Apple Music HiFi
Answered
Apple Music in HiFi quality is ready for start within nexts days.
Can we expect implementation into the Bluesound environment?
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Official comment
Apple Music uses Airplay 2 on BluOS hardware which is CD quality (16/44.1) so in theory it’s just a case of Apple flicking the switch….
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Maybe you didn't understand me Seppi,
Apple Music HiFi is a new service to be launched by Apple on 18th of May or so.
It's streaming in HiFi quality, still unclear at which resolution, but is aiming Spotify Premium and Tidal HiFi or Master and my question is if Bluesound intend to implement it in streaming services.
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No, fully understand and aware of the impending upgrade to CD quality.
Apple Music will only be via Airplay 2 on Bluesound no matter what resolution it available in, this may change if Apple allows.
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I'm not interested to stream any kind of music with my phone.
Apple will allow because its a paid service, but has to be asked!
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More information released today and more questions, no doubt, about integration with other devices or whether AirPlay 2 will be the only link to Bluesound. An intriguing bit of information from their press release regarding 24 bit /192kHz streams:
- Due to the large file sizes and bandwidth needed for Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless Audio, subscribers will need to opt in to the experience. Hi-Res Lossless also requires external equipment, such as a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/05/apple-music-announces-spatial-audio-and-lossless-audio/
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Its not confusing at all, Apple devices including AirPlay2 are not able to resolve the full res files so a DAC is needed for the Hi-Res tier
* Lossless 16-bit 44.1 kHz up to 24-bit 48 kHz
* Hi-Res Lossless 24-bit 192 kHz
Nice move for no additional charges!
P.S. Bluesound you are still tracking users, not possible to login when Prevent Cross-Site tracking is enabled. Shame on you!
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I said it raises questions, not confusion, that's your interpretation. I understand the limits of Airplay and wonder what options the new service will provide. I have a Gustard X16 connected to one of my component systems and it would be great to use Apple Music in HiRes. Also have a Node 2i connected to another system and wonder whether I'll have options other than Airplay for for Apple Music. Do you know the answer? I just have questions, not confusion.
BTW. I'm using Ghostery in Firefox to prevent Social Media trackers.
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Braino,
my original posting was the question if Bluesound would implement Apple music into the BluOs music services. If yes, we'll be able to decode Apple music with a Bluesound device or with an external DAC connected to it.
P.S. its not about blocking trackers, its about the possibility to login here.
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Hi Seppi, not only CD-Quality but also HI-Res that can only be achieved through streaming directly to the DAC and not AIRPLAY2.
Why is a direct Stream to the DAC so difficult to implement for Bluesoung when a lot of platforms are already doing it? (amazon or sonos to name the obvious ones)
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Indeed, hires and ATMOS content both of which need something other than Airplay 2. I genuinely did not anticipate Apple realising hires as most of their headphones / speakers won’t support it.
It’s not difficult it’s Apple being stubborn with their instance of using Airplay, the question really is what are Apple going to do? They must have thought this through but then again looking at what’s going to be compatible from Apple itself makes me wonder.Sonos speakers are currently limited to 24/48 so the higher resolution stuff would not work no matter. ATMOS of course needs surround decoding which can be done on Bluesound now with the Soundbar+
The upshot is Amazon HD has already dropped its price and works on Bluesound, let’s see if other platforms follow.
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The question really is what are Apple going to do?
Precisely.
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Perhaps and I am guessing here… could the music stream be compressed in some form over Airplay and then decoded by the DAC in Bluesound hardware to deliver the hires?
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could the music stream be compressed in some form over Airplay and then decoded by the DAC in Bluesound hardware to deliver the hires?
MQA is nothing more than a CODEC format so it may be possible. I'm curious about the new Node and questions regarding the USB port on it. Could the Node be used as an outboard DAC either via USB or the optical port? Interesting to speculate but looks like we'll need to wait. I've sent several emails to Apple requesting better integration for Bluesound I think we need to keep lobbying Apple. Now they have HiRes the service has become more attractive.
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I got this comment from another thread, though its seemingly been deleted by mods for some reason:
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Hi Jason
My apologies - we are still investigating and can not share details at this time. What we do know is up to 24/48 should work immediately when Apple enables it. Please visit apple.com/airplay for full details.
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Apple Music HIFI really needs to implemented as a service for the app/NODE, using airplay from your phone is just clunky. I understand Apple needs to release an API in order for this to be done but I believe they created a bespoke API for Sonos to integrate so it should be possible. Maybe, and similar to the AppleTV apps released for the TVs, they could release something BluOS could implement.
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Like the others in this thread, I'm also waiting for a log-in to Apple Music on my node2i for listening to Hi-Res, which Airplay2 in its current state doesn´t support at all. Perhaps an Airplay3 is coming soon.....?
But everything could be solved right away, if you were able to stream directly to the Node with the music from Apple.
I just don´t get, that Bluesound is waiting for an API for this, because it works for others, but not knowing how they've solved it. But they have.
In my car, I have the possibility to log-in to both Tidal AND Apple Music, and then stream via 4G/5G, and it works perfectly.
Come on Bluesound, what´s the problem? Is the licensing to high or what?
Don't think so; with many modern cars and soundbars nowadays having built-in accounts.....
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At the moment “nobody” has Apple Music integrated that supports anything other than lossy AAC
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@ Seppi
Right - but it´s the missing log-in client (Apple Music as a service), that was my point.
With this integrated, the direct Hi-Res stream should be possible alongside Tidal etc.
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Hi Tom,
Sorry the point I was trying to make is that even integrated…. at the moment it’s lossy. The integration with that other company was released years ago and never worked very well. Bloody mess Apple made of the whole launch and they need to come up with a solution if they want people to use their service.
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This is Apple and the reason I rarely use their products.
Like IBM in the old days, Apple is above all a closed ecosystem.
But their new hobbyhorse, which relies heavily on subscriptions and not equipment, gives hope. When they released Apple TV +, it was still a long time, but they ended up integrating it directly into Google TVs, no need for their Apple TV anymore.
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple did the same with Apple Music. Because you still have to give them, their catalog is more than well stocked and they are pretty good at what they do when they do it.
But the questions are when and with whom? Because even when Apple opens up, it's usually confined to other giants that they can't ignore.
Everyone's talking about Sonos, which are sold direct in Apple Stores by the way, you think Sonos sent an email and Apple said yes! yes !, here is our Apple Store and our API. But no, Sonos pays a hefty commission for it by telling itself that the visibility is worth it.
For Amazon and Google, they are simply behemoths that Apple has no interest in ignoring in a subscription market.
For Bluesound and the others, who are more niche in a way, you have to take a ticket and cross your fingers.
But again, I think it would be foolish for Apple to ignore the niche players.
But then again, why give this access if I can build the material myself at insane prices with gigantic advertising campaigns.
Apple is a business, they don't care about the rest, they will simply go for the most profitable solution.
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And hey, to add what I was saying about Sonos and that it is Apple that has the big end of the stick, here is what an employee recently replied to a user on Apple Music in Hi-Res:
I answered that in the main thread of this topic here:
R
In short, we are unable to confirm when / if this feature is coming to Sonos. It is up to the music service provider (Apple in this case) to work with us and decide what features are / are not available on Sonos products.
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