I kept blind testing a playlist of songs in their AAC vs ALAC versions often enough and now I can't unhear the difference and finally Lossless ain't so worthless anymore ; )
what would you describe the differences as? for me, depends on the music and how new or good the recording is, but i'd say a lot of times you can't hear the difference unless you know what to pick out.
you need the proper equipment for a proper audio testing. I'm not saying you have to spend lots of money, but a good enough equipment for lossless audio. btw, no Apple device is natively compatible with lossless audio, not even the Airpods Max
@@BerfroidMorzen I do have quality equipment. I can tell the difference when I listen to like classical music that was recently recorded. I have listened to lost of test CDs though that show you what differences to listen for and what to pick out. I'd say most popular music isn't recorded well enough to do that.
I'm a car audio enthusiast and to those people who are interested in going down that road. This video summed it up well about lossless and why it's important. Personally I think car audio is better than home audio for one specific reason, space! It's a smaller enclosure and the woofers and the sub woofers can move air a lot better than if you were in a 10 by 20 room. That close quarters experience is a lot more dynamic and can really immerse you in your favorite song. The secret to that sauce is a DSP (Digital Sound Processor). It will control everything from time alignment to polarity and it will center stage your favorite artist while you drive. I recommend going to a car audio show and take the chance and sit a SQ build, your outlook on audio will completely change.
I already noticed the difference. I gobbled up most of my new phone’s memory by having the WHOLE music library in Lossless instead of just my newer downloads in Lossless. Now my phone’s library is back to AAC, the stuff I had in Lossless now sounds flat and disappointing. I regret not getting the 1TB hard drive for my phone. It’s totally worth the memory it takes up for the sound quality.
Update: I switched back to Lossless format for downloads and re-downloaded only a select few of my favorite albums in Lossless format. I am glad I did and your video motivated me to do it! 😂
Really enjoyed this video, great, concise explanations. To get the best experience with lossless, I’ve been using an EarMen TR-Amp and Audeze headphones. USC-C to C connections from my iPad and Mac. Just thought I’d throw that out there for anyone looking for what is, at least for me, an endgame setup. I canceled Spotify.
The problem with Lossless is that it still requires a wired connection from a headphone jack to get the benefits. All of these "hi-res streaming" providers are selling snake oil. The best bluetooth coed is LDAC and even that can only manage 900kb/s which is a far cry from 16bit's 1400kb/s. No one's getting 24bit music streamed from their phone to their AirPods, the file might say 24bit but it'll be compressed to 300kb/s because that's AAC's limit. If you stream or use anything wirelessly, don't bother - you may as well convert down to LC-AAC which is roughly 500kb/s (5mb per song).
Lol it's called Tidal and I get all the benefits with Samsung S23 Ultra paired with Galaxy Buds 2 Pro....modern era of music listening wireless is INCREDIBLE
Wow , so your comment is to just copy everything the fellow said in "HIS" video ? Except that you're calling it snake oil because you can't use it on your wireless eyebuds which he already told us about.
First timer here. I really enjoyed, and learned, from your video. Your visual and description of the difference in sound between lossy and lossless was inspired! Just received my Christmas present from me to me an iFi Hip Dac 3 for use primarily with my home stereo. It streams (and confirms) hi-rez directly from my 2020 iPhone SE direct (just an included wire, no additional adapters necessary) without an issue and sounds better in all metrics than the infamous Apple dongle, even though I always thought the dongle was…🧐…it worked.
@@Fatih-xl7ynActually you need a dedicated DAC to go up to HiRes and if you have android; forget about even hearing Hi res because the OS itself is caps it at 48khz. I really don’t know how does this work like the wired connection but if it does; you are basically removing that bottleneck of 48khz and you can directly use the DAC chip present in your car’s speaker system which probably is capable of handling Hi Res. I want you to do an experiment, If you have an lastest sony bravia especially with the one with magnetic fluid speakers ; try connecting it to the computer via HDMI, and using it is the sound output source and go to sound quality settings in windows. You will be seeing that it can support upto astonishing 24 bit 192 khz and even more. I have tried it and as those magnetic fluid speakers are certified for Hi Res audio, Nothing in my life was as clear as that music. I am still waiting to try Electrostatic speakers though. or piezoelectric as well.
I do this very often with my iPad Pro 12,9 M2 ,Hiby FC3/4 (and other Amps Dacs) with Meze 109 Pro Headphones. For Bluetooth is use AirPods Pro 2 ,Sony XM4 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 . I can say there is a little difference but not much ,both sounds fantastic.
@@skyhero1888 that's great to hear!! I keep all my music on my phone in 320 AAC and I think it sounds great, but always hope im not missing out on higher quality. when I hear strange things in songs and think it might be the compression ill go and listen to the original lossless version and it'll have the same issue so most issues in music is in the mastering.
you can choose the bitrate in iTunes/Apple Music when ripping your own CDs or on other audio conversion platforms. I rip all my music at 320 AAC from CDs and from FLAC Lossless files. I have software that lets you go to 192 per channel which is 384 but I stick to 320@@skyhero1888
I finally understood lossless and got feedback on my experience listening lossless. Yes darn right you teach well sir and I enjoyed your sense of humor😂
Great job explaining lossless and for mentioning the Apple lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter. Here is my set up and mostly because I'm a newbie to lossless music, not an audiophile and do not have expensive wired headphones: iPhone 13 mini-i recently purchased the $9, 3.5mm headphone jack adapter because I learned it features a built in DAC or the $39 Belkin lightning audio + charger because it features a built in DAC So with my Apple EarPods I can use either adapter to get lossless music, yeah? I also reviewed my MacBook Air set up to make sure the music playback settings were correct. They were not. When plugging in my 3.5mm Apple EarPods they were previously set to AAC audio(rookie move). I just changed the setting to lossless and now I can see the lossless icon next to the song title. I guess I could purchase an external DAC for much more money but do I really need to?
So it’s 2023 and I listened to astrothunder by Travis Scott with AirPod pros (1) and even when comparing downloaded from aac to hi res lossless, I still hear a super difference in the bass at the beginning and no, it’s not spatial audio, it genuinely sounds better and makes a difference
I find Apple 256kbps AAC files with the ‘Apple Digital Masters’ (formerly known as Mastered For ITunes’) mark indistinguishable from lossless/hi-res lossless. Using Philips XR2hr headphones with a Teac HA-P50 headphone amp/dac. There is a very slight difference between older AAC files without the ‘ADM’ tag and its lossless equivalent. Yet it is very small and you have to listen very intently. It’s been proven many times that AAC at 256kbps sounds fantastic even through great quality gear.
Absolutely right but there are android fanboys and they say AAC is garbage. They don’t know ,AAC sounds million times better on an iPhone/iPad than on an android device and there are so many android devices out there with crap soundchips. I use an iPad Pro 12,9 M2 with hiby FC3/4 and Meze 109 Pro ( Apple Music ) for the cable solution and it sounds just fantastic. For Bluetooth solution i use AirPods Pro 2 ,Sony XM4 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 and it sounds fantastic too because Apple know how to use AAC and get the best from it. I have some expensive android devices too and aac don’t sound good on them . I tested ldac,aptx hd aptx adaptive and for me there are no differences between AAC. ( if u play AAC on an Apple Device 😊)
@@skyhero1888 My humble (by audiophile standards) equipment is still good enough to show deficiencies in recordings and I’d like to think I have healthy hearing for a 48 year old. I agree with you that Apple put a lot of effort into their audio chips, although my TEAC will be by-passing the iPhone 13 dac, yet I recall my old iPhone 6 from 7 years ago having fantastic sound just from its inbuilt headphone jack. I’ve listened to a 20 sec samples of albums on Apple, turning off lossless so as to just get the AAC version, then compared the same samples turning on lossless and then moving up to hi-res lossless if an album is tagged as such. My ears are telling me that everything I’ve posted in my original comment is true. There is a weird ‘fear’ of lossy audio in some circles.
I agree, i hear a tiny improvement, but not enough to be blown away like others claim. Before anyone accuses me of faulty gear i run mosconi class A/B amps and Focal Utopia speakers.
I found this video because I was trying to see what is the difference between cds and mp3. Last year I started buying cds (when you’re a kpop fan you eventually start doing it, regardless of your finances). I thought I was buying the albums for the photobooks, photocards, stickers, even the box, I didn’t expect to get much value from the actual cds, since I already had access to the songs, but I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio, it was definitely different to what I had always listened to. I decided to stop paying for streaming and continued to buy the albums. I never listen on shuffle, btw, and always listen to either individual songs at a time or to the whole album. I also don’t like “discovering new music”, I deliberately search and listen to the music I already know I love.
Maybe last month I listened to Enya's A Day without Rain album. It was my first real CD. As for losless hell yeah I prefer CDDA audio or Blu-Ray better yet. I've been lurking on HDTracks to see what they have. The only drawback I find is you're forced to buy the whole album. Well in the case of Mandy Moore's Silver Landings that's fine. I'm a Mandy fan anyways. It's avaiable in full 96 KHZ 24 bits. But then again there are albums where at most I only would prefer to have the songs in HD but I don't particularlerly wana have the whole thing. So it would in those said cases be from 14 to almost 30 and some bucks waisted just cause I want a song or some songs in BD audio.
