What's Apple Music lossless and Spatial Audio really like? | How to listen | Mark Ellis Reviews

[@MarkEllisReviews]

So, I've been playing with the 'new' Apple Music, and I have some thoughts (as you might expect). Let me know what you think about it!

[@Sharmac77]

I can only get my usb-c ipad to output 44khz from amazon ultra…..nothing above. Can you confirm you can get above this with apple music as i was under the impression that the way they deal with the output means everything is downscaled. Im using an amazon basic usb-c to usb-a from a 2020 ipad to an ifi xdsd dad/amp. Using my older ipad, from lightening usb camera adaptor to the xdsd i get up-to 192khz, confirmed from within the amazon music app.

[@ianmearsphoto]

I think the release of lossless has really highlighted how much perception and the placebo effect are prevalent in the world of audiophile and music. I’ve seen quite a few threads across social media with people saying how much better lossless sounds when it then turns out they are actually listening to an aac stream! One great example is people using Airplay to stream to their setup - airplay supports up to lossless (24 bit 48Khz) but the Apple Music app doesn’t, it only streams using the standard AAC codec! People think it’s going to sound better so they hear it as better, not that there is anything wrong with that. I keep telling myself that my setup is as good as a £50k high end setup…😀

[@dsr0116]

I've tried some of the tracks on my Dolby Atmos speaker setup. They do work pretty well for placing voices and instruments all around you. Thing is some songs are distracting in how they might have been mixed (IE having the singer in front of you, but guitars in back of you).

[@upload00]

Did you try with airpods pro or airpods pro max? Spatial audio only works on those devices, it's insane and a different experience than anything i've ever heard

[@michaelgreiner1665]

Have you listened to Justice by Justin Bieber ? It’s the only album with atmos that really shocked me with how good it sounds

[@thejasontlewis]

Don't need a DAC/Amp to get lossless. Just wired headphones plugged into the headphone jack. DACs offer a DIFFERENT converter, but the onboard DAC can play lossless. You only really need an amp if your headphones are not sensitive enough to be driven by the onboard amp.

[@thebeat]

I thought that too

[@MM-cs2rt]

What’s a headphone Jack?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Thanks for clarifying that - I didn't make it clear enough in this video that you need that gear for the highest setting.

[@atlas5697]

@@MarkEllisReviews actually on my samsung im able to listen at the highest quality whitout the need of a dac with apple music just needed to get the beta version

[@renzrulzz]

You need a DAC if you want to listen to Hi-Fi if I am not mistaken. If you are contented to lossless/CD quality then a decent wired headphone will be enough.

[@Augnos]

Pretty much nailed how I feel about the spatial audio. I honestly just feel like it’s broken. I’m expecting a surround sound mix, and it just feels like stereo inside of a warehouse.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Good analogy.

[@upload00]

on airpods pro or airpods pro max? those are the only devices that do spatial audio.. did you try it on those devices?

[@vladstoenica5061]

Every apple/beats headphones since the solo 3s support it. I can confirm the empty warehouse sound is there on the beats studio 3s too. Even worse with other non apple (but still dolby certified) headphones

[@upload00]

@@vladstoenica5061 support.apple.com/en-us/HT211775 incorrect.. you need accelerometers in them to make it work.. try it out it's a whole different world -- atmos and spatial audio are different things

[@upload00]

@@vladstoenica5061 you can also read about the difference here appleinsider.com/articles/21/05/18/apples-spatial-audio-and-dolby-atmos-explained

[@GeorgeMaicovschi]

Actually (at least on iOS) you can turn the Dolby atmos from auto to “always on” and it will play atmos on any headphone. I have been listening yesterday to some of it using exactly the Sennheiser hd560s (with just the lightning to jack dongle, no extra amp since the 560 is just 120 ohms and can be driven quite ok directly). It sounds pretty nice when listening to live performances (tried with the Eagles spatial audio album), makes the 560s soundstage a lot wider, but it is indeed quieter. Maybe give it a spin like that?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Interesting, thanks, George - I'll give that a go.

[@terrywilson1203]

The Eagles live album in spatial audio has an incorrect track listing compared to the stereo version.

[@anthonypjay]

@@MarkEllisReviews Yes, Spatial works with any headphone. You should post a correction.

[@drinkinslim]

How do you get spacial audio options? I have an iPad Air 4 with iOS 15.x but I don't see any spacial options in Settings > Music.

[@jimbob2427]

@@anthonypjay so why does apple advertise the AirPods Pro and max as the only headphones to have spatial audio? Look on the website

[@JuanJohn013]

You just need a DAC for Hi-RI. You can listen to Lossless just fine without a External DAC because the iPhone can play 24 bit/48 KHz

[@mjjm6220]

Yes, 24/48 is the 🍎 standard via 🍎TV. Technically any resolution above 16/44.1 is Hi-Res. Apple would have to do some software upgrade on 🍎TV to output 24/96 or 24/192. And as you say, need a dac connected to iPhone/iPad for above 24/48.

