Streaming apple lossless

I have an Airport Extreme base station, 2 years old (n), with three Airport Expresses of the same vintage. Can this system stream Apple Lossless format or do I need a Sonos system to get the better quality?

Surya K. wrote:
The Apple TV is due for another update very soon now. I sure hope it includes 24bit / 96kHz audio this time around.
I wouldn't bet on it.....they could have added this to AppleTV1 if they'd wanted to.
The problem with AppleTVs is that Apple push design/interface and so forth over quality considerations that might appeal to audiophiles or videophiles.
Surya K. wrote:
.... And they should add an option for Apple Lossless downloads to the iTunes store while they're at it. This is 2013.
I quite agree.
This is my biggest annoyance with iTunes Store - I do not want to buy physical CDs, rip and physically store them but that's the only way I can get lossless CD quality audio into iTunes. Again, most people don't care, and I'm no particular fan of CD to begin with to be honest but I'll buy a CD and rip lossless when it's about the same price as the compressed download - amazon's Autorip is a great feature in my view > buy CD and get immediate access to an MP3 version of the album before the CD arrives at your door - best of both worlds.
It seems to me Apple have a golden opportunity to offer 24/96 lossless audio downloads via itunes store - an album might be 2-3GB but that's nothing compared when we are downloading 5-8GB movies in 1080p from them (actually I'd rather be able to download better quality video but that's another story).
I would be quite happy for there to be DRM on lossless audio, especially for better than CD quality lossless.
AC

Similar Messages

Streaming Apple Lossless Music via Aiport Express

I'd like to rip my cd collection to my desktop and then stream it to another room via the Airport Express. I'd like to store the music in Apple Lossless. My question is does the streamed music get compressed lower than Apple Lossless in order to stream to the Airport Express that will be attatched to my stereo?

Jazzman (that's funny since I am a professional Jazz
musician...:-)),
since I use iTunes and AirPort Express I have
upgraded my stereo system way up. I'm using a DENON
AV Receiver and Klipsch Reference RF-7 loudspeakers.
The AAC 128 kb/s file sound is awesome!! As a
by-product of the psycho-acoustic compression the
sound is warmer and wider than the original; a little
like vinyl albums (if you have a good turntable). I
have made a lot of blindfold tests among friends
playing iTunes over AE with optical cable connected,
an average CD player and a very good DVD player (just
using it as an audio player). iTunes always sounded
best - with AAC 128 kb/s streaming!
I would even go so far and recommend the compression,
since it gives you a more natural sound than the
original. I know it sounds odd, but that's the way it
is. AAC compression is invented by Dolby
Laboratories, one of the most renowned professional
studio suppliers.
Best regards
Roman
Roman, I'm old enough to remember the great sound of LP's on an AR turntable using Shure III cartridge and Koss Pro4a headphones driven by a Pioneer Integrated Amp. I have to give it a try again with the ACC 128 as opposed to lossless.
I'll add one more thing the iPod does sound great with a headphone amplifier driving Sennheiser 600/650's. I'm using a Emmeline SR-71, and a Headroom Headcase Bag by Headroom. No, I don't work for these companies. I just thought those seeking the ultimate in mobile sound might be interested.
Thanks for your help!

Will new ATV stream apple lossless?

I put all my CDs in itunes in the Apple Lossless format which synced to my old AppleTV because I wanted my music in the highest quality. The specs say the new ATV supports Apple Lossless, but my question is: does that mean it will stream in that high quality format or support it? Are they synonymous? I like the idea of digitizing my music and having assess to any musical tracks but don't want to sacrifice the music quality.

I am in a similar situation as the original poster--I have my entire library in apple lossless. Part of this library was created in apple lossless from CDS directly in iTunes, but some of it was converted to apple lossless from a previous FLAC library. I read a different thread from 2008 that apple lossless files that were created using a conversion may not stream on ATV, even though they work on iPod, iTunes, etc. Is this still the case with the new ATV? If not, I'm off to buy one tomorrow!
As an aside, I wonder will consumers ever be able to download music from the iTunes store in lossless format? I am still buying CDs and ripping because this is not available....
Thanks for the help!

