Apple Music

[What Hi-Fi?]

Apple is great at a lot of things, but does its music streaming service have the measure of Spotify?

Apple Music : Read more

 

[eoc69]

Crapple

 

[henriquebs12]

This review just seems to be a paid one. What a shame from What HiFi. How can AM be 5 stars if iTunes only works well on iMacs and it is a joke playing outside Apple ecosystem, comparing to Spotify Connect feature and the huge compatibility with virtual assistants. In AM if you are playing in any device and open iTunes the song will pause. It doesn't exist a synced session when you are using with carplay. The overall bad experience with AP can't result in 5 stars.

Apple Music’s enjoyable and dynamic delivery is a more engaging listen than Spotify, so it’s worth considering if you want a step up in sound quality for a similar price.

Did you even blind tested to affirm that? I think this is just a random statement to justify the fact that who reviewed it doesn't understand anything about a "dynamic" sound. The way you wrote this review just seems that AP is has a better sound then Tidal and better features then Spotify. HAHA.

 

[ChefJeff]

If you'd ask me I'd say Apple Music is more vibrant and open. And of course didn't test this blind... but some songs seem so flat in Spotify. Don't get me wrong, not all of them just some. But also e.g. The Prodigy - where did the energy go? My gf noticed this w/o knowing what I was playing.... so that was blind in a way... and I started switching after getting annoyed with Spotify...

 

[erbasically]

I remember reading a blog some years ago where the writer compared the recommendations from various streaming services. If I remember correctly Spotify was uncannily good at predicting which songs the writer would like, even though they had quite obscure taste in music. It would be interesting to see that kind of info in reviews here as the "your mix" type playlists from some streaming services can be so wrong they're unlistenable (hello Deezer!).

 

[Deleted member 116933]

The only problem i have with it is you want to listen to it through the computer it's not a bit-perfect stream as the sample rates don't change automatically. But I guess most people will be playing through the ipads and such and works well that way.

 

[Sliced Bread]

I’ve never understood why people hate a service based upon its brand. Always pays to be open minded in these things.

I’ve had Spotify in the past and I currently have Tidal and Apple Music (I pay monthly for Tidal and got Apple Music for free with a promotion).

Before the lossless/ Dolby atmos update I would have ranked the sound quality as

1) Tidal
2) Spotify and Apple tied

Since the update I would rank them
1) Tidal and Apple tied
2) Spotify

Now add:
* Apple Music does not require MQA tech to unfold which means you can use a wider range of DACs
* The Apple Music suggestions are way better than Tidals and possibly on par with Spotify’s.
* Bigger library in general than Tidal
* Bigger high-res library than Tidal
*It is cheaper than Tidal.
I’ve made my decision and as soon as I get round to moving my playlist I am cancelling my £20 a month Tidal subscription.
if a better one comes along I will change again, but for now it’s Apple Music for me.

 

[bristollinnet]

I’ve tried Apple Music, and it works for me. However, to cement their prime position they need to sort out integration into audiophile hardware which is far too clunky.

 

[Humoosa]

Does anyone believe this review? I reckon if you lined up 100 people and asked them about the quality of streaming services, none would be able to notice any difference beyond audio volume.

 

[Sliced Bread]

I’ve tried Apple Music, and it works for me. However, to cement their prime position they need to sort out integration into audiophile hardware which is far too clunky.

Yes I agree with that.

 

[jdubzisbaked]

If you'd ask me I'd say Apple Music is more vibrant and open. And of course didn't test this blind... but some songs seem so flat in Spotify. Don't get me wrong, not all of them just some. But also e.g. The Prodigy - where did the energy go? My gf noticed this w/o knowing what I was playing.... so that was blind in a way... and I started switching after getting annoyed with Spotify...

yeah because Spotify isn't lossless

Does anyone believe this review? I reckon if you lined up 100 people and asked them about the quality of streaming services, none would be able to notice any difference beyond audio volume.

I noticed my Amazon Music subscription is only $0.99 for streaming that sounded better than my Tidal subscription for $19.99. High quality file catalog and price are what matter, because all the services really max out at 24/192. Tidal says they can provide 24/384.... Never saw one song support it.

 

[Sliced Bread]

I wonder if it is worth a section discussing Apple Music integration into Dolby Atmos enabled Hifi via Apple TV.

I’ve been playing around with this (albeit 5.1) and the tracks recorded in Dolby Atmos / Spacial Audio are given a real boost. The mix quality varies as expected, but some of the recordings blow the same track streamed from Tidal out of the water.

 

[Samo]

The only problem i have with it is you want to listen to it through the computer it's not a bit-perfect stream as the sample rates don't change automatically. But I guess most people will be playing through the ipads and such and works well that way.

6 months on and Windows PC still isn't supported for HD music, let alone bit-perfect streams!

 

[Niallivm]

6 months on and Windows PC still isn't supported for HD music, let alone bit-perfect streams!

Other high res streaming services work with Windows - why not use them?

 

[RichSM]

6 months on and Windows PC still isn't supported for HD music, let alone bit-perfect streams!

Are you talking about iTunes? That's the way to access Apple Music on Windows and in the preferences you can choose up to 192khz sample rate @24 bits. There's also https://music.apple.com which you can use on any device which has a web browser but I've not tried that.

 

[Johan Bottema]

Been using Apple for years ,never looked back. They constantly improve their product. And allthough I am not a great fan of DSP processing into spatial audio ... no other service provides it. Shame it only works for Apple headphones. In terms of processing sampling and bit rate ... I do not really get excited about these things as the tonality of about any speaker system needs corrected. I use calibration microphones and APO EQ software ... now this is far more intrusive into having perfect sound than arguing about 16 or 24bits or 48Khz and 96Khz. It really makes me laugh to read those discussions knowing that 9 out of 10 have crap tonality on their headphone or speakers.

 

[Samo]

Are you talking about iTunes? That's the way to access Apple Music on Windows and in the preferences you can choose up to 192khz sample rate @24 bits. There's also https://music.apple.com which you can use on any device which has a web browser but I've not tried that.

Yes, iTunes on Windows. Even though iTunes itself support 192khz at 24 bits, the Apple Music streaming features within iTunes still don't, it just streams the low resolution compressed 256kbps AAC file.

@Niallivm I've been signed up to Amazon Music for a few months now. The quality improvement is a substantial jump on well recorded albums.

I much prefer Apples recommended playlists and their user interface, but I value Amazon's sound quality over the functionality. After all, what's the point in spending a decent sum of money on a good amp recommended by What Hifi to then cripple it with a poor quality source. Until Apple or Spotify improve their playback quality I'll remain with Amazon. Hopefully Amazon will improve their interface and user recommendations and I won't want to swap again.