Playing Apple Music HiRes

[MrBurnside]

iOS device + DAC​

Pros​

• Rather cheap hardware near the HiFi system (a second hand iPhone is enough)
• Changes dynamically the audio resolution (bit perfect)
• Compatible to DAC at least up to 192kHz/24bits PCM

Cons​

• Can not be controlled remotely from an other iOs/macOS device: you need to stand up from your chair to change tracks

I stumbled into a solution for remotely controlling a dedicated HiFi iPhone - grab one of these CarPlay screens and connect your iPhone to CarPlay on the device. Put the screen wherever you sit and you have control of playback on a hardwired iPhone. The screen has to be plugged in for power, but as long as it's within Bluetooth range of the phone, you can control playback and see album art. Works with any CarPlay-compatible app.

 

[SciencePlatt]

I spent hours comparing streaming Apple Music on TVOS to Apple Music on Apple TV 4K previous gen. Hdmi Arc Hdmi extractor coax dac.

What I realized is that Apple Music via tvOS is still only 16 bit. While the Apple TV outputs 24 Bit.

With some newly released material you can actually hear the difference.

if you like Apple Music as do I, you are wise to go there via a computer for pre Loaded high res, but a sold sounding 24/48 from the Apple TV makes it a winner over tvOS. I wish Santa would bring 96 khz streaming.

PS Apple TV syncs with your device and allows itunes on the device to be an illustrated remote control of sorts, Apple TV syncs and originates the signal with its own iTunes.
The original device could be turned off and the Apple TV wold continue to play from an identical playlist etc…

 

[yelloguy]

What’s the difference between tvOS and Apple TV? I thought Apple TV used tvOS

 

[jjk1]

Apple Music consumption methods.

I have a bunch or old ATV 3s, a new ATV4k, a Wiim pro plus, an Oppo ha-1 headphone amp and bypass DAC, and an integrated amp.

1. iOS to Oppo HA-1 DAC in bypass mode - USB mobile apple port - 16/44.1 - perfect digital volume control from iOS device and iOS device charger. I wish could find a modern DAC with a iOS charging USB port. First world problem.
2. iOS to Oppo HA-1 USB 2 port. 24/192 max - no iOS volume control.
3. Airplay to ATV 3, optical into Wiim pro plus (for room EQ) into Oppo ha-1 DAC in bypass via coax, to integrated amp - 24/48 lossless - perfect volume control from iOS device.
4. Airplay to Wiim pro plus. Airplay 2 16/44.1 ACC (not lossless)
5. Airplay to ATV 4k to Sony tv optical out - 24/48 lossless - no IOS volume control.
6. Airplay to ATV 4 to arc extraction or hdmi audio extractor- sucks I give up. Not worth the hassle. Many devices tried. Volume and device control gets messy.
7. The best (ok favorite) method I’ve tried is to start Apple Music on the ATV 4, select the ATV 3 connected to the Wiim as an audio output device for the ATV4 (airplay between atv4 and atv3 - optical output..)

This gives you hosted (no iOS device involved yet) lossless apple music sending 24/48 lossless stream to an airplay 1 device with an optical output to feed the Wiim for room EQ. I then start SharePlay on the atv4 and join from any iOS device to control the play queue and volume.

It’s lossless and not “hi-res” but stable. The airplay connection between the ATV4 and ATV3 will even reconnect after a power down.

If Apple were to ever enable SharePlay from an iOS device connected to a DAC, it would be game over. That would be the a perfect solution.

 

[amper42]

Unfortunately Audirvana won't pass Apple Music-found out the hard way. so anyone w/o a Mac or iPhone or Apple TV is out of luck. I'm thinking of switching to Apple Music from Qobuz but can't figure out a way to pass it untouched to my dongle in the cars.

I tried Apple Music but the Apple player software is horrible compared to my Audirvana/Qobuz configuration and Hi-Res wasn't working at all during my Apple Music trial. The Qobuz/Audirvana setup was a hundred times better in my use.

