Apple Music

@james633 
I just compared another album El Goodo “By Order of the Moose” Apple Lossless high res to Tidal version and Tidal has definitely better SQ. This time my equipment was iPhone -> Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt DAC -> Sennhiser HD-650.
For main system I don’t use PC or Mac stream. Comps r too noisy and jittery. 

The only way to run high-res from a phone is from an external dac. The dongle has a limit of 44.1khz with a 24 bit depth. So everything is down sampled through the dongle so it is a moot point.
The high res is pretty night and day better with the proper equipment. It is pretty simple to run a Mac to a dac, plug and play really. Apple just needs to get the auto bit rate fixed. Right now you have to choose your output sample rate or it will be resampled on a computer. This is a problem because some albums are 96khz some are 192khz and then some are 44.1. The IOS appears to be sending bit perfect audio they just need to update the Mac.
Apple is simply the best sounded streaming service I have tried. Honestly the high res is maybe the best source material I have heard regardless of medium. The hardware will come.

@james633

I have had Tidal and Apple for awhile and I will be dropping tidal. Apple sounds better and the family likes it better (why I have both…).

If you use your iPhone only for listening then maybe you will be ok with Apple Music only… I don’t think that without DAC you will hear any difference or even get any dissent sound. I still don’t understand how all types of high resolution files of Apple Music getting unfold by DAC with same resolution of 44.1kHz…. What kind of high res is it in general ? Also we don’t have any dissent high end or reference streamer with Apple Music support. 

Hmm I hear a big difference between the Gregory Porter “All Rise” Lossless and 24-96 high res album. The 256 to lossless is less noticeably. I think this is because apples 256 codec is very good.
You can switch instantly and it is very easy to hear how much better “app rise” is in 24/96

I am just using an iPhone to mojo with focal Elex headphones as I don’t have a way at the moment to try it on my main speaker rig.
Ok the album “all rise” there is more air, soundstage depth on the 24-96hz file. I feel there is more detail too.
On the Michael Jackson and Dio (24/192) seemed to sound the same to me on a quick listen to their lossless counter part). 
I think this is going to be album to album.
I have had Tidal and Apple for awhile and I will be dropping tidal. Apple sounds better and the family likes it better (why I have both…). 

Another view point here. https://youtu.be/bRDGh4Ph6ok

@hilde45
The question has to be explored carefully. Some Apple Music files marked just Lossless other both Lossless and High Res, other Lossless High Res plus Apple Digital Master, other all above plus Dolby Atmos…… BUT !!! when you stream them through the DAC (ALAC enabled) all of them shows same resolution of 44.1kHz however Tidal stream always shows correct resolution according to the file mark 44.1kHz; 48kHz; 88.2kHz; or 96kHz.

@fuzztone  Understood. My son wants us to switch from  Amazon HD to Apple on the argument that Apple is now lossless, so this is a practical question for us, now.

@hilde45. 

Everyone on this forum can try this for themselves. Many have, and many have heard a difference.

Only those here with apple. More like half of us.
Not worth trying. The difference between lossless and compressed is easy for anyone to hear on a streamer but that is NOT the issue here.

Anything other than lossless has no future. With 5g rollout there won‘t be anyfurther bandwidth constraints and hence no reason for compressed formats

It raises the larger question as to why companies such as Apple and Amazon are pursuing a market interested in better sound.  Since most people don’t care, and since those two companies already own about half the wealth of the world, why should they care about a niche product?  They must think that there are enough consumers that give a damn about sound to make it worthwhile 

@hilde45
I wouldn’t say for others cause equipment role is matter, but for me the difference is obvious. Recently I compared Fairytales (The Original Master Edition) album by Radka Toneff & Stive  Dobrogosz at Apple Lossless and at Tidal Master and for me the winner is definitely Tidal version. The difference is dramatic. However I agreed with fiesta75 that the term “Lossless” is useless !

Everyone on this forum can try this for themselves. Many have, and many have heard a difference.

The fact that some cannot tell the difference between fine wine and modest wine isn't a slight against good wine.

Having one of the heads of Apple saying that only goes to show you that even tone deaf people can fail, upwards.

All the best,
Nonoise

Keep up with the Jonesers.

Does that surprise anyone? I said awhile ago that lossless was bs.