lock indicator adjust correctly.
    2. HDCD indicator doesn't illuminate upon playback.
    3. At 0:40 into the video you can see the Get Info screen showing AAC audio being sent. This appears to be the audio sent from Apple Music, not what is sent behind the scenes to the AirPlay device, even though AAc is in fact what's sent to the AirPlay 1 device as well. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    VIDEO SIX

     

    Here is a video of my testing Apple's Music application streaming LOCALLY stored  / my own CD rip lossless 16 / 44.1 audio from MacBook Pro to an Alpha USB via USB. This is just a baseline video showing Apple's Music app is fully capable of bit perfect output via USB.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    VIDEO SEVEN

     

    Here is a video of my testing Apple Music application streaming lossless audio 16 / 44.1 audio from MacBook Pro to an Alpha USB via USB. You can see several things in this video.

     

    1. The video shows all my settings correct in the app. 
    2. At 0:40 into the video I hit play and the HDCD indicator goes on for a short period, then continues to blink on/off periodically throughout the video. This indicates the audio fluctuates between bit perfect and not bit perfect. 
    3. At 0:50 into the video you can see the lossless logo clicked and Apple Music displaying Lossless 16-bit 44.1 kHz ALAC as the audio stream.  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    Wrap Up

    There you have the complete soup sandwich that is Apple Music lossless streaming over AirPlay versions 1 and 2. 

     

    I'd like to note that some people have said my bit perfect testing isn't really that big of a deal because Apple is streaming lossless audio and they don't care if it isn't bit perfect because it's better than the lossy stuff. After doing my research, I can tell you the "lossless" may be the exact same thing as the lossy, so people really should care about bit perfect playback. If we don't know where the digital signal processing is happening, we don't know that it's even lossless. 

     

    If you see anything in my tests that you think isn't right, please let me know. The last thing I want to do is cause even more confusion with misinformation. I believe everything here is 100% correct. 
     

     

     

     

     

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    Marco Klobas

    Just to inform that the recently released macOS Monterey changed nothing (as expected 🙄...) about automatic sample rate switching in Audio MIDI Setup.

     

    Actually, I guess that it's specifically the Music app that should be updated to offer the exclusive mode rather than the operating system.

     

    An interesting added feature is that a Mac can now act natively as an AirPlay receiver.

     

    I've not tested yet the bit perfect side of this new feature.

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    Marco Klobas

    A follow up from Roon's forum: I made the usual Apple Music AirPlay recording/comparison test with a Mac acting as a receiver (via macOS Monterey) and the result is still not bit perfect. The AirPlay receiver in Monterey is seen as version 2; thus the result is unfortunately expected.

     

    Interestingly, another user claimed that the bit perfect test is passed when a hi-res audio is sent through AirPlay to Monterey with Audio MIDI Setup properly set (Apple Music is not involved in this case). He used an RME ADI-2 DAC to prove it.

     

    @The Computer Audiophile, have you already installed Monterey? Could you verify if a hi-res AirPlay audio is really possible with macOS Monterey?

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    The Computer Audiophile
    2 minutes ago, Marco Klobas said:

    A follow up from Roon's forum: I made the usual Apple Music AirPlay recording/comparison test with a Mac acting as a receiver (via macOS Monterey) and the result is still not bit perfect. The AirPlay receiver in Monterey is seen as version 2; thus the result is unfortunately expected.

     

    Interestingly, another user claimed that the bit perfect test is passed when a hi-res audio is sent through AirPlay to Monterey with Audio MIDI Setup properly set (Apple Music is not involved in this case). He used an RME ADI-2 DAC to prove it.

     

    @The Computer Audiophile, have you already installed Monterey? Could you verify if a hi-res AirPlay audio is really possible with macOS Monterey?

    I have Monterey installed, but no energy to test this one. I can't see sending audio to a Mac this way in the real world. 

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    actuel audio

    I got a Mac mini M1 a while ago and I installed all things “fresh” to start fresh on the new Apple chip. (I did not do this when Apple went to Intel and always regretted it.) Anyhow, it was a beast to do fresh installs. I am pretty much done. Leaving the high hanging fruit (little used apps) to last. One of the last apps I installed fresh (latest version) was Rouge Amoeba Airfoil. It allows you to send any audio from a Mac to Airplay, Chromecast, Sonos, and Bluetooth. I just used/use it for Airplay 1 and 2 devices. Yep, sends to multiple Airplay 1 AVRs or speakers. I have some non Apple powered speakers and an AVR that are Airplay 1 and never were upgraded by the makers. Too old.