Also, registered Denon owners were emailed May 30, 2025 a coupon for two months of free Qobuz so user could try Qobuz connect with their products.

 

[Tomf1dub]

First off, thank you for all the comments . Had to join to give my thoughts .
I’m all in on Apple . Apple everything including music.
Apple Music integration into Apple products is not meant for Audiophile . That is my conclusion .
After many years let me tell you the best I can do .
1) iPad into Dac . Directly wired through lightning cable into camera adapter and USB into DAC.
Btw , if Apple had USBC you could buy USB to optical cable and no adapter required .
Disadvantage is you have to go to iPad to change in Apple Music every time you want to change or access music.
You would think SharePlay is way to go but , sadly does not work for me as second I plug in my Lightning cable you disconnect SharePlay on my iPad.
What stupidity is this from Apple ? Really ? So so frustrating .
Let me stress again - the f word comes into it a lot !
2) here is best I can do - Apple TV 4th generation . Of course , no optical out . So , HDMI to little adapter box that send HDMI to TV and optical to DAC ( I send to Wiim Pro and then Coax out into ARCAM RDAC into amplifier . Then, icing on cake ,is I can use SharePlay between iPhone/iPad and Apple TV . Why ? Well , no indication of bitrate on Apple TV or Wiim but Apple Music on the SharePlay iPhone tells you the bitrate . Yes upper limited to 24bit/48KHz but , just good to see it on iPhone Music app as some tracks are 16/44.1
Airplay is really not worth it .
Bottom line - Apple - allow SharePlay to work when you output music via Lightning port through cable from iPad to DAC and allow control from another iOS device to allow hi-res files to be played .
THis is not rocket science .
Of course , complete hand off with an “Apple Connect” type product would be too much to ask for . Right now I’d settle for SharePlay to work

 

[masterhw]

Btw , if Apple had USBC

they do

 

[Tomf1dub]

they do

Yes, I know all Apple products are heading that way . Unfortunately , I have iPad 9 and iPhone 13 Pro . Not the point of my whole comment . Lightning or USB-C is only connection, main issue is software

 

[Spyerx]

I have used Apple Music with zero issues for a long, long time. Mac mini to a dac, iPhone and iPad usbc to a dac, and currently via my streamer native to Apple Music lossless and high resolution.

It works great.

 

[Tomf1dub]

I have used Apple Music with zero issues for a long, long time. Mac mini to a dac, iPhone and iPad usbc to a dac, and currently via my streamer native to Apple Music lossless and high resolution.

It works great.

How do you control the Apple Music every time? I know it works but if you want to browse the Apple Music you have to get off your seat and physically walk over to where the apple product is hard wired to your DAC and then change the song /artist manually

 

[JRowland]

How do you control the Apple Music every time? I know it works but if you want to browse the Apple Music you have to get off your seat and physically walk over to where the apple product is hard wired to your DAC and then change the song /artist manually

I use a long cord. There’s an app if you have 2 devices https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ying-hi-res-lossless-music.36548/post-2377325. I can stream as well so I haven’t tried that app. I can’t have the TV on and stream at the same time with my AVR so I still “need” the cord if I want some background TV with my tunes.

 

[Spyerx]

I use an Eversolo a8 which is controlled via remote, iPad, or iPhone.

Prior to that i would use a keyboard/ mouse with the Mac mini.

you can also use remote app from Apple to control iTunes on a Mac.

Long cables work too but USBc has a limit of about 12-15 ft and you’ll have issues.

 

[Tomf1dub]

I use an Eversolo a8 which is controlled via remote, iPad, or iPhone.

Prior to that i would use a keyboard/ mouse with the Mac mini.

you can also use remote app from Apple to control iTunes on a Mac.

Long cables work too but USBc has a limit of about 12-15 ft and you’ll have issues.