[@versaleyang]

Except that you still need one for your modern iPhones cuz they don't have a 3.5mm analog output.

[@HarukiYamamoto]

@@versaleyang Existing port works fine.

[@jaihind7687]

Iphone above 6s Don't support 24bit audio output via ports

[@chronnox5943]

@@versaleyang iPhone 6s needs a dac ?

[@nashpreds99]

I turned on Lossless with my AirPods Pros and I swore it sounded better. Hearing you say that the AirPods Max sounded better to you, makes me think I wasn’t crazy! 👍👍

[@richardsimpson2439]

Yes, it definitely sounds better, you’re not imagining it. There’s just more information there - no compression. Big difference overall.

[@molarrr]

I spent over 30 mins listening to several songs on my iPhone all lossless. And iPad which weren’t lossless. On my APM and I can tell a slight difference. Everything sounds more open and clearer.

[@danieldev514]

Except you are crazy, both airpods max and pros dont support loseless, you wont notice ANY difference in ABX test

[@Ivan-mf3vw]

The limit for Airpods Pro is 256 aac. They do not support lossless.

[@Ivan-mf3vw]

@@richardsimpson2439 It's just ridiculous. You have the placebo effect.

[@oioionionone]

The difference with atmos is you’re hearing a better mix, it’s not as heavily compressed, it may not seem as loud but there’s a big difference in the mix, I’m a stereo kind of guy and I’ve listened with £1000 headphones, it’s definitely a different option experience thats not black and white, I can appreciate the difference in some tracks, not all are improved

[@ManacoreMusic]

I think the difference in volume is imposed by the atmos standard (-18LUFS), being so low that makes no sense to master the atmos version. Only the stereo will tipically get the mastering process.

[@youtubegarbage7876]

So you went to a shop and listened with a midrange hifi headphone and now you're an expert?

[@attika70]

@@youtubegarbage7876 your life is just miserable is it?

[@codname125]

ah yes the innovative sound company Dobly

[@gadgelt]

I know what you did there 😂

[@AlexsaurusRex]

What's the inside joke? Do they hold back new tech?

[@BarringtonSmythe]

@@AlexsaurusRex It was more a spolling adjustment

[@eekzMadeThis]

🤣🤣🤣

[@JaiMahadevv27]

I don’t get it pls explain. I’m assuming Dolby isn’t innovative?

[@simscollectables]

You have totally missed reviewing Dolby atmos music through an actual home theatre system with atmos. I totally get what you are saying with the headphones, however playing it through your Apple TV connected to a receiver is OUT OF THIS WORLD. An incredible atmos experience like no other.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

I’m sure it is, dude. But I’m not convinced that’s for my audience - they’re far more interested in the performance on headphones at the is stage - trust me, the analytics speak for themselves 😉

[@alangillette4699]

I am wondering about music play back with a mac connected via HDMI to a AV receiver is lossless also

[@AJsWorld]

@@MarkEllisReviews Agreed, I don't care about home theatre, all of my music listening is through headphones. The closest I get to "home theatre" is a cheap $50 sound bar I got from the electronics store.

[@qwerty78228]

Spatial audio basically tries to mimic what the Dolby atmos mix sounds like with an added effect to make it sound like your in a small room. It does sound odd but still a nice feature to have if you want to have a different music experience or if you want to get a feel for what the atmos mix sounds like. The best way to experience Dolby atmos music is through Apple TV with atmos enabled receiver and high quality speakers. No question. It sounds incredible.

[@somarvelazquez]

Mark; I have made a few discoveries. I cloud status on your Apple Music when you see it on your computer will say a whole lot. I am with Apple Music since the beginning so: 1: I ripped my CDs at a medium Quality and kept the files on a hard drive. I also bought tracks at .99 cents when that was the thing to do. In order to make my ALL my own music files available in all my devices I subscribed to iTunes Match. 2. When streaming came about I turned to it and kept adding to my collection. All at the lower quality offered then. Now as I listen to my created over many years playlists… the files played are my old low quality files. And not the new lossless available. This means if you have been an Apple Music user from the beginning and if you have uploaded your ripped from CD files to their cloud at a medium quality now you are listening your old uploaded lower quality over streaming with headphones or wired speakers. Until you download everything again

[@shafeeqhafiz4406]

I’ve been finding an answer for days. Is apples spatial audio just about the head tracking function? What’s the main difference between Dolby Atmos and spatial audio? Can those two be used together? Would appreciate any answers greatly.

