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So Apple expects me to switch sample rates in Audio MIDI with every song, as I switch between albums that are "Apple Lossless" and "Apple Hi-Res Lossless". That is a fail.
On Roon, with my Tidal and Qobuz subscriptions, running on exactly the same Mac, my DAC automatically and seamlessly adjusts to the different sample rates and bit-depths of the source songs I am playing.
for now I will keep my dac manually at 96k. there should not be audio quality loss with upsampling
 
Those trying to figure out how to get lossless audio on Mac...

1) Check that macOS is sending max sample and bit rate that your DAC supports from Audio MIDI Setup:

View attachment 1789298
Problem with this method is it will upsample to 192. It won't be bit accurate if you're playing something that is 24/44.1 or 24/88.2. It'll also be upsampling 96khz. It won't top out at 96khz if you've selected 192, it'll upsample to 192. Not ideal.

Bit-perfect way is to manually switch each time until Apple adds exclusive mode and automatic switching to the Music app like on iOS.
 
My menu for Music Settings on the iPhone looks different than the one in the main article

Is this normal?

PS: I still don't have access to Dolby Atmos; based in the UK
 

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Those trying to figure out how to get lossless audio on Mac...

1) Check that macOS is sending max sample and bit rate that your DAC supports from Audio MIDI Setup:

View attachment 1789298
2) You can validate the result from System Information:
View attachment 1789304
3) Enable lossless in Apple Music preferences:
View attachment 1789305

4) Verify that it is actually playing back lossless version:

View attachment 1789306

Or by selecting track "Get Info":
View attachment 1789307

Did I miss something 😅
Thanks for posting this, but can I ask a question? What is your DAC showing when you play an "Apple Lossless" track (i.e. something that is not "Apple Hi-Res Lossless", and therefore no more than 44.1kHz or 48kHz)? Is it still showing an incoming stream of 192kHz/24bit? If so, you are not receiving a bit-perfect stream, and Apple's Audio MIDI is merely re-sampling - and you have no way of knowing the bit-rate or bit-depth of the song that is actually coming in to your Mac from the Internet.

You would be, if you were listening to the exact same song via Roon + Qobuz or Tidal. I was seriously hoping Apple Music will make other streaming options unnecessary but I feel they have dropped the ball badly today.
 
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I have one annoyance I found. I want to use lossless, I have Dolby Atmos turned off on my Mac.

However, on that Mac, I have all my owned music. Playlists and whatnot that are my owned music, are going to play my 256 AAC files.

It almost makes me wish my owned files were on another Mac, so this one could just stream the lossless files.

I wonder if there are any other creative solutions to this problem?
 
Can someone help me, I can’t hear a difference. All the settings are on, I have the AirPods Pro. Everything’s updated, I see all the symbols. I seriously can’t tell a difference even in their tutorial. I compared it to Tidal, the exact song and it sounds louder on Tidal (maybe better) so I don’t know.
There seems to be a bug where for some users (including me) the Atmos On/Off setting doesn't work at first. This morning it is generally working for me, and the difference is very apparent.
 
I have one annoyance I found. I want to use lossless, I have Dolby Atmos turned off on my Mac.

However, on that Mac, I have all my owned music. Playlists and whatnot that are my owned music, are going to play my 256 AAC files.

It almost makes me wish my owned files were on another Mac, so this one could just stream the lossless files.

I wonder if there are any other creative solutions to this problem?
With the lossless audio setting enabled and after removing the download of a matched song, the Music app lets you play/download a DRM'd lossless version of that song (if available). Should probably make sure to hold on to a backup of the original file though.
 
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With the lossless audio setting enabled and after removing the download of a matched song, the Music app lets you play/download a DRM'd lossless version of that song (if available). Should probably make sure to hold on to a backup of the original file though.

Good tip! I just hate to mess with my library and never be able to get it back exactly right should I ever want to. Seems like a second Mac to keep the library in this state might work though, and then delete them on this one.
 