Ok, thanks . I’m well aware that Eversolo is only company doing the full integration of Apple Music. Also , Apple Remote does not control your Apple Music . You cannot browse Apple Music with remote. Only basic functions and your Libraries . I’d love an Eversolo product to get over the problem generated by Apple . Apple , in general , should allow hand off of Apple Music to be controlled by App. Thanks for your comment and have years of enjoyment with the Eversolo

 

[Owis]

Apple Remote does not control your Apple Music . You cannot browse Apple Music with remote

You can with this one from another iPhone or IPad > https://www.lysoniq.app/#features

 

[amper42]

In my opinion, the Apple Music app is pretty bad. I have been a Mac user since 1984. I don't understand why Apple can't put out an audio player that's easy to use and at least as good as Audirvana. I tried to simply copy files to the iPhone to play with the Apple Music app and it was difficult to do and the interface was horrible. I finally gave up and simply installed VLC for audio on the iPhone and the experience was much more intuitive.

For a company worth Trillion's it's pretty sad a decent audio player being included with the OS isn't on their radar. It's as if all they concentrate on is selling you content but meanwhile offer users a poorly designed, mediocre player. Don't they understand the quality of the player drives media sales? iTunes was better than Apple Music and it wasn't great. After comparing the simplicity of VLC or the beauty of Audirvana to Apple Music app, it's clear Apple doesn't have an audio advocate working at the company.

The fact that Apple music lovers are looking elsewhere for streamers and very few of these third party devices support Apple Music tells the story. Lack of leadership in the audiophile market by Apple is a glaring mistake.

 

[Cecill]

Long-time Apple user here. Couldn't agree more with the above post. It seems that Apple Music is not designed for the Hi-Fi enthusiasts. The service is notoriously difficult to integrate with the rest of the audio rig; the features and functions of the service are inconsistent across Apple’s own products. That trend extends beyond just Apple Music, as most of Apple’s apps give worse UI than paid or free alternative apps.
I continue to use Apple laptops, as they are fast (I have an M4 Pro chip machine) and quiet. However, I am questioning whether I should continue with iPhones, as I could probably find a better replacement.

 

[yelloguy]

Agreed with the sentiments expressed above

Just chiming in to say that Screen Sharing is another (clumsy) solution I use for solving the same problem. I leave a MacBook Pro plugged into my E50 dac via usb and then I screen share into that mbp from my other mbp and control the music from my couch.

To the other person who said they have zero issues with their Mac mini playing back tethered, I don’t think you can change the sample rate without issues. So you have to stay fixed sample rate

 

[Pauper]

I have AppleTV connected to my Samsung TV to WiiM Ultra. Apple Music sounds great to my 74 year old ears but then I haven’t used anything else.

 

[Zgrado1970]

I experienced many of the problems described above. The poor integration of streaming content with local libraries in Apple Music is why I switched to Roon, and am very happy with that decision. I have a MacBook, iPad, and iPhone which work very well as Roon remotes and endpoints.

However, from my experience with Apple Music, I will say two things: (1) stick with iOS devices rather than MacOS devices - you get automatic sample rate switching; and (2) the iTunes Remote app can work well for basic remote functions, but can be clunky with searching and adding tracks on the fly.

 

[yelloguy]

(1) stick with iOS devices rather than MacOS devices - you get automatic sample rate switching; and (2) the iTunes Remote app can work well for basic remote functions, but can be clunky with searching and adding tracks on the fly

(1) don't you get fixed 44.1 sample rate from iOS? I will have to try this again but the last time I tried I think I saw fixed 44.1 sample rate. Maybe that was my Android phone

(2) macOS solves that problem. So why stay away from macOS?

In fact, even on your #1 macOS is kinda fine if you stick to 96k sample rate for everything. Or you can get the free auto rate switcher utility which switches the sample rate automatically - but after a brief pause once the track starts playing

The biggest reason I like macOS is the ability to run CamillaDSP. This is a very versatile EQ tool that allows me to add some simple high shelf filters to tweak the sound to my liking. It is like having a whole different set of speakers.