[@llcn829]

From what I’ve seen, Apple is using spatial audio and Dolby atmos pretty much interchangeably so this is more a marketing distinction. I think Apple initially wanted to avoid using the Dolby atmos branding when the feature was initially announced in iOS 14 but it seems they’ve reversed this decision, which I agree with to avoid confusion between spatial audio vs Dolby atmos. Dynamic head tracking is an Apple specific feature and is not part of Dolby atmos/spatial audio. In other words, spatial audio does not need to have dynamic head tracking, but dynamic head tracking requires spatial audio. Hope that clarifies it a bit.

[@Noid1220]

You only need a DAC for hi-res lossless. Just a lightning to headphone jack dongle will do for lossless.

[@e.o9470]

Honestly when i had Tidal subscription i spent much more on data plan so i left it for good! i used close to 3TB of data in 4 months! expensive cellular data plan but it was addictive you’re right!

[@JohnDeLeon28]

I think the first thing that I've noticed when listening to the lossless quality on Apple Music is the music being much cleaner like so smooth and the vocals are not that harsh anymore like it really blends well with the instrumentals compared to the previous one (256kbps AAC) and I think I can hear more instruments like you've never heard before that exists. It really has more detail. And weird that I am listening to an Airpod but I can hear the difference between the two. (256kbps AAC to Lossless 24 bit/48kHz)

[@Fatih-xl7yn]

AirPods doesn’t support lossless 👀

[@JohnDeLeon28]

@@Fatih-xl7yn The upcoming Airpods will released with lossless feature.

[@Fatih-xl7yn]

@@JohnDeLeon28 I only wanted to mention, that you have listen to aac and not lossless

[@JohnDeLeon28]

@@Fatih-xl7ynLossless feature only works with wired headphones but the upcoming new AirPods will now feature Lossless capabilities

[@Fatih-xl7yn]

@@JohnDeLeon28 you can listen lossless wireless with an Android, because they support higher Bluetooth codecs. (But the Bluetooth headphones have to support the codec)

[@yannpoco]

Dolby Atmos and Apple Spacial Audio are two very different technologies, Apple uses the term Spacial Audio in Apple Music just for the PR value I think, but in fact that’s more confusing. Dolby Atmos in music makes the studio record more like a live record version. I think right now it’s like a render or filter for sound in the mixing stage, it doesn’t need Apple to do anything expect to play the Dolby mastered version. The positive side is that the Dolby version is less loud, hence the dynamic range is better.

[@georgiafan6618]

Mark, the Airpod Max’s don’t provide the option of hard wiring to a dac/amp. Bluetooth only. As you mentioned, Bluetooth is incapable of streaming HD. I’m staying with my Sony XM3 as they allow both Bluetooth compressed audio (convenient when I run) and HD when I connect to the dac. Compressed audio has a small soundstage which is why HD sounds so open and detailed. The open backed sennheisers have huge, open soundstage. Audition the wired HD600. They’re better than the 560s. The dragonfly and the Zen both good products! I never use spatial audio. Good video 👍

[@imshawnyang]

actually head tracking spatial audio is coming with ios 15, so when you move your head the song moves with you, basically like what music videos are

[@hkproductions_]

Even though you need additional hardware to listen to lossless / high res lossless, can you still notice a difference in airpods pro?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Not quite so much as the Max.

[@dantracy621]

In other words, yes.

[@gorillapancake]

How about showing us some testing with your Sony XM4s with Apple Music using LDAC?

[@gonzalezm244]

I’m really enjoying the spatial audio on the Beyerdynamics 990 Pro directly plugged into my iPad Pro. Might be the novelty of being able to place instruments in specific locations but I find it pretty cool and a little bit more natural, as if I were in the recording studio. As with most things, it’s a personal preference. Keep in mind that you need to re-download your songs and adjust the Apple Music settings to get it to work.

[@DanielLundh]

For some music that actually works, and works very well indeed, in Atmos, try Kraftwerks 3D: The Catalogue. It's a live recording of basically all their albums and it was recorded and mixed in Atmos from day one (The Blu-Ray of the thing is in Atmos too). Try it, it sounds waaaay better than most any other atmos music track I've listened to.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

I will definitely try this - thanks.

[@juanolivas2402]

💯 agreed, came across this live version and using my iPod pro, sounds amazing. Great listening experience.

[@ModMINI]

very nice suggestion.

[@nicoschnurr2082]

Listening on airpods max. Atmos is definitely hit or miss. “Gotta have it” by kanye west and jay z is one of the worst mixes I’ve ever heard (voices are barely audible) while on other albums it’s an amazing experience. Art blakey’s “moanin” sounds like you’re in the same room with the musicians. “Daddy’s home” by st vincent is also really well done, huge sound stage and vocals sound clear. They might actually have recorded the album in atmos since it doesn’t sound superficial like many others do.