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So Apple expects me to switch sample rates in Audio MIDI with every song, as I switch between albums that are "Apple Lossless" and "Apple Hi-Res Lossless". That is a fail.
On Roon, with my Tidal and Qobuz subscriptions, running on exactly the same Mac, my DAC automatically and seamlessly adjusts to the different sample rates and bit-depths of the source songs I am playing.

I hear you - I've had Tidal since the start and it features 'Exclusive Mode' which sorts out this problem.

We need to write to Apple about this but hopefully it's already in the works.

The Amazon Music HD desktop app has been a failure for a couple years now for this exact same issue... Apple Lossless just came out today so let's hope it doesn't drag on like Amazon's app ! lol
 
My menu for Music Settings on the iPhone looks different than the one in the main article

Is this normal?

PS: I still don't have access to Dolby Atmos; based in the UK
Make sure you are on iOS 14.6 first, and try toggling the cellular data and automatic download switches on and off a bunch of times; that forced it for me.
 
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My menu for Music Settings on the iPhone looks different than the one in the main article

Is this normal?

PS: I still don't have access to Dolby Atmos; based in the UK
I am in the UK and now have the option. I restarted my phone - nothing - went into Music and then back into settings and the option appeared.
 
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Can someone confirm when you're listening in Dolby Atmos with Airpods Pro does Spatial Audio shows animation? Hold down volume bar in control center and you will see Spatial Audio on button it's supposed to be animated. It doesn't sound good at all when I turn it off it sounds more balanced.
 
It's working on mine now. I'm listening to Buddy Holly by Weezer. With Dolby Atmos on the drums completely dropped out of the mix for about 2 measures at one point. Switch it off and the drums are there. This is a bad mix. Hopefully there aren't a lot of problems like this.

And I agree with one poster earlier that said the bass is almost non existent in this mix.
 
I’m on iOS 15b1, got atmos enabled and using airpod 2. Same tracks are better than others, but I’m finding when atmos is enabled it sounds quieter and tinny/underwater sounding. Turning atmos off regains clarity.
This is happening on iOS and macOS, any ideas or is this the way it should sound?
Seems better to have it turned off for now with the way it is. I have no EQ settings enabled either btw
 
Can someone confirm when you're listening in Dolby Atmos with Airpods Pro does Spatial Audio shows animation?
It doesn't for me. The only indication (other than the clear audio differences) is the Dolby Atmos badge showing on screen.
 
Same tracks are better than others, but I’m finding when atmos is enabled it sounds quieter and tinny/underwater sounding. Turning atmos off regains clarity.
There's definitely a varying degree of success on the Atmos mixes. Some are fantastic, and others are distinctly meh.
 
This rollout on the Mac is a hot mess. I was able listen to some Atmos tracks earlier this morning now I can anymore even after restarting and deleting my Music app preference file. Have not been able to get ANY lossless tracks to play as lossless even though I have a Schiit Fulla 3 set to 24bit/192khz. Also when playing tracks on the official Spatial Audio playlist some tracks are completely skipped over. Can't get them to play no matter what.

I will reserve judgement until they sort out day one cutover but I'm pretty annoyed. I'm looking to cancel Amazon HD so I'm hoping this works out.
 
It doesn't for me. The only indication (other than the clear audio differences) is the Dolby Atmos badge showing on screen.
Same for me, I don't have the spatial audio animation of the icon but on Apple Music, I can see the Dolby Atmos when I turn it on the Spatial Audio on the Control Center and go back to Lossless when turn it off.

It seems weird because I only see the difference of Spatial Audio on music videos but not music maybe it's my bad...

Does anyone have some good sounds to test the Spatial Audio for Airpods Pro on Apple Music ? Ty
 
It doesn't for me. The only indication (other than the clear audio differences) is the Dolby Atmos badge showing on screen.
Where do you see Dolby Atmos badge you mean the logos next to album? It looks like there is no head tracking in Spatial Audio for music.
 
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