Airport Express, iTunes and streaming Apple Lossless format

I'm currently streaming my music wirelessly from iTunes to the Airport Express. Most of my music is in MP3/AAC format but I'm going to do through the tedious process of ripping it into Lossless format
What I want to know though is when iTunes streams it to the Airport Express does it re-encode it on the fly or does it stream the Lossless format? The reason I ask is that I have a monitoring tool that monitors my upload speed from my laptop over the wireless connection - when I stream a lossless file it's showing an upload rate of approx 150 kb/s, when I stream an mp3 it shows an upload rate of approx 140 kb/s - very similar. The mp3 is encoded at 192kbps and the lossless file is ~1000kbps.
I was expecting a huge difference in the strain on the wireless network but it doesn't seem to show any difference. Strange?? Comments/explanations please!
Dell Inspiron 700m Windows XP

One of my friends did a similar thing and found out
afterwards that his media streamer couldn't cope with
the Windows Media lossless format and would keep
dropping out. Naturally he only discovered this
after ripping his entire collection - whoops!
It is possible with iTunes to convert an entire collection from Lossless to ACC (or mp3 for example).
I recently did this, as my ripped collection on my desktop is in Lossless format, whilst I wanted it in mp3 format on my laptop as I needed to save disk space and the speakers on the laptop aren't much cop anyhow.
Change your iTunes importing preferences to mp3.
Select all the songs and convert selection to mp3.
Your music library will then consist of all the tracks in both lossless and mp3 format.
I then deleted the lossless format version.

Apple Lossless streaming on Apple TV

When streaming Apple Lossless files on on Apple TV, what is the maximum bitrate? I realize Apple TV can stream AAC and MP3 files at 320 kbps, but what about Apple Lossless file that can often provide up to 1,000 kbps? Does Apple TV support such high bitrates? (I know the sampling is always 16 bit / 48 kHz).

Hello. For some reason, your reply to my May 2 post, has disappeared, though I still have it in email. I've reposted in below.
First, let me thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm confident that you've zeroed in on a solution. The clarity of your response is greatly appreciated.
Your points about compressed/lossy formats make sense. This explains the lower bitrates for those formats.
You also asked about the original source of my alac (Apple Lossless) files. As you may have guessed, the original files are typical itunes downloads, which I understand are usually MP3s at 256 kbps.
I had assumed that running them through the itunes converter would transform them into proper (16/44.1) lossless files with the associated bitrates ranging around 1,000 kbps -- with a much richer sound.
At first glance, it would appear that I was wrong. Merely upsampling the music has created larger files but without the added clarity, depth and soundstage. That's how I read your previous post. Again, correct me if I am wrong about this.
However, there is a twist.
As I mentioned, when I play these alac files through Apple TV -- through homesharing on my computer -- they sound no better than the 256k files. However, when I play the same files through the foobar2000 media streaming software, they sound much better and show the proper bitrates at around 1,000 kbps.
On this last question, my ears may be playing tricks on me, but I don't think so. I'm playing the files through a good system: an audiolab 8200CDQ pre-amp and 8200p power amp.
So, this has me stumped.
One last question: what is the point of having a program that upconverts MP3/AAC files to lossless if there is no improvement in sound quality. Why would you have a bigger file that sounds just as bad as the small one?
Regards
Here is your May 3 post, which has disappeared from the websit.
May 3
No problem. Sorry for the long reply.
I see what you mean about my equation. All 16/48 stereo signals would equate to 1536kbps. If you changed the sample rate to 44.1 (what CDs use) or something else, then the bitrate would change.
Now thats for uncompressed formats like WAV, AIFF, and PCM. And in the case of Airplay, the stream getting sent to the AppleTV is always uncompressed, no matter the the original format (aac, mp3, apple lossless, etc).
AAC files (and mp3, wma) are known as compressed formats: some fancy math equations are used to reduce the file size w/o your brain noticing the missing bits, so that initial stream (1536 kbps for instance) gets reduced to 320 kbps or lower in order to fit more songs on your device. the way this happens is really crazy but if you want to learn about it theres a magazine that did a good article. WARNING, its really technical!: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr12/articles/lost-in-translation.htm
you seem to be able to hear the difference between compressed and uncompressed formats. many people do but many dont. It all depends on your hearing, sound equipment, etc. I was wondering if the reason your not hearing a difference btwn apple lossless and aac might be because of where the lossleess files came from. did you rip them from CD's or convert them from another format? If they didn't come from CD's, WAV, or AIFF files, you probably won't hear a difference, because you can't "upconvert" from something like AAC to Apple Lossless and get higher sound quality. If they came from CDs, then maybe the AAC versions are just really good quality to begin with and so you are having a hard time telling. That article has some examples of the same music in different formats, so you can test your ears and see if you notice a difference.
bE