I still use a wired headset. It all started when I started hearing 320kbps MP3s. Up until then, I was only hearing 16 or 32 kbps. Then came FLAC, ALAC etc. Also, I am planning to buy Sony WH-1000XM5 headset.
Been using the 14 pro max with hi res lossless audio. I have some Sennheiser hd 650s with a DAC and it sounds amazing. Also have AirPods Pro 2nd gen for more casual listening and for notifications and calls. Got some Sennheiser momentum 3s for traveling and to use when the AirPods aren’t doing it for me and I don’t want to pull out my hd 650s
there is nothing wrong with apple's earbuds or headphones, just none of the wireless headphones can handle hi-res or lossless sound, because of bluetooth restrictions. non of LDAC or aptX can help with it, it's just a marketing when some brand says, that their wireless headphones can handle lossless. and yes, apple's dongle supports up to 24/96 kHz.
No, the Apple Headphone dongle is limited to 24/48. Admittedly, though there is an audible difference between 48 and 96kHz sampling, it is fleeting and takes your full attention to detect.
@@jackdanyal4329 Not superhuman, just methodical. The recording must be 100% 24/96 from microphone input to the final file. Any upsampling, downsampling or scaling of different tracks in the mixing/mastering process will obliterate any differences, even if the final file is distributed in 24/96. On direct to 2 channel recordings kept at the original 24/96 sampling rate, downconverting to 24/48 - and especially to 16/44 - can reliably be heard. That’s a lot to ask, which makes the Apple dongle, still limited to 24/48, just fine for most people.
The impression lossless audio goeroes want to give is that it sounds better then a lossy file. This can be true when audio chain is up to par, but even then the improvements are very small and for most people even neglectable . The assumption is that the higher the sample frequency is and the higher the bit depth the file must be better… 😂 But conversion errors are created in high res files also and the errors are even more frequent and accumulative contributing to an non-error free conversion. Trust only your ears; not those bit nerds 😊
If I compare 256k AAC to a lossless rip of a CD, it is only with some classical music, and on good speakers or headphones, that it is easy to discern the difference. For the most part, I listen to electronic stuff and frankly I'm happy paying a 128k mp3 dj podcast through my stereo. Back in the day I was happy with cassette tape, and compared to that 128k mp3 is luxury already. If 128k mp3 was all there was, we'd all be happy with it. If 128k mp3 came first and lossless came out a couple of decades later, there'd be people complaining that lossless doesn't have the life, body, and analog timing of good old fashioned mp3.
I have a 11.2.4 in my main zome and a 7.0.2 in zone 2... Dolby sounding ES**spatially** crystal. Edit. I sure can but most. Most of the time im easily enjoying the wonders of binural low frequency... Or just letting a combined hoisrhold media zfs pool shuffle throughout both zones
The way you're explaining is very clear and great 👍👍👍 I have a question though, does the aptx Adaptive codec support lossless streaming in Apple Music for Android on 24bit 48khz quality?
aptX Adaptive Lossless (Snapdragon Sound) can transmit up to 1.2Mbps (compresses that 1.4Mbps down a bit w/o losing any music, akin to FLAC). You need to invest in one of the phones (Android only) & headphones that support Snapdragon Sound w/ Lossless (i.e. Asus Zenfone 9 and NuraTrue Pro earbuds) - not cheap... hoping prices will go down over time. No chance to get 24bit 48khz (2.3Mbps) transmitted through Bluetooth yet... However, progress has obviously happened, and Bluetooth bandwidth will continue to grow over time.
Man you are on the first RUclipsr that I have subscribe straight away, the way you drive the subject, the way you deliver is nothing more than perfect spice! Good job and hopefully I will see more content from you like this one. I wouldn’t consider myself and audiophile not because I don’t want to but because my wallet is simply to thin to even think about it, one thing I have noticed in my car is that the audio quality of aac over Bluetooth is worse than wired in the car via cable (maybe the conversion thing you talked about) can’t wait to test lossless in my car (EV so not much will interfere with the sound quality except outside noise). The way you described the sound difference is also a very matching my experience, on my brain it kind of triggers the same spotlight of “wow never noticed this sound before”. Again good work but the way you deliver it is beyond extravaganza 😂.
Hello there, i am using Apple music on my Galaxy S10+ phone and mostly i stream it do my tv which it connected to my Samsung HW-Q990B soundbar. It support Dolby Atmos, i'm wondering which settings is the best. Thanks :)
I have no clue, sorry. I bet there’s a music setting on that soundbar. I’d try that first? Otherwise, Dolby Atmos music tracks are hit and miss, so it largely depends on the song if it sounds good or not. 😁🤘
Mixing and mastering makes a bigger difference to "depth". Dynamic compression in new music and reissues destroys it. Apple and friends have now reinvented what they had in the little house on the praerie decades ago.
just switched from spotify to apple music in 2024. plus apple one gives a bunch of extra services for not much more than the spotify family plan. thanks for the tip on using wired headphones!
Well explained! Even though I have hearing loss I can notice a difference. I switched to Apple Music. I now use in-ear-monitors wired through a DAC to the USBC on my Samsung phone for active listening. Bluetooth via APTX Adaptive or Samsung's SSC are OK for passive listening or noisy conditions with Sennheiser Momentum 4 or Samsung Buds 3 Pro. I ripped a number of my CDs to FLAC. It seems to be worth it over ripping to MP3 at 128kbps only if the recording and mastering are good. Maybe it is my hearing disability? The included headphone jacks on my computers are noticeably not as good as using an external DAC. It seems that it doesn't matter if it is a computer or phone as long as an external DAC and in-ear-monitors. I do notice a difference between 2 different in-ear-monitors. The one that I prefer is more efficient (needs much less volume) and cheaper. It seems brighter and more depth. Could the other need more amplification - the volume is near max? Is a DAP worth it over a high end smartphone?
In your circumstance - having hearing loss - I believe a DAP would prove beneficial. 🎉 The in-ear monitors that need to be turned up more must not have a very high sensitivity rating like your more efficient pair.
Great video. I have a Denon AVR connected by earc HDMI. Apple music is set to Lossless which sounds great when streamed from my iPad or iphone, but if I listen to Apple Music from my Apple TV that is also set to Lossless it doesn't sound as nice. Any thoughts on that Ealan?
@@andymantoronto Yes, I understand. So when you're listening on iPhone or iPad, it's on headphones, right? And when you listen on your AVR...in what way does it sound worse? There are a lot of factors with room acoustics when dealing with AVRs...
@@ealanosborne The audio play back through my AVR with my iPad or iPhone are outstanding, it's when I play back using the Apple Music app with my Apple TV 4K 2017 is when the sound quality is poor, I have adjusted the settings on the Apple TV to lossless but the quality is not the same as the iPad or iPhone....BTW, thanks for the replies! I'm new to your channel and really enjoying and learning from your content.
@@andymantoronto It actually depends on the equipment your using.... here is probably one of the best examples.... use the Apple TV4K and hook it up to a Smyth A16 via HDMI... then put on your cans ( HD800s) and now you are listening to Lossless Audio the way it should sound.... and guess what... the A16 emulates any speaker of your choice... got a $20K speaker... then the A16 will replicate that speaker to be exact.. in your cans.... now how about the fact that the A16 also replicates that $20K speaker in a ATMOS configuration of 15.1.8 yep... thats 24 of those $20K speakers... or a $480,000 sound listening room from your cans.... now listen to the spacial lossless music via Apple Music or Tidal and walla... you now know what lossless Audio sounds like in glorious 24 channel Atmos..... any questions ???
There is really no audible difference if you downsample correctly. The difference could be noice introduced by inaudible frequencies creating distortion in audible frequencies.
Hey Ealan...do you think it's worth it if we use apple music lossless thru PC since I don't use apple??? I used Tidal but it cost more but I like Apple's price's. what do u think?
Well, music is subjective, but I sure think it's worth it. :) You get the first 3 months for free when subscribing to Apple Music, so you can check it out and see if you like it first. I'm currently reviewing a DAC and that Hi-Res Lossless is no joke. And you don't have to pay extra for it on Apple Music. Woot!
@@ealanosborne yeah I have a Class D DAC and I already ordered the BasX PT1 Stereo Preamp/DAC/Tuner I'm still waiting for it. I'm gona do the apple Music then. thanks Ealan and good video and I shared it too to other's already
Right?! I’ve wondered the same thing! Or it’d be great if they supported 5.1 surround for those RUclipsrs who could mix in that format (like myself, hahaaaa!). 😄🤘
Bro I want ask one question How can we download any youtube music/song in originally quality Without loosing their original quality of song Like lossless song
I'm not sure. And I haven't researched enough about Sony's LDAC technology which supposedly transfers hi-res audio even over Bluetooth. So, at least with what they are advertising, you can still get premium audio quality even over a wireless signal. Sounds cool, but I haven't heard it for myself in person. I hope to at some point, though!