[@Night_City_Vibes]

Kanye West beautiful Dark Fantasy - best album in losslesss on Apple Music hands down perfect

[@Anon1370]

there is an improvement to atmos in ios 15 beta but it is so lagging right now i hope the next beta is better :D

[@megatransformersfan1]

just the two of us sounds amazing as well

[@maximilianschwab9668]

We have had 5.1 music for a LONG TIME now. The thing is, you need the special files and the dedicated hardware, if you want to listen to it. The same is to say about lossless. I think we'll see better hardware "for everyone" coming up soon, because both were something for specialists and "lovers", the other thing is, if you really want to "feel" the difference you need to spend money ... that is a sad through. I think the best solution for Atmos without specialized earphones are sound projectors. At this moment the best are the Yamaha YSP 5600 and the Sennheiser Ambeo.

[@JasonMilner]

Top tip when getting the Dragonfly DAC out of its sheath - pinch the sides of the sheath slightly & it releases the grip on the front and back, the DAC comes out much easier that way.

[@KimchiJerry]

Well explained video 👍 I like how you mentioned Tidal because I used to it but stopped because of the price but I did like the sound quality. It wasn’t as punchy as Apple Music but it was crisp. And I agree I’m not that impressed with Dolby Atmos because to me it sounds like when you arrive at a outdoor concert and you’re walking to the concert from your car and you can hear the music but it sounds far away. But I’m definitely going to have to try out them gadgets to enjoy lossless audio 👌

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Thank you! And your explanation of Atmos is great. Perhaps it’ll get better with time!

[@Alekxs]

Hi, I wanted to say thank you for this video for your work, I liked this video for the approach to details, for the high-quality video, for the good sound, and yes, I forgot about your recommendations that you offered and these are headphones, DAC and so on. Yes, as a Spotify music lover, I want to try Apple Music.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

That’s so nice to read. Thank you for taking the time to say thank you!

[@davidlrogers]

nailed the Air Pod Max thing for me, too. i actually found this video searching out if i was crazy or not, because i understand the hardware limitation but Apple seems to have "punched up" (to use your words) the software EQ and it sounds really good. huge difference to Spotify, what i normally listen to. i shouldn't be surprised, because their software processing in their phone camera far outpaces everybody else and they're able to do a lot more with a lot less hardware, so audio looks to be the same experience for most average users (of course, those that want to argue about top gear getting top performance, i think being on the bleeding edge is cool but that's not where most users sit on the bell curve and $1000 headphones to push every bit of juice out of music isn't really their priority).

[@notthepopularopinion]

From what I can gather there is a difference between, "Spatial Audio" and Dolby Atmos, and the two shouldn't be lumped in as a single thing. Like you say in the video, Spatial Audio keeps the center of the sound field locked to the source as if you were listening to it over standard speakers. Atmos is sound mixed using discrete, separate speaker channels where individual sounds will be assigned a, "location" in a 3D sound field. It is, like you say, the same as movie audio is mixed. For instance; the vocals from a track will be assigned to the center speaker alone so, from that speaker, the main vocal is all you will hear. Other instruments will be assigned to other speakers in the set up, like certain guitar tracks coming from the left surround, certain vocals coming from the rear speakers and so on. You can only accomplish this with multiple, discrete speakers. Spatial audio might be able to, "fake" it to a degree. For instance, if you have an atmosphere track with a particular keyboard assigned to the rear speakers, the spatial audio can make that sound more prevalent if you face 180-degrees from the source device, effectively looking into the rear of the sound field. This is not true, discrete multichannel sound. Many home theater receivers will offer a feature where a stereo source can be transposed into a multichannel set up but this is also not true surround sound, and it is especially not true Atmos. In this case, the receiver is analyzing the sounds in the stereo source and stretches it out across the speaker field depending on wide they sit in regards to the left/center/right sound field. This is that weird, hollow effect people talk about and might be something like what spatial audio does. When you have true, discrete audio separation the sound is extremely clean and sharp. But for this you need multiple speakers and a device, usually a home theater receiver, to decode and separate the audio. You might be able to play an Atmos encoded track on a pair of headphones, but it will never be true Atmos. Apple isn't hiding this information, but they aren't exactly being up front about it either. Most likely its because they don't want to scare people off with fears that they have go out and spend, potentially, multiple thousands of dollars on new gear set up to use these features - but that is essentially what you have to do. However that would be true of just about any service offering these features. The point is not that these features will work for anyone right now (though the switch to lossless will improve overall sound quality) but that they are available to those who can take advantage of them. Hell, they may even encourage people, after years of considering audio only in terms of convenience, to start investing in good equipment again and creating spaces to listen to high quality sound. Will that be the case? I don't know - but one can hope.

