Apple Music lossless: which devices will (and won't) play ...

Essentially, it's Apple embracing hi-res audio. Apple's lossless streams use ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) to offer more detail and ... Skiptomaincontent WhatHi-Fi?THEWORLD'S#1TECHBUYER'SGUIDE Search Subscribe RSS UKUSCanadaAustralia WhatHi-FiMagazineSubscriptionWhatHi-FiMagazine...Whysubscribe?ThebesthomeentertainmentbuyingadviceIn-depth,unbiased,expertreviewsIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorFrom£4.99ViewDeal News Reviews BestBuys Deals Advice Features Awards Forum More Awards Subscribe Newsletter Sound+Image AustralianHi-Fi trendingSkyGlassBestwirelessearbudsSpotifyHiFiPS5stockBestTV WhatHi-Fi?issupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore (Imagecredit:Apple) AppleMusicisbeingupgradedinabig,bigway.Soon,themusicstreamingservicewillsupportCD-qualityandhi-reslosslessaudio,offeringsubscribersmuchhigherquality.TheservicehasalsojustintroducedDolbyAtmos-poweredSpatialAudioforimmersiveaudioplayback.BothlosslessandSpatialAudiowillbeavailabletoAppleMusicusersatnoextracost.AppledescribesthesetwoadditionsasAppleMusic's"biggestadvancementeverinsoundquality"–whichwe'dhavetoagreewith."Excellentnews.Welldone,Apple!",wethoughtuponhearingthenews. Butherecomesthe(ratherlarge)downside.Apple'sownheadphonesdon'tsupportlosslessaudio.Noneofthem.Thatmeansevenifyou'vespent£549($549,AU$899)onapairofAirPodsMax,youcan'tlistentoAppleMusicinthehighestquality.Miffed?Wedon'tblameyou. That'snotthewholestory,though:theAirPodsMaxaren'ttheonlyAppledevicenotabletotakeadvantageoflosslessaudio,and–ontheplusside–SpatialAudiosupportismuchwider.Let'stakealookatwhichdevicescanbenefitfromhi-resaudio,whichdon't,andwhy...WithAppleandAmazonofferinglosslessstreamingfornoextracharge,whatnowfortheirrivals?WhatisAppleMusicLossless?Essentially,it'sAppleembracinghi-resaudio.Apple'slosslessstreamsuseALAC(AppleLosslessAudioCodec)tooffermoredetailandinformationinarecording. Appleoffersthreetiersofhigherresolutionaudio:CDquality(16-bit/44.1kHz),AppleMusicLossless(24-bit/48kHz),andHi-ResLossless(upto24-bit/192kHz).YoucanchooseyourqualitythroughtheSettings>Music>AudioQualitysectionofAppleMusic.AllofAppleMusic's75-million-strongmusiccataloguearenowavailableinCDqualityorAppleMusicLossless.Over20millionarealreadyaccessibleinthehighestqualityHi-ResLosslessformat,withthewholecataloguefollowing"bytheendof2021".AppleMusicisn'tthefirstservicetoofferlosslessstreaming,ofcourse.Tidal, Qobuz and AmazonMusicHD allofferCD-qualityandhi-reslistening,whileDeezerofferstheformer.TheSpotifyHiFilosslesstierisduetoofferCD-qualitystreamslaterintheyeartoo.WhatisSpatialAudio?AnothernewadditiontoAppleMusicisSpatialAudio,whichisanAppletechnologydesignedtoprovide"multidimensionalsoundandclarity";todeliversurroundsoundand3Daudioviayourheadphones.SpatialAudiowasinitiallylaunchedaspartofiOS14andiPadOS14,andthenewerSpatialAudiowithDolbyAtmosfeatureforAppleMusichasjustarrivedaspartoftheiOS14.6andiPadOS14.6updates.SpatialAudioisaslightlydifferentbeasttothisnewDolbyAtmos-poweredSpatialAudioforAppleMusicinthatitalsoutilisesthesensorsinApple'sownheadphonestoenablehead-tracking.BecausetheimplementationforAppleMusicofspatialaudioissound-only,there'snohead-trackinginvolved. "Thousands"ofAppleMusictrackswereavailableinSpatialAudiowithDolbyAtmosatlaunch,withmorebeingaddedregularly.WhichdevicesworkwithAppleMusiclossless?(Imagecredit:Apple)ThebignewsisthatnomodelofAirPodswillsupportlosslessaudio.InthecaseoftheAirPodsandAirPodsPro,that'snotexactlysurprising,seeingasthey'rebothcompletelywirelessandAppleonlysupportstheAAC(ratherthanALAC)codecoverBluetooth–that'sastepupfromMP3,butnowherenearthequalityoflossless.TheAirPodsMaxcanbewiredtoaniPhone,soonemighthopethatthatcouldbeawaytogetlosslessaudio.Butactuallytheyonlyworkwithanalogueaudiosourcesinwiredlisteningmode.Whichagainmeansnolosslesslistening.ItsHomePodrangeofsmartspeakersalsodon'tsupportlossless–that'sthenowdiscontinuedHomePodandstill-very-much-currentHomePodMini.Butthatwillchange.InaJuly2021supportdocument,Applesaysthat"Supportforlosslessiscominginafuturesoftwareupdate"–there'snowordonwhen,buthopefullyitwon'tbemuchlonger.Apple'siPhones(sincetheiPhone7)nativelysupportlossless–butonlyAppleMusicLossless,andnotthehighestqualityHi-ResLossless(whichdeliversupto24-bit/192kHz).IfyouwanttolistentoAppleMusictracksabove24-bit/48kHzonyouriPhone,you'llneedtoconnectanexternalDACanduseawiredpairofheadphones.Checkoutourguidefor howtolistentohi-resaudioonaniPhone.ThesameistrueoftheAppleTVandiPadfamilies,whicharelistedassupportingAppleLossless,withnomentionofHi-ResLossless.WhichdevicessupportSpatialAudio?