Beavis and Butthead, I love it! I just tried spatial audio on my Apple airpod pros thru my iPhone, wow! I bet their headphones are nice, but damn pricey!
Hi I really enjoyed your video, I learned so much from it, I wish it could have been even longer. Do you have any sources for audio novices to learn more about the subject?
Thanks for those kind words! 😊 I honestly just scoured the internet as I was doing research for it. Sites like WhatHiFi and TechRadar had good articles. But here’s a few more from Crutchfield as well. 👇 www.crutchfield.com/learnsearch/lossless_audio.html
Fantastic video. One question though. I have heard Wireless Apple Carplay which initially connects via Bluetooth, but "streams" over wifi, is the same as being wired at the same bit rate or sampling, or whatever as wired headphones (although not as great as a USB DAC would give you). At least that was what I heard via BMWs iteration of Wireless Carplay. Am I correct in my understanding? Like and subscribed.
As far as I know, I believe lossless (at least CD quality lossless) is possible over bluetooth as long as your device supports AptX tech. In this forum post (link below) it says basically the same thing. Although I'm pretty sure Hi-Res Lossless is still not possible over a wireless signal, just CD quality (for now).
@@ealanosborne I was talking about wifi actually, as that is how carplay gets the music to the carplay adapter in the car. Carplay only uses bluetooth to establish the connection between the phone and the carplay adapter. once the connection is established, the music is transmitted in the car by wifi. I believe wifi supports lossless.
My own opinion is that at lower bitrates AAC is better than MP3. However at the higher bitrates it is basically a wash. I've used MP3 at 320kbps CBR and the highest qualify VBR and both are fine and I can't tell the difference between them and a FLAC files.
Thats a great audio with plenty of info elan👌👌 my doubt is there a way to stream lossless audio frm iPhone to denon avr !?! What cable to use and wht setting to be made!? Is there a way lik tat!?
Well, Apple AirPlay does support lossless over wi-fi (at least it's claimed to support up to 16 bit/44.1 kHz), and Denons support AirPlay. So there's that!
I love the idea of hi res lossless, but my dealbreaker is, it doesn't work over bluetooth because the pipeline of the signal bandwidth is so minuscule to fit hi res. I don't have time to listen to music like I was young and I fit on those who landmaw their yard or wash the car or caring my children and doing most of things with wireless earphones on. Unless bluetooth 6 comes with the necessary bandwidth to support it, hi res lossless is a lost battle for me, unfortunately 😢
Yo! How weird, just talking about bluetooth 6 yesterday not knowing when it would be released and suddenly it came out today! This is crazy. The sad part is: it only focuses on the 'Find my device' feature. To my understanding this still doesn't carry the data transmission enough to bring hi res lossless audio. Better luck with Bluetooth 6.1 👀
Clear explanation the one of the audio quality as 2D animation in lossy and 3D animation for lossless. I have a question though, when I tried Deezer (CD quality) compared to Spotify premium, I did hear that depth and instruments presence in the first one, but when I compared Deezer to RUclips Music Premium (256kbps), the latter sounds, for me, as good as Deezer. I use a simple Fosi DS1 DAC, wired Shure Aonic 3 in ear monitors, and I understand that my hearing capacity is involved. But if I noticed the difference between Spotify Premium and Deezer (also the paid option), why RUclips Music Premium sound as good as Deezer (at least for me)? Is it possible that their I.A. tricks my hearing and makes its "2D animation" (lossy) sound, as if it is more profound? So, tricking it to sound with depth although not having the information available to do it? I know I should also test, and compare, for example, with Tidal. Thx. Good video.
This is because AAC has a better output quality compared to MP3 at equivalent glazing and Deezer heavily compresses the lossless or non-lossy signal in order to render all music at the same sound height so less dynamic = the music lives less, it's very slick I think the power is 14 for YT Music and 15 for Deezer but it's enough for me to give up per personally Deezer
@@delamain1559 thx. There's a lot of information involved in audio qualities in music streaming platforms. I like to listen to CDs. But, do you think that with a simple portable dac (Fosi DS1) and acceptable in-ear monitors as Shure Aonic 3, YTM sounds good enough as, for example, Tidal? Because, for me, considering the prices, YT Premium comes with YTM, but I also want to listen to music in a nice way, better than basic (also if YTM is "just" 256kbps) but not properly in the audiophile way. And I'm just looking to try something different than Spotify premium, even though I think this is the most complete as a platform in general.
@delamain1559 Thanks. There's a lot to know about audio quality and isn't fixed as one sounds better than the other. Maybe you can guide me in this. Do you think that YTM may be good enough using a (Fosi DS1) DAC, and Sennheiser or Shure Aonic 3 headphones? I'm looking for optimum listening, I enjoy hearing a lot of the instruments (I listen CDs also), a better experience than basic listening, but without getting into an audiophile level (which may be Tidal, Qobuz or Apple Music suited for). An YT+YTM bundle is good for the price compared to other platforms offers.
i bought a converter, i hear no difference. My ears were tested to be good up to 13khz which is normal for my age. Maybe my dog or a bat would appreciate the higher resolution.
So my question would be is it possible to download or find single tracks such as rare or unreleased or some type of bonus track in lossless format? That's my biggest thing is I'm a metal head and alot of the bands I follow have released songs that do not exist on an album so I'm forced to find that on the web somewhere in mp3 format because I cannot purchase the song through any kind of streaming service or cd. Any thoughts?
Huh…yeah that’s a pretty specific issue there. Maybe the bands have their own website for exclusive downloads, or their own SoundCloud or Bandcamp where you might be able to find more rare stuff in a lossless format… 🤷♂️
No, not yet. There’s a newer Bluetooth codec soon coming out that will support lossless (CD quality) wirelessly, but wireless Hi-Res lossless is still being developed
@@Zhorellski I’m not sure which devices you’re referring to, but yes - snake oil I would assume, since the Bluetooth commission itself hasn’t officially announced lossless support by any particular product just yet. 🤷♂️
You would think...but they don't. The technology is finally available to manufacturers as of maybe July 2022, but now developers are scrambling to be the first to actually use it in a consumer product for the masses.
Hey guys does anyone know of a good APTX Lossless codec transmitter (so I could plug it into my phone or tablet to send APTX lossless to my Sennheiser Momenum 4 headphones?)
I how a sound system in my car with a kenwood radio that has a digital audio wire. Will Hi-Res Lossless work or would I need to plug my phone into the aux and get a dongle?
@@ealanosborne i already got my dac dongle its so nice hear lossless music. id research this for so many years my goal is to get lossless music without spending too much money 🙂this is the time😁
I don't really care about lossless audio because my bluetooth airpods don't support it anyways. Make lossless audio work with bluetooth and then we'll talk
I recently bought a pair of bowers and Wilkins px8s wireless headphones. I’m wanting to understand how to maximise their potential and achieve lossless listening. Is it enough to just use the cable provided and hi-res streaming from option from Apple music/Tidal or do you recommend using a dongle DAC (if on the move) or amp/DAC like the ifi zen dac v2 (if at home)? Is there a noticeable difference in sound quality? Cheers
Dongle DAC for sure. 🤘 Noticeable improvement when listening to Hi-Res music, like I could hear the sonic qualities of the microphone the vocalist was using in the booth. Wild stuff.
And yet almost no one will ever hear any actual audible difference between AAC and lossless, let alone AAC and hi-res. There really is not EVER any use for ANYONE of listening to 24/192 since we're not bats and we don't listen to music at 144dB in a otherwise PERFECTLY quiet room. Hi-res audio is 100% a marketing thing to get people to spend more money, NOTHING else.
I was going to say the same thing regarding high res 24 bits audio, but seems like you beat me to it. However, the placebo effect is real and can make people feel as though the high res is superior to 16bit lossless. Simply because they expect it to sound better.
Lossless on the Mac with Apple Music is pretty useless. macOS isn’t bit perfect, so the Mac won’t change the sample rate for you. Every song is down sampled to 48kHz! You can check the actual sample rate in the audio MIDI app and you have to select manually the correct sample rate. That’s a shame! Bit Perfect is working with iPad and iPhone but not with the Mac 🤦🏽♂️
@@Fatih-xl7yn As far as I know, it’s still true. Not sure about the latest MacOS or if the new M1 chips have improved any audio processing capabilities, but I think they still have a cap of 48kHz. 🤷♂️ But it sure sounded good through my iPhone when it was connected to an external DAC, especially when playing hi-res lossless playlists.