Sync Apple Lossless but downgrade lossy over 128kbps

I have my iTunes set to downconvert audio to 128k for my iPhone and iPad to save space.
However I'd like to sync Apple Lossless files to the devices as lossless, and only downconvert lossy files that are more than 128k. Possible?
Reason I ask is this - I bought a Pioneer AirPlay dock yesterday and would like to test the sound quality of Apple Lossless on a decent speaker like the Pioneer. I believe AirPlay supports streaming Apple Lossless.
I have obtained one album in Apple Lossless format, however I think I'm right in saying to get it onto my iDevice I'd have to untick the "cover higher nitrate songs to 128k", which would force iTunes to re-sync my entire 30GB music library just so I can test 1 album?

That's a very good question and one I've been thinking about recently. The only way I can think of comparing one album to another in this way is to actually compare it on my Mac instead of my iPhone and then decide whether I want to use compressed synchronisation or uncompressed.
As far as I can see it's either all or none when you tick the 128k box

What does Match do to Apple Lossless and AIFF?

I have all my music imported as Apple Lossless. Will I lose quality if I use Match?
Thanks,
Ken

Yes, that it what I said :-)
Itunes temporarily converts the file to 256 in order to upload it to Icloud but leaves the ALAC file on your computer HD.
When you play back from your computer where the original file is stored you play the ALAC file.
If you download the file to another Idevice from Icloud you will of course have a 256 file, which should be quite adequate for on the go listening.
EG, When I stream to my hi end home stereo useing squeezebox server through Itunes on my Imac it streams full ALAC files, not 256 files. And I am talking about files which were uploaded to Icloud, NOT matched.
I was very careful to verify this before uploading more than a few files.
I don't want 256 streaming to a 70,000.00 system :-)

FLAC vs Apple Lossless file sizes

I've been looking into moving up to lossless audio files. From what I've been able to discover, FLAC and Apple Lossless should be roughly the same file size, but I downloaded a 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC from the Bowers & Wilkins site (about half-way down the page - search for Portico) which is 35MB. I transcoded it to Apple Lossless using Max and the resulting file is 62MB - 77% larger!!
Does this seem right? Is the compression level variable for FLAC and/or Apple Lossless (as there is for ZIP for example)? There's no such option in Max.

Hmm, interesting. MediaInfo reports the following:
Apple Lossless:
Audio
ID : 1
Format : ALAC
Codec ID : alac
Codec ID/Info : Apple Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 5mn 34s
Duration_LastFrame : -49ms
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 1 484 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Stream size : 59.1 MiB (100%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2037-05-12 23:52:44
Tagged date : UTC 2037-05-12 23:52:44
FLAC
Audio
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 5mn 34s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 840 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Stream size : 33.4 MiB (100%)
Writing library : libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
So, same bit depth and sampling rate, but the bit-rate for the Apple Lossless is much higher than the FLAC.
In XLD I have "same as original" for bit-rate and sample frequency.
I've found some more free FLAC download samples at NaimLabel (panel on the right about half way down) and when I transcode these to Apple Lossless the files are the same size as the FLACs, give or take, so I guess these aren't as compressed?

Apple Lossless vs. AIFF for iPad, etc.

I hope this question is more suitable for this iTunes section (instead of the iPad).
I'm importing songs and recordings from audio CDs (what people call "ripping") that I legally own. I want to carry them around digitally (what people call "archiving") instead of hauling around the physical discs.
And yet I want to retain as much original data as possible. I have several objectives:
1. I want the freedom to not bother touching my physical CDs (by archiving or storing them away).
2. I want the ability to maybe burn CDs if the originals cannot be located.
3. I want to use my iPad to