(Imagecredit:Apple)AppledevicesaremuchbetterrepresentedwhenitcomestoSpatialAudiothroughAppleMusic. Infact,theeffectisavailableonallAirPodsandBeatsheadphoneswithanH1orW1chip.(That'stheAirPods(2019),AirPods3(2021),AirPodsPro,AirPodsMax,BeatsX,BeatsSolo3Wireless,BeatsStudio3,Powerbeats3Wireless,BeatsFlex,PowerbeatsPro,andBeatsSoloPro). Indeed,thenewly-announcedAirPodsbudsofferfull supportfor Apple'sspatialaudio withDolbyAtmostechnology.By'full'wemeanthattheexperienceusesdynamichead-trackingtomakethe3Daudiofrommusicandvideos(andevenGroupFaceTimecalls)evenmoreimmersive.JustasitdoeswithApple'spricier AirPodsMax andAirPodsPro.Youdon'thavetolineApple'spocketstoheartheDolbyAtmostracks,though.ItalsoworksonanyheadphonesconnectedtoaniPhoneoriPad–providedyouenableitDolbyAtmosmanually.Todoso,headtoSettingsonyour iPhone or iPad andthentoMusictofindtheDolbyAtmosoption.ThiswillbesettoAutomaticbydefault,whichmeansDolbyAtmostrackswillplaycorrectlywhenyou'relisteningviaanyW1-orH1-enabledpairofAppleorBeatsheadphones,butnotwhenyou'reusingthird-partyheadphones.However,ifyouswitchthisoptiontoAlwaysOn,evennon-AppleheadphoneswillplaybackDolbyAtmostracksinalltheirsonicglory.However,thisonlyappliestoDolbyAtmosSpatialAudiotracksonAppleMusic,andnotSpatialAudiocontentfromotherappslikeTV.(Remember,SpatialAudiointheTVappisaslightlydifferentbeastinthatitalsoutilisesthesensorsinApple'sownheadphonestoenablehead-tracking.)TheHomePodandHomePodMinialsosupportSpatialAudio,soyoucanfillyourroomwithvirtual3Dsoundfromasingledevice.AsdotheiPhone11onwardsandiPadPro(butnotiPad,iPadMinioriPadAir).Playingfroman AppleTV4K intoaDolbyAtmossoundbarorsystemwillworktoo.MORE:CheckoutthebestwirelessheadphonesaroundReadourin-depthreviewoftheiPhone133Dsoundfromasoundbar:BestDolbyAtmossoundbarsNeednewmusic? 10AppleMusicplayliststolistentorightnow WhatHi-Fi? WhatHi-Fi?,foundedin1976,istheworld'sleadingindependentguidetobuyingandowninghi-fiandhomeentertainmentproducts.Ourcomprehensivetestshelpyoubuytheverybestforyourmoney,withouradvicesectionsgivingyoustep-by-stepinformationonhowtogetevenmorefromyourmusicandmovies.Everythingistestedbyourdedicatedteamofin-housereviewersinourcustom-builttestroomsinLondonandBath.Ourcovetedfive-starratingandAwardsarerecognisedallovertheworldastheultimatesealofapproval,soyoucanbuywithabsoluteconfidence. Readmoreabouthowwetest Seeallcomments(2) 2Comments Commentfromtheforums "Butactuallytheyonlyworkwithanalogueaudiosourcesinwiredlisteningmode.Whichagainmeansnolosslesslistening." Thissentenceconfusedme.Whydoanaloguesourcesmeannolosslessaudio?Isn'tawiredheadphonepluggedintoananalogueporthowpeopleusuallylistentolossless/hi-resmusic? Reply uishidosaid:"Butactuallytheyonlyworkwithanalogueaudiosourcesinwiredlisteningmode.Whichagainmeansnolosslesslistening." Thissentenceconfusedme.Whydoanaloguesourcesmeannolosslessaudio?Isn'tawiredheadphonepluggedintoananalogueporthowpeopleusuallylistentolossless/hi-resmusic?ItseemstomeanthatifyouareusingAirPodsMax,youcangethigherqualitybyusingawiredconnectionbutitwillnottrulybelosslessbecauseyouhavetouseaLightning-to-3.5mmcablenota3.5mm-to-3.5mmcable.FromApple'ssupportpage: CanIlistentolosslessaudiousingtheAirPodsMaxLightningto3.5mmAudioCable?TheLightningto3.5mmAudioCablewasdesignedtoallowAirPodsMaxtoconnecttoanalogsourcesforlisteningtomoviesandmusic.AirPodsMaxcanbeconnectedtodevicesplayingLosslessandHi-ResLosslessrecordingswithexceptionalaudioquality.However,giventheanalog-to-digitalconversioninthecable,theplaybackwillnotbecompletelylossless. Reply ViewAll2Comments WhatHi-Fi?Newsletter SignupbelowtogetthelatestfromWhatHi-Fi?,plusexclusivespecialoffers,directtoyourinbox! 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