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Lossless Streaming is about to go Mainstream


RUADJAI
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Will your listening habits change after lossless streaming goes mainstream?  

78 members voted

  1. 1. Will your listening habits change after lossless streaming goes mainstream?

    • I will UPGRADE to lossless streaming as my ONLY form of listening
    • I will UPGRADE to lossless streaming as my PRIMARY source of listening but will still buy physical copies for collecting
    • I will continue streaming in STANDARD quality
    • I do not stream now but will start with Lossless Streaming
    • I do not and will not stream music
    • I ALREADY stream in Lossless with another brand but will switch to either Spotify or Apple
    • I ALREADY stream in Lossless with another brand and will stay with them
  2. 2. Will this change your buying habits of physical copies?

    • Yes, I will NOT BUY physical copies anymore
    • Yes, I will ONLY BUY for collecting purposes
    • No, I will CONTINUE to buy physical copies
    • No, I DON'T BUY physical copies anyway


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2 hours ago, Prayer said:

Good movement by Apple, Apparently something called "Spatial Audio" is gonna be a key feature in this... is the Q-Sound thing making a comeback 30 years later? :tongue:

But the Q-Sound wasn't successful 30 years ago (only in video-games). People didn't like the "Spatial Audio / 3D audio" in music. 

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Prayer

Interesting topic.  You forgot one option: buying digital music. I know is a thing of the past but some still do it. I do with releases or artists I want to support, cause they get more money from it and I like to edit metadata and stuff. I think it's a good thing that HD audio arrives to Spotify and Apple Music so people who want that option have it available. They already have the option to do it, as they receive lossless files from the record companies. It's just a matter of offering the

Prayer

2 (or even 3 in some cases) CD singles back in the day was greed from the companies, yeah, but also because of the rules of the charts, especially in the UK. If I remember well, from 1997 or 1998, CD singles above 20 minutes in total were not considered for the UK singles charts. So if you have, let's say, 2 b-sides and 3 remixes, most artists released a b-sides single (CD 1) and a remixes single (CD 2) - and that way they managed to count 2 copies sold for the charts.  If the remixes

amscity

I think I'm an ET because I simply don't use streaming at all! And the reason is that basically I don't give up my personal library to replace it for something I don't have control over. I mean, I'm a perfectionist. I have every album, every single, every version, everything organized, in the best quality possible. Streaming make us limited to what they offer.  Madonna's discography available on streaming is a mess! They've changed the original tracks, they've changed the artworks

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The major problem all platforms are gonna have with this is the quality can be as good as it likes but its gonna eat up 4 times the amount of data...and its young people who mostly stream and if the data plans are expensive...as they are now... it won't take off. 

The same with 5G in many ways. Its great but Tina Till at Tescos is gonna be topping up those pay as you go Paulines every five minutes. The Rebel Heart album in super HQ data costs would cost more than a Bitches Circle tour package. 

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30 minutes ago, steady75 said:

The major problem all platforms are gonna have with this is the quality can be as good as it likes but its gonna eat up 4 times the amount of data...and its young people who mostly stream and if the data plans are expensive...as they are now... it won't take off. 

The same with 5G in many ways. Its great but Tina Till at Tescos is gonna be topping up those pay as you go Paulines every five minutes. The Rebel Heart album in super HQ data costs would cost more than a Bitches Circle tour package. 

It's just very good marketing from Apple. Technically they (and every other platform) have had the option to do this for years now. They have the original loseless files on their servers. So it's not an option of upgrading, just offering what they already have in its original quality.

But they key is "at no additional cost". That's major. Automatically puts them in a better position than Spotify and erases TIDAL from the picture.

Of course most people will just not use it cause it's more data (and battery?), so they will stick to the regular option after realising is not that different from loseless at this point. But the fact that they're offering loseless for those who want it and for the same price is really good marketing.

Official announcement:

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/05/apple-music-announces-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio/

Wonder what will happen with iTunes purchases (new and old)... no mention about that at all.