@@ealanosborne I guess u misunderstood me. You can activate lossless/Hi-Res on the Mac, but it’s all played in 48kHz, that’s the standard setting. Unlike the iPhone, the Mac doesn’t change the sample rate automatically specific to a song and isn’t bit perfect. You can check the current sample rate in the audio midi app. It should set by default to 48kHz and doesn’t change when you play a 96khz song, you have to change it manually. You could select the max supported sample rate but that means, that your song with lower sample rate will be up sampled. There are apps like bitperfect or Audirevana that are bit perfect and change the sample rate automatically, but they don’t support Apple Music. Leaving the setting at the highest possible sample rate isn’t that dramatic, but there is no value in upsampling. Best case is that you get what you put in there. Worst case is some loss. You can test this by your self with an external DAC which has a currently played sample rate indicator. That’s typically apple, it works on the iPhone and iPad but not with macs. Apple has to give us bit perfect on Mac, or the implementation of Hi-Res is pretty useless. I have set it to 48kHz and any song above will be down sampled. That’s a common issue and you can find articles on the internet. I do get pretty good results in blind tests so I’ve downloaded all my music in the highest quality on my iPhone. I hope you understood me, English isn’t my first language. ✌🏼
@@Fatih-xl7yn Oh! Now I understand! Yeah, again, I haven’t done enough research about the newest Macs, but yes - I sure hope they implement bit perfect pass through, if they haven’t already. Doing it manually seems too primitive in 2022. And your English is perfect! It was my misinterpretation, so that’s my fault. 😄👍
so with all that in mind, going towards the PC side in all this, what do modern sound cards bring to the table that most MB's don't or cant or for that matter dedicated audio devices?? do PC SC's bring as noticeable difference to sound as going to lossless? i imagine its a comparing apples to oranges thing, i personally like my sound card i got, it makes a bigger difference with higher quality speakers though than when just using PC speakers, also idk but ya'll but wired doesn't bother me one bit, i hate that Samsung got rid of the aux jack, and frankly until they can reach a level where latency is no longer an issue i prefer wired
I’m sure there are sound cards out there that support Hi-Res lossless digital-to-analog conversion (up to 32-bit/768kHz) That’s what I’d look for. Otherwise, a Hi-Res audio dongle DAC is the most inexpensive alternative to plug into a PC. 🤷♂️
Good day Sir, in Apple music,songs recorded in 16- bit/ 44.1 khz ALAC,will it convert to 24-bit/ 48 khz ALAC ? How this dongle with DACs works? Thanks please kindly advise.
It’s standard practice for music studios to record masters in 24bit/48kHz, which is then converted to 16bit/44.1kHz when transferred to a CD. So when you hear lossless on Apple Music (or any streaming platform, for that matter) - as long as you have a dongle DAC (or stream it through a Hi-Res streamer like a Wiim Pro Plus) you should hear it in Hi-Res quality. Many times when an album is “remastered,” they’ll re-record the album in Hi-Res, up to 192 kHz, depending on the artist or studio, etc. Wild stuff. 🎉
I prefer buying a cd and listening to it. I know that people like me will die out like the dinosaurs. In my childhood my brother used to buy mainly vinyl records. In my youth they abolished vinyl records to sell only cds. I don't want to pay money for a lossy audio. But sometimes i have to when the cd album isn't available anymore or it's totally overpriced. An example: Disney's movie soundtrack "The Black Hole" was never released on cd only on vinyl. The soundtrack is available on iTunes for download.
I even can't trust the crappy quality of pc sond cards. I got a good quality when i bought my Terratec EWX 24/96 and the M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496.@@ealanosborne
Does anybody remember CDLA mode by leeco they introduced losless way before I still have me 5 year old le 2max and leeco earphones just to enjoy the losless audio 😁
i just put all my songs through a program called mixxx and tweak it to make it sound more punchy and give it more depth and atmosphere, clarity, boost the highs and lows, u dont need all this
Bro what about android users? I have an android with active subscription of spple music and an external hi-res DAC, will i be able to listen to high-res lossless ??
Hi Ealan, I have some questions here. Is Hi-res audio same with DSD or SACD, since they are high resolution audio formats. secondly, I have receiver Marantz SR5015, it stated on manual no DSD Audio Capabilty over HDMI, but in other hand It can stream DSD audio via Network. I don't understand what is no DSD audio capabilty over HDMI? is that supposed to mean I can't play DSD files format or SACD discs even use proper SACD dedicated player or Bluray/DVD SACD capable player that connected to this receiver via HDMI port? Thanks a lot...
I’m not 100% certain, but I’m going to take a crack at answering your questions: 1) DSD and SACD are technically the same. DSD is the file format that is used in SACDs, it’s just comes down to preference if you like physical media or would rather deal with DSD files on a networked PC. An advantage of SACD is multichannel audio, like 5.1 or 7.1 surround. 2) And I guess it’s just dependent on the manufacturer of they want to include an HDMI chipset that can decode a pure DSD codec or not. Some AVRs can, some can’t. So it’s not that DSD over HDMI is impossible, it just depends on the brand and model of your AVR.
This guy is actually the kind of teacher generations need
Thank you very much! 😁
Totally agree
I kept blind testing a playlist of songs in their AAC vs ALAC versions often enough and now I can't unhear the difference and finally Lossless ain't so worthless anymore ; )
what would you describe the differences as? for me, depends on the music and how new or good the recording is, but i'd say a lot of times you can't hear the difference unless you know what to pick out.
you need the proper equipment for a proper audio testing. I'm not saying you have to spend lots of money, but a good enough equipment for lossless audio. btw, no Apple device is natively compatible with lossless audio, not even the Airpods Max
@@BerfroidMorzen I do have quality equipment. I can tell the difference when I listen to like classical music that was recently recorded. I have listened to lost of test CDs though that show you what differences to listen for and what to pick out. I'd say most popular music isn't recorded well enough to do that.
I'm a car audio enthusiast and to those people who are interested in going down that road. This video summed it up well about lossless and why it's important. Personally I think car audio is better than home audio for one specific reason, space! It's a smaller enclosure and the woofers and the sub woofers can move air a lot better than if you were in a 10 by 20 room. That close quarters experience is a lot more dynamic and can really immerse you in your favorite song. The secret to that sauce is a DSP (Digital Sound Processor). It will control everything from time alignment to polarity and it will center stage your favorite artist while you drive. I recommend going to a car audio show and take the chance and sit a SQ build, your outlook on audio will completely change.
Thanks for your insight into car audio! :)
I bought a pico 6|8 with gladen one 200.3 with 2 gladen subs and 4 new speakers. And the DSP sucks ass. Everything sounds shit.
Hai where we can get a flac loseless song?
@@thor2408 Ripped CD's and then converted to FLAC is your best bet. There are other questionable methods but hard to control quality.
Agree, some songs sound so much better in car, especially based on bass. I love Volvo 2009 C70 High Performance Audio!
This guy has so much logic in every statement he made. Everything has been so easily simplified.
Thankyou
Man, seriously... The best explanation and presentation out there! Hats off! Thank you!
Aw, man, thank you so much for the kind words! 🎉🤘
I already noticed the difference. I gobbled up most of my new phone’s memory by having the WHOLE music library in Lossless instead of just my newer downloads in Lossless. Now my phone’s library is back to AAC, the stuff I had in Lossless now sounds flat and disappointing. I regret not getting the 1TB hard drive for my phone. It’s totally worth the memory it takes up for the sound quality.
Update: I switched back to Lossless format for downloads and re-downloaded only a select few of my favorite albums in Lossless format. I am glad I did and your video motivated me to do it! 😂
Lossless is silky smooth and full bodied while AAC is like the dried fruit version of it, hard and brittle.
hey, did you ever get a new phone? If you did you get the one Tbyte? lol
Sounds like he kept his phone and only downloads lossless audio for a select group of records limiting his data storage usage. Seems reasonable.
Really enjoyed this video, great, concise explanations.
To get the best experience with lossless, I’ve been using an EarMen TR-Amp and Audeze headphones. USC-C to C connections from my iPad and Mac. Just thought I’d throw that out there for anyone looking for what is, at least for me, an endgame setup.
I canceled Spotify.
The problem with Lossless is that it still requires a wired connection from a headphone jack to get the benefits. All of these "hi-res streaming" providers are selling snake oil. The best bluetooth coed is LDAC and even that can only manage 900kb/s which is a far cry from 16bit's 1400kb/s. No one's getting 24bit music streamed from their phone to their AirPods, the file might say 24bit but it'll be compressed to 300kb/s because that's AAC's limit. If you stream or use anything wirelessly, don't bother - you may as well convert down to LC-AAC which is roughly 500kb/s (5mb per song).
Lol it's called Tidal and I get all the benefits with Samsung S23 Ultra paired with Galaxy Buds 2 Pro....modern era of music listening wireless is INCREDIBLE
Wow , so your comment is to just copy everything the fellow said in "HIS" video ? Except that you're calling it snake oil because you can't use it on your wireless eyebuds which he already told us about.
@@robertthurston6858 exactly. Hahahaha 🤣
First timer here. I really enjoyed, and learned, from your video. Your visual and description of the difference in sound between lossy and lossless was inspired!
Just received my Christmas present from me to me an iFi Hip Dac 3 for use primarily with my home stereo. It streams (and confirms) hi-rez directly from my 2020 iPhone SE direct (just an included wire, no additional adapters necessary) without an issue and sounds better in all metrics than the infamous Apple dongle, even though I always thought the dongle was…🧐…it worked.
