DavidMcRoy
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THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCLUDE MY INITIAL LISTENING REACTIONS
They both showed up as options under a new line called “Audio Quality” in Music Settings. (I am in Washington State, USA and the rollout may still be underway.) I look forward to your assessments.
Apple’s May 24, 2021 release about lossless audio:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183
The above link begins with this disclaimer at the top:
“Lossless is not yet available but is coming soon,” but the link still provides some useful information on how lossless audio can be accessed.
Apple Insider‘s story from today, June 8, 2021 on Apple Lossless Audio, Apple Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos via Apple Music:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...ates-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio-content
After my rushed listening sessions overnight, my initial reaction to Apple Lossless at ”up to” 48/24 vs. Apple AAC remains the same as in prior comparisons: usually there’s almost no difference to my well-trained, yet nearly 65 year-old ears. (I was a broadcast TV and radio audio engineer for 35 years.) Switching between the two in Apple Music Audio Quality Settings, any differences are very subtle to non-existent to me. Sometimes I “think” I prefer anything that isn’t lossy over anything lossy, but with Apple AAC it get’s tougher. It’s a very good process. You might have a different experience and fortunately you can switch among AAC vs. up to 48/24 or vs. up to 192/24 on the fly in your Apple Music Settings while listening.
I hooked up my ancient iPhone 6S Plus’s Lightning port to an Apple Camera Adapter, and fed power to the adapter through it’s Lightning port. (This is the only configuration that I can get to power the phone while extracting data from it at the same time.) I fed data from the adapter‘s USB-A port to the USB-B port on my Topping D30 Hi-Res Audio DAC.
In Apple Music Settings, you can also switch the headphone versions of the tracks created for “Dolby Atmos” in and out on the fly while listening to Dolby Atmos tracks. On those tracks, using conventional Etymōtic ER3XR in-ear monitors (earbuds) with Dolby Atmos set to “Always On” in Apple Music settings, the Dolby Atmos mixes I heard sounded many dB lower in level (maybe 10 dB or so?) than the conventional stereo mix and with heavier bass, a warmer midrange and a wider soundstage. There are a number of things about these tracks that differ from the originals other than expanded spatiality. I mean, they’re new mixes, so to speak.
Unlike Dolby Atmos mixes created for listening over a surround speaker system like my 7.1.4 system, movie and TV showe soundtracks being chief among them, the headphone mix does not give me any illusion of height, just greater width and enhanced isolation between some phantom image. Still, for headphone listening, I prefer the sound of the Dolby Atmos mix in most cases. A few isolated sound sources sounded outside my head by a little, whereas in most conventional stereo mixes everything sounds like it’s inside my head. As mentioned above, at least some of the remixes have a more bass-heavy spectral balance, too a bit heavy handed in my limited experience of far. Keep this in mind in your own evaluations.
I don’t think these 2-channel headphone mixes are intended for further processing through an outboard Dolby Audio Surround processor, but I tried it anyway!
I listened to a few of the Dolby Atmos remixes in 2-channel stereo speaker configuration. Audio levels dropped dramatically again of course, and the soundspace sounded wider, like there was more L-R dialed in, rather like the headphone presentation for which the format was intended. So you get everything you get with headphones, no more and no less.
I don’t think these 2-channel headphone mixes are intended for further processing through an outboard Dolby Audio Surround processor, but I tried it anyway! I immediately decided that I wouldn’t recommend it be used this way. I had to know though, so I went there for a few minutes. That was enough. I LOVE what my Dolby Audio Surround upmixer can do with conventional 2-channel stereo tracks. It’s way better than it has any right to be, a wonder and a mystery. If you have one, just keep feeding the plain old stereo mixes into it.
In summary, Dolby Atmos for headphones is best used just for headphones or 2-channel stereo speakers. You’re better off listening to regular 2 stereo tracks through your 2.0 to 7.1.4 hardware upmixer over an Atmos-compatible surround system. As for Apple Lossless Audio, my reaction is the same as it always has been: I “feel like” things sound “better” at 44.1/16 or higher than with the best lossy compression schemes like Apple ALAC, but I doubt I’d pass a double-blind test. If anything, AAC mostly sounds a bit rolled-off in the highs and somehow more “homogenized.” Take that with this caveat: I’m almost 65 years old but with decent hearing for my age, but worse than that, I’m jaded. So, I did what any red blooded audiophile would do: I checked “High-Resolution Lossless” (up to 192/24) and left it there. Just in case.
