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Does Airplay 2 support Hi-Res Lossless streaming?

I'd like to stream hi-res lossless from Apple music to a Bluesound Node streamer dac.

Posted on Jan 24, 2023 7:47 AM

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Posted on Mar 12, 2023 1:11 AM

The answers above seem to be bots. No, Airplay 2 does not support HiRes lossless. It is limited to 16/44.1 but this should not be a problem as HiRes is mostly 'snake oil'. You are unlikely to be able to hear any difference. Airplay 2 is actually downgrading the lossless stream from Apple Music to AAC256. In other words, although Airplay 2 is actually capable of doing proper lossless with other apps (e.g. Qobuz), Apple's own Apple Music will stream AAC256 over Airplay 2. There are numerous posts about this on the net. No idea why Apple has chosen to do this. Apple's AAC256 does sound good but lossless it isn't. If you want HiRes to your HiFi you need an external DAC. Btw, Airplay 1 can and does stream Apple music lossless.


Bluesound engineers do have a workaround for you. "The only way to get Apple Lossless to your Bluesound Player is via AirPlay from a MacBook". See here.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 12, 2023 1:11 AM in response to -Pablo-

The answers above seem to be bots. No, Airplay 2 does not support HiRes lossless. It is limited to 16/44.1 but this should not be a problem as HiRes is mostly 'snake oil'. You are unlikely to be able to hear any difference. Airplay 2 is actually downgrading the lossless stream from Apple Music to AAC256. In other words, although Airplay 2 is actually capable of doing proper lossless with other apps (e.g. Qobuz), Apple's own Apple Music will stream AAC256 over Airplay 2. There are numerous posts about this on the net. No idea why Apple has chosen to do this. Apple's AAC256 does sound good but lossless it isn't. If you want HiRes to your HiFi you need an external DAC. Btw, Airplay 1 can and does stream Apple music lossless.


Bluesound engineers do have a workaround for you. "The only way to get Apple Lossless to your Bluesound Player is via AirPlay from a MacBook". See here.

Jan 25, 2023 4:54 PM in response to -Pablo-

Hey -Pablo-,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. The following from About lossless audio in Apple Music - Apple Support can help answer this question.


"Can I listen to lossless audio over Bluetooth?

We will deliver music using lossless audio compression to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Lossless will play back normally on Bluetooth speakers and headphones. However, Bluetooth connections don’t support lossless audio."


Kind regards.

Jan 26, 2023 7:40 AM in response to -Pablo-

Hi -Pablo-,


The link above provides the details on requirements for streaming lossless audio. About lossless audio in Apple Music - Apple Support


"What you need

You can listen to lossless on an iPhone or iPad updated to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS using:

  • A wired connection to headphones, receivers, or powered speakers
  • The built-in speakers
  • To listen to songs at sample rates higher than 48 kHz, you need an external digital-to-analog converter."


"What you need

You can listen to lossless on a Mac updated to the latest version of macOS using:

  • A wired connection to headphones, receivers, or powered speakers
  • The built-in speakers
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro support native playback of songs at sample rates up to 96 kHz.
  • To listen to songs at sample rates higher than 48 kHz on other Mac computers, you need an external digital-to-analog converter."


The information above applies to both iPhone and Mac, and based on that, you would need a wired connection. We hope this answers your question.


Take care.


Jan 26, 2023 12:03 AM in response to faith185

Hi Less,


Thank you for your answer. My question however is not about Bluetooth. I said I’m streaming using a “Bluesound Node” this is a Hi Fi network streamer that plays lossless quality from Tidal, Amazon, Qobuz and more services and I’d like to know whether it’s possible to stream lossless music from Apple using “Airplay” through my network. No cables and no bluetooth.

Does Airplay 2 support Hi-Res Lossless streaming?

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