Hooray! So glad it worked out! And thanks for your kind words! 🌈
I set the audio quality to hi-res lossless and usb connection on my Ford Focus, the sound quality is out of the world
Keep in mind, CarPlay only supports 48kHz. Any Hi-Res song is down sampled to lossless!
@@Fatih-xl7ynActually you need a dedicated DAC to go up to HiRes and if you have android; forget about even hearing Hi res because the OS itself is caps it at 48khz.
I really don’t know how does this work like the wired connection but if it does; you are basically removing that bottleneck of 48khz and you can directly use the DAC chip present in your car’s speaker system which probably is capable of handling Hi Res.
I want you to do an experiment, If you have an lastest sony bravia especially with the one with magnetic fluid speakers ; try connecting it to the computer via HDMI, and using it is the sound output source and go to sound quality settings in windows. You will be seeing that it can support upto astonishing 24 bit 192 khz and even more.
I have tried it and as those magnetic fluid speakers are certified for Hi Res audio, Nothing in my life was as clear as that music. I am still waiting to try Electrostatic speakers though. or piezoelectric as well.
I would love to hear a demo of High res Lossless vs 320 AAC on some super hifi speakers and see what the real difference is
Me too! I have pretty decent Sennheiser headphones, but nowhere near “audiophile” quality.
I do this very often with my iPad Pro 12,9 M2 ,Hiby FC3/4 (and other Amps Dacs) with Meze 109 Pro Headphones.
For Bluetooth is use AirPods Pro 2 ,Sony XM4 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 .
I can say there is a little difference but not much ,both sounds fantastic.
@@skyhero1888 that's great to hear!! I keep all my music on my phone in 320 AAC and I think it sounds great, but always hope im not missing out on higher quality. when I hear strange things in songs and think it might be the compression ill go and listen to the original lossless version and it'll have the same issue so most issues in music is in the mastering.
@@Chris_Hruska absolutely right but i think AAC is in 256 kbits not 320 kbits.
you can choose the bitrate in iTunes/Apple Music when ripping your own CDs or on other audio conversion platforms. I rip all my music at 320 AAC from CDs and from FLAC Lossless files. I have software that lets you go to 192 per channel which is 384 but I stick to 320@@skyhero1888
I finally understood lossless and got feedback on my experience listening lossless. Yes darn right you teach well sir and I enjoyed your sense of humor😂
Heehee! Glad I could help while making you laugh! 😁🎉
Great video, really explain about everything that you need to know about lossless. I'm surprised this only have 1k viewers you deserve more 👍
Now he have deserve
Great job explaining lossless and for mentioning the Apple lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter.
Here is my set up and mostly because I'm a newbie to lossless music, not an audiophile and do not have expensive wired headphones:
iPhone 13 mini-i recently purchased the $9, 3.5mm headphone jack adapter because I learned it features a built in DAC or the $39 Belkin lightning audio + charger because it features a built in DAC
So with my Apple EarPods I can use either adapter to get lossless music, yeah?
I also reviewed my MacBook Air set up to make sure the music playback settings were correct. They were not. When plugging in my 3.5mm Apple EarPods they were previously set to AAC audio(rookie move). I just changed the setting to lossless and now I can see the lossless icon next to the song title.
I guess I could purchase an external DAC for much more money but do I really need to?
So it’s 2023 and I listened to astrothunder by Travis Scott with AirPod pros (1) and even when comparing downloaded from aac to hi res lossless, I still hear a super difference in the bass at the beginning and no, it’s not spatial audio, it genuinely sounds better and makes a difference
placebo
I find Apple 256kbps AAC files with the ‘Apple Digital Masters’ (formerly known as Mastered For ITunes’) mark indistinguishable from lossless/hi-res lossless.
Using Philips XR2hr headphones with a Teac HA-P50 headphone amp/dac.
There is a very slight difference between older AAC files without the ‘ADM’ tag and its lossless equivalent. Yet it is very small and you have to listen very intently.
It’s been proven many times that AAC at 256kbps sounds fantastic even through great quality gear.
Absolutely right but there are android fanboys and they say AAC is garbage.
They don’t know ,AAC sounds million times better on an iPhone/iPad than on an android device and there are so many android devices out there with crap soundchips.
I use an iPad Pro 12,9 M2 with hiby FC3/4 and Meze 109 Pro ( Apple Music ) for the cable solution and it sounds just fantastic.
For Bluetooth solution i use AirPods Pro 2 ,Sony XM4 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 and it sounds fantastic too because Apple know how to use AAC and get the best from it.
I have some expensive android devices too and aac don’t sound good on them .
I tested ldac,aptx hd aptx adaptive and for me there are no differences between AAC. ( if u play AAC on an Apple Device 😊)
@@skyhero1888 My humble (by audiophile standards) equipment is still good enough to show deficiencies in recordings and I’d like to think I have healthy hearing for a 48 year old. I agree with you that Apple put a lot of effort into their audio chips, although my TEAC will be by-passing the iPhone 13 dac, yet I recall my old iPhone 6 from 7 years ago having fantastic sound just from its inbuilt headphone jack.
I’ve listened to a 20 sec samples of albums on Apple, turning off lossless so as to just get the AAC version, then compared the same samples turning on lossless and then moving up to hi-res lossless if an album is tagged as such.
My ears are telling me that everything I’ve posted in my original comment is true. There is a weird ‘fear’ of lossy audio in some circles.
I agree, i hear a tiny improvement, but not enough to be blown away like others claim. Before anyone accuses me of faulty gear i run mosconi class A/B amps and Focal Utopia speakers.
I found this video because I was trying to see what is the difference between cds and mp3. Last year I started buying cds (when you’re a kpop fan you eventually start doing it, regardless of your finances). I thought I was buying the albums for the photobooks, photocards, stickers, even the box, I didn’t expect to get much value from the actual cds, since I already had access to the songs, but I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio, it was definitely different to what I had always listened to. I decided to stop paying for streaming and continued to buy the albums. I never listen on shuffle, btw, and always listen to either individual songs at a time or to the whole album. I also don’t like “discovering new music”, I deliberately search and listen to the music I already know I love.
What is your sound source, iphone or macbook? Btw, what headphone do you use? Do you have wired connection?
Maybe last month I listened to Enya's A Day without Rain album. It was my first real CD. As for losless hell yeah I prefer CDDA audio or Blu-Ray better yet. I've been lurking on HDTracks to see what they have. The only drawback I find is you're forced to buy the whole album. Well in the case of Mandy Moore's Silver Landings that's fine. I'm a Mandy fan anyways. It's avaiable in full 96 KHZ 24 bits. But then again there are albums where at most I only would prefer to have the songs in HD but I don't particularlerly wana have the whole thing. So it would in those said cases be from 14 to almost 30 and some bucks waisted just cause I want a song or some songs in BD audio.
I still use a wired headset. It all started when I started hearing 320kbps MP3s. Up until then, I was only hearing 16 or 32 kbps. Then came FLAC, ALAC etc. Also, I am planning to buy Sony WH-1000XM5 headset.
Been using the 14 pro max with hi res lossless audio. I have some Sennheiser hd 650s with a DAC and it sounds amazing. Also have AirPods Pro 2nd gen for more casual listening and for notifications and calls. Got some Sennheiser momentum 3s for traveling and to use when the AirPods aren’t doing it for me and I don’t want to pull out my hd 650s
That’s an incredible assortment of headphones, my friend! 🎧 🤘
Great video! Now I finally know what a dongle DAC is lol. Clear concise and always entertaining thank you!
love your sense of humor 💀💀💀
there is nothing wrong with apple's earbuds or headphones, just none of the wireless headphones can handle hi-res or lossless sound, because of bluetooth restrictions. non of LDAC or aptX can help with it, it's just a marketing when some brand says, that their wireless headphones can handle lossless. and yes, apple's dongle supports up to 24/96 kHz.
No, the Apple Headphone dongle is limited to 24/48. Admittedly, though there is an audible difference between 48 and 96kHz sampling, it is fleeting and takes your full attention to detect.
@@daniannaci3258 so, you're gonna say with full confidence, that you can detect the difference between 48 and 96kHz? really? superhuman detected
@@jackdanyal4329 Not superhuman, just methodical. The recording must be 100% 24/96 from microphone input to the final file. Any upsampling, downsampling or scaling of different tracks in the mixing/mastering process will obliterate any differences, even if the final file is distributed in 24/96. On direct to 2 channel recordings kept at the original 24/96 sampling rate, downconverting to 24/48 - and especially to 16/44 - can reliably be heard. That’s a lot to ask, which makes the Apple dongle, still limited to 24/48, just fine for most people.
That 3D explanation was exact how I imagined it
My new favorite RUclipsr. I loved your humor well made explanations. I’m moving to Apple Music until Spotify gets it together.
Thanks!! And yeah, me too - held on for far too long, but finally deleted my Spotify and went to Apple Music a couple months ago.
The impression lossless audio goeroes want to give is that it sounds better then a lossy file.
This can be true when audio chain is up to par, but even then the improvements are very small and for most people even neglectable .