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1 hour ago, steady75 said:

The major problem all platforms are gonna have with this is the quality can be as good as it likes but its gonna eat up 4 times the amount of data...and its young people who mostly stream and if the data plans are expensive...as they are now... it won't take off. 

The same with 5G in many ways. Its great but Tina Till at Tescos is gonna be topping up those pay as you go Paulines every five minutes. The Rebel Heart album in super HQ data costs would cost more than a Bitches Circle tour package. 

Thank god for wifi!

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28 minutes ago, Prayer said:

Official announcement:

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/05/apple-music-announces-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio/

Wonder what will happen with iTunes purchases (new and old)... no mention about that at all.

I still have Hard Candy 128kbps that I pre-ordered back in 2008 lol

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22 minutes ago, deathproof said:

Did Apple say the proper way to listen/experience? Will you need new headphones/speakers?

 

Just now, Shoful said:

I know the Airpods Pro have the ability for spatial audio but I’m sure another brand that’s capable of it will be able to do it

All of Apple's headphones will support Dolby Atmos. 

"All Apple Music subscribers using the latest version of Apple Music on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV can listen to thousands of Dolby Atmos music tracks using any headphones. 

When you listen with compatible Apple or Beats headphones, Dolby Atmos music plays back automatically when available for a song. For other headphones, go to Settings > Music > Audio and set Dolby Atmos to Always On. You can also hear Dolby Atmos music using the built‑in speakers on a compatible iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro, or HomePod, or by connecting your Apple TV 4K to a compatible TV or audiovisual receiver."

 

Hi Res Lossless and Lossless is another story because bluetooth doesnt support the bandwidth for Lossless music. So you will have to use wired headphones and add a DAC for Hi Res Lossless. 

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I’ve listened to some stuff with spacial audio. It’s mad. Someone like Mirwais will have a field day with this type of tech. It’s like sitting in the middle of a room with the orchestra and instruments at different points around you. Legitimately 3D sound. It’s currently a bit gimmicky and pushed to the extreme but once the possibilities aren’t artistically stretched for demonstrative purposes it will be the go to sonic experience for headphones at least . 
Frozen and something like Nobody Knows Me will be next level. 

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On 5/20/2021 at 4:23 AM, RUADJAI said:

 

All of Apple's headphones will support Dolby Atmos. 

"All Apple Music subscribers using the latest version of Apple Music on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV can listen to thousands of Dolby Atmos music tracks using any headphones. 

When you listen with compatible Apple or Beats headphones, Dolby Atmos music plays back automatically when available for a song. For other headphones, go to Settings > Music > Audio and set Dolby Atmos to Always On. You can also hear Dolby Atmos music using the built‑in speakers on a compatible iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro, or HomePod, or by connecting your Apple TV 4K to a compatible TV or audiovisual receiver."

 

Hi Res Lossless and Lossless is another story because bluetooth doesnt support the bandwidth for Lossless music. So you will have to use wired headphones and add a DAC for Hi Res Lossless. 

Quick question: I'm an Android user and currently listen to Spotify with Bluetooth headphones. 

You said Bluetooth headphones can't carry lossless bandwidth, so if I switch to Apple music and listen to it with my current headphones I won't hear lossless quality? Will it just be the same as Spotify unless I have an iPhone? 

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50 minutes ago, Let'sGetUnconsciousHoney said:

Quick question: I'm an Android user and currently listen to Spotify with Bluetooth headphones. 

You said Bluetooth headphones can't carry lossless bandwidth, so if I switch to Apple music and listen to it with my current headphones I won't hear lossless quality? Will it just be the same as Spotify unless I have an iPhone? 

Yes, apparently bluetooth headphones can't play lossless currently? At least within the Apple ecosystem. Apple says you'll be able to play lossless on your iPhone or if you connect a jack cable headphone but not with AirPods, etc. If there's bluetooth involved, Apple Music will convert whatever signal it is to the standard 256 AAC (iTunes Plus quality).