    Apple has since included this multi playback feature (but minus BT speakers which makes Airfoil unique as you could play music on Airplay speakers, a stereo with Airplay, an Apple TV 4K/HD, and maybe have a BT speaker in that mix). But I was curious, did Airfoil also bring it all down to AAC in doing so? (Minus the unavoidable BT compression on that device.)
    The response from Rouge Amoeba was no:
    “Airfoil sends 16-bit stereo audio at 44.1 kHz to AirPlay devices (including Airfoil Satellite), which usually means an Apple Lossless (ALAC) stream.”

    I interpret “usually“ to mean; depends on the recording. But in time, end of 2021, all of Apple Music will be lossless. (Most of it is now.)
    So Airfoil may be a way around the problem (if it is indeed a problem) of AAC intrusion. I can send Apple Music (or any app or web site on a Mac) to multiple Airplay 1 & 2 receivers, ATVs, and Airplay ready powered speakers as ALAC.
    https://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac/

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    DarwinOSX

    Bluesound has made zero effort to integrate Apple Music when Sonos did it a long time ago.  I don't see how they are to be thanked for anything.

    "A Bluesound Node 2i that supports AirPlay 2 and uses the newest version of Apple's AirPlay 2 chip"

    There is no such thing as an "Airplay 2 chip".  Airplay 2 is entirely software.

    https://developer.apple.com/airplay/

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    The Computer Audiophile
    3 minutes ago, DarwinOSX said:

    Bluesound has made zero effort to integrate Apple Music when Sonos did it a long time ago.  I don't see how they are to be thanked for anything.

    "A Bluesound Node 2i that supports AirPlay 2 and uses the newest version of Apple's AirPlay 2 chip"

    There is no such thing as an "Airplay 2 chip".  Airplay 2 is entirely software.

    Your assumption that Bluesound has made zero effort couldn’t be more incorrect. Bluesound has worked for years to get services only offered to the giants like Sonos. The company has had some successes and continues to push for more. 

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    DarwinOSX
    On 6/30/2021 at 9:54 AM, actuel audio said:

    Give it a try anyway. I think you will like the Lossless.

    So, you can't get a whole wheat bun and Kobe beef on the incredible burger from your favorite burger place. It is still a damn good burger. :-)

    99% of Apple Music customers don't care about any of this which Apple knows and they just started rolling out lossless.  People are expecting too much too soon.  Plus I'm loving spatial audio and lossless for $10 a month.  Actually I pay by year so $99 a year for all of this.

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    Dutch Daniël

    @The Computer Audiophile, I was on the verge of changing from Qobuz to Apple Music. This might look odd, but this is due to the lack of content available on Qobuz. But than I came across your tests and now have the shivers to proceed or not. I have an AURALiC Altair G1 an iPhone XS and iPad Pro 12.9 2 Gen, do I have to worry this will only work Lossy? I assume the Altair is AirPlay v1. I know I will lose true Hi-Res by losing Qobuz, but oldschool Lossless will be fine for my needs.

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    The Computer Audiophile
    12 minutes ago, Dutch Daniël said:

    @The Computer Audiophile, I was on the verge of changing from Qobuz to Apple Music. This might look odd, but this is due to the lack of content available on Qobuz. But than I came across your tests and now have the shivers to proceed or not. I have an AURALiC Altair G1 an iPhone XS and iPad Pro 12.9 2 Gen, do I have to worry this will only work Lossy? I assume the Altair is AirPlay v1. I know I will lose true Hi-Res by losing Qobuz, but oldschool Lossless will be fine for my needs.

     

    It's kind of a crapshoot. You can depend on using AirPlay and hope it works, knowing you have absolutely no chance of getting Apple to change if something happens. Or, you can lobby Qobuz to grow its catalog. Those guys participate in the forum here and do what they can to make us audiophile happy. 

     

    However, if the music you like is only on Apple Music, then that may make the decision easy. 

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    Dutch Daniël
    9 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

     

    It's kind of a crapshoot. You can depend on using AirPlay and hope it works, knowing you have absolutely no chance of getting Apple to change if something happens. Or, you can lobby Qobuz to grow its catalog. Those guys participate in the forum here and do what they can to make us audiophile happy. 

