What Exactly Is "Lossless" Audio? - Gear Patrol

"Lossless" doesn't mean uncompressed, but rather it refers to a type of compressed digital audio file that uses advantaged data compression ... Search TodayinGear Today'sBestDeals FurnitureDeals FitnessDeals AppleWatchDeals StyleDeals OutdoorDeals GiftIdeas Podcast FollowUsonFlipboard Watches WatchBuyingGuides Motoring Car&MotorcycleBuyingGuides Motorcycles Food&Drink DrinkBuyingGuides Home HomeBuyingGuides Style Style&GroomingBuyingGuides Grooming Tech Audio TechBuyingGuides Outdoors OutdoorBuyingGuides Fitness FitnessBuyingGuides Wellness Follow Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube Flipboard Newsletter GearPatrolMagazine GearPatrolStudios Videos AdvertisewithUs DoNotSellMyPersonalInformation Newsletter SignIn MyAccount SignOut Typekeyword(s)tosearch Today'sTopStories 1 TheJohnMayerG-ShockIsaCollabWeLove 2 EverythingYouNeedtoSetUpYourFirstSlackline InPartnershipwith InPartnershipwith InPartnershipwith JaiAlaiIPA 3 The21BestOfficeChairsof2021 4 BackcountryHasAlltheWinterGearYouNeed InPartnershipwith InPartnershipwith InPartnershipwith Backcountry 5 CrossOffYourGiftListwithTheseDeals Presentedby Huckberry Apple Theterm"lossless"isabigoneinmusicstreamingrightnow,nodoubtbecauseAppleMusicandSpotifyhaveannouncedthey'rebringinglosslessqualityaudiointothemainstream.AppleisbringinglosslesstrackstoAppleMusicsometimethisJune,andSpotifylaunchingalosslesstierofitsstreamingservice,calledSpotifyHifi,"laterthisyear."It'struethatlosslessqualitymusicstreaminghasbeenaroundforyears,thankstodedicatedlosslessstreamingserviceslikeTidal,Deezer,Qobuzand,morerecently,AmazonMusicHD—butit'salwaysbeenexpensive(liketwiceasexpensiveasmost"Premium"subscriptions).NowthatAppleandSpotifyaregettingintothemix,losslessaudioisabouttogetwaymoreaffordableandaccessible.Butwhatislosslessmusicanyway?Howmuchbetterisitthanwhatyou'recurrentlylisteningto?Canyoueventellthedifferencewithyourcurrentearsandequipment?Here'sarundownofeverythingyouneedtoknow. RelatedStories AudioExpertsExplainWhat“Hi-Fi”ActuallyMeans TheBestLosslessStreamingServices Whatdoes"lossless"mean?Digitallydownloadedorstreamingmusichastraditionalcomein"compressed"forms,liketheMP3ormorerecentlyAAC,theformatusedbytheiTunesMusicStore.Thesearefilesthathavepointedlysquishedsotheytakeuplessstoragespaceonyoursmartphoneordigitalmusicplayer.Thissquishingprocessis"lossy";theendresultismissingdetailthattheprevious,unsquishedversionhad,specificallyatthelowandhighends,sothatitdoesn'tsoundnearlyasgood."Lossless"doesn'tmeanuncompressed,butratheritreferstoatypeofcompresseddigitalaudiofilethatusesadvantageddatacompressionalgorithmssothattheaudiotrackdoesn't"lose"anydetailinthecompressionprocess.Forcontext,theaveragesizeofacompressedaudiofile,likeaMP3oraAAC,isabout1/4thesizeofitsoriginalrecording.Theaveragesizeoflosslesscompressedaudiofile,suchasFLACorALAC(AppleLossless),isnowalittlemorethan1/2thesizeofitsoriginalrecording. LosslessAudioandSpatialAudiowithDolbyAtmosarecomingtoAppleMusicsubscribersbeginningJune2021. Apple Isthereanythingbetterthanlossless?Losslessjustmeansthatnodetailhasbeendestroyedinthecompressionprocess;thequalityofthelosslessfilethereforedependsontheoriginalsourcethat'sbeingcompressed.Inpopularuse"lossless"meansthesamequalityasaCD(16-bit/44.1kHz),butthereareanumberoflosslessstreamingservicesthatofferevenhigher-qualitydigitalaudiofiles.Forexample,TidalgivesitsHiFisubscriberstheoptionoflisteningtoMasterQualityAuthenticated(MQA)certifiedtracks(upto24bit/96kHz),whileAmazonMusicHDgivesitssubscriberstheabilitytolistento"UltraHD"(upto24-bit/192kHz).Thecatchisthatmostlosslessstreamingservicesdon'thaveahugecatalogoftheseultrahigh-resolutionaudiotracks.Andnoteverylosslessstreamingservicesupportsthem.HowdoeslosslessaudiocomparetothemusicI'malreadystreaming?Thebitrateofadigitalaudiofile,ortheamountofdatatransferredpersecond,istheprimarymetricweusetodetermineaudioquality.Thelowerthebitrate,thelessinformationandtheworseadigitalaudiofileisgoingtosound.Ifyou'vebeenapayingsubscribertoastreamingservicelikeSpotifyorAppleMusicforyears,you'vebeenlisteningtodigitalaudiofileswithamaxbitrateof320kbpsand256kbps,respectively,whichisaboutthesameaudioqualityofanMP3.Butthat'sonlyifyou'veflippedsomeswitchesinsettings.Defaultbitratesareevenlower.Spotify'sdefaultor"normal"settingdeliversaudiowithabitrate96kbps.Thebitrateofanormallosslessaudiotrackisaround1,411kbps.ThisisoverfourtimestheaudioqualityofanMP3file(withabitrateor320kbps).Soifyou'rewonderingwhetheryouraudioequipment(andears)candojusticetohigherbitratetunes,agreatwaytofindoutisexperimentwithtellingthedifferencebetweenthevariousflavorsoflossinessstreamingservicesalreadygiveyou.CanlosslessaudiobestreamedoverBluetooth?Theshortansweris"no."Inordertolistentolosslessdigitalaudiofiles,youhavetwomainoptions.Youcanuseananalogconnection,likeconnectingyourwiredheadphonestoyoursmartphoneorcomputer.OryoucanstreamthelosslessaudiooveraWi-Fi,throughapairofactivespeakers,suchasKEFWirelessIIorevenmulti-roomspeakerlikeSonos(thankstoQobuz).TherearetechnologiesthatletyoustreamhighbitrateaudiooverBluetooth.Forexample,ifyoursmartphoneandheadphonessupporteitherofsomeaudiocodecs,suchasSony'sLDAC(upto990kbps)orQualcomm'saptXAdaptive(upto570kbps),youcanstreamstreamhighbitrateandlowlatencyaudiofilesoverBluetooth.However,theseaudiofilesaren'tlossless(whichis1,411kbps). SpotifyHiFiwilldelivermusicinCD-quality,losslessaudioformattoyourdeviceandSpotifyConnect-enabledspeakers. Spotify WhatisFLAC?Isthatlossless?Thereareseveraldifferentlosslessaudiocodecs,whicharedigitalmusicfileformatsthatsupportlosslessandCDqualityaudio.FLAC(FreeLosslessAudioCodec)andALAC(AppleLosslessAudioCodec)aretwoofthemostcommon.FLACmusicfileshavebeenpopularforyears,butthedownsideisthattheyarenotsupportedbyApple'sdevicesandservices.ThismeansthatifyouhaveaniPhoneorMacandyousubscribetoalosslessstreamingservicethatplaysFLACdigitalaudiofiles,youwon'tbeabletoplayyourmusicinitsfulllosslessglory.(ThisishowApple,withitsnewlosslessaudiocodec,ALAC,isgoingtopersuademusicenthusiastswhoownaniPhonetoswitchovertoAppleMusic.)Is"lossless"thesamethingas"hi-fi"?Sorta.Theterm"hi-fi,"whichstandsforhighfidelity,doesn'thaveanexactdefinitionanymore.(Itusedtobesynonymouswithstereobackintheday.)Mostaudioprofessionalsrefertohi-fiasaudiothat'sthesamequalityasaCDoravinylrecord,whichhasasamplerateof16-bit/44.1kHz.Theterm"lossless"referstoadigitalaudiofilethathasthesamplerateasaCD(16-bit/44.1kHz).Foryears,thehighestresolutionaudiothatmanylosslessstreamingserviceslikeTidal,DeezerandQobuzofferedwasCD-quality.Nowthathigherresolutionsarebecomingavailableforstreaming,thewaterisgettingmuddieragain.Shouldyousubscribetoalosslessstreamingservice?Onlyonceyou'veverifiedthatyoucanactuallytellthedifference.Thetruthisthatthevastmajorityofpeoplecan'treallyhearthedifferencebetweenaregularMP3fileandalosslessFLACorALACfile.Theotherthingisthat,ifyouwanttohearthebetteraudioqualitythatalosslessaudiotrackcandeliver,youneedtohavethepropercomponentsthatsupportit,suchastherightspeakers,headphonesandstreamingdevice.Inordertogetthemostofouralosslessstreamingservice,youneedtobestreamingfromadevicethatsupportsthatspecificstreamingservice'slosslesstracks.Forexample,ifyouhaveaniPhoneorMac,thereareonlyafewlosslessstreamingservicesthatsupportALAC(Apple'slosslesscodec),suchasTidalHiFiandQobuz(andAppleMusicsoon).Additionally,ifyounormallylistentomusiconyourwirelessheadphonesorearphones,suchasAirPodsorBoseHeadphones700,sinceitrelaysonaBluetoothconnection(whichcan'tplaytruelosslessaudio)there'sagoodchancethatyouwon'tbeabletoexperiencethebestofalosslessstreamingservice. Thiscontentiscreatedandmaintainedbyathirdparty,andimportedontothispagetohelpusersprovidetheiremailaddresses.Youmaybeabletofindmoreinformationaboutthisandsimilarcontentatpiano.io Advertisement-ContinueReadingBelow MoreFrom Audio WhatDoes“Hi-Fi”EvenMeanAnymore?ThisIsWhat TheBestNoise-CancelingWirelessEarbudsof2022 Advertisement-ContinueReadingBelow WhichNoise-CancelingHeadphonesAreRightforYou HowtoUseSharePlayonFaceTimeCalls TheBestWirelessEarbudsforRunning UpdateYourAirPodsandGetMoreFeatures The10BestNewAudioProductsoftheYear TheMostPopularVintageReceiversandAmplifiers TheBestDolbyAtmosSoundbarstoBuyNow 4TerrificVintageHi-FiBrandsThatDidn'tMakeI Audio Tech HowtoBoosttheAudioQualityofAppleMusic WhatExactlyIsanAnorak,Anyway? WhatExactlyIsaTacticalWatch? SpotifyontheAppleWatchJustGotALotBetter HowtoSwitchOverfromSpotifytoAppleMusic 3DImmersiveAudioIstheFutureofHeadphones.SoWhatIsIt?