[@ssnaredude10]

I had a chance to listen to the Atmos version of Hybrid Theory from Linkin Park, and I can’t help but agree with you in regards to a more quieter hollow sound. I did also notice some tracks that had seemed modified, which makes me think that it might be less of the technology at fault and more so the engineering. Just my 2 cents.

[@AJsWorld]

I'm listening to Crawling from that album, a song I'm very familiar with, and it sounds terrible! The intro looses all of the bass, the chorus has over emphasised the drums and the main vocals have reverb (1:46-2:05 is a good example of the fake reverb).

[@youtubegarbage7876]

It's almost like A: Atmos isn't meant for your cheap headphones or any other headphones and B: That album wasn't recorded in Atmos so it's fake anyway... and C: the band kinda sucks.

[@BlackSaiyan24]

What a soothing voice. You should consider doing ASMR. But very informative and easily explained video man! I’m not about to get all that to listen to better music quality. It’s simply not worth it (to me). I’m not lugging all that to work with me every other day (I work part time in the office and at home)

[@bobwood63]

Just confirmed everything I have felt about Spatial audio for music! Reduces the punch dramatically, and feels like your hearing the music coming from another room!

[@nachowifi2181]

I have a high end system and I have to increase the volume using Spatial Audio. Which was very odd given a lossless track

[@tonyward9554]

Hi Mark - Please can we have an update on “Lossless” and spatial audio. Given Apple has announced HomePod 2 , is there now a way to play this format/s on the HomePod 2?

[@57RickH]

I think until there are numerous releases available that were mixed specifically for Atmos, it’s only gonna sound hollow and weird on any music not specifically mixed for the process. If engineers and producers jump on the Atmos bandwagon, then the technology may take off.

[@willarroz6703]

Masego’s new album

[@tapiolehto5312]

Thank you. Have iPhone 11 Pro 512 GT, most of my music is recorded via iMac as AIFF files. I have compared music bought from Apple Music, AAC, using CD as lossless, about half of AIFF, roughly, and AIFF files. Good recordings for example Led Zeppelin. Tested using 3 generations of AirPods via bluetooth. AIFF files sound remarkably better than others even with the 1. generation AirPods. Having owned dragon fly, surprisingly I listen inside house with AirPods Max, what a sound, outside AirPods Pro. I think Apple have done magic with AirPods and bluetooth.

[@joeynunez5614]

I had a similar experience as I am an AirPods Pro user and not really an audiophile. I did in fact notice a difference between high quality and lossless right off the bat and it was not placebo as I tested with many songs and same with my car Bluetooth. To me even if the full quality isn’t being utilized, you are still pushing it through with down sampling. It definitely sounds slightly louder and puncher like you were describing even in my AirPods Pro. Dolby Atmos sounds weird on a lot of songs but also a good chunk sounds absolutely incredible and better than ever especially with head tracking. On iOS 15 My favorite new feature is enabling “spatialize stereo” and just makes a majority of non Atmos songs sound wider and more dynamic paired with lossless.

[@robj7386]

i can notice the difference in regular airpods 2

[@RobertoSoma]

Nice video, I liked the tone and simplicity. Thank you. I would love to see the video speakers version.

[@Ilkello99]

That’s exactly what I like about this creator and his channel, well said

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Thank you!

[@malarkey102]

I'm curious. What do you think will be the highest audio quality you could get over bluetooth. Has anybody really pushed it to its limits.

[@Ivan-mf3vw]

256 aac. The limit for Airpods Pro is 256 aac. They do not support lossless.

[@likhithm3097]

Guys I have sony xb900n will it be able to play lossless audio through wired connection?

[@stevenrobinson4884]

Interesting hearing your take. I loved Abbey Road in spatial audio with AirPods Pro. Found it transformative. Funny how we all hear it differently!

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Maybe I need to listen again :)

[@Xll148]

Must you use a external DAC or headphones? Can you just stream/playback hi-res lossless with the mac’s internal DAC and the internal speakers? I streamed classical on iMac with no additional equipment and noticed the hi-res badge and hi-res in the Get Info>File.

[@stofferrussell]

Still with Dolby Atmos on Tidal. There’s a playlist on there called 70s Tidal Atmos Tracks. The sound on my setup seems more expansive and I’m using cheaper headphones tans setup than yours but still notice what seems to be a larger soundstage. I didn’t really notice at first but after a few weeks I can now hear the difference between Master and 360° / Atmos tracks. I’m mainly listening on an iPad Pro with a Ugreen USB C DAC / 3mm jack and Sennheiser HD599SE open back cans. As you mentioned though, it’s all subjective. I prefer a more neutral sound so it will be interesting to hear for myself or a review from your good self on the new Sony openbacked cans MDR-MV1.