     

    However, if the music you like is only on Apple Music, then that may make the decision easy. 


    well I am lobbying for over a year now, but nothing has changed… 😁 Dutch and Dance music are missing, but also something like Katie Melua - Pictures is missing…

     

    But considering your tests which were more positive for AirPlay v1 than v2, do you think there is a good chance it will be Lossless in my case? And will AirPlay from within the Music App do?

     

    Ps. of course we cannot change Apple, but I do hope that the v2 issues you found are start up issues or bugs rather than choices… 😉

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    Rob12345678

    Thank you for this definitive piece of work!  I have done some testing of my own, using just (received) bitrate as a guide (so no claims of bit-perfection).

    As you'd hope, if you downgrade the Airport Express 2 firmware to Airplay 1 support, the AE2 behaves like the old AE1.

    Fingers crossed for some work by Apple on Airplay 2...!

    Screenshot 2021-12-01 at 20.08.43.png

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    Marco Klobas

    Speaking of bit perfect playback, AirPlay 1 – as you have noticed from the tests – is somehow the least worst choice right now. AirPlay 2 is even more compromised.

     

    I guess Auralic offers AirPlay 1. Lossless streaming is achievable, hi-res no.

     

    AirPlay – or I should rather say Music app/iOS/iPadOS  – is lately showing other annoyances:

    • Gapless playback sometimes is broken
    • After ~8 minutes of an AirPlay session I experience sometimes a short hiccup in the audio stream

    Now, I don't hold my breath waiting Apple offering hi-res audio via AirPlay or even fix the bit perfect issue. I hope Apple will fix the gapless and the hiccup issues eventually, though. It worked fine before the latest software updates...

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    Dutch Daniël
    14 minutes ago, Marco Klobas said:

    Speaking of bit perfect playback, AirPlay 1 – as you have noticed from the tests – is somehow the least worst choice right now. AirPlay 2 is even more compromised.

     

    I guess Auralic offers AirPlay 1. Lossless streaming is achievable, hi-res no.

     

    AirPlay – or I should rather say Music app/iOS/iPadOS  – is lately showing other annoyances:

    • Gapless playback sometimes is broken
    • After ~8 minutes of an AirPlay session I experience sometimes a short hiccup in the audio stream

    Now, I don't hold my breath waiting Apple offering hi-res audio via AirPlay or even fix the bit perfect issue. I hope Apple will fix the gapless and the hiccup issues eventually, though. It worked fine before the latest software updates...


    Thank you very much for your reply. I have to confirm that gapless is an issue here too. But strangely enough only the combination of Apple Music App on my iPhone with AirPlay to the AURALiC has this gapless issue. Playing the same music through the Qobuz App on my iPhone with AirPlay to AURALiC doesn’t…  I will try a song over 8 minutes tho, as mostly I go from song to song…

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    Rob12345678
    1 hour ago, Rob12345678 said:

    Thank you for this definitive piece of work!  I have done some testing of my own, using just (received) bitrate as a guide (so no claims of bit-perfection).

    As you'd hope, if you downgrade the Airport Express 2 firmware to Airplay 1 support, the AE2 behaves like the old AE1.

    Fingers crossed for some work by Apple on Airplay 2...!

    Screenshot 2021-12-01 at 20.08.43.png


    I think that despite (probably) transmitting an ALAC on Airplay 1, you can see even a very low-bitrate (32kpbs) file has a decent MacOS -> Airport bitrate.

     

    Backing up the original findings, but something I've only just noticed:


    In the Music app, if you play a High-Res Lossless file locally, or using the system sound output, the Right-click -> "Get Info" box gives "kind: High Resolution Lossless Audio".

    If you select the airport as the output within Music, the Hi-Res Lossless squiggle disappears, and the the Right-click -> "Get Info" box gives "kind: AAC Audio".

     

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    Marco Klobas
    11 hours ago, Dutch Daniël said:

    But strangely enough only the combination of Apple Music App on my iPhone with AirPlay to the AURALiC has this gapless issue.

     

    Yes, it seems a specific Music app AirPlay handling issue rather than AirPlay per se.

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    Matty1

    Just so I understand the issue, if I play my locally stored ALAC files (personal rips from CD) via airplay to an old AE1, both will be sent ALAC, one bit perfect, one not bit perfect depending is airplay is set via music app or system wide. I’m not an Apple Music subscriber. 
     

    given its airplay 1 here, and both are sent ALAC, what is the actual difference being made to the file?