They both showed up as options under a new line called “Audio Quality” in Music Settings. (I am in Washington State, USA and the rollout may still be underway.) I look forward to your assessments.
Apple’s May 24, 2021 release about lossless audio:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183
The above link begins with this disclaimer at the top:
“Lossless is not yet available but is coming soon,” but the link still provides some useful information on how lossless audio can be accessed.
Apple Insider‘s story from today, June 8, 2021 on Apple Lossless Audio, Apple Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos via Apple Music:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...ates-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio-content
After my rushed listening sessions overnight, my initial reaction to Apple Lossless at ”up to” 48/24 vs. Apple AAC remains the same as in prior comparisons: usually there’s almost no difference to my well-trained, yet nearly 65 year-old ears. (I was a broadcast TV and radio audio engineer for 35 years.) Switching between the two in Apple Music Audio Quality Settings, any differences are very subtle to non-existent to me. Sometimes I “think” I prefer anything that isn’t lossy over anything lossy, but with Apple AAC it get’s tougher. It’s a very good process. You might have a different experience and fortunately you can switch among AAC vs. up to 48/24 or vs. up to 192/24 on the fly in your Apple Music Settings while listening.
I hooked up my ancient iPhone 6S Plus’s Lightning port to an Apple Camera Adapter, and fed power to the adapter through it’s Lightning port. (This is the only configuration that I can get to power the phone while extracting data from it at the same time.) I fed data from the adapter‘s USB-A port to the USB-B port on my Topping D30 Hi-Res Audio DAC.
In Apple Music Settings, you can also switch the headphone versions of the tracks created for “Dolby Atmos” in and out on the fly while listening to Dolby Atmos tracks. On those tracks, using conventional Etymōtic ER3XR in-ear monitors (earbuds) with Dolby Atmos set to “Always On” in Apple Music settings, the Dolby Atmos mixes I heard sounded many dB lower in level (maybe 10 dB or so?) than the conventional stereo mix and with heavier bass, a warmer midrange and a wider soundstage. There are a number of things about these tracks that differ from the originals other than expanded spatiality. I mean, they’re new mixes, so to speak.
Unlike Dolby Atmos mixes created for listening over a surround speaker system like my 7.1.4 system, movie and TV showe soundtracks being chief among them, the headphone mix does not give me any illusion of height, just greater width and enhanced isolation between some phantom image. Still, for headphone listening, I prefer the sound of the Dolby Atmos mix in most cases. A few isolated sound sources sounded outside my head by a little, whereas in most conventional stereo mixes everything sounds like it’s inside my head. As mentioned above, at least some of the remixes have a more bass-heavy spectral balance, too a bit heavy handed in my limited experience of far. Keep this in mind in your own evaluations.
I don’t think these 2-channel headphone mixes are intended for further processing through an outboard Dolby Audio Surround processor, but I tried it anyway!
I listened to a few of the Dolby Atmos remixes in 2-channel stereo speaker configuration. Audio levels dropped dramatically again of course, and the soundspace sounded wider, like there was more L-R dialed in, rather like the headphone presentation for which the format was intended. So you get everything you get with headphones, no more and no less.
I don’t think these 2-channel headphone mixes are intended for further processing through an outboard Dolby Audio Surround processor, but I tried it anyway! I immediately decided that I wouldn’t recommend it be used this way. I had to know though, so I went there for a few minutes. That was enough. I LOVE what my Dolby Audio Surround upmixer can do with conventional 2-channel stereo tracks. It’s way better than it has any right to be, a wonder and a mystery. If you have one, just keep feeding the plain old stereo mixes into it.
In summary, Dolby Atmos for headphones is best used just for headphones or 2-channel stereo speakers. You’re better off listening to regular 2 stereo tracks through your 2.0 to 7.1.4 hardware upmixer over an Atmos-compatible surround system. As for Apple Lossless Audio, my reaction is the same as it always has been: I “feel like” things sound “better” at 44.1/16 or higher than with the best lossy compression schemes like Apple ALAC, but I doubt I’d pass a double-blind test. If anything, AAC mostly sounds a bit rolled-off in the highs and somehow more “homogenized.” Take that with this caveat: I’m almost 65 years old but with decent hearing for my age, but worse than that, I’m jaded. So, I did what any red blooded audiophile would do: I checked “High-Resolution Lossless” (up to 192/24) and left it there. Just in case.
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