Updated: that’s it, there’s no point in guessing anymore. Everything was officially announced - and it turned out to be much more positive than I expected. The last paragraph of the article was rendered completely irrelevant.
It seems that what many Apple Music users have been fervently wishing for for the last five years will happen soon. ]is preparing[/anchor] for a big update of the streaming service and has already released the first “teaser”.
Insiders report that on May 18, Apple Music will have a new tariff: it will allow you to listen to tracks in uncompressed quality (lossless), that is, approximately the way they were “released” by the musician immediately after mastering.
Music in AM is about to sparkle with new colors, and I myself am now sitting waiting for the announcement. But in fact, the future, although still theoretical, tariff has several features and limitations .
It’s better for you to know about them in advance than to blindly subscribe and regret later.
It will be difficult to listen to Hi-Res on a slow mobile Internet
Today's speed test in the Moscow metro between stations, city center.
This is barely enough for regular streaming, and even with delays... Streaming and streaming tracks in uncompressed formats requires a stable Internet speed exceeding 3 megabits per second, preferably by an order of magnitude (30 megabits). It would seem that in large Russian cities this is not a problem: our operators are speeding up LTE every year. But the reality is more complicated.
If you actively move around the city, take the subway, enter buildings, or simply live not close to a communications tower, it will be difficult to stream Hi-Res music without interruptions. In the same Moscow metro, the speeds are extremely unstable : for example, in the first half of the tunnel it receives 20 megabits, and in the second - 1 Mbit/sec, or the signal is completely lost. This instability will make Hi-Res streaming unbearable, or will not allow you to comfortably switch tracks one after another.
In many houses, and especially in new buildings, mobile Internet works much worse than on the street. Speeds of 1-2 megabits, and unstable ones, are the norm for all four operators in the Russian Federation. Some people are lucky, but not everyone. But there is usually Wi-Fi there, unlike the city.
The theoretical and absolute minimum of 3 megabits required for Hi-Res audio implies a complete absence of connection dropouts, which is unlikely with mobile Internet. For normal buffering in poor coverage conditions, you will need at least several times more: 10-15 megabits, or even 30, so that with a minute loss in speed you can still listen to the track.
So if Apple even allows Hi-Res streaming on the mobile Internet, be prepared for difficulties that have not been seen before with Apple Music (or other services). And clients of some Russian operators (one in particular) may not be able to enjoy high-resolution without Wi-Fi at all.
The whole truth about Hi-Res: what high-resolution audio formats hide
One of the most interesting events that has occurred in the world of audio in recent years is the unprecedented rise in popularity of high-resolution (Hi-Res) formats. Among the reasons for the emergence of new formats in their time was dissatisfaction with the sound quality of CDs, because at the dawn of the CD era, all record labels were in a hurry to re-release their analog catalog on digital media, caring little about the quality: at least plus or minus attractive and devoid of all sorts of clicks and other The roughness of the sound already seemed like a victory.
Thus, it took a while for equipment manufacturers and record labels to deliver on their promises of superior CD sound quality. As a result, in the minds of many audiophiles, the format was irreparably damaged, and CDs became a kind of digital “villain”. However, looking ahead, it is worth noting that CDs can sound absolutely wonderful - provided that the original recording is of the highest quality, as well as with due attention to mastering and production. But first things first.
Lately we've seen a return to vinyl, and we've also seen an increase in interest in high-resolution digital files. But are we in danger of falling into the trap of the 1970s, when all attention was focused only on technical characteristics? To answer this question, let’s talk about how and what exactly we hear, as well as the realities of high-recording.
First, let's touch on the technical side of the issue. The CD format with 16-bit quantization and a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz allows you to record audio in the frequency range from 0 Hz to approximately 22 kHz (that is, slightly wider than the capabilities of human hearing) and a dynamic range of about 95 dB, which is quite enough for the vast majority musical instruments. At the same time, the 24-bit 48 kHz format expands the dynamic range to 150 dB, and the upper frequency to 24 kHz. Moreover, many audiophiles prefer 24 bit 96 kHz, with a top frequency of up to 48 kHz, as well as 24 bit 192 kHz, with a top frequency of around 96 kHz. Such high sound frequencies are far beyond the capabilities of human hearing, so this begs a simple and reasonable question: what exactly is all this for?
