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exactly. no audiophile would ever buy a pair of AirPod Maxs

of course you’ll survive. If you cared about audio quality you wouldn’t have purchased them in the first place lol
Not true at all. Im an audiophile and I love my AirPod Max. They complement my half dozen other headphones from Hifiman, to Audeze, to Beyerdynamic, to Bose. The AirPod Max are simply the best sounding, trade-off convenient, wireless headphones you can purchase. No way I'm taking my planer magnetic open back headphones, external amp, and DAC on a plane or to my bedroom to watch a movie while my spouse sleeps. AirPod Max has a very specific audiophile use case that other wireless headphones can't match... especially in the apple ecosystem.
 
Now if only Roon would support Apple Music. I hate paying for Qobuz only because Roon doesn't support Apple Music.
 
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Of course there will be the gain of spatial audio and that's something in itself for macsplusmacs to await with eagerness, isn't it?

for tv shows and movies sure, for music it seems like kind of a gimic.

some stuff was recorded for quadraphonic sound in the 70s
and then it kind of does out. maybe this time will be different?
 
Current Apple Music files are just .m4p (protected) containers for standard AAC files. There's no reason to think that this "new" format won't just be ALAC inside an .m4p container and play in iTunes just fine.
Right. I hope that is the case, but the articles talk about a new settings to decide the quality you stream at. If they do not update iTunes, there will be no such setting. I would also imagine this is a client setting, not an account setting, because while you may want that on your Mac, you might not on your iPhone. My question is still one we will not know until it ships. I'm sure there will be an updated version of iTunes for Windows. I hope there will be one for macOS 10.11...
 
It is coming to all devices. That footnote is specifically talking about the automatic selection of the Dolby Atmos track.
Right, I now see that, but it is still exciting that other headphones will play something spatial. When spatial audio came out before it was only supported in headphones with the H1 chip. Now it is supported in all headphones. We will see what this means when it is actually shipping. Looks like that is NOT an Android feature - I wonder if it is iOS and Mac only (another thing to see in iTunes for Windows)
 
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Second, I can confirm there is a BIG difference in what you can hear in lossless audio ALAC or 96-192Hz 24 bit audio, when you plug a DragonFly Blue DAC into your recent-model iPhone, and then plug a worthy set of wired headphones (I’m partial to B&W P7s) into the DAC. The difference is so noticeable that I’ve been subscribed to Qobuz for the past year and a half.

The thing is, perceptual audio compression has been a research topic for decades. And in spite of obvious commercial interests, a large body of that is published in peer reviewed journals.

What you are saying here is akin to me claiming to jump a 15m road everyday on my shortcut to work.

You may well hear a difference, but ascribing that to the lack of compression specifically is dubious in the extreme.
This is a public forum. You may have a financial interest in the sales of redundant audio gear. My recommendation to all who are interested in audio is to make their own (controlled!) blind tests, and to read the relevant research.
(You may have to go back in time, for instance insertion of a 16bit/44kHz ADC-DAC conversion in an otherwise higher resolution signal chain was demonstrated to be inaudible under stringent conditions ages ago. And in scientific circles you can’t publish papers showing the same result over and over, so recent tests are amateurs demonstrating the same thing to themselves. The Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (JAES) published a bunch of these early results and could work as a one stop source.)
 
Right, I now see that, but it is still exciting that other headphones will play something spatial. When spatial audio came out before it was only supported in headphones with the H1 chip. Now it is supported in all headphones. We will see what this means when it is actually shipping. Looks like that is NOT an Android feature - I wonder if it is iOS and Mac only (another thing to see in iTunes for Windows)
In the context of the Apple ecosystem, I was always under the impression that "Spatial Audio" described the simulated surround sound from multi channel sources that was "anchored" to the iOS device screen using the UWB technology. If Apple Music will stream pre-prepared Dolby Atmos 2 channel tracks for headphone use, there is no need for the spatial anchoring as is helpful for video. I wonder why Apple has use the term Spatial Audio here in regards to the Music service.
 
Right. I hope that is the case, but the articles talk about a new settings to decide the quality you stream at. If they do not update iTunes, there will be no such setting.
Oh that is a very valid point. And Music the app is broken garbage – so we could be in a bit of a pinch here.
 
I'm sure Apple will be happy to hear that. ;-)

And yeah, I like my Staxen too. I would ABX the new driver before you buy it though since you obviously operate under a budget. Flowers for a loved one, travelling, ... there are always places to spend your margin, and in all honesty, the money I spent on more expensive amplification for my electrostatics were a waste. (Glows prettily though.)

