Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted May 17, 2021 Volunteer Share Posted May 17, 2021 This is getting interesting https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/05/apple-music-announces-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio/ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted May 17, 2021 Administrator Share Posted May 17, 2021 At no extra cost. This is game changing. TIDAL, in my personal opinion, must be struggling to hang on. You only have to see any post on social media about TIDAL and the responses are all negative. Qobuz has a solid reputation, so still has a good loyal following. People are happy to pay when that exists and when this is 'trust'. Meanwhile, Spotify needs to fast track it's Hi-Fi offer. Apple Music will gain much market share in the coming months. As you say, it's getting interesting indeed. I suspect there's only room for a couple, not a half dozen. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hired goon Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 (edited) Berry innaressing. This bit caught my eye: "For the true audiophile, Apple Music also offers Hi-Resolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit at 192 kHz." --Geoff Edited May 17, 2021 by hired goon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassmobian Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 This may be what gets me over the line for streaming. Hoping it allows streaming of my ALAC tracks that aren’t in Apple’s library. At the moment I believe they only stream in AAC when playing the cloud based versions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 As soon as I could get AirPlay2 on a Raspberry Pi, I'd think of a shift to this. It's the only viable multi room solution outside of Roon and Sonos, but without the limitations of either (Roon - few streaming services, Sonos - no high bitrate audio). Also, I can't see MSB supporting Airplay2 anytime soon, so that creates some issues for my main renderer unless I decide to hang my DAC off a Mac instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Aslo, No MQA. Another spike in the hide of this beast. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted May 17, 2021 Administrator Share Posted May 17, 2021 The people at the helm of these platforms are not silly. Especially in the case of Apple. My guess is they have seen the backlash against TIDAL, combined with its instability at the top (ownership/management), along with the perceived mistrust, and have used this opportunity to strike. In business, if you see an opportunity to take out one player you go for it and I think this is what we are witnessing here. It's a highly calculated and strategic play in my opinion. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmac04 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 This is really exciting. Always preferred Apple Music interface over tidal. Given that I have all apple products, this is a no brainer. Tidal has lost my subscription. Already have Apple Music through a family plan anyway! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Airplay2 seems limited at 24/48 kHz. It will be interesting if this changes with the release of this high-res capability. I imagine it's hardware limited hence the call out for an external DAC if you want the 24/192 signals from Apple Music. 13 minutes ago, Marc said: The people at the helm of these platforms are not silly. Especially in the case of Apple. My guess is they have seen the backlash against TIDAL, combined with its instability at the top (ownership/management), along with the perceived mistrust, and have used this opportunity to strike. In business, if you see an opportunity to take out one player you go for it and I think this is what we are witnessing here. It's a highly calculated and strategic play in my opinion. The and the fact that Spotify have intimated that they are bringing CD quality streaming and were seeking to charge for it. I bet that charging decision is now likely to be reviewed in light of Apple's moves. First mover advantage is a *****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted May 17, 2021 Author Volunteer Share Posted May 17, 2021 21 minutes ago, Marc said: The people at the helm of these platforms are not silly. Especially in the case of Apple. My guess is they have seen the backlash against TIDAL, combined with its instability at the top (ownership/management), along with the perceived mistrust, and have used this opportunity to strike. In business, if you see an opportunity to take out one player you go for it and I think this is what we are witnessing here. It's a highly calculated and strategic play in my opinion. I think you are spot on. Apple have probably sensed an opportunity and getting in with lossless before Spotify is a smart move. looks like Amazon has responded by dropping their HD price https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9573513/amazon-music-hd-unlimited-hi-fi-price-streaming 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brumby Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 So, the choice is widening - Apple, Amazon, Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify lossless to come, and Tidal seemingly bringing up the rear. We are not and never have been an Apple household and we don't do much anymore on Amazon (except buy Kindle books) so I think we'll be going with Qobuz. Determining factors are that outside of the specialised streamers, Qobuz does Classical best and they also pay their Artists more than any other service. We'll see if they lower their subscription rates to compete. I'm sure Tidal will have to, and even that will likely not save them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted May 17, 2021 Author Volunteer Share Posted May 17, 2021 7 minutes ago, brumby said: So, the choice is widening - Apple, Amazon, Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify lossless to come, and Tidal seemingly bringing up the rear. We are not and never have been an Apple household and we don't do much anymore on Amazon (except buy Kindle books) so I think we'll be going with Qobuz. Determining factors are that outside of the specialised streamers, Qobuz does Classical best and they also pay their Artists more than any other service. We'll see if they lower their subscription rates to compete. I'm sure Tidal will have to, and even that will likely not save them. It’s tricky, I was so happy to get out of iTunes and onto Roon. I don’t really want to go back. Maybe the iTunes (or Apple Music or whatever it’s called these days) experience has improved since I last used it. Will need to check it out 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Apple Music is a frustrating app on your phone, less so on a desktop. I just wish they get to the point where you can stream direct to the endpoint rather than via your mobile device. It's sort of like watching TV through your remote control the way it works today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted May 17, 2021 Author Volunteer Share Posted May 17, 2021 Just now, BugPowderDust said: Apple Music is a frustrating app on your phone, less so on a desktop. I just wish they get to the point where you can stream direct to the endpoint rather than via your mobile device. It's sort of like watching TV through your remote control the way it works today. Oh dear. That’s not what I wanted to hear 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 3 hours ago, sir sanders zingmore said: This is getting interesting https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/05/apple-music-announces-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio/ Quote "the way the artists created them in the studio" Oh Snap. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 (edited) 38 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said: It’s tricky, I was so happy to get out of iTunes and onto Roon. I don’t really want to go back. Maybe the iTunes (or Apple Music or whatever it’s called these days) experience has improved since I last used it. Will need to check it out I'm struggling to understand why Roon couldn't integrate Apple Music. There might be a reason, but I don't see it. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/applemusicapi Edited May 18, 2021 by davewantsmoore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 2 hours ago, cassmobian said: Hoping it allows streaming of my ALAC tracks that aren’t in Apple’s library. If there is not-broken integration of local libraries ..... I would strongly consider the move of my local library (to ALAC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 (edited) Quote 1. Due to the large file sizes and bandwidth needed for Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless Audio, subscribers will need to opt in to the experience. Hi-Res Lossless also requires external equipment, such as a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The hi res bit has this "disclaimer" ... and no mention of a "price tier". Hmmm... Does this mean that "Hi-Res" is no extra costs ?!?!? EDIT: Seems like it. No extra cost for "hi-res". Edited May 18, 2021 by davewantsmoore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted May 18, 2021 Administrator Share Posted May 18, 2021 9 minutes ago, davewantsmoore said: I'm struggling to understand why Roon couldn't integrate Apple Music. There might be a reason, but I don't see it. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/applemusicapi From what I have read, the Apple API does not allow the deep integration that TIDAL and Qobuz do, therefore Roon's stance is they won't integrate it if it's not native and intuitive. Apple, reportedly, seems unwilling to budge on this, and so does Roon understandably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member StereoNET Posted May 18, 2021 Member Share Posted May 18, 2021 The rumour mill has been turning for quite a while now; however, today, Apple has officially announced that Apple Music will support lossless audio, as well as Spatial Audio powered by Dolby Atmos. View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted May 18, 2021 Administrator Share Posted May 18, 2021 1 hour ago, sir sanders zingmore said: I think you are spot on. Apple have probably sensed an opportunity and getting in with lossless before Spotify is a smart move. looks like Amazon has responded by dropping their HD price https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9573513/amazon-music-hd-unlimited-hi-fi-price-streaming The problem is, Amazon Music HD is still not available in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chigurh Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 I think I'll be hanging out for Spotify Hifi but they do need to pull their finger out and it needs to be a no-cost upgrade to the end user. I use Spotify Duo with my wife and it's good value. If the iTunes Family plan turns out to be better value I would probably switch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 pretty happy for my tidal to go... actually been using apple music more and more as have my collection is stored in their library as alac anyways ... i have a feeling apples anoucement is really to counter spotify.... we have a free spotify account... but really on for back ground music... hardly ever do we use it... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted May 18, 2021 Administrator Share Posted May 18, 2021 Thinking about this more, with Airpods Pro 3 around the corner (weeks?), I think the timing is more to do with the new model being able to do hi-res, and them having a music service to supply them with the necessary hi-res music. Should they release a new 'phones model that can do hi-res before their own music service can, people would seek out and commit to Qobuz and others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDX Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 I guess no streamer support Apple Music integrated except Sonos? I don't really want to use AirPlay for critical listening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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