Some Hi-Res purists will say that although they can't hear anything at these frequencies, they can still "feel" the difference, often touting this as a higher "airiness" to the sound. At the same time, it is curious, with which sense organ do they feel this airiness? In general, we can indeed “feel” very low frequencies - provided that they are applied with high amplitude and from a relatively close distance. Well, as for Hi-Res fans, most likely they perceive the sound to be smoother and more seamless due to the high sampling frequency. Additionally, the ADC and other components used during 192 kHz recording are likely to be of high quality, which in itself will impact the listening experience.
In order to test the benefits of Hi-Res in practice, anyone can conduct an interesting test - listen in random order to several recordings with different sampling rates on a good digital audio player. Cover the player's display with something handy so that you have no idea what resolution the file is currently being played at. Arm yourself with a pen and a notepad (or the notes app on your smartphone), listen to all the recordings and note what exactly you hear and which track sounds better. If you can accurately detect higher sampling rates, it's safe to say that you have extraordinary hearing.
Most people over middle age are able to hear a tone up to a maximum frequency of 15 kHz. By age 60, this frequency may drop to around 12-13 kHz for the average man (and may be slightly higher for women). Thus, an audio signal with a frequency of 96 kHz has little meaning for the perception of sound. However, it is likely that many listeners will experience the extra smoothness and cohesion in the midrange that Hi-Res boasts. However, many other factors also influence the sound quality of recordings, some of which play a very important role.
For example, you may wonder what equipment is used to record. Because, ironically, many professional condenser microphones from Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AKG, Neumann, Shure, Rode and Audio Technica have frequency responses that drop off rapidly just after 20 kHz. Moreover, some popular microphones have a noticeable roll-off after 18 kHz: thus, they are unlikely to pick up anything at 48 or 96 kHz, and in most cases this is just as well, since you don’t really want to input high frequency noise into the mixing circuit.
So, in order to record truly “high resolution” audio, you first need special microphones that can pick up very high frequencies without introducing too much of their own noise. Next we need mic preamps and mixers with extended frequency response and ultra-low noise, as well as a high-end A/D converter. Let's say we have microphones with a flat frequency response from 20 Hz to 96 kHz and ultra-low noise, connected with special audio cables to an ultra-low noise preamp. We then send this signal to a mixing section and a high-end A/D converter, which delivers the high-resolution audio signal to a similarly enhanced digital recorder or computer.
And in general, yes, all this is really feasible. Moreover, having recorded a violin solo in this way at 24-bit 96 kHz, you can notice that at the highest notes some harmonics reach a frequency of approximately 28 kHz. A soprano flute can produce similar harmonics, but whether we are able to hear them is another, no less interesting question. Ultimately, almost all of the audio signal that is significant to our ears in solo violin recordings may well be contained on a 16-bit CD with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz.
It is doubly surprising that even a full-fledged orchestra, with its widest dynamic range, can be recorded in 16 bits, provided that the levels are initially set correctly (without resorting to compression). Of course, we should not forget that it is quite possible to generate electronic sounds that are beyond the frequency range of human hearing and the dynamic range of 100 dB. But all this remains, as a rule, at the level of theory.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that due to the higher smoothness and coherence of sound in the mid-frequency range, Hi-Res recordings are definitely worthy of listeners’ attention, but only on the condition that the audio system allows you to reproduce all these nuances.
Interestingly, many audiophiles have favorite classical music recordings made in the late 50s and early 60s. After all, music is not only technical characteristics, but the determining factor is often the performance and professionalism of the sound engineer, which allows you to make a good recording even with a minimum set of microphones. And having listened to some jazz recordings made in the early 60s, one cannot help but notice that they sound very lively and musical: perhaps it doesn’t really matter that they are not in Hi-Res.
Offline saving of music with memory up to 128 GB will be problematic
This is how much my media library weighs in a compressed format. If you convert it to lossless, the iPhone’s memory simply won’t be enough.
Now I’ll simplify the picture a little so as not to overwhelm you with numbers, bit rates, sampling rates and other variables.
▪ The standard file size for tracks on a streaming service is from 3 to 12 megabytes, usually at the lower limit.