[@Stuntman707]

Spatial Audio is hit and miss on Apple Music but lossless is great. Also I have my AirPods Pro calibrated with Audiogram to match my specific hearing. Used the Mimi app to take an Audiogram test.

[@chandraisefa]

Love your explanation man

[@Khaelnas]

I concur a tad with spatial sound in Apple Music being disappointing. There are some songs that utilize the spatial sound in a truly immersive manner. Try listening to Tiësto - BOOM, it’s a world of difference.

[@mayssebmasenya9132]

Thanks for detailed info. How do you listen to the lossless music in Hifi system at home? Does network player streaming through WiFi play the lossless audio?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Thanks for watching! Really not sure - depends on so many factors. Cabled is pretty much always the way to go with lossless at the moment.

[@Hogwild90]

Turn spatial audio to always on and use your amp and good headphones! It is compatible with any headphones and it is much better on good headphones! Some songs are worse but some are a lot better in my opinion.

[@rolandogamez]

You are correct!!

[@abhishekbansal2556]

Hi i am planning to get headphones/earphones today from prime sale in India. Having Apple Music subscription. Please recommend shAll i go for sony wh-1000xm3 or airpod pro which will sound better for dolby atoms movie experience and music. Please reply thanks in advance

[@VelP3]

This video really helped me understand lossless, special audio, and Dolby atmos and what it means for me, my ears, and my apple products. Thank you!

[@ikilledkenny1011]

So momentum 4+ iPhone cannot run loseless? Correct? If I am mistaken? If so how would i run it?

[@berrymatthews3]

So does lossless still work in AirPods regardless of them being Bluetooth?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Technically, no. But it does sound different.

[@Gixer750K2]

Glad I kept my Bowers & Wilkins MM-1's now... :) They connect to Mac via USB, and have a good quality internal DAC. Apple Lossless sounds really great. Hi-Res Lossless sounds amazing from these little speakers. I used to play lossless FLAC files, so now having Apple music Hi-Res Lossless to stream is music to my ears.

[@rjhurst]

I have been listening to Apple Music lossless using my £10 Apple lightning to 3.5mm adapter on iPhone (and my Apple USB-C to 3.5mm adapter on iPad Air 4) which I believe allows me to play music to wired headphones at 24 bit/48 kHz. Is it really worth spending £100 or more on an external DAC to hear 24 bit/192 kHz? I’m tempted to do it, but just wondered if there would be much of a difference!

[@DAMN11KIDS]

Do you ever use sound check or loudness normalization?

[@iandavidbrown8852]

Brilliant overview - thank you

[@luvialca]

Do we can feel any difference in quality between Dragonfly and iFi?

[@johnj.6104]

can't really find the audio quality options in the preferences tab. don't think it has rolled out in India yet.

[@rameshdas5980]

It will take some time, I’m also waiting for that

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Hope you get it soon!

[@01bigtrev]

For the AirPods Pro you can turn on spatial audio in the control centre by long pressing the volume level. Where you find the option for noise cancellation. The option isn’t there for the OG AirPods.

[@vertober4300]

so u can’t turn on lossless thru settings? and u always need some sort of device u can’t just use headphones?

[@ScissorVixens]

I have the Airpod Max headphones (same color as yours's which is blue) and have been a subscriber to Apple Music for a few years now. So, recently sampled the FREE spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and to my ears...it sounds FANTASTIC! I'm old enough to say that 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen was one of my favorite songs when it was initially released and when I heard it again remastered with the spatial audio and Dolby Atmos...I heard things in that song I never heard before! So obviously for some...it's going to sound gimmicky as in your case but for many others...I think it will sound amazing.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Glad you're enjoying it, Drew!

[@just-jj]

Great informative video. I had high hopes for Spatial Audio, but was underwhelmed by the sound. I find a lot of background sounds get pronounced more than the artists voice at times, which makes it sound artificial. Maybe future music releases made with Atmos in mind will sound better, but for now I've turned it off 😂

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mbak7801]

My experience for getting cheap HiFi experience. 1. Take a two hour flight in a Wessex helicopter with no ear defenders (advised by flight crew not needed). 2. Go on a shooting range and fire a round/shell or two from the weapon of your choice also sans defenders. After you get your hearing back and assuming there is no lasting tinnitus (I was lucky) then every sound system sounds exactly the same. Saves a fortune. You will notice distortion so a reasonable quality audio setup will still be needed but nothing fancy and you will be quite happy.

