Article: Apple Music Lossless, High Resolution, and Dolby Atmos Announced

[AudioDoctor]

I have mixed feelings about this, however if we can't use it in a way we want to with our systems, are locked into using Apple Music to stream it, and are unable to purchase/download Hi-Res, I fail to see any reason at all to use it.

[The Computer Audiophile]

35 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

I have mixed feelings about this, however if we can't use it in a way we want to with our systems, are locked into using Apple Music to stream it, and are unable to purchase/download Hi-Res, I fail to see any reason at all to use it.

 

Yes, if it's just tied to Apple Music and Sonos type products, then it isn't for many in this niche. However, it's a great thing overall that the biggest players in the market are offering it and it can only help people gain exposure to higher quality. If 0.0005 percent of people drift over to HiFi, our niche is looking really good. 

[loop7]

Competition is fantastic.

 

I will be surprised if Apple will allow CE manufacturers to embed the service directly. AirPlay for sure but I've never been a fan of a go-through device.

[The Computer Audiophile]

8 minutes ago, loop7 said:

I've never been a fan of a go-through device.

I so agree. It's like having all the video stream through the remote before appearing on the television. 

[AudioDoctor]

45 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Yes, if it's just tied to Apple Music and Sonos type products, then it isn't for many in this niche. However, it's a great thing overall that the biggest players in the market are offering it and it can only help people gain exposure to higher quality. If 0.0005 percent of people drift over to HiFi, our niche is looking really good. 

 

If Apple locks it into their own ecosystem then what real benefit will there be unless they increase the quality of their equipment significantly. 24/192 through a HomePod will still suck.

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, AudioDoctor said:

24/192 through a HomePod will still suck.

especially since the HomePod's DSP likely functions at a far lower rate than 192. 

[AudioDoctor]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

especially since the HomePod's DSP likely functions at a far lower rate than 192. 

 

Yes. The biggest disappointment to me is that they don't allow the purchase of Hi Res music.

[feelingears]

So this seems to imply that if you ever purchased music from Apple, it's now downloadable as ALAC? Is that how y'all read this, too? Very cool, if true.

[One and a half]

14 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

If Apple locks it into their own ecosystem then what real benefit will there be unless they increase the quality of their equipment significantly. 24/192 through a HomePod will still suck.

Hmm. The footnote mentions to play higher than 44.1/48kHz, the defacto for Bluetooth,  an external DAC is necessary, which also means it will show up in Audio Midi for example and Apple will play to it. Guess that the Apple music program will detect the DAC and play to it, but how does it know that it's a Dolby atmos capable for example. This is the domain of network AV receivers which have protocols already built in, big audience.

 

[Rt66indierock]

This will make the upcoming T.H.E. Show in Long Beach California even more fun.

[AudioDoctor]

24 minutes ago, feelingears said:

So this seems to imply that if you ever purchased music from Apple, it's now downloadable as ALAC? Is that how y'all read this, too? Very cool, if true.

 

I am looking for the article right now, but I think I read that is not the case, that no downloadable music will be lossless in any way.

[AudioDoctor]

"Apple has confirmed to The Verge that lossless audio is exclusive to Apple Music and thus subscription-only. The company won’t offer music purchases in lossless quality, nor will there be any way to upgrade owned tracks to lossless with the paid iTunes Match service."

 

https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/17/22440090/apple-music-lossless-audio-dolby-atmos-support-audio

[AudioDoctor]

Personally, I am waiting for the first report of someones MQA light coming on while streaming from Apple Music.

[loop7]

7 hours ago, Ran said:

Hopefully Apple will provide an open API so application developers can integrate this service.

I will be surprised if they do that. They tend to control the entire experience but I would love to them open things up.

[ChipotleCoyote]

20 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

Personally, I am waiting for the first report of someones MQA light coming on while streaming from Apple Music.

 

I am pretty sure if Apple were supporting MQA they would be contractually obligated to use the bolded phrase Master Quality Authenticated® at least three times in every press release.

[AudioDoctor]

10 minutes ago, ChipotleCoyote said:

 

I am pretty sure if Apple were supporting MQA they would be contractually obligated to use the bolded phrase Master Quality Authenticated® at least three times in every press release.

 

There are some labels that have slipped MQA files in to Qobuz, maybe someone with a set up that can stream lossless right now can find a 2L label album on Apple Music and see if the MQA light illuminates.

[AudioDoctor]

Here is a 2L album in Apple Music. Who wants to do the honors?

 

 

[ChipotleCoyote]

37 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

There are some labels that have slipped MQA files in to Qobuz, maybe someone with a set up that can stream lossless right now can find a 2L label album on Apple Music and see if the MQA light illuminates.

 

When this rolls out, I'll give it a try. (They said "coming in June," so it's all still AAC for now.)

[AudioDoctor]

3 minutes ago, ChipotleCoyote said:

 

When this rolls out, I'll give it a try. (They said "coming in June," so it's all still AAC for now.)

 

Yeah, I noticed. I went looking for the activation stuff, and even though my phone is on the Beta its not there yet. I can find no way to get it done on a Mac, either online or in the settings of Music.

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, ChipotleCoyote said:

 

I am pretty sure if Apple were supporting MQA they would be contractually obligated to use the bolded phrase Master Quality Authenticated® at least three times in every press release.

So true!

[jcbenten]

3 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

Yes. The biggest disappointment to me is that they don't allow the purchase of Hi Res music.

 

Even if you bought it would you actually own it?

[AudioDoctor]

2 minutes ago, jcbenten said:

 

Even if you bought it would you actually own it?

 

Why wouldn't I?

[Rexp]

The wireless transmission element is most interesting to me. If they've come up with a way of wirelessly streaming CD res from a mobile device to a receiver chip without using wifi then I would subscribe. 

[Currawong]

11 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Reading through Apple release again, I'm reminded of what I dislike most from Apple, it's lack of details and transparency with respect to technical items. The talk of Dolby Atmos is cool and I love what it can do, but it may be like pulling teeth to get Apple to talk about how to play this audio on non-Apple hardware. 

 

We see statements such as, "By default, Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac." 

 

I certainly agree that this press release isn't the place for technical details, but I just have this feeling it won't be simple to figure out all the details when the time comes. I guess that's job security for guys like me :~)

 

I'm all for "You get the cool 3D effect in your music if you use our gear" if the rest of the time the music is un-f'ed with. I wonder if the stuff from Universal will be watermarked. Sadly, I suspect it will be. I think that is more of a serious issue, since you don't have a choice about the watermarking unless you go and buy the CD.

 

I don't really have a problem if 2L want to run their stuff through the MQA process. If that is what they want to do, then so be it. On some DACs, as I've experienced, it will just sound weird, and you know how picky audiophiles get about mastering quality!

 

I definitely think pushing for API support for at least the non-Dolby stuff would be good. I'm sure that there are plenty of audiophiles in Cupertino, but whether the people in charge are OK with that down the road or not remains to be seen, let alone automatic sample-rate switching and exclusive DAC access.

 

 

[AudioDoctor]

For future reference in two weeks... This is what Roon says Qobuz is playing when I play the album I screen capped above.