Level 1

35 points

Apple Music, Audiophiles and Streamers.

Super (audiophile) niche topic.

I want to thank Apple for single handedly turning me into an audiophile by introducing Hires streaming and Spatial Audio to its services.

I have since spent tens of thousands in pursuit of a "perfect" sound system, and as any audiophile knows, a signal free of electrical noise is a necessary step towards audio heaven.

The dilemma: a computer has a very "noisy" environment, and as a streaming source, it is less than ideal. We also know that Apple Music will only connect to 3rd party dedicated streamers via Airplay, which will compress any lossless signal. Also not ideal.

This is not the case with streaming services like Tidal, Qobuz and Amazon which allow you to login to your account on these streamers apps, unlike Apple which is sandboxing Apple Music into its ecosystem for wired playback and potentially turning away audiophiles.

Curious to know how others are using Apple Music in their audiophile rig.

iMac Pro

Posted on Jan 2, 2023 5:14 PM

Top-ranking reply

Mr. Mobius

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Feb 13, 2023 9:11 PM

Yes there is, however not ideal. Using the lightning to USB adapter from an iPhone or iPad to a USB DAC you can get full lossless from Apple Music. Many tutorials online. You can also do this with a computer but, the Sample Rate will not Change dynamically, thus using the iPhone or iPad does this. Airplay does in fact use lossless ALAC compression not Lossy AAC when streaming but is limited to 48khz sample rate.

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Similar questions

93 replies

May 25, 2024 10:19 AM in response to Dudedelux

Hi..;-). How can you access Dolby Atmos high-res music via the Apple Music app if you are planning to use the Marantz AVR and the connected loudspeakers? I currently have a 6.1-setup. My original plan was to use my ipad connected via usb-cable to a dac and then analog out to the Marantz. Then I was looking into buying a streamer from Eversolo that supports the Apple Music app. And finally Marantz HEOS doesn’t support the Apple Music app. Are there any quality dacs or streamers that supports Dolby Atmos high-res music via the Apple Music app?

Dudedelux Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 29, 2024 11:22 AM in response to mikque

Welcome....to my 4th year in the Audiophile madness! lol

Thanks for your reply. I had no idea of the HDMI configuration, and if that's all it is...then here's hoping.

But the same is also true when doing Atmos out of a silicone based iPad or iPhone (via USB-C x HDMI adapter). It works, but the res remains capped.

All we need is twice the res. That's not being greedy, is it? lol

Feb 13, 2023 9:48 PM in response to Mr. Mobius

Fair enough and thanks for that. Though in all honesty I don’t see why we have to go through this. The point here is why Apple doesn’t offer what others already have? I am sure it is possible.

Mikkelo

Level 1

8 points

Jun 14, 2023 6:41 AM in response to Mr. Mobius

You can simply change it. Install and enjoy sample rate change.

https://github.com/vincentneo/LosslessSwitcher

Jun 14, 2023 7:56 AM in response to Mikkelo

Thanks, looks like MAC only.

Jun 14, 2023 8:53 AM in response to spawn350

Great, thanks for the feedback.

Jerome93

Level 1

6 points

Sep 21, 2023 2:02 PM in response to spawn350

Are the eversolo and fiio streamers running actual high res AM not lossless airplay2?

spawn350

Level 1

16 points

Sep 21, 2023 2:17 PM in response to Jerome93

Yes, I referenced them because I’m not an imbecile and know the difference. Don’t ask questions if you are going to insult the intelligence of the people responding.

Oct 12, 2023 12:39 AM in response to Out_of_control

This is the way. Or it gets expensive.

Oct 19, 2023 11:46 AM in response to Gawican

GQMEZ

Level 1

9 points

Nov 18, 2023 8:44 AM in response to damian32

Hi Damian, thanks. I would try this but I have 2 doubt:

1)Does iPad or Mac spit out ALAC?

2)Does Cambridge Audio DAC has ALAC codec in it?

I greatly appreciate your inputs, thx !

GQMEZ

Level 1

9 points

Dec 14, 2023 9:36 AM in response to JacqueLaKant

thanks Jacque, i was smiling :))

For the dedicated ios device that you mentioned, will they output PCM, right?

thx

Neset

Jan 5, 2024 5:16 PM in response to Dudedelux

Es en español. Saludos. https://youtu.be/aqwBvsii610?si=lWPNpOBN1CNAloXv

Dudedelux Author

Level 1

35 points

Jan 13, 2024 1:39 PM in response to Jerome93

Uses native Apple Music App, so firm YES.

Dudedelux Author

Level 1

35 points

Jan 13, 2024 1:43 PM in response to Wynton87

TRUE...but you are limited to a USB-C output.

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Apple Music, Audiophiles and Streamers.