Some audio geekslament the current state of audio formatsin which files are compressed to make them smaller.
Serious audio enthusiasts also can listen to music in Hi-Res Lossless, which is available at 24-bit 192 kHz.
However, Hi-Res Lossless needs a USBdigital-to-analog converter, or DAC.
Lifewire / Sascha Brodsky
Wait, No Airpods?
My first problem listening to the new lossless Apple Music was finding a rig to play it on.
Support for lossless audio will be added to the HomePod and HomePod mini via a future software update.
Apple
Apple
Keep in mind that lossless music wont work on any of Apples wireless headphones.
There is one caveat, however.
However, because of the analog to digital conversion in theLightning to 3.5mm audiodongle, playback isnt wholly lossless.
I connected the Max to my iPhone with an adaptor and began listening to BeethovensNinth Symphony.
It might have been my imagination, but I felt the notes were a tiny bit crisper.
A switch to Pink FloydsComfortably Numbyielded similar results.
The vocals seemed slightly more alive, and I felt as if the soundstage was just a little broader.
Apparently, Im not the only one having a hard time telling the difference with the new lossless format.
Finally, I took the most straightforward approach and tried listening through mynew M1 iMacspeakers.
The desktop already has excellent sound quality, far better than most smart speakers.
Without a cable, I was almost sure that the music sounded better in lossless.
But doubt began to creep into my mind.
Was I just hearing better audio because I expected to?
Apparently, Im not the only one having a hard time telling the difference with the new lossless format.
Herecently saidthat most people wouldnt be able to tell the difference.
But the difference is so tiny that I wouldnt rush to the new format.
Im looking forward to testing losslesson my HomePodif and when Apple gets around to releasing an update.
For now, though, its a nice feature, but not that big of a deal.