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24 minutes ago, PaperFaces said:

And does this mean tracks bought in ITunes can now be purcahsed in lossless ALAC as well?

No, the iTunes store remains as it is. I guess they'll keep trying to push iTunes customers to convert to Apple Music subscribers and lossless will be another key point to try to do that.

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2 hours ago, Prayer said:

Yes, apparently bluetooth headphones can't play lossless currently? At least within the Apple ecosystem. Apple says you'll be able to play lossless on your iPhone or if you connect a jack cable headphone but not with AirPods, etc. If there's bluetooth involved, Apple Music will convert whatever signal it is to the standard 256 AAC (iTunes Plus quality).

But I have m4a files saved on my phone and when I listen to them they sound lossless. There is a very significant difference with the same song streamed on Spotify. Or am I hallucinating? Ahaha

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39 minutes ago, Let'sGetUnconsciousHoney said:

But I have m4a files saved on my phone and when I listen to them they sound lossless. There is a very significant difference with the same song streamed on Spotify. Or am I hallucinating? Ahaha

 

3 hours ago, PaperFaces said:

I listen to my music in WAV with wireless earphones, so the bandwith must be there somehow.

And does this mean tracks bought in ITunes can now be purcahsed in lossless ALAC as well?

 

3 hours ago, Let'sGetUnconsciousHoney said:

Quick question: I'm an Android user and currently listen to Spotify with Bluetooth headphones. 

You said Bluetooth headphones can't carry lossless bandwidth, so if I switch to Apple music and listen to it with my current headphones I won't hear lossless quality? Will it just be the same as Spotify unless I have an iPhone? 

 

So basically you'll have lossless on your device but your device will see you are on bluetooth and convert accordingly. Part of me thinks that you'll be able to tell a difference anyway like @Let'sGetUnconsciousHoney said, but they probably can't advertise its actually lossless. 

Some people are speculating that in a future software update Apple will allow streaming over Airplay when connected to Wifi as that basically creates a secure wifi connection between two devices and would be able to handle the bandwidth. 

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55 minutes ago, Let'sGetUnconsciousHoney said:

But I have m4a files saved on my phone and when I listen to them they sound lossless. There is a very significant difference with the same song streamed on Spotify. Or am I hallucinating? Ahaha

What format is Spotify? 320 MP3? 256 AAC is compressed, yeah, but rather good, most of the time I can't tell the difference between iTunes Plus quality and CD on headphones - of course there is a difference but in the end it's all about the experience.

I use both, Spotify and iTunes purchases, and I prefer the iTunes/Apple Music quality generally. It also depends on the files on Apple, some albums and singles are "Mastered for iTunes", now called "Apple Digital Master", which means the 256 AAC version is been made from the original 24 bit master.

The "Apple Digital Master" version can be better than a regular one or worse... "MDNA" on its "Mastered For iTunes" version sounds worse than the regular version that came with the original iTunes pre-order (don't know if they are from a different master, really). Also, I don't like that much the "Mastered For iTunes" versions of Janet Jackson's albums.

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1 hour ago, Let'sGetUnconsciousHoney said:

So the only way for me to enjoy lossless on my phone would be to switch back to headphones with a jack and a cable or to get an iPhone with Airpods

Frequently asked questions about lossless

  

Can I listen to lossless audio using AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max?

AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and Beats wireless headphones use Apple’s AAC Bluetooth Codec to ensure excellent audio quality. Bluetooth connections don’t support lossless audio.

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.
 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183

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10 hours ago, deathproof said:

Frequently asked questions about lossless

  

Can I listen to lossless audio using AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max?

AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and Beats wireless headphones use Apple’s AAC Bluetooth Codec to ensure excellent audio quality. Bluetooth connections don’t support lossless audio.

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.
 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183

I'm still confused by this, sorry ahaha

So AirPods have a special kind of Bluetooth that can carry lossless music, but other brands don't? 

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