More Than Half of Apple Music Listeners Using Spatial Audio, Says Apple Exec

[turbineseaplane]

People want to hear hi-rez content the way it's meant to be heard. We've listened to CD quality for years and have been underwhelmed.

Just to be clear, and no offense to you and your preferences at all (to each our own!), I'm fairly positive you are dramatically overestimating the market for "hi-rez content".

There certainly is a market -- but even calling it a "niche" is probably being generous in the grand scheme of it all.

I literally know of absolutely nobody who is "underwhelmed" by CD quality audio.
(including some folks who've pumped ten of thousands into audio equipment, listening rooms, on and on)

 

[Unregistered 4U]

DAPs are becoming popular again because of the gap in primarily Apple's offering.

I have no problem believing that there are a few companies that have found a market in selling devices that tout their “warm and smooth sound” and their “Digital Audio Purification System”, just like there are companies that have found success in touting their SD cards as audiophile quality or artisanal sound pebbles. That doesn’t mean that those things are becoming popular.

 

[jgdeschamps]

You are right, but the point being made here is that Apple is missing the boat with hi-rez audio output. CD quality is NOT hi-rez, in spite of other's opinions. Many Android devices have the ability to go above and beyond CD quality streaming output. Apple does not. Their catalog might be great with availability, but if you can't hear their top audio quality, then the wireless headset codecs they use are the sticking point. LDAC gets closer, but still doesn't have the throughput for ultra hi-rez. Apple wont even do that.

DAPs are becoming popular again because of the gap in primarily Apple's offering. People want to hear hi-rez content the way it's meant to be heard. We've listened to CD quality for years and have been underwhelmed. And yes, you can hear and tell the difference.

I'm not crazy about carrying a separate device, but I do. I want to hear better quality music. I have the Fiio M11 Plus LTD paired with Meze Rai Penta wired, balanced IEMs, as well as a quality LDAC capable set of wireless earbuds from Sony. I would drop the Fiio in a minute if Apple seriously came out with a competitive device that delivered 24 bit/192 khz output -- wired or wireless. But they're not there yet.

The fact that Apple is seeing Android and DAP popularity as a threat to them that needs to be met is interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with this.

You are hearing different mixes and masters of the same song being played through different headphones and speakers, not improved quality due to higher resolution files. CD quality is not underwhelming since it operates within the human hearing range and exceeds it a bit, frequency-wise. The only difference you might hear from two identical content files recorded and played through the same AD/DA hardware and speakers setup, one being a 24bit@192KHz "high-resolution" audio file, and the other being a 16bit at 44.1KHz "CD quality" file is in dynamic range (loudness vs. quietness,) and the difference is barely modest, and for most, not even perceivable at all. Won't improve stereo spread nor clarity either. The higher resolution file will take up significantly more memory space, though.

 

[harync]

I have no problem believing that there are a few companies that have found a market in selling devices that tout their “warm and smooth sound” and their “Digital Audio Purification System”, just like there are companies that have found success in touting their SD cards as audiophile quality or artisanal sound pebbles. That doesn’t mean that those things are becoming popular.

Where can I buy your "artisanal sound pebbles"

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Where can I buy your "artisanal sound pebbles"

I didn’t know it was a thing until I googled it…

"Brilliant Pebbles is a new and unique concept for improving the sound of any audio system." There we have it! For only $99 you get a small three-inch bottle that contains selected minerals/stones specially prepared for maximum effectiveness." Thank goodness for that. I would hate to think that I had wasted my money on something that had only been prepared for minimum, or even medium, effectiveness. Machina Dynamica, a Virginia-based company, is a manufacturer of several "vibration isolation & resonance control solutions," including Brilliant Pebbles. They claim that their jar of rocks work through both electromagnetic absorption and energy dissipation. Put them in corners, on top of speakers, above output transformers, on your amp, preamp or CD player. They claim effectiveness can be provided in numerous locations.

 

[4nNtt]

I love spatial audio, but it sounds too real. Sometimes I panic feeling I’m accidentally blasting it around the office since it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the headphones.

 

[4nNtt]

Lightning to 3.5mm won’t give you lossless. Fourth from the bottom of the page https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183

Also, I’m not sure if you can tell how good the DAC is in your 13 Pro Max is. Can you explain how you can tell? Bluetooth? Not a chance.

It gets very close to lossless. It needs an analog to digital conversion for computational audio so it can’t technically be called lossless, but the sampling rate is similar.

 

[Abazigal]

I love spatial audio, but it sounds too real. Sometimes I panic feeling I’m accidentally blasting it around the office since it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the headphones.

I get that too. The sound sometimes sounds so natural that I immediately take out my AirPods just to make sure they are connected to my phone.

 

[tkaravou]

The above is pointless.

Lossless in CD quality (Red Book, Google it) or better. AirPods, being wireless, are not capable of providing CD quality.

Sorry should have clarified, airpods max + lightning connector 3.5 connector. Not true lossless but better than default

 

[jgdeschamps]

Sorry should have clarified, airpods max + lightning connector 3.5 connector. Not true lossless but better than default

Wired headphones, including AirPods Max via lightning to 3.5mm output adapter, support lossless. The adapter includes a micro Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) that supports 24bit @ 48KHz resolution/sampling playback rates. Lossless is at least 16bit @ 44.1KHz.