pdnoble

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pdnoble
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  • Inside Apple Music: how you can get the most out of Apple's music streaming service

    pdnoblepdnoble
    For anyone interested, there is an excellent book: ‘How Music Got Free by Stephen Witt’ that recounts the development of MP-3 and AAC audio compression at the Fraunhofer Institute in the 1980s. Turns out Philips put pressure on them to support MP-3 because it included their patents. AAC was considered a slightly more refined algorithm, which Apple adopted. 

    These ‘good enough’ standards were developed due to the need for radical file compression requirements due to storage and transmission bandwidth limitations at the time. Today we are downloading and storing hi-res lossless tracks on our iPhones so storage is not an issue and bandwidth on one’s own WiFi network for hi res streaming isn’t either. There is no cost to you (or Apple) for using more WiFi bandwidth. 

    Thus, there seems no good reason not to allow lossless audio transmission from Apple Music to personal sound systems, even if many of these systems and most of their owners couldn’t objectively differentiate. 

    Arguably some do and some can. 
    williamlondonlotonesdewmeneoncatFileMakerFeller

  • Inside Apple Music: how you can get the most out of Apple's music streaming service

    pdnoblepdnoble
    Apple Music is a wonderful service, delivering hi res content, but if you want to stream this hi res content to a high end audio system that will actually allow you to HEAR the hi res content, YOU CAN'T! Nearly four years after Apple upgraded its Apple Music content, AirPlay 2 still streams hi res content as a distinctly low res AAC 256kbps stream.

    There is one wired work around, connecting a USB-C iOS device (or Mac) to a coax cable, allowing full 24/192 courtesy of ArkLove, which you can buy on Amazon. (There is also a USB-C to optical cable available, but the Toslink standard does not consistently deliver 24/192, from what I understand.)

    So for anyone investing thousands or tens of thousands in wireless streaming capable audiophile systems, such as KEF (e.g. LS60) wireless speaker systems and NAD streaming amplifiers - where high end audio is heading, you are stuck between low res wireless streaming and wired hi res. This is an Apple confined issue with no work around, from what I understand. None. KEF, NAD and others have solutions for other streaming services, such as Tidal. (NAD BluOS does allow a Mac to be integrated as a wireless source, I believe, but the value of wireless is being able to use an iOS mobile device as a source.)

    Hello, Apple! We can stream Apple Music losslessly to a HomePod but not to our high end audio systems where we can actually hear and appreciate hi res audio! 
    neoncatScot1lotonesdecoderringwilliamlondonappleinsideruser