Except apparently they're not identical: because Apple are now releasing new features that are only available in the USB-C version.
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Apple Releases New AirPods Max Firmware With Lossless and Low-Latency Audio Support [Updated]
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Except apparently they're not identical: because Apple are now releasing new features that are only available in the USB-C version.
Ultra low latency when connected with a a cable? No kidding.
Will this work USB-C to USB-C (i.e. iPhone) or only USB-C -> 3.5mm (i.e. MacBook)? Love how it doesn't support Apples own Hi-Res Lossless.
Yeah… Now. Had this been a feature at launch, I’m pretty sure they would have had a much more positive response. Better late than never I suppose. 🤷
USB 2.0 has hundreds of times the bandwidth needed to support lossless audio. CD-quality uncompressed audio (16-bit, 44.1 kHz) needs 1.4 Mbps. USB 2.0 is 480 Mbps.
Even Bluetooth can support lossless audio with a few tricks/extensions. See "AptX lossless".
As of … today?
I’m not bothered by it considering I got my pair for this price with 2 years of ac+ included
ONLY usb-c to usb-c. Presumably only on apple devices, but I will be testing on my pc soon.
Ability to use them while charging.
Full headset support over USB-C on both Mac and Windows.
Remove the faulty-by-design mesh headband and replace it with foam.
Foldable design.
Reduce weight by ~100 grams.
BT 5.3(or higher).
2 down, 6 to go.
I’m not bothered by it considering I got my pair for this price with 2 years of ac+ included
View attachment 2497729
Yeah, nice. I wouldn't be complaining at that price either!
Seems like a lot of confusion around this… low latency and lossless audio just means audio through the cable, which lightning version already does with the special cable
This update does not work. I am so pissed. It’s failing in the Mac logs. Just par for the course for Apple at this point.
This comment and similar ones I hear people say always make me roll my eyes.
The artist can make their music the way they desire and that's fine, nothing wrong with that, it's their work.
However, when listening to it, I will listen to it any way I please. There are and have been for many decades, tone controls, loudness buttons, and EQ to alter the sound of the music to the listeners taste - which is not how the "artist intended."
Moreover, the lossless and 24/48 hold little bearing overall regardless of tone controls or EQ on how it sounds. I always go for lossless FLAC files when possible. Storage is cheap and plentiful which means that MP3 and other lossy formats really need not exist much these days. 30 years ago, MP3 had it's place with dial-up internet and storage space measured in megabytes.
I have hardware EQ on my hifi setups and I use them at times to either reduce ear piercing treble, or maybe add a little bass, or to brighten up a muddy middle. But if I'm not using EQ then I am listening to the music "flat" and "as the artist intended" lol
Also, you can have lossless audio at lower bitrate's as well, like CD at 16/44.
Additionally, to truly listen to music "the way the artist intended" one would have to have the exact same setup as the artist did when making it. Every headphone, speaker, amplifier, DAC, etc, and combination thereof will not sound precisely as it did in the studio.
So when you hear a comment like "as the artist intended" take it with a grain of salt as they say.
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This isn’t right I’m afraid - the cable for the lightning version takes an analogue output from a device, runs that through an ADC and then feeds that into the headphones’ DAC. They also released an equivalent cable for the USB C version that does the same thing.
Neither of those options is lossless or latency free - whatever your opinion on audibility, a digital signal converted to analogue and then reconverted to digital can’t possibly be lossless and can’t be identical to the original digital signal that fed it. There is also the additional (though minuscule) latency added by that ADC in the chain which introduces a needless double conversion if the original signal was digital already.
The point is this new feature is simply to deliver a digital signal directly to the headphones’ internal DAC through a USB C cable from a device without compression, which is therefore both lossless in terms of signal integrity and as latency free as such a chain could be.
For reasons that are indeed a little mystifying though, they both did not release either model with this feature at launch and are withholding it from the lightning version.
About lossless audio in Apple Music - Apple Support
Learn about lossless audio in Apple Music and how to turn it on or off for your device.
Btw, I've been using the USB-C Max with the new audio USB-C cable and there's no noticeable latency.
So musicians can now use this now, as simple as that.
Lossless audio is something else, and is of questionable utility. There's always someone with super-ears though. After zero loss, what can they complain about? (oh, they will find something)
So musicians can now use this now, as simple as that.
Lossless audio is something else, and is of questionable utility. There's always someone with super-ears though. After zero loss, what can they complain about? (oh, they will find something)
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read article i just posted
About lossless audio in Apple Music - Apple Support
Learn about lossless audio in Apple Music and how to turn it on or off for your device.