The assumption is that the higher the sample frequency is and the higher the bit depth the file must be better… 😂
But conversion errors are created in high res files also and the errors are even more frequent and accumulative contributing to an non-error free conversion.
Trust only your ears; not those bit nerds 😊
Ealan, you production quality is amazing!
Thanks, Mike! It takes SOOOO LONG doing it all myself, but I sure do enjoy the process and think it's worth it in the end! :)
@@ealanosborne no doubt!! I’m Turning on bell 🔔. The entertainment 💪 is worth it even if I’m not trying to learn the topic
If I compare 256k AAC to a lossless rip of a CD, it is only with some classical music, and on good speakers or headphones, that it is easy to discern the difference. For the most part, I listen to electronic stuff and frankly I'm happy paying a 128k mp3 dj podcast through my stereo. Back in the day I was happy with cassette tape, and compared to that 128k mp3 is luxury already. If 128k mp3 was all there was, we'd all be happy with it. If 128k mp3 came first and lossless came out a couple of decades later, there'd be people complaining that lossless doesn't have the life, body, and analog timing of good old fashioned mp3.
Available on Android?🤔
was expecting him to explain LDAC as well, but still whatever was shared was great 😮
Sir, is there any update on this topic?
I have a 11.2.4 in my main zome and a 7.0.2 in zone 2...
Dolby sounding ES**spatially** crystal.
Edit. I sure can but most. Most of the time im easily enjoying the wonders of binural low frequency... Or just letting a combined hoisrhold media zfs pool shuffle throughout both zones
The way you're explaining is very clear and great 👍👍👍
I have a question though, does the aptx Adaptive codec support lossless streaming in Apple Music for Android on 24bit 48khz quality?
aptX Adaptive Lossless (Snapdragon Sound) can transmit up to 1.2Mbps (compresses that 1.4Mbps down a bit w/o losing any music, akin to FLAC). You need to invest in one of the phones (Android only) & headphones that support Snapdragon Sound w/ Lossless (i.e. Asus Zenfone 9 and NuraTrue Pro earbuds) - not cheap... hoping prices will go down over time. No chance to get 24bit 48khz (2.3Mbps) transmitted through Bluetooth yet... However, progress has obviously happened, and Bluetooth bandwidth will continue to grow over time.
@@mihaimorariu5627 thank you!
I am using Sennheiser Momentum TW3, I feel that listening to music using the Apple Music app on Iphone is not as good as on Android. Is that true?
I took a CD of classical music, made ALAC and 96kbps AAC, couldn’t tell difference on ABX test. I could tell a difference on 64kbps.
Simplemente la mejor explicación de toda la web 👏👏
Gracias! 🤘
Man you are on the first RUclipsr that I have subscribe straight away, the way you drive the subject, the way you deliver is nothing more than perfect spice! Good job and hopefully I will see more content from you like this one.
I wouldn’t consider myself and audiophile not because I don’t want to but because my wallet is simply to thin to even think about it, one thing I have noticed in my car is that the audio quality of aac over Bluetooth is worse than wired in the car via cable (maybe the conversion thing you talked about) can’t wait to test lossless in my car (EV so not much will interfere with the sound quality except outside noise). The way you described the sound difference is also a very matching my experience, on my brain it kind of triggers the same spotlight of “wow never noticed this sound before”. Again good work but the way you deliver it is beyond extravaganza 😂.
Hey thanks for all the compliments!!! 😄🎉🤘
i felt like youtube music provides HiRes cuz yesterday drake song was playing at a bitrate of 8000. I tried with CCA CRA on my acer nitro 5
CRA are beast ❤️
Hello there, i am using Apple music on my Galaxy S10+ phone and mostly i stream it do my tv which it connected to my Samsung HW-Q990B soundbar. It support Dolby Atmos, i'm wondering which settings is the best. Thanks :)
I have no clue, sorry. I bet there’s a music setting on that soundbar. I’d try that first? Otherwise, Dolby Atmos music tracks are hit and miss, so it largely depends on the song if it sounds good or not. 😁🤘
Mixing and mastering makes a bigger difference to "depth". Dynamic compression in new music and reissues destroys it. Apple and friends have now reinvented what they had in the little house on the praerie decades ago.
just switched from spotify to apple music in 2024. plus apple one gives a bunch of extra services for not much more than the spotify family plan. thanks for the tip on using wired headphones!
You’re welcome! And yeah, I subscribe to Apple One as well. Pretty sweet deal, I’d say!
3:24 but it makes sense, that's exactly why i still wear wired appl headphones jus for the certain quality, and now i know
Great video video are the edifer R1855DB hifi speakers?
Well explained! Even though I have hearing loss I can notice a difference. I switched to Apple Music. I now use in-ear-monitors wired through a DAC to the USBC on my Samsung phone for active listening. Bluetooth via APTX Adaptive or Samsung's SSC are OK for passive listening or noisy conditions with Sennheiser Momentum 4 or Samsung Buds 3 Pro.
I ripped a number of my CDs to FLAC. It seems to be worth it over ripping to MP3 at 128kbps only if the recording and mastering are good. Maybe it is my hearing disability?
The included headphone jacks on my computers are noticeably not as good as using an external DAC. It seems that it doesn't matter if it is a computer or phone as long as an external DAC and in-ear-monitors.
I do notice a difference between 2 different in-ear-monitors. The one that I prefer is more efficient (needs much less volume) and cheaper. It seems brighter and more depth. Could the other need more amplification - the volume is near max?
Is a DAP worth it over a high end smartphone?
In your circumstance - having hearing loss - I believe a DAP would prove beneficial. 🎉
The in-ear monitors that need to be turned up more must not have a very high sensitivity rating like your more efficient pair.
Great video. I have a Denon AVR connected by earc HDMI. Apple music is set to Lossless which sounds great when streamed from my iPad or iphone, but if I listen to Apple Music from my Apple TV that is also set to Lossless it doesn't sound as nice. Any thoughts on that Ealan?
Doesn’t sound as nice in what way? Are you listening on headphones when listening on iPad or iPhone?
@@ealanosborne This is when I'm playing through my speakers on my AVR.
@@andymantoronto Yes, I understand. So when you're listening on iPhone or iPad, it's on headphones, right? And when you listen on your AVR...in what way does it sound worse? There are a lot of factors with room acoustics when dealing with AVRs...
@@ealanosborne The audio play back through my AVR with my iPad or iPhone are outstanding, it's when I play back using the Apple Music app with my Apple TV 4K 2017 is when the sound quality is poor, I have adjusted the settings on the Apple TV to lossless but the quality is not the same as the iPad or iPhone....BTW, thanks for the replies! I'm new to your channel and really enjoying and learning from your content.
@@andymantoronto It actually depends on the equipment your using.... here is probably one of the best examples.... use the Apple TV4K and hook it up to a Smyth A16 via HDMI... then put on your cans ( HD800s) and now you are listening to Lossless Audio the way it should sound.... and guess what... the A16 emulates any speaker of your choice... got a $20K speaker... then the A16 will replicate that speaker to be exact.. in your cans.... now how about the fact that the A16 also replicates that $20K speaker in a ATMOS configuration of 15.1.8 yep... thats 24 of those $20K speakers... or a $480,000 sound listening room from your cans.... now listen to the spacial lossless music via Apple Music or Tidal and walla... you now know what lossless Audio sounds like in glorious 24 channel Atmos..... any questions ???
There is really no audible difference if you downsample correctly. The difference could be noice introduced by inaudible frequencies creating distortion in audible frequencies.
You are very cool! You inspire me to be a better teacher and I am gonna go to listening albums from start to finish.
Awesome! Thank you for the kind words! 😁🤘
Where do you came from? we need content creators like you 🔥🔥
Fantastic video, I’ve just been getting into cans and this was very helpful.
great video Ealan, massive LossLess Fan here😎
Never going back to just AAC 😎
Hey Ealan...do you think it's worth it if we use apple music lossless thru PC since I don't use apple??? I used Tidal but it cost more but I like Apple's price's. what do u think?
Well, music is subjective, but I sure think it's worth it. :) You get the first 3 months for free when subscribing to Apple Music, so you can check it out and see if you like it first. I'm currently reviewing a DAC and that Hi-Res Lossless is no joke. And you don't have to pay extra for it on Apple Music. Woot!
@@ealanosborne yeah I have a Class D DAC and I already ordered the BasX PT1 Stereo Preamp/DAC/Tuner I'm still waiting for it. I'm gona do the apple Music then. thanks Ealan and good video and I shared it too to other's already
@@ealanosborne I also still like listening to CD's thru my DAC and oh my CD's still sound good and at least they aren't compressed.
@@fireeyes5399 Ah man, sharing helps a lot! Thanks so much!
