Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
My Apple TV setup has it streaming over Airplay2 to a pair of bookshelves speakers wired to an Airport Express via Toslink - Will that setup support lossless?
 
You have to be f’ing kidding me. My $600 headphones don’t support, even wired? They just freaking released them! Who on gods earth are they bringing lossless to Apple Music for? For all the people that don’t buy their products? They sell speakers and headphone, and none of them support lossless? That makes zero sense. This surely has to be a mistake.

Almost as if it's the same company that for years sold a phone and a Mac that couldn't connect to each other out of the box, brand new.
 
One thing I found odd from the original AirPods Max launch was that the APM can't be used with a USB-C -> Lightning cable plugged into a Mac or iPad. To me this seems like an obvious solution, but I guess Apple was greedy and wanted to sell more Lightning -> 3.5mm cable's for the wired use case.
for me it was odd that apple didn't think to make it a lightning to lightning cable (instead of your usb-c suggestion), from day one, so it could be used directly with a lightning equipped iPhone, iPod or iPad, and keep the entire signal path digital, then it would easily work with lossless/alac from the get go, and then sell dongels for the heaphone jack and usb-c stuff to connect it non-lightning stuffs
 
  • Like
Reactions: TooMuchPhone
Apple's AirPods Max headphones are equipped with a Lightning port, but it is limited to analog output sources and will not natively support digital audio formats in wired mode. Apple has not yet said whether the AirPods Max support lossless audio over Lightning with a digital to analog converter.
Guess we will wait to see if the latter works. More money to spend.
 
Appletv makes sense, but the idea they don’t have a product to let you listen on headphones seems… silly? Maybe this will coincide with a new headphone system. One that works on wifi? I agree it’s out of character for Apple. Still wish I could plug my AKG 240m into my iPad Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: peanuts_of_pathos
Not a great past six months for collaboration within Apple. A quick recap:
  • HomePod:
    • Nov 2020: HomePod gets support for surround sound / Dolby Atmos
    • Mar 2021: HomePod gets discontinued
  • AirTags / Find My / Remotes
    • Apr 2021: AirTags are introduced (plus Find My for other devices!)
    • Apr 2021: New Apple TV remote is introduced without any finding capabilities
  • Music / Headphones
    • Dec 2020: AirPods Max headphones are introduced at $549
    • May 2021: Apple Music gets support for lossless but the AirPods Max can’t play it
 
Don't the AirPods Max support analog input via a 3.5mm to Lightning cable? What's the problem?
 
AirPods Max Pro. Now with lossless enabled. $999.99
Create the problem and supply the solution, works every time! 😂
3E002479-573E-47F8-990B-6DC9ACFF9B38.gif
 
I’m not sure why this is a surprise. Current Apple AirPods only support SBC and AAC codec. Nobody figured out a lossless wireless codec over Bluetooth yet. Even LDAC nor aptx HD are not lossless. They’re just higher bitrates, but your audio are still transcoded for the wireless transmission.
 
Your Airpods Max still function exactly as they did when you purchased them and you were happy with them. Literally nothing has changed. The feeling of entitlement in modern society is so tiresome.
Hey, did you hear that Apple will be releasing an Audiophile quality streaming service next month?
Did you also hear that Apple's brand new Audiophile headphones can't play it?

It has nothing to do with entitlement, it's called common sense.
 
I’m not sure why this is a surprise. Current Apple AirPods only support SBC and AAC codec. Nobody figured out a lossless wireless codec over Bluetooth yet. Even LDAC nor aptx HD are not lossless. They’re just higher bitrates, but your audio are still transcoded for the wireless transmission.
Shooting in the dark here, but maybe because most people aren't engineers?
 
You won't hear the difference unless you have something good enough to resolve the audio. Apple don't make anything good enough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: James_C
Hey, did you hear that Apple will be releasing an Audiophile quality streaming service next month?
Did you also hear that Apple's brand new Audiophile headphones can't play it?

It has nothing to do with entitlement, it's called common sense.
Let me know if there’s a lossless codec supported over bluetooth, on any platform.
This is not an Apple issue, it’s a tech issue. The tech is not there to begin with.
 
Is it outside the realm of your ability to show some compassion to those that purchased Apple's best, high-end Audiophile headphones, and now find out that when Apple releases their Audiophile music service it won't work with their audiophile headphones?

It seems a reasonable assumption to me. Not to mention, before ripping-off customers $600 for the headphones, Apple might have let people know ahead of time that they wouldn't work with any lossless music services, even wired.
High end audiophile headphones are NOT bluetooth, never have been.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.