While ABX testing is a bit of a hassle when it comes to audio equipment, it's reallly the only way to make informed choices. Noone is immune to confirmation bias. Placebo can effect physical changes, so for something as subjective as audio perception, you have to try to factor it out. Unforunately, many times you can't test equipment until you bought it.
Your 'Glows Prettily' comment leaves the impression that you bought an SRM-D50. While my current energizer offers RCA line-in input, I do appreciate getting the new unit with its built in D/A converter (allowing more flexibility with digital as well as analog inputs). The additional power (I'm not talking about louder) should allow for even more realistic sound of strings and woodwinds (not that I have anything to complain about sitting there (as if I were there in situ) amongst the orchestra instruments with my current setup).

P.S. I'm sure Apple can afford me this one exception. Historically, I suspect they've slipped in a kind of greedy little grin every time I've entered one of their new wonder product exhibitions. Oh, and doesn't every reasonably sensible entity operate under a budget of one sort or the other.
 
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In the context of the Apple ecosystem, I was always under the impression that "Spatial Audio" described the simulated surround sound from multi channel sources that was "anchored" to the iOS device screen using the UWB technology. If Apple Music will stream pre-prepared Dolby Atmos 2 channel tracks for headphone use, there is no need for the spatial anchoring as is helpful for video. I wonder why Apple has use the term Spatial Audio here in regards to the Music service.
Yeah, they seem to be using Atmos and Spatial somewhat interchangeable. Regardless, it is some kind of 360 audio scheme. Will be interesting to hear what it sounds like. At home I have a 7.2.4 Atmos setup that I use (Mostly movies, but I do have the Roger Waters concert in Paris of the Wall in Atmos on Blu-ray and it is sweet)
 
Oh that is a very valid point. And Music the app is broken garbage – so we could be in a bit of a pinch here.
I actually really like the they finally pulled all the cruft back out of iTunes and allowed it to focus on Music. Now if they can only let us have a "live show" setting, so just like having movements with classical music, you can replace CD #s with Sets. I think pulling it out of having podcasts and books and apps and movies and TV shows like it used to and bringing it back to what it originally was might allow it to get better and better again, instead of bloated with things we do not need.
I was a MOG subscriber who made the transition to Beats, and then cancelled it when Apple bought it until it went from 25k iTunes Match track limit to 100k. I see it only getting better after the initial few months hiccup after Catalina and the split out of the Podcasts, iPhone support, and TV/Movies. Now if we could get a non-modal Info sheet....

The thing is, again. my 2008 Mac Pro sits close to my stereo. It only runs 10.11. It runs iTunes 12.8.x or some such thing. It has no music on it, even though it is logged into Apple Music. Currently when I want to play my hi-res audio out to my main stereo connected optically from the Mac Pro, I use the iTunes Music Sharing that works over the LAN to connect to the (now thankfully divorced from iTunes) "Home/Media" Sharing library I have in 24x96. I don't want to have to do that when I play from the Mac Pro - I want to play all my Matched and uploaded music from the cloud in the native resolution I added them to iTunes, mostly 24x96. We still have NO idea if the upload feature will now support uploading our lossless audio to the cloud losslessly, we have no idea if that old iTunes will support streaming in HD. nd we certainly have no idea if they will update older iTunes. June 1st can't come too soon for this excited kid....
 
My biggest reason for using Apple Music, as an amateur taper, is being able to add my own recorded music to my iTunes (Music app on Catalina+) and having it upload to the cloud while retaining my lossless audio in the Music app on my Mac. What is not clear yet is whether the iTunes Match functionality will now upload my 24x96 ALACs or continue making 256 AACs from them to upload to the cloud.
That is an interesting question that I was wondering about too. I was assuming if I ripped my CDs again at the highest quality into my MacBook Pro they would upload at the ALAC quality or maybe no need to as  Music may convert the music files it could to the highest quality assuming I toggle on 'highest quality (this will use significant memory).
 
In the context of the Apple ecosystem, I was always under the impression that "Spatial Audio" described the simulated surround sound from multi channel sources that was "anchored" to the iOS device screen using the UWB technology. If Apple Music will stream pre-prepared Dolby Atmos 2 channel tracks for headphone use, there is no need for the spatial anchoring as is helpful for video. I wonder why Apple has use the term Spatial Audio here in regards to the Music service.

Yeah, they seem to be using Atmos and Spatial somewhat interchangeable. Regardless, it is some kind of 360 audio scheme. Will be interesting to hear what it sounds like. At home I have a 7.2.4 Atmos setup that I use (Mostly movies, but I do have the Roger Waters concert in Paris of the Wall in Atmos on Blu-ray and it is sweet)

This article spells out the same distinction I described.

I'm curious what the actual file format is for the Dolby Atmos music tracks.
 