Great informative video and the aunt Caroline joke is great :)
Heehee, thanks! 😄
So why is youtube audio still compressed they have 2160P pictures quality and yet they can't give us the good audio why is that
Right?! I’ve wondered the same thing! Or it’d be great if they supported 5.1 surround for those RUclipsrs who could mix in that format (like myself, hahaaaa!). 😄🤘
Bro
I want ask one question
How can we download any youtube music/song in originally quality
Without loosing their original quality of song
Like lossless song
Apparently it’s a somewhat complicated process. But here’s this if you want to have crack at it 👇👇
www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/s/C3671TxE3q
You are a genius man! Congrats! Love your sense of humor too
Thank you very much!!
This video is damn detailed,
Answered all questions in my Brian🤯🤩
Do the wh1000xm4 also support lossless audio and high-res lossless audio with the should 3,5mm Lightning adapter?
I'm not sure. And I haven't researched enough about Sony's LDAC technology which supposedly transfers hi-res audio even over Bluetooth. So, at least with what they are advertising, you can still get premium audio quality even over a wireless signal. Sounds cool, but I haven't heard it for myself in person. I hope to at some point, though!
Beavis and Butthead, I love it! I just tried spatial audio on my Apple airpod pros thru my iPhone, wow! I bet their headphones are nice, but damn pricey!
I know! I want to test those out too! But so much 💰💰💰😢
Hi I really enjoyed your video, I learned so much from it, I wish it could have been even longer. Do you have any sources for audio novices to learn more about the subject?
Thanks for those kind words! 😊 I honestly just scoured the internet as I was doing research for it. Sites like WhatHiFi and TechRadar had good articles. But here’s a few more from Crutchfield as well. 👇
www.crutchfield.com/learnsearch/lossless_audio.html
The best explanation in all RUclips thanks
Thank YOU, Fernando! 😁🤘
Is it possible to hear the difference on normal TV or MacBook speakers?
Possibly, but highly unlikely
Best video on the subject so far thank you ❤
Incredibly helpful! Thanks x
Fantastic video. One question though. I have heard Wireless Apple Carplay which initially connects via Bluetooth, but "streams" over wifi, is the same as being wired at the same bit rate or sampling, or whatever as wired headphones (although not as great as a USB DAC would give you). At least that was what I heard via BMWs iteration of Wireless Carplay. Am I correct in my understanding? Like and subscribed.
As far as I know, I believe lossless (at least CD quality lossless) is possible over bluetooth as long as your device supports AptX tech. In this forum post (link below) it says basically the same thing. Although I'm pretty sure Hi-Res Lossless is still not possible over a wireless signal, just CD quality (for now).
@@ealanosborne I was talking about wifi actually, as that is how carplay gets the music to the carplay adapter in the car. Carplay only uses bluetooth to establish the connection between the phone and the carplay adapter. once the connection is established, the music is transmitted in the car by wifi. I believe wifi supports lossless.
Surprisingly, in my VW, Bluetooth actually sounds better than the wired CarPlay connection. Hmmm🧐
Great job.nicely explained.love lossless.ifi zen dac is a great addition to your set up with an iMac for lossless audio.money well spent.
Thumbnail: 320 kbps MP3 is just good. Maybe this is sweet spot for balance between size and quality. Good sound but file still small size
My own opinion is that at lower bitrates AAC is better than MP3. However at the higher bitrates it is basically a wash. I've used MP3 at 320kbps CBR and the highest qualify VBR and both are fine and I can't tell the difference between them and a FLAC files.
Very great content and nicely well stacked in the correct direction informations
Love it 😍
Thank you very much!
Thats a great audio with plenty of info elan👌👌 my doubt is there a way to stream lossless audio frm iPhone to denon avr !?! What cable to use and wht setting to be made!? Is there a way lik tat!?
Well, Apple AirPlay does support lossless over wi-fi (at least it's claimed to support up to 16 bit/44.1 kHz), and Denons support AirPlay. So there's that!
@@ealanosborne wow so im already using it then!!! That’s so nice to hear bro!! Thnk u again😍😍
@@ealanosborne and is dolby atmos n spatial audio?!? Cone with a video fr that too😛😛
@@gowthamk5392 I've already filmed the studio portions of 2 upcoming videos about Atmos music/Spatial audio. Just need to edit them now! Woot!
@@ealanosborne 🤩 wow count down strts now😌😌
so I bought fiio k3 2021 model all wired with sony 1000xm3 with a samsung s21 ultra. Is that a good setup?
NO !!!
I love the idea of hi res lossless, but my dealbreaker is, it doesn't work over bluetooth because the pipeline of the signal bandwidth is so minuscule to fit hi res. I don't have time to listen to music like I was young and I fit on those who landmaw their yard or wash the car or caring my children and doing most of things with wireless earphones on. Unless bluetooth 6 comes with the necessary bandwidth to support it, hi res lossless is a lost battle for me, unfortunately 😢
Yo! How weird, just talking about bluetooth 6 yesterday not knowing when it would be released and suddenly it came out today! This is crazy. The sad part is: it only focuses on the 'Find my device' feature. To my understanding this still doesn't carry the data transmission enough to bring hi res lossless audio. Better luck with Bluetooth 6.1 👀
Clear explanation the one of the audio quality as 2D animation in lossy and 3D animation for lossless. I have a question though, when I tried Deezer (CD quality) compared to Spotify premium, I did hear that depth and instruments presence in the first one, but when I compared Deezer to RUclips Music Premium (256kbps), the latter sounds, for me, as good as Deezer. I use a simple Fosi DS1 DAC, wired Shure Aonic 3 in ear monitors, and I understand that my hearing capacity is involved. But if I noticed the difference between Spotify Premium and Deezer (also the paid option), why RUclips Music Premium sound as good as Deezer (at least for me)? Is it possible that their I.A. tricks my hearing and makes its "2D animation" (lossy) sound, as if it is more profound? So, tricking it to sound with depth although not having the information available to do it? I know I should also test, and compare, for example, with Tidal. Thx. Good video.
Great question! I’m honestly not sure, though, since I haven’t done any testing with YT Music Premium. 🤷♂️
This is because AAC has a better output quality compared to MP3 at equivalent glazing and Deezer heavily compresses the lossless or non-lossy signal in order to render all music at the same sound height so less dynamic = the music lives less, it's very slick I think the power is 14 for YT Music and 15 for Deezer but it's enough for me to give up per personally Deezer
@@delamain1559 thx. There's a lot of information involved in audio qualities in music streaming platforms. I like to listen to CDs. But, do you think that with a simple portable dac (Fosi DS1) and acceptable in-ear monitors as Shure Aonic 3, YTM sounds good enough as, for example, Tidal? Because, for me, considering the prices, YT Premium comes with YTM, but I also want to listen to music in a nice way, better than basic (also if YTM is "just" 256kbps) but not properly in the audiophile way. And I'm just looking to try something different than Spotify premium, even though I think this is the most complete as a platform in general.
@delamain1559 Thanks. There's a lot to know about audio quality and isn't fixed as one sounds better than the other. Maybe you can guide me in this. Do you think that YTM may be good enough using a (Fosi DS1) DAC, and Sennheiser or Shure Aonic 3 headphones? I'm looking for optimum listening, I enjoy hearing a lot of the instruments (I listen CDs also), a better experience than basic listening, but without getting into an audiophile level (which may be Tidal, Qobuz or Apple Music suited for). An YT+YTM bundle is good for the price compared to other platforms offers.
@ As far as I know, that should be a good combo 👍
i bought a converter, i hear no difference. My ears were tested to be good up to 13khz which is normal for my age. Maybe my dog or a bat would appreciate the higher resolution.
13kHz... that is pretty low. I have to assume that you are about twice my age.
So my question would be is it possible to download or find single tracks such as rare or unreleased or some type of bonus track in lossless format? That's my biggest thing is I'm a metal head and alot of the bands I follow have released songs that do not exist on an album so I'm forced to find that on the web somewhere in mp3 format because I cannot purchase the song through any kind of streaming service or cd. Any thoughts?
Huh…yeah that’s a pretty specific issue there. Maybe the bands have their own website for exclusive downloads, or their own SoundCloud or Bandcamp where you might be able to find more rare stuff in a lossless format… 🤷♂️
Novice question; Do Lossless HiRes audio works on Bluetooth too?
No, not yet. There’s a newer Bluetooth codec soon coming out that will support lossless (CD quality) wirelessly, but wireless Hi-Res lossless is still being developed
@@ealanosborne What about those pricey Bluetooth devices that advertised High Quality Audio? Snake oil?
@@Zhorellski I’m not sure which devices you’re referring to, but yes - snake oil I would assume, since the Bluetooth commission itself hasn’t officially announced lossless support by any particular product just yet. 🤷♂️
I really love your whole vibe😂
Thanks! Gotta stand out somehow! 😄🤘
Don’t the AirPods support lossless audio by now?
You would think...but they don't. The technology is finally available to manufacturers as of maybe July 2022, but now developers are scrambling to be the first to actually use it in a consumer product for the masses.
Hey guys does anyone know of a good APTX Lossless codec transmitter (so I could plug it into my phone or tablet to send APTX lossless to my Sennheiser Momenum 4 headphones?)
on the go AAC@320kbps is just fine. at home i have my vinyl and CD's
I how a sound system in my car with a kenwood radio that has a digital audio wire. Will Hi-Res Lossless work or would I need to plug my phone into the aux and get a dongle?
