“Expensive John”. I’ve been requested about Apple Music and hi-res greater than every other matter in 2023. The final gist is at all times the identical: “How do I get hi-res audio out of Apple Music and right into a hifi or headphone system? And the way do I achieve this losslessly?” It’s typically accepted that hi-res audio means 48kHz and above with most audiophile-aimed content material coming in at 96kHz or 192kHz. Moreover, these larger pattern charges nearly at all times include 24 bits per pattern — eight greater than CD-quality’s sixteen.
We made a video about Apple Music and hi-res audio a few years in the past. In reality, we made two. Again then, we discovered that: 1) the Apple TV is capped at 48kHz and resamples all incoming streams to 48kHz; 2) Sonos gadgets can go no larger than 48kHz; 3) MacOS’s Audio Midi Setup provides no computerized pattern fee switching (we now have to do it manually); 4) Bluetooth is at all times lossy with hi-res audio. The one technique to get hi-res audio out of Apple Music with out regarding ourselves with resampling or transcoding was with an iPad or iPhone USB related to an outboard DAC.
Extra just lately, we now have seen that streaming Apple Music from an iPhone to an AirPlay receiver produces some sudden outcomes. If the community endpoint is AirPlay 1, we get the lossless transmission of CD high quality — however no larger. Hello-res audio? Nope. We would count on AirPlay 2 endpoints to proper that fallacious however they don’t. They drive the iPhone app to first downconvert the stream to lossy AAC (256kbps) earlier than sending the info their manner. And allow us to not overlook: on the supply facet, AirPlay is supported solely by Apple gadgets.
What about Android? Latest experiments with Android smartphones (a Sony and a Pixel) revealed that 24bit/192kHz and 24bit/96kHz content material ‘despatched’ to Google’s Chromecast Audio from the Apple Music app have been down-converted to 24bit/48kHz earlier than being fed to the downstream DAC. The WiiM Professional Plus’s built-in Chromecast help takes this down conversion a step additional: to 16bit/44.1kHz. I needed to double-check that the WiiM’s digital outputs have been set (within the WiiM House app) to 24bit/192kHz. They have been.
It’s been recommended to me that Chromecast not supporting ALAC – the codec favoured by Apple for lossless music supply – may be inflicting Chromecast-equipped streaming endpoints to drag down AAC streams from Apple Music servers as an alternative. I can’t verify or deny this however Google’s help web page on Chromecast’s audio codec utilization places scaffolding across the thought.
Regardless of providing it at no additional value to subscribers, hi-res audio doesn’t appear to issue into Apple Music’s worldview. In all places we glance we discover leaky plumbing. Per the above video, two comparatively new Android gadgets, that every sells for iPad cash, remind us that we don’t have to stay with the drip-drip-drip.
🎥 Digicam: John Darko / Olaf von Voss
🎬 Editor: John Darko
🌈 Shade: Olaf von Voss
🕺🏻 Movement GFX: John Darko
💰 Advert phase: Jana Dagdagan
🎵 Track IDs? Playlists of all music heard on this video – and different movies – might be discovered on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/johndarko
Additional info: FiiO | Eversolo
👉 As seen on this video…
We have to discuss APPLE MUSIC & hi-res audio (2021)
📺 https://youtu.be/oVl6Nyf7YLI
HI-RES AUDIO and APPLE MUSIC executed proper! (2021)
📺 https://youtu.be/iOVIfKpbwxg
No, Bluetooth can’t ship hi-res audio
📖 https://darko.audio/2020/11/no-bluetooth-cannot-deliver-hi-res-audio/
Podcast: Bluetooth STILL can’t do hi-res audio BUT…
🎧 https://darko.audio/2023/03/podcast-bluetooth-still-cant-do-hi-res-audio-but/
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