▪ The file size of a Hi-Res track is several times more volatile, but on average it ranges from 60 to 200 megabytes.
In other words, the same track in Hi-Res formats will take up 5 to 15 times more smartphone memory than its standard, compressed version.
If you are used to downloading music offline and want to transfer a medium-sized media library to Hi-Res, you will need to allocate 5 to 15 times more memory for it. For smartphones with storage less than 128 GB, this will become an unsolvable problem .
Those who bought iPhones with 512 gigabytes of memory or an iPad Pro with 1 TB or more will now definitely have something to fill up all this memory with.
For example, I won’t be able to even theoretically convert my Apple Music library, currently downloaded into the iPhone’s memory, into Hi-Res formats. It already weighs almost 100 GB, and the iPhone has only 512 GB.
Hi-Res audio file formats
There are several main file formats that support high-resolution digital audio:
- WAV (WAVeform Audio File Format): The standard format for all CDs. Excellent sound quality without compression, which means huge file sizes (especially Hi-Res files). Has poor metadata support (album cover, artist info, and song title).
- AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format): This is an alternative to Apple's WAV format, but with better metadata support. The format is lossless and without compression (also large files), but not widely popular.
- FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec): This lossless audio compression format supports Hi-Res sample rates, is about half the size of the WAV format, and preserves metadata. It is free and widely supported (just not on Apple products). Considered the preferred format for downloading and storing music albums in Hi-Res.
- ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec): Apple's proprietary lossless audio compression format. Also plays Hi-Res audio, saves metadata and is half the size of WAV. Used in Apple devices.
- DSD (Direct Stream Digital): Single-bit format used in Super Audio CD media. Its sampling frequency can be 2.8mHz, 5.6mHz and 11.2mHz, which is many times higher than a regular CD. The format is not widely used.
- MQA (Master Quality Authenticated): This new format, introduced in 2014, is mainly used for streaming music in Hi-Res. MQA files can be packaged inside any lossless compression container such as FLAC, WAV or ALAC. To decode MQA files, you'll need compatible hardware - a network audio player, portable music player, or software such as the Tidal PC app.
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The sound quality in cheap headphones and simple AirPods will not reveal Hi-Res
Here, I think, everything is obvious. Most Bluetooth headphones on the market, especially models under 10 thousand rubles, will not allow you to notice the difference between new uncompressed Apple Music tracks and old ones.
From what Apple itself sells, AirPods Pro, or better yet AirPods Max, will more or less convey the difference. You know the price of the latter (62,990 rubles, if that).
For owners of regular AirPods or some popular Asian “plugs” who are not burdened with other headphones in use, there is no point in even thinking about switching to high-res.
It's not a fact that all Apple Music will be available in Hi-Res
To get better sound quality than is currently available in Apple Music, you need to upload those same “uncompressed” tracks to the service.
It’s far from a fact that the servers of iTunes Connect (a service for musicians) already contain a master file of your favorite artist’s songs, which is critically necessary for Hi-Res streaming.
I think that in the first few months Apple will provide a limited selection of Hi-Res music from the service. All other streaming platforms have done this before, and I'm not sure Cupertino has a better solution. I'll be glad if I'm proven wrong!
What is the advantage of Hi-Res audio
The main advantage of high-resolution audio files is, of course, the superior sound quality compared to compressed and standard audio formats. To illustrate why Hi-Res should sound better than MP3, let's compare their bitrates. The highest quality MP3 file has a bit rate of 320 kbps, while a 24-bit/192 kHz Hi-Res audio file has a bit rate of 9216 kbps. Music CD - 1411 Kbps.
Using lossy compression means that data is lost during the encoding process and resolution is sacrificed for a smaller file size. This affects the sound quality - MP3 (and similar) formats do not fully realize the potential of our favorite songs.
However, for most people, MP3 audio is good enough, especially when listening to music on the go, in the background, etc. For audiophiles, even CD quality is not enough, so many music lovers still prefer the pure analog sound of vinyl records.
Therefore, 24-bit/96 kHz or 24-bit/192 kHz Hi-Res files are designed to more accurately reproduce the sound that musicians and recording engineers worked with in the studio.
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