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Is Apple Music lossless/uncompressed?

I gave up following what the hell Apple was doing with music long ago cause it’s just been a confusing and disappointing mess, but a friend is considering using Apple Music and asked me if it’s lossless so thought I’d ask here to hopefully get the latest poop.  I thought I recently read they were introducing some new lossless format but I dunno about resolution or what it might cost?  Also, how does the music selection/resolution compare to Qobuz or Tidal, and does Apple Music offer hi res?  My friend is planning on using the Lightning connection from his iPhone to an AQ Dragonfly Cobalt in case that’s important.  Thanks for any thoughts/info. 

soix
jbuhl's avatar
jbuhl
955 posts
 

From what I understand Apple music streams in ALAC format up to 24/192 resolution.

 

From support.apple.com:

 

If you subscribe to Apple Music, you can play and download music encoded using the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which makes files smaller while preserving all of the original data in the file. In Apple Music, lossless music is available in two formats:

  • Lossless: Up to 24-bit, 48 kHz

  • Hi-Res Lossless: Up to 24-bit, 192 kHz

Albums and songs available in lossless have the Lossless button next to them.

Note: Apple Music and lossless aren’t available in all countries or regions. See the Apple Support article Availability of Apple Media Services.

wsrrsw's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
wsrrsw
969 posts
 

To state the obvious.
ALAC isn’t on par with higher bit rate FLAC files. I have some ALAC files. At same bit depth they sound just as the FLAC files do. 
What you might proffer your friend about is the interface. Apple music is easy to use. But sending files via airplay tosses out quality as that’s not as streaming. Just say no to airplay. 

bipod72
132 posts
 

My understanding is that Apple is lossless IF you're streaming Apple music directly to the source via a wired connection. In other words, you can't stream from a phone to your streaming device via airplay because Apple downsamples. If you have a tablet connected to the streamer then you can get lossless playback. 

Darko Audio has a few youtube videos that speaks to this disconnect about streaming "lossless" via Apple airplay using the phone as the controller. 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,363 posts
 

“My friend is planning on using the Lightning connection from his iPhone to an AQ Dragonfly Cobalt in case that’s important. ”

Apple Lossless SQ would be more than adequate and enjoyable in above setup. 

mahler123
3,253 posts
 

@lalitk 

I actually missed that last sentence in the OP.  That is an interesting way to do it and he might get a decent result.

  AirPort Express I think used to top out at CD quality.

  AirPlay isn’t that bad, pretty close to a standard redbook CD.  It’s definitely an improvement over Bluetooth although I haven’t heard the latest Bluetooth codec.  I use streaming primarily to investigate material that I don’t own and then if I really like it I buy a CD or download.  With some older recordings, especially stuff that appeared on budget Classical labels such as Vox, there really isn’t any difference between the CD and AirPlay 

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