     

    thanks

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    Marco Klobas

    As Chris said:

     

    Quote

    macOS Notable

    1. Apple's Music App, lossless local content, AirPlay 1 to AirPort Express 1st Gen - bit perfect at 44.1.
    2. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless local content, AirPlay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    3. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless local content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    4. Apple's Music App, lossless local content, USB output - bit perfect at 44.1.

     

    It means that your old AirPort Express – which is AirPlay 1 – will always get bit perfect local ALAC playback. The bit perfect is lost when an AirPlay 2 device is used and when the AirPlay is chosen within Music app.

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    Matty1
    37 minutes ago, Marco Klobas said:

    As Chris said:

     

     

    It means that your old AirPort Express – which is AirPlay 1 – will always get bit perfect local ALAC playback. The bit perfect is lost when an AirPlay 2 device is used and when the AirPlay is chosen within Music app.

    Ok. I was confused by the MacOS notable section. I was following the macOS part Prior to this which states as per below. What does the MacOS notable section refer to?

     

    Feels the two states contradict each other. 
     

    thanks 

     

    On macOS

    1. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to AirPort Express 1st Gen - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    2. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 1 to Sonore Rendu (ShairPort) - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    3. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, Airplay 2 to Bluesound Node 2i - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.
    4. UPDATED: Apple's Music App, lossless streaming content, AirPlay 2 to AirPort Express 2nd Gen - bit perfect at 44.1 only if the system-wide AirPlay device is set. If AirPlay device only selected in the Music app, the output is NOT bit perfect.

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    MasterEar

    Thanks for the great work! 


    I have the DALI Callisto 6c with Soundhub and BluSO 2i module (AirPlay 2 capable) and use my iPhone only for playing music. I have often wondered whether the streaming is really lossless. But I don't want to have to take my MacBook with me to enjoy music while relaxing on the couch.

     

    In the conversation with Apple Germany, they confirmed to me today that this "problem" is not listed, so they don't know about anything. I have a call with the supervisor in charge of the department on Monday. We'll see what comes of it.

     

    One thought about iOS/iPadOS and AirPlay 2: Analogous to MacOS, you could select the speakers in the control centre (top right) and not in the Apple Music app. Has this also been tested? Excuse me if this is the case.

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    Marco Klobas

    Yes, as shown in this scheme, Apple Music through AirPlay 2 on macOS is bit perfect only if the AirPlay destination is chosen system-wide (menu bar/control center):

     

     

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    MasterEar

    I understand the point. But I was specifically referring to the Control Center on iOS/iPadOS, where you can also activate AirPlay streaming (as an alternative to selecting it in the Apple Music app). As explained here:

     

    https://www.iphonelife.com/content/new-ios-114-how-to-use-airplay-2-control-center-iphone

     

    Perhaps there is a difference there. Unfortunately, I don't have my own devices to test this myself. Many thanks!

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    Marco Klobas

    Ah, sorry.

     

    I don't know if there's a difference. Another variable added... 😉

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    Marco Klobas

    In this very thread, @Gus141 mentioned something about the difference between AirPlay via Music app and via Control Center. The reported article is about HomePod, though:

     

     

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    Derekw

    Just did a listening test, airplay via system sound setting, as compared to airplay via Music.app's setting, does sound slightly cleaner and more solid, with less 'compression like' artefacts.

     

    This test is done using a Mac mini (Monterey 12.1) playing local ALAC files to the lowly Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Bookshelf speakers, my only airplay speakers. Even with these basic 'desktop' speakers, the difference is noticeable.

     

    Another notable difference ... when using the system sound output to airplay to Sonos, the volume control in Music.app is independent from the Sonos.app's volume control. I set the Music.app's volume to the max, then use Sonos.app's volume to control the volume. I'm assuming this sends the ALAC file bit perfect to the speakers and the amplifier inside the Sonos controls the volume. This is different if I use the Music.app's setting to airplay to the Sonos. In this case, the Music.app's volume control is in lock step with the Sonos.app's volume control. Change either volume slider and the other volume slider mirrors the change. Another difference is that this setup has much less response lag. Press play and sound comes out in less than 1 second. When using the system sound output to airplay, the response lag is longer, at around 2 seconds. So it seems the audio pipeline is quite different between these 2 set up!

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