Hi Res from iPhone vs AppleTV sound

Not sure if this will help you but I run the hires radio app from iPhone through camera adapter then into Ifi hip dac headphone Jack out into aux in on my Lexus. My Lexus has the Mark Levinson system and it sounds great. Full body with kick to stomach bass. The hip dac has a great amp section snd a loudness switch that steps it up. You might be hearing what you are as the first out put is a 2 watt class d amp from the iPhone. Your best option might be to upgrade from phone to mid level streamer.

For casual listening I use my old AppleTV Gen 3 to receive music via AirPlay. The Gen 3 has Toslink output. I consider redbook and up to 24/48 to be adequate for my casual listening. For more critical listening I use my iPad as a digital transport (right terminology?) with my Apple Music subscription. Unlike MacOS devices, iPhones and iPads dynamically switch output resolution to that of the source material. Other music services are more favored by audiophiles, but I really like the way things work with the integration of Apple Music and iTunes Match. All of the CDs that I own have been ripped and uploaded to Apple Music in iCloud. When I play/stream any of my uploads, if a higher than red book version is in the Apple library I’m prompted to choose whether I want hi-res or my original upload. Once I’ve finished overhauling my analog gear I’ll consider whether to upgrade my digital front-end. 

It’s all about love and fear, kitties.

Happy HolyDaze to you too @soix 

I use my old phones for remotes, as God intended.  Experimenting is good. Happy holidays. Maybe starting elsewhere than Apple might yield better results. Unless your thing is polished turds.

@fuzztone Heh heh.  Good one. 

Audio Envy are great if you NEVER unplug them. One time use or pray.

Vinyl is so 80’s - when I was young enough to work it easily and digital was early and mostly bad. No longer. If you prefer vinyl you probably require better digital playback equipment. For DSD recordings. Actually no one should care about what we like. I like good music. BFD. Everyone hss different likes.

I use my old phones for remotes, as God intended.

Experimenting is good. Happy holidays. Maybe starting elsewhere than Apple might yield better results. Unless your thing is polished turds.

Well, I followed a similar progression, and what I ended up learning was that in streaming EVERYTHING matters, and matters A LOT.  First, the Apple Camera Adapter is absolute crap.  Upgrade to this and you’ll hear much better sound quality.

https://www.lavricables.com/cables/reference-silver-lightning-interconnect-cable-for-oppo-ha-2-centrance-mini-m8/
But, what was next-level sound quality was when I got an iFi Zen Stream streamer with their upgraded XStream power supply and fed my DAC with this USB cable that uses silver wire and separate runs for data and power…

https://www.lavricables.com/cables/ultimate-silver-dual-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/
You can try to polish the turd, or you can just suck it up and go right to the separate streamer option.  And oh yeah, you need to subscribe to Qobuz.  Great selection of music and sound quality and lots of music available in hi res.  Just my experience FWIW. 

@lalitk  it’s all good. I prefer vinyl. I only did this with my old phone because my DAC was capable.  I like to learn. 🙂

@gochurchgo

While I recognize that not every album is currently available but there is still plenty of music to browse that one could possibly dream of owning. This is one of the prime reason for me to jump into streaming. I have not abandoned buying music but I’m definitely more selective. A quick search on your artists in Qobuz,

Masonna - 4 albums, two of those in high resolution

Controlled Bleeding - 30 Tracks spread over different albums

Trepaneringsritualen - 4 albums (cd res)

I wasn’t trying to persuade you to give up on Vinyl, my intent was to offer you a more stable streaming platform. 10/4 on AE cables, great price and solid performance.

Also @lalitk  I wanted to thank k you for turning me on to Audio Envy cables.

@mahler123  AppleTV caps at 24/48 and only has HDMI out. Which is a bummer.

@lalitk  I’ve never seen Masonna, Controlled Bleeding, Trepaneringsritualen and early Swedish black metal in high res. Some of them barely do vinyl as it is.

“99% of the music I like will never exist in high res”

@gochurchgo

That’s quite presumptuous of you, which one of these cloud based service have you tried….Primephonic, Idagio, Qobuz or Tidal? Since you primarily listen to Vinyl, I am suggesting a much more robust alternative to your iPhone. Look into Bluesound Node for exploring / background music. This is a plug n play (RCA out to your preamp) device and de facto standard for many vinyl lovers.

Interesting way to get high res out of ATV.  But why do you need the phone?  If you pay for an Apple Music subscription you can jettison the phone.and use it straight from ATV

I’m all about the vinyl. I was just messing around with the CCK. Sounds good now.

99% of the music I like will never exist in high res.

Once you compare to a dedicated audio player or streamer you will never return to a multipurpose device. Do you really want to tether your phone?

You might be better off with Snapdragon (lossless) BT.

Not on Apple.

You probably could not ID HiRez on Apple even if it could play it.