This is more of a PR issue than a technological or sound quality issue. Neither can take advantage of a 192 stream (not that any system can in actuality).
The fact that the DAC might handle 24/192 does not mean the USB interface can.
Regardless, the link above probably does not have up-to-date info. As far as I know, the DAC chip is custom. Also, the specs do not conform with the measurements of @amirm, which shows a 10 dB better SINAD than the Cirrus spec.
I tried Norah Jones Cold Cold Heart at 124/92kHz through the Apple Dongle and it sounded fine.
I really don't see why people are so happy about this. If eventually it means the end of Qobuz, Tidal and Spotify it also means the end of streaming to platforms that are not from the big manufacturers. I don't think Apple are going to care about those who want to stream to Linux and Pi based players. Amazon and Google already don't care.
Once the small players are gone you'll be forced to buy Apple hardware and subscription prices will go back up.
I agree with this sentiment. While it is great that Apple is getting on the "high-res music" bandwagon finally, I do not think this bodes well for overall competition and technologies for audio consumption.
As mentioned in another post, none of the existing services are making much if any money, so having to lower prices to compete with two companies that have more money than God will likely eliminate any innovation that can come from these entities, or at worst do them in entirely.
I don't think that is a good thing. Being able to use services like Tidal or Quboz on a wide range of hardware and software platforms is more important to me than anything I can get on a closed platform, at any price.
I recently cancelled my Tidal Masters subscription because MQA has been exposed as a fraud. Not sure people like me are going to push Tidal into the ground.
I won’t be renewing my Roon subscription as a result of this announcement but I’d guess I’m in the minority there as well.
I see Apple entering the lossless and hi-res categories as a good thing for music lovers. Hopefully Spotify follows suit for all of their customers as well!
Not much to gain for Apple, Roon Labs, or you as the customer.
BTW Apple Music already uses AMG for its metadata.
Agree with you here, especially for Spotify - they could have done much more to leverage their leadership position the past few years by innovating to offer better sound and more connectivity options. They have sat on their laurels and these Apple and Amazon announcements will likely hurt them more than anyone else.They've had all the time in the world to innovate. Spotify could have just released lossless audio instead of making promises. Now they are too late. I won't even start on the "innovation" called MQA. But I'm not even sure there is a lot to innovate really? Most of it takes place on the marketing front, with very little actual value for the users.
I didn't realize the adapter also had a USB chip. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of lightning, but does all digital communication on the lightning port happen via the USB protocol?The fact that the DAC might handle 24/192 does not mean the USB interface can.
Regardless, the link above probably does not have up-to-date info. As far as I know, the DAC chip is custom. Also, the specs do not conform with the measurements of @amirm, which shows a 10 dB better SINAD than the Cirrus spec.
I know it won't happen, but I wish Apple could use their weight to force a change in royalty distribution to a model similar/same to the proposed model by Deezer:
I didn't realize the adapter also had a USB chip. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of lightning, but does all digital communication on the lightning port happen via the USB protocol?
Apple doesn't even support Apt-X HD or LDAC for bluetooth music streaming, in their opinion AAC is enough (or Airplay for lossless over Wifi).
Can old stereo music convert to Dolby Atoms? How did they do that?
This is great news for those of us that enjoy the walled off Apple garden. Everyone else can still vote with their wallet and pick the streaming service they want for the hardware they prefer.
I recently cancelled my Tidal Masters subscription because MQA has been exposed as a fraud. Not sure people like me are going to push Tidal into the ground.
I won’t be renewing my Roon subscription as a result of this announcement but I’d guess I’m in the minority there as well.
I see Apple entering the lossless and hi-res categories as a good thing for music lovers. Hopefully Spotify follows suit for all of their customers as well!