Exclusive mode - Music

[Felix Lyran]

Will Apple ever get to implementing something like an "exclusive mode" or automatic sample rate switching in the Music app on macOS? It feels like this is something that should have happened years ago, but especially now given that you can stream high resolution files using Apple Music. While most of those streams are likely to be 16 bit / 44.1. kHz, at least some portion of the music streamed is likely to be higher than that, and it'd be nice for the Music app to be able to switch bit-depth and sample rate automatically to account for that. Otherwise it somewhat diminishes the value of streaming high-res at all if, in the end, it's down-sampled prior to output. Is there any reason why this hasn't been implemented yet? And are there effective workarounds? (I recall there was an app you could use for this, but it was fairly buggy.)

 

[HDFan]

it'd be nice for the Music app to be able to switch bit-depth and sample rate automatically

Not sure I understand the question. Black Sabbaths' "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" plays at 192 Khz. Sample rate automatically changed from previous 44 Khz track.

Tried the same track a 2nd time. Even though shows as playing at 24 bit 94 kHz it came through as 44.1. Puzzling.

 

[Felix Lyran]

Not sure I understand the question. Black Sabbaths' "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" plays at 192 Khz. Sample rate automatically changed from previous 44 Khz track.

Tried the same track a 2nd time. Even though shows as playing at 24 bit 94 kHz it came through as 44.1. Puzzling.

Sorry, I should have clarified: I mean when outputting to an external DAC or other device. In the Music app, it will show you the sample rate of the stream, but if you are outputting that stream to an external DAC, it gets resampled to whatever sample rate you have selected in the Audio MIDI app. So, to use your example, if I were streaming "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" at 192 kHz, but I had 44.1 kHz selected as the output in the Audio MIDI app, it will down-sample the stream to 44.1 kHz and send that to the external DAC for processing and playback. Unlike on iOS, on macOS the Music app doesn't automatically switch the sample rate in the Audio MIDI app to match the sample rate of the file or stream before sending it to an external DAC.

There are other software solutions that do automatic sample-rate matching on macOS (e.g., Roon), but for some reason the native Music app hasn't implemented a feature like this yet. This means that while you can play high-res files / streams in Music on macOS, ensuring that the sample rate of the file / stream matches the sample rate of the output to your DAC or playback device still requires manually changing the settings in the Audio MIDI app.

 

[Felix Lyran]

Sorry, I should have clarified: I mean when outputting to an external DAC or other device. In the Music app, it will show you the sample rate of the stream, but if you are outputting that stream to an external DAC, it gets resampled to whatever sample rate you have selected in the Audio MIDI app. So, to use your example, if I were streaming "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" at 192 kHz, but I had 44.1 kHz selected as the output in the Audio MIDI app, it will down-sample the stream to 44.1 kHz and send that to the external DAC for processing and playback. Unlike on iOS, on macOS the Music app doesn't automatically switch the sample rate in the Audio MIDI app to match the sample rate of the file or stream before sending it to an external DAC.

There are other software solutions that do automatic sample-rate matching on macOS (e.g., Roon), but for some reason the native Music app hasn't implemented a feature like this yet. This means that while you can play high-res files / streams in Music on macOS, ensuring that the sample rate of the file / stream matches the sample rate of the output to your DAC or playback device still requires manually changing the settings in the Audio MIDI app.

I should also add that, while I'm aware that the result of the resampling probably doesn't produce an audible difference in playback, it's still at least partially undercuts one of the selling points of having an Apple Music subscription—high-res music playback. There's little point in streaming at the highest sample rate available if, in the end, it's just getting down-sampled to CD quality (or resampled to whatever option is selected in Audio MIDI) before playback.

 

[cubbie5150]

My entire 3.5+ TB music library is 16- and 24-bit ALAC, and I've used iTunes/Music app to manage said library since ~2007. I'm saying this only to highlight how deep into the ecosystem I am. That said, I never use Music app to actually play music. I also do not use any music streaming services; only local music files.

The only time I *actively* (in a focused way) listen to music is when I'm at my desk in my home office. I have a DAC + amp + headphone rig; no speakers. I connect to the DAC direct from USB C port on my MBP.

I use an app called Colibri to play music in this setup. It has what I want: exclusive/hog mode, and just as importantly, automatic sample rate switching. When I bought Colibri, it was only $10, I think it's more now.

All that said, yes...I'd appreciate if Apple would ever get around to exclusive mode + automatic sample rate switching in Music app.

 

[Felix Lyran]

My entire 3.5+ TB music library is 16- and 24-bit ALAC, and I've used iTunes/Music app to manage said library since ~2007. I'm saying this only to highlight how deep into the ecosystem I am. That said, I never use Music app to actually play music. I also do not use any music streaming services; only local music files.

The only time I *actively* (in a focused way) listen to music is when I'm at my desk in my home office. I have a DAC + amp + headphone rig; no speakers. I connect to the DAC direct from USB C port on my MBP.

I use an app called Colibri to play music in this setup. It has what I want: exclusive/hog mode, and just as importantly, automatic sample rate switching. When I bought Colibri, it was only $10, I think it's more now.

All that said, yes...I'd appreciate if Apple would ever get around to exclusive mode + automatic sample rate switching in Music app.

Is this the app? It looks interesting. I'll have to give it a go.

 

[HDFan]

if you are outputting that stream to an external DAC, it gets resampled to whatever sample rate you have selected in the Audio MIDI app.

Thanks. Duplicated.

1. Apple Music on macOS doesn't do automatic sample-rate matching on an external DAC
2. Roon does

Have you filed a feedback report with Apple?

 

[cubbie5150]

Is this the app? It looks interesting. I'll have to give it a go.

Yep, that's it.

 

[Felix Lyran]

Have you filed a feedback report with Apple?

I've filed a feedback report to Apple about this a few times. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that has raised this as an issue. Although, in one sense, it isn't really even an issue--there's probably no audible difference and only a small minority of users are going to even notice. For instance, in my case, because my external DAC shows the incoming sample rate, I know exactly what macOS is outputting and can determine whether all the numbers--the sample rate displayed in Music, the sample output option in Audio MIDI, the sample rate the DAC is actually receiving--align. They can be made to align manually. But it'd be nice if Music on macOS did it automatically, as it does on iOS.

 

[ForkHandles]

Not sure I understand the question. Black Sabbaths' "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" plays at 192 Khz. Sample rate automatically changed from previous 44 Khz track.

Tried the same track a 2nd time. Even though shows as playing at 24 bit 94 kHz it came through as 44.1. Puzzling.

Great song!!!
Memories flooding back