[@palwindersingh9678]

Hey, have you made any tutorials on how you're editing your audio, it sounds great, thanks.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

I have done 😊 Check out my video catalogue!

[@palwindersingh9678]

@@MarkEllisReviews I saw the video. You were complaining about echo in your room. Have you tried iZtope RX before its advanced version have this dialogue dereverb module. The tool can be GOD send for eliminating echo from your audio. Do give it a try if you haven’t already.

[@sinandede9871]

Can i use my b&w px8 with my 3,5 cable and an adapter for losless sound from my ipad?

[@BenjaminSmith]

I agree about the loudness. Both Apple Music and Tidal’s lossless hurt my ears at the same volume I would normally use without discomfort.

[@Fishjamlaugh]

Haha...Dubly...nicely placed 😎

[@MarkEllisReviews]

😉

[@samidebs3559]

Can I use my AV receiver?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

I believe so.

[@randomfun833]

Can ipad pro 2017 play high res without any extra equipment since it has headphone jack?

[@BrisbaneTeslaGuy]

Hey what’s that keyboard on your desk??

[@MarkEllisReviews]

IQUNIX - check 'em out.

[@joshuanesbit]

so what's the difference in spatial audio and atmos? the terms are used interchangeably by apple

[@bgmobman1]

Excellent review.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Glad you liked it!

[@erroldnazareth]

I was more curious on Spotify Vs Apple Music, especially after the launch of Dolby Atmos & Lossless on AM.

[@3.0Suskiii]

So if I just listen to music from my AirPods Pro and my car the Apple Music isn’t really with it? Should I stick with Spotify instead?

[@cornerbodega6607]

Can you share which keyboard you are using

[@MarkEllisReviews]

It's an IQUNIX.

[@tongobongo5306]

BOOM by tiesto is the best track I would recommend to showcase what they can do with Dolby Atmos in Apple Music

[@thomasnewsom6084]

If you want to take advantage of your Airpods Max, you should get the Apple cable that allows to you to use them wired ($35) and hook them to your Dragonfly. This is not a simple wire cable as it has an ADC in it (analog to Digital). Even before the High Res add, they really sounded a lot better this way. I'm not sure about the Black version but the Cobalt version of Dragonfly came with an adapter called the Dragon Tail that adapts the USB-A to USB-C. That will plug directly to newer iPads and you can covert USB-C to Lightning for iPhone use.

[@BrentLeVasseur]

The most important key takeaway is that you will NEED an external DAC to hear any difference between Apple Lossless and the lossy AAC versions. My go to DAC for youtube and listening on my iPad/iPhone is the THX Onyx dongle DAC. It beats the audioquest Cobalt and it’s $100 cheaper. For headphones I use Hifiman Sundara. People who just plug their headphones into their iPhones/iPad without a good external DAC won’t hear any difference. The internal DACs in Apple products are not good enough for lossless. Same goes for wireless earbuds like the ipods earphones or any wireless beats headphone.

[@velanche]

I'd be really interested if you can test out Apple's 3.5mm-to-USB-C (or Lightning) adapter, which Apple says has a built-in DAC, and compare it with the other two DACs in the video. As my ears have moderate hearing loss (due to congenital nerve damage), while I have the adapter, it would be good for someone with much better ears and the gear to try that out. Otherwise, good video! I'm posting a video on Monday about Apple Music's lossless audio and I'll include your video as one of the choice picks on the subject in the description. Much appreciated!

[@gswhite]

One question I cannot find the answer to is around atmos tracks. Are atmos tracks on Apple Music lossless or standard encoding?

[@MrBlueThinker1127]

How about those who only just buy the song from Apple music and not subscribing the Apple music would they still enjoy the atmos and lossless?

[@neilbissett1240]

Great review mate as per the norm thanks 😎

[@bundieF]

I have AirPods Pro and spatial audio doesn’t work. Do I need to update my phone software?

[@laika25]

Flawlessly and clearly explained.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Thank you!

[@vnrays3775]

My macbook air M1 refuses to output higher than 44Khz signal (aka only lossless songs, not hi-res lossless). I have only encountered this with the Mac app (though I'm able to output full 192Khz or even DSD128 with the same setup using Audirvana & Tidal). The ipad/iphone apps work fine though. Can I ask if you are having the same problem?

[@fernandoponcemata650]

I have the same problem

[@thomasnewsom6084]

@@fernandoponcemata650 Not what I see. I use a Dragonfly DAC attached to the M1. I tells me what it is seeing is at least 96K (it is limited to 96K even thaough I have the setting on the Mac to go all the way to 192K if available). I am running the latest Big Sur update 11.4 which I believe is required for the high res full support.

