Benjamin Levicek On Monday afternoon, all loyal fans of the streaming music service from Apple got a treat - the Californian giant came with the news that we will see a significant shift in audio at the beginning of June. Enjoy the tones of your favorite songs in the same quality as the artists recorded them in the studio, thanks to the lossless mode. Songs recorded in Dolby Atmos will have surround sound, so you'll basically feel like you're sitting in the middle of a concert hall. You get all this without any increase in the subscription price, in other words, everyone will have access to the studio recordings. In this regard, Apple Music has managed to significantly shake off Tidal or Deezer, who charge for better audio. But is lossless audio quality and surround sound what we will use?
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Vratislav Holub Apple fans can't do without a Hi-Fi system
If you have AirPods in your ears, and at the same time you were looking forward to the lossless mode, you can immediately indulge in it. AirPods do not have the necessary codecs to be able to play lossless mode. Yes, even with AirPods Max, headphones for CZK 16490, you won't be able to enjoy recordings in the highest possible quality. Of course, I don't want to diminish the benefits of the lossless format in any way with this text, I had the opportunity to hear music played on a high-quality Hi-Fi system or through professional headphones, and the difference is so striking that anyone would notice it. But what will this help the average Apple user who buys AirPods for iPhone for logical reasons of the ecosystem?
However, this would probably not be so much of a problem if Apple used better audio codecs in its iPhones and iPads. But if we look at the latest iPhone 12 and iPad Pro (2021), they still have the same outdated AAC codec that is capable of streaming 256 kbit/s audio to your ears. You read that right, 256 kbit/s, an even worse codec than the best quality MP3 files offer. Sure, with the AirPods Max, for example, the processors take care of the great sound delivery, but in no way can it be said that it is faithful. And do you really think audiophiles will want to listen to music as it was not actually recorded? After all, Apple clearly contradicts itself.
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Tidal will experience a steep fall, Spotify will not stop growing
Once again, I point out that the move to Hi-Fi quality in the subscription price is correct in my opinion, and I'm really looking forward to being able to take my iPhone, put on Bluetooth headphones and maybe even listen while traveling. However, even if you connect any wireless device to the iPhone in the current situation, and it doesn't matter if it costs several hundreds or thousands, lossless audio will simply not excite you. Sure, you can buy converters, but that's quite impractical when traveling, for example. Moreover, in today's busy times, many of us do not have the opportunity to sit down, connect all the reductions, and concentrate only on music.
I completely understand that the minority of true audiophiles will dance now that they don't have to pay extra for the most expensive version of Tidal, and can easily switch to Apple Music. However, I definitely do not plan to invest in quality audio technology in the near future, especially in a situation where I play music more as a backdrop while working, walking or riding public transport. And I think 90% of users will feel the same way. Don't get me wrong though. I can clearly perceive the differences in sound, and due to my musical orientation and concentration mainly by ear, I can tell what is a high-quality and what is a low-quality recording. However, since I live a more active lifestyle and listen to music to make a certain activity more enjoyable, the poorer sound performance does not bother me so much when I am less focused on it.
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Now we come to the next argument, Dolby Atmos and surround sound, which you can enjoy with any headphones. This sounds tempting at first glance, but I still don't really understand why other users should migrate from Spotify to Apple Music because of this. The streaming service from the Cupertino company does not have a completely fine-tuned song recommendation, which for most people is probably the most important aspect of why they pay for programs of this type. And what good is Dolby Atmos for music that just doesn't suit you? On the very first day when Apple adds news, I will try them with pleasure, but personally I do not expect such enthusiasm as the fans of the apple company present themselves. We'll see what products Apple comes up with later, maybe it will finally add quality codecs, and in a few years we'll talk differently. At present, however, the outflow of Spotify users cannot be expected too much. What do you think about this topic? Have your say in the discussion.
Then I used Tidal and beoplay h6 via cable at home with the Fiio M9. And outside or at work apple music or tidal wirelessly. Split the cable and the wireless is really big. I keep Tidal because of the quality of music via cable, otherwise apple music is better for me. So I'm thinking, if I'm going to transfer music from the iPhone to the fiio via airplay and then via the cable to beoplay, should I get hifi?
I still have the original SE at home, should it also work via the cable?
Transmission via airplay is lossless 48kHz/16bit. So yes, iPhone -> -> Fiio M6 -> -> B&O H9 can be considered hifi.
Transmission via airplay is lossless 48kHz/16bit. So yes, iPhone -> /lossless airplay
/ -> Fiio M6 -> / cable / -> B&O H9 can be considered hifi.
I would rather welcome an article where several variants of how to listen to the lossless AM format would be discussed. For example, an iPhone variant - converter, headphones, another Hi-Fi system variant, etc. Specify specific models and prices. I haven't seen that anywhere yet.
Correct comment, I would also be interested in the possibilities of achieving HI FI rather than the post above....
a bit strange article. I think it's more about what the author doesn't want than about Music HiFi.
In any case, I recommend the author to study the differences in codecs. Bitrate is not everything. It also depends a lot on how it is encoded, because it is not an encoder like an encoder, even if I produce the same compressed output format. This applies to both audio and video encoders.
On the other hand, Apple could really use a better DAC in the iPhone, iPad, but also in computers. For the money these devices cost, they're pretty cheap, which is a shame. Hopefully it will change.
What about Tidal, Spotify and Apple. We tested 250 random tracks from a professional audio studio, which were on all platforms, and 84% of them gave us Apple Music as the best listen. Spotify was the worst. We compared the same bitrates for the given tracks. E.g. Tidal has very few Master quality tracks and many of them are resampled, which is a tragedy.
Spotify won't kill Apple, conversely I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify killed Apple music. Apple music is falling, it's an outdated app. Same as all IOS. Apple hasn't done anything for years. While on android 12 there is a beautiful redesign. Apple paid more or less the same.