I’m not too familiar with car audio, but I believe you would still need to do the latter - phone + dongle into aux
Should I switch my iPhone to lossless audio? Will I hear any difference?
With some nice headphones, you should. I personally have the Focal Bathys on my Christmas list this year. 😁🎄
Watching this while waiting to my dongle dac to be delivered😊
Yayyyy! 😁🎉
@@ealanosborne i already got my dac dongle its so nice hear lossless music. id research this for so many years my goal is to get lossless music without spending too much money 🙂this is the time😁
@@ealanosborne ruclips.net/video/3LdIa5KBWeA/видео.htmlsi=wvtWIwqsn66AGTWm
I don't really care about lossless audio because my bluetooth airpods don't support it anyways. Make lossless audio work with bluetooth and then we'll talk
I recently bought a pair of bowers and Wilkins px8s wireless headphones. I’m wanting to understand how to maximise their potential and achieve lossless listening. Is it enough to just use the cable provided and hi-res streaming from option from Apple music/Tidal or do you recommend using a dongle DAC (if on the move) or amp/DAC like the ifi zen dac v2 (if at home)? Is there a noticeable difference in sound quality?
Cheers
Dongle DAC for sure. 🤘 Noticeable improvement when listening to Hi-Res music, like I could hear the sonic qualities of the microphone the vocalist was using in the booth. Wild stuff.
I can hear the difference.I just subscribe Apple Music in terms of lossless quality.Luckily I don't subscribe Spotify.
And yet almost no one will ever hear any actual audible difference between AAC and lossless, let alone AAC and hi-res. There really is not EVER any use for ANYONE of listening to 24/192 since we're not bats and we don't listen to music at 144dB in a otherwise PERFECTLY quiet room. Hi-res audio is 100% a marketing thing to get people to spend more money, NOTHING else.
I was going to say the same thing regarding high res 24 bits audio, but seems like you beat me to it. However, the placebo effect is real and can make people feel as though the high res is superior to 16bit lossless. Simply because they expect it to sound better.
Lossless on the Mac with Apple Music is pretty useless. macOS isn’t bit perfect, so the Mac won’t change the sample rate for you. Every song is down sampled to 48kHz! You can check the actual sample rate in the audio MIDI app and you have to select manually the correct sample rate. That’s a shame! Bit Perfect is working with iPad and iPhone but not with the Mac 🤦🏽♂️
Ugh…of course. 🤦♂️
@@ealanosborne do you agree or disagree? I’m not sure, correct me if I’m wrong?
@@Fatih-xl7yn As far as I know, it’s still true. Not sure about the latest MacOS or if the new M1 chips have improved any audio processing capabilities, but I think they still have a cap of 48kHz. 🤷♂️
But it sure sounded good through my iPhone when it was connected to an external DAC, especially when playing hi-res lossless playlists.
@@ealanosborne I guess u misunderstood me. You can activate lossless/Hi-Res on the Mac, but it’s all played in 48kHz, that’s the standard setting. Unlike the iPhone, the Mac doesn’t change the sample rate automatically specific to a song and isn’t bit perfect. You can check the current sample rate in the audio midi app. It should set by default to 48kHz and doesn’t change when you play a 96khz song, you have to change it manually. You could select the max supported sample rate but that means, that your song with lower sample rate will be up sampled.
There are apps like bitperfect or Audirevana that are bit perfect and change the sample rate automatically, but they don’t support Apple Music.
Leaving the setting at the highest possible sample rate isn’t that dramatic,
but there is no value in upsampling. Best case is that you get what you put in there. Worst case is some loss.
You can test this by your self with an external DAC which has a currently played sample rate indicator.
That’s typically apple, it works on the iPhone and iPad but not with macs.
Apple has to give us bit perfect on Mac, or the implementation of Hi-Res is pretty useless.
I have set it to 48kHz and any song above will be down sampled.
That’s a common issue and you can find articles on the internet.
I do get pretty good results in blind tests so I’ve downloaded all my music in the highest quality on my iPhone.
I hope you understood me, English isn’t my first language.
✌🏼
@@Fatih-xl7yn Oh! Now I understand! Yeah, again, I haven’t done enough research about the newest Macs, but yes - I sure hope they implement bit perfect pass through, if they haven’t already. Doing it manually seems too primitive in 2022.
And your English is perfect! It was my misinterpretation, so that’s my fault. 😄👍
Does EarPods with lightening connector support lossless audio???
Not yet. I’ve read that Apple is working on it, though, and should be supported later this year? 🤷♂️
so with all that in mind, going towards the PC side in all this, what do modern sound cards bring to the table that most MB's don't or cant or for that matter dedicated audio devices?? do PC SC's bring as noticeable difference to sound as going to lossless? i imagine its a comparing apples to oranges thing, i personally like my sound card i got, it makes a bigger difference with higher quality speakers though than when just using PC speakers, also idk but ya'll but wired doesn't bother me one bit, i hate that Samsung got rid of the aux jack, and frankly until they can reach a level where latency is no longer an issue i prefer wired
I’m sure there are sound cards out there that support Hi-Res lossless digital-to-analog conversion (up to 32-bit/768kHz) That’s what I’d look for. Otherwise, a Hi-Res audio dongle DAC is the most inexpensive alternative to plug into a PC. 🤷♂️
Good day Sir, in Apple music,songs recorded in 16- bit/ 44.1 khz ALAC,will it convert to 24-bit/ 48 khz ALAC ? How this dongle with DACs works? Thanks please kindly advise.
It’s standard practice for music studios to record masters in 24bit/48kHz, which is then converted to 16bit/44.1kHz when transferred to a CD. So when you hear lossless on Apple Music (or any streaming platform, for that matter) - as long as you have a dongle DAC (or stream it through a Hi-Res streamer like a Wiim Pro Plus) you should hear it in Hi-Res quality. Many times when an album is “remastered,” they’ll re-record the album in Hi-Res, up to 192 kHz, depending on the artist or studio, etc. Wild stuff. 🎉
I prefer buying a cd and listening to it. I know that people like me will die out like the dinosaurs. In my childhood my brother used to buy mainly vinyl records. In my youth they abolished vinyl records to sell only cds. I don't want to pay money for a lossy audio. But sometimes i have to when the cd album isn't available anymore or it's totally overpriced. An example: Disney's movie soundtrack "The Black Hole" was never released on cd only on vinyl. The soundtrack is available on iTunes for download.
Physical media for life! 😁🤘
I even can't trust the crappy quality of pc sond cards. I got a good quality when i bought my Terratec EWX 24/96 and the M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496.@@ealanosborne
Does anybody remember CDLA mode by leeco they introduced losless way before I still have me 5 year old le 2max and leeco earphones just to enjoy the losless audio 😁
nothing like listening to every single detail of every song.. sadly its not so noticeable with most of regular earphones/audio devices
What about FLAC via Sony LDAC (wireless)? How does that sound?
🤷♂️ Probably really good, considering wireless tech has improved over the past few years since this video was published! 🎉
i just put all my songs through a program called mixxx and tweak it to make it sound more punchy and give it more depth and atmosphere, clarity, boost the highs and lows, u dont need all this
Can I still listen to the lossless audio with the integrated speakers of my iPad pro M2 11 inch?
I mean you CAN, but those aren’t meant to be the best speakers. 🤷♂️
@@ealanosborneYou're right. I'm not an audiophile, but it's enough for me. I'm not an expert but I can definitely tell the difference.
Bro what about android users? I have an android with active subscription of spple music and an external hi-res DAC, will i be able to listen to high-res lossless ??
In theory, you should, because of your external hi-res DAC. 👍
Hi Ealan, I have some questions here. Is Hi-res audio same with DSD or SACD, since they are high resolution audio formats.
secondly, I have receiver Marantz SR5015, it stated on manual no DSD Audio Capabilty over HDMI, but in other hand It can stream DSD audio via Network.
I don't understand what is no DSD audio capabilty over HDMI? is that supposed to mean I can't play DSD files format or SACD discs even use proper SACD dedicated player or Bluray/DVD SACD capable player that connected to this receiver via HDMI port?
Thanks a lot...
I’m not 100% certain, but I’m going to take a crack at answering your questions:
1) DSD and SACD are technically the same. DSD is the file format that is used in SACDs, it’s just comes down to preference if you like physical media or would rather deal with DSD files on a networked PC. An advantage of SACD is multichannel audio, like 5.1 or 7.1 surround.
2) And I guess it’s just dependent on the manufacturer of they want to include an HDMI chipset that can decode a pure DSD codec or not. Some AVRs can, some can’t. So it’s not that DSD over HDMI is impossible, it just depends on the brand and model of your AVR.
@@ealanosborne ok. Thank you for your answer.
Any update on lossless audio for Apple?
Do I get lossless If I connect my iPhone to Bluetooth speakers with a cable?
With a cable, yeah you should.
Nice video bro and amazing explanation!!
Thank you very much! 😁🤘
My guy is Hilarious!! Love your work my friend…js