Competition for our ears has stepped up to another level with Apple announcing it will offer spatial audio through Dolby Atmos and high quality lossless music from next month.
The great news for current Apple Music subscribers? You’ll get it for free.
Apple Music’s library of more than 75 million songs will be available in Lossless Audio.
All you have to do to start listening is go to Settings > Music > Audio Quality.
From there – choose different resolutions for different connections such as mobile, Wi-Fi, or for download.
Make it stand out
Hi-Res Lossless 24 bit at 192 kHz audio is serious stuff and requires external equipment, such as a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
I’ve tested Hi-res players with insanely expensive open back headphones and it’s mind blowing.
You’ll hear stuff in songs you didn’t know was there.
It’s like hearing your favourite music for the first time all over again.
Apple Music’s Lossless tier starts at CD quality (16 bit at 44.1 kHz) up to 24 bit at 48 kHz and is playable natively on Apple devices.
Apple Music also offers Hi-Resolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit at 192 kHz.
Many services are offering, or about to offer, Hi-res Audio in a streaming format.
Qobuz, a popular French music streaming and download service just launched in Australia.
Although audiophiles have been downloading Hi-res Music for some time – streaming of these large files has been limited.
It can be difficult to understand the technical aspects of Hi-res audio.
I’ll be going into depth on Hi-res Audio on Sky News this Sunday with a follow up deep-dive on Image Matrix Tech.
A quick note on the spatial audio that Apple is offering.
Many may not even notice the improved audio when active but there’s no doubt the spatial experience will have an impact – even on AirPods.