[@vnrays3775]

@@thomasnewsom6084 it seems like this is a software compatible problem. My 2 TEAC DACs both refuse to output higher resolution. Guess there will have to be driver updates on the other company side to be able to take full advantages of the new ALACs.

[@CyrusOmerta]

Dolby Atmos does sound gimmickey on some tracks. Will say on Taylor Swifts last 2 albums, it sounds really good. Really wide!

[@markchessler3875]

It’s also about what you’re listening to. There are some really great examples that give you an idea of the future of the format - Lady Gaga's Chromatica, Tom Petty's You Don’t Know How it Feels, all of the Abbey Road album.

[@techandy1747]

Does anyone have this problem…I downloaded Lossless music from Apple Music on my iPhone know all the lossless music stop playing at 15 seconds…but my AAC music play normal When I’m on wifi my Lossless audio play normal but offline they stop playing at 15 seconds

[@upload00]

@@markchessler3875 on airpods pro or airpods pro max? those are the only devices that do spatial audio..

[@lehlonolomokwena9360]

can i listen to apple alac lossless on my android phone with normal wired earphones?

[@minatalaat4913]

Is ath m40x can be used for music listening or it just for audio monitoring?

[@trd2418]

I also thought Dolby Atmos is a gimmick, until I listened to it on a 5.1 surround sound setup. If, for example, an Apple TV passes the Dolby Atmos signal to an av receiver that recognizes it as atmos, the result is awesome. It feels like a life recording Blu-ray, but the band is in the studio. I honestly think that is the future of music. There is so much potential for well-made 360 Audio mixes. Tidal also features Sony360. Dolby is therefor not the only one to do this. Maybe some open source format would boost the appreciation of the tech. But headphones could never really transport that wow factor to me. Probably because you already have a very room like feeling with stereo sitting directly on your ears.

[@luragon3669]

Dolby atmos sounds awesome with jazz!

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Wish I was in to jazz, in that case 😂

[@hhoebeke1]

Thanks - great video - after some trying with the AirPods Max and Mac (M1) I agree there is quite a difference between the lossless and the classic AAC, a more open sound and louder - in classic stereo. I don't hear such difference in Dolby Atmoss tracks...so not getting the 3.5 to lightning cable for the moment...

[@pvenhoff]

The best, most understandable explanation I’ve found so far. Thank you!

[@forgivemanmokgomola5618]

The way you threw the airpods max case😆

[@MarkEllisReviews]

I never know what to do with it.

[@lw8684]

How are the APM vs your Sennheiser's with apple lossless? Is it worth getting open back headphones for someone who isn't an audiophile (I just listen to music at the moment). I have a 2i2 I could use as a DAC.

[@ministrinity2830]

Mark, there’s a major bug in the Apple Music app in Mac OS. People are complaining that with lossless and atmos turned on. Skipping between random songs in different albums gives a deafening beep at the beginning of a song. My speakers are particularly the kanto yu2 like yours. This could potentially hurt users ears or damage equipment. Can you confirm if you have this issue?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Never experienced these bugs myself, Nick.

[@Gazzab6]

I’m slightly confused as on many You Tube channels, Lossless is 24-bit/48KHz yet when I click on the Lossless tab under the progress bar of the track in Apple Music, the settings are displayed at 16-bit/44.1KHz - is this due to the limitation of the iPhone? I used to have Amazon Music Unlimited and this was their HD Quality (CD Quality) which also displayed as 16bit-44.1KHZ and the next level up which I’m assuming was 24-bit/48 or 96KHz was called Ultra HD. I listen to my music on a pair of Bluetooth Liberty 3 Pro’s and when I switched between the two levels on Amazon Music Unlimited I could definitely hear the difference - it was night and day. On Apple Music the Hi Res Lossless just gets louder. The Liberty Earbuds are classed as being Hi Res Audio but I’m wondering if that’s just in LDAC mode. If I’m only using Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro earbuds and a Soundcore 3 Bluetooth speaker, what quality setting do you suggest I have set in Apple Music? At the moment I have it set to Lossless (not Hi-Res Lossless).

[@Cicton]

Really good summary. I quite like the spatial apple music but I understand the hollow argument.

[@GJoseeph]

Can Hi Res Lossless work with lightning EarPods?

[@harshparikh2764]

Can Sony wh-1000xm4 support Dolby Atmos/spatial audio and lossless audio(using the headphone jack) ?

[@larrygrandelf6205]

Would an audio interface work just as well for the mid range lossless?

[@StudlerCH]

It is so sad that Apple doesn't support Audio over USB with the AirPods Max. I simply can't get it into my head, why they didn't think about that simple but great use case, especially with the announcement of lossless audio now....

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Interesting. I think something is inevitable for the AirPods Max and full lossless support...