That is an interesting question that I was wondering about too. I was assuming if I ripped my CDs again at the highest quality into my MacBook Pro they would upload at the ALAC quality or maybe no need to as  Music may convert the music files it could to the highest quality assuming I toggle on 'highest quality (this will use significant memory).
If they are studio CDs you need not matter. The way it works is it will try and match it to their catalog and if they have it they will not upload anything, but rather allow you to play the version they have. That feature is really for obscure albums or live stuff, as I mentioned. Currently it converts everything to 256 AAC on device before uploading to the cloud if it is unable to match. At this point I would take a wait and see attitude before doing any re-ripping
 

This article spells out the same distinction I described.

I'm curious what the actual file format is for the Dolby Atmos music tracks.
I would imagine it is the same E-AC3 w/Atmos we get in movie tracks. Now please enable it in our headphones for movies as well so as when I wear my headphones to watch the AppleTV4K I get a smilier experience. I understand that if I do not have the W1 chip turning my head will not move the audio, but usually when I am watching something on the AppleTV I am looking at it lol. I understand why its different for movies than music (music moves with you, video has an anchor point), but having surround sound when I am watching the TV with my headphones would be nice. I know they do this with the W1 for video content (A combination of Atmos and Spatial audio), and for some reason not on the Apple TV... But now that we know they have created an Atmos 3D music DSP, it would be nice if we could get this with all our Apple/Beats headphones on the Apple TV 4K with movies...
 
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I'm assuming Macworld get information straight from Apple, so this article sure is enlightening!
Very interesting, especially this bit...

Additionally, Apple’s 3.5mm Lightning headphone adapter includes it’s own DAC that supports 24-bit, 48kHz so high-end wired headphones will work. However, the Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable that Apple sells for the AirPods Max doesn’t support Lossless streaming.

Supported listening devices: Wired headphones or speakers are required. Of note, none of Apple’s AirPods or Beats wireless headphones will support Apple Music Lossless. Even the AirPods Max when plugged in via a Lightning cable won’t work, as it only accepts analog connections and then re-converts into digital. HomePod does not support Apple Music Lossless.
 
Very interesting, especially this bit... HomePod does not support Apple Music Lossless.


Yeah that seems odd, since I can AirPlay 2 to them and that can be up to 24x48 lossless. Maybe the built in streamer? Maybe this is a mistake? Odd.

If you look at the next paragraph where it says HomePod does not support Hi-Res Lossless, I think that is the statement they meant to put in there, and the former one was an accident/mistype.
 
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Apple today announced that starting in June, Apple Music songs will be available to stream in Lossless and Hi-Resolution Lossless formats, but lossless audio won't be supported on the AirPods, AirPods Max, or AirPods Pro.

AirPods-Lineup-Not-Lossless-Feature.jpg

Apple's Lossless Audio is encoded as Apple Lossless Audio Codec files, with lossless quality ranging from 16-bit 44.1 kHz playback to 24-bit 48 kHz playback and Hi-Res Lossless offering 24-bit 192 kHz quality.

AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max are limited to the Bluetooth AAC codec when paired with an iPhone, and won't be able to stream Apple Music lossless files, Apple confirmed to T3.

Apple did not mention AirPods compatibility in its press release announcing the new functionality, and on its website, Apple confirms that lossless audio can be listened to on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV, and T3 also says that HomePod is compatible even though it wasn't listed in Apple's announcement.

Apple's lossless audio is less compressed and offers up a more accurate version of the studio recording process, for music that sounds as it was intended by the artist. Lossless audio provides a wider dynamic range to bring out the detail and realism in music.

Hi-Res Lossless will require a USB digital to analog converter or similar equipment, but will provide the best sound experience. Listening to lossless audio on an iPhone will require wired headphones and it's possible an additional dongle will be needed to get the best sound quality. AirPods Max will also not support lossless audio over the Lightning cable, Apple told Micah Singleton.

While the AirPods, AirPods Max, and AirPods Pro do not support lossless audio, they do support Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, and by default, Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip.

With Spatial Audio support, artists will be able to create immersive experiences that provide fans with multidimensional sound and clarity.

Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio are being added to Apple Music at no charge, so both new and current subscribers will get these features for the standard $9.99 per month (individual), $4.99 per month (student), or $14.99 per month (family) pricing.

Article Link: AirPods, AirPods Max and AirPods Pro Don't Support Apple Music Lossless Audio
not true lossless audio are supported on iphone thats why there is amazon hd, tidal and other streaming apps available. Bluetooth connection can support 16/44.1 khz and 24/48khz which is above CD quality or lossless. IF you go beyond 24/96khz-192khz you need additional equipment or external devices. do not be fooled by this article its a ********
 
Sounds like lossless was a last minute addition to Apple Music probably because of of Spotify about to release their lossless service too. It makes no sense they would design AirPod Max with no lossless support in mind.
its supported 24/48khz is hires lossless audio above CD quality. NO HEADPHONES that can support 24/192khz without connecting to DAC lol...
 
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