@mahler123 Well I should hope a service geared solely toward classical would have a more extensive catalog of classical music than a more general site like Qobuz or Tidal. Apples and oranges. That’s like me saying I subscribe to Qobuz and recently added Apple Classical and the Qobuz catalog blows it away for jazz, blues, rock, or basically any other genre of music.
Apple Music on iOS 26
I uploaded iOS 26 Beta on my iPhone 16 Pro Max yesterday. Along with my iPad I use this phone in conjunction with the EverSolo DMP-A6 Signature Edition (as streamer) feeding the digital signal via USB or Coax to an Auralic Vega DAC or Denafrips Pontus DAC. My hi-fi is transparent enough to allow me to experience subtle (or not so subtle) changes in associated upstream-downstream hardware and the music streaming service sound quality easily. As standard, I use both Qobuz and Apple Music streaming services. To date, I have found the sound quality of Qobuz to be, in general, a bit higher than Apple Music. I have two choices to stream either service, first is using EverSolo’s Control app therefore engaging EverSolo’s unique sample bit-rate algorithm. The iPhone / iPad has the EverSolo Control app which serves as the music selection interface, then signaling the streamer to retrieve the music from Cloud-based servers via Ethernet. Again, note that with this method everything is selected and controlled via EverSolo’s app.
The second alternative is to search and select via the Qobuz app or Apple Music app directly, then select sound out using wi-fi to connect to DMP-A6 streamer.
I am greatly impressed with the evolved Apple Music streamer experience. Most important to me is that sound quality seems to my ears clearly better, or I should more correctly say, more musically engaging. The sound is subjectively bigger and soundstage more layered with greater separation (less homogeneous sound presentation) or as they say, more fully fleshed out. Dynamics are better. Overall a major step forward for Apple Music in my book. Important to note the sound I describe is only to be had by accessing music direct from the native music streaming app on mobile device, and not through EverSolo Control app. I am confident that this will be duplicated by the EverSolo team in a future software and firmware upgrade.
Why does it sound better? Not sure, but it could have something to do with a more universal adaptation of the Spatial Sound technology? What I can say is that it sounds better streaming Apple Music in my hi-if system now.
in addition to sound improvement another very compelling feature is the Dj-like mixing of one song into another. Just brilliant! So engaging.
Anyone else had a chance to try this out?
By the way, huge appreciation for the EverSolo DMP-A6 Signature Streamer / DAC. It is superb both as a streamer and a DAC.
Peace, out.
Aki
Showing 5 responses by soix
@jetter That is a very fair point, and I neglected to mention this could’ve been a conscientious, and maybe even a smart, business decision on Apple’s part, but as an audiophile it doesn’t mean I have to like it. It’s like their headphones — they’re fun and functional but not geared toward high-end audio consumers. I guess we audiophiles need to realize the world doesn’t revolve around us, although it certainly should. 😝 |
We’re happily a 100% Apple household with nary a PC or Android in sight, but Apple totally lost me with music, which is an epic fail since they revolutionized music with the iPod and then totally dropped the ball despite having plenty of resources to have been the absolute gold standard. That Qobuz and Tidal even exist is testimony to Apple’s failure to address or even care about a large and important part of the market. Quality just wasn’t there — period. Steve Jobs was fanatical about doing things right and making things work better than anything else, but that ethos didn’t seem to ever translate fully into Apple Music. Maybe that’s changing, but it’s been a loooong stretch of continued disappointment so they’re gonna have to show me something real and substantial before I’ll even consider looking at them again. |
@v-fi I haven’t had Apple Music for a while, but it didn’t sound all that great, didn’t offer hi res and streaming was limited in bandwidth as well. They’ve just been behind the curve forever with music, but as per the OP maybe they’ve finally got it together. |
IF Apple has finally gotten their act together with music, and I still have my doubts, all I can say is WELL IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!! With their resources it’s an embarrassment that it’s taken this long to put a halfway decent product out there. I’m happy with Qobuz, and Apple has a looooong way to go before I’ll even consider looking at Apple Music again and frankly doubt I ever will. Glad you’re enjoying it though. |