Thanks for pointing that out. Sorry; I meant lossy and not lossless... I'll fix that.LDAC is not an exclusively lossless format. On lower bitrates it's operation is related to ADPCM or Wavpack hybrid's scheme which modulates the noise floor according to the input.
So I've got some dumb dumb questions, I'm a smooth brain audio guy.
With Apple coming out with lossless audio next month for Apple Music I assume any Bluetooth implementation would be a bottleneck. Question is would I be able to get CD level quality with a Bluetooth device such as or similar to this?
Probably "very close to CD quality."With Apple coming out with lossless audio next month for Apple Music I assume any Bluetooth implementation would be a bottleneck. Question is would I be able to get CD level quality with a Bluetooth device such as or similar to this?
You'll have to rely on a lossless wifi streaming solution.
Wow, I'm stunned. My first reaction is, "that's absolutely stupid."Maybe not directly to your question, but worth noting for those that don't know:
https://www.imore.com/what-apple-devices-are-compatible-apple-music-lossless
"However, you can't listen to the ALAC format over Bluetooth, so there are no Apple headphones that will work. Not even the AirPods Max, even if you connect it with a wire. You need wired headphones to listen to ALAC format music."
I've been using AirPlay via Wifi+Airport Expresses for well over a decade. That's lossless and they have optical outputs.Simply put I'm interested in such a solution that's simple set up and use that doesn't require the use of HDMI. Preferably a device with SPDIF.
I've been using AirPlay via Wifi+Airport Expresses for well over a decade. That's lossless and they have optical outputs.
Setup is minimal. You can use them wired, or wireless. Wired is pretty much plug and play. Wireless setup is as minimal as possible -- like any Wifi device you have to tell them which network to use and what the password is. After that things pretty much "just work" with Macs (at a system level, for all apps) or with individual applications like Apple Music.
I believe Roon fits the bill as well with more features and a higher price tag. But it seems painless enough.
The case where the format makes a difference is AAC pass-through: if the source and BT receiver both support AAC, the media stack may pass AAC through without re-encoding.Why should the headphones "care" what the source format is?! It is the job of the playback device/software to understand the source format and convert that into the appropriate BT codec. Why would the headphones need to know or care if it was a FLAC, AAC, ALAC, whatever? I do not understand.
Your answer is in the review.@amirm , did you adjust your LDAC quality in developer option menu when doing your tests with your phone? Actual music listening impression?
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Yeah, I thought egg on foot was a bit like egg on face! Seems like a decent little product with some convenience factor.saw the panther and thought, "What? Topping missed the mark?!"
didn't realise it was actually a good review. phew!
So you always selected 990kbps option? Not sure how this correlate to 16bit and 24bit.Your answer is in the review.
Preferring passthrough makes 100% sense!The case where the format makes a difference is AAC pass-through: if the source and BT receiver both support AAC, the media stack may pass AAC through without re-encoding.
I think Android also prefers AAC pass-through if all conditions are met: a single AAC stream playing at the same, no DSP etc.
Short answer is no. There is however a handful great R&D firms that are as we speak able to stream lossless trough Bluetooth "like" technologies in the 2.4 GHz band, by Bluetooth like I mean low power, and point to point not IP based like WiFI. But by the time this gets integrated in phones and headset, the licencing and business model sorted, It will be years. Bluetooth is not dying soon and to be frank is adequate for the vast majority. Big bucks there, you don't oust away such a large ecosystem easy, but it's limited and will stay limited.So I've got some dumb dumb questions, I'm a smooth brain audio guy.
With Apple coming out with lossless audio next month for Apple Music I assume any Bluetooth implementation would be a bottleneck. Question is would I be able to get CD level quality with a Bluetooth device such as or similar to this?
My receiver is pre-HDMI so the AppleTV 4K is run through the television and optical to the receiver. The AppleTV will be supporting the lossless audio update in June, but I really hate having the television being on while I listen to music. I can at the very least turn the display on the TV off and use Airplay to cast from my iPhone to the AppleTV. Ideally I'd prefer to get a device that allows me to bypass the television all together that I can control with the iPhone that doesn't cost $500 that will allow me to tap into the Apple Music lossless audio. Is this device from Topping a viable option?
YesI must be particularly smooth brained today, but what is the use case for a product like this? Add BT to a system that otherwise lacks BT?
No. As I said in the review, I left it in adaptive mode and despite moving my phone some 20 feet away, the measured results held:So you always selected 990kbps option? Not sure how this correlate to 16bit and 24bit.
I had the codec in adaptive mode by the way so it could have switched encoding rates but I saw no glitches to indicate it did so. Your mileage may vary of course depending on the implementation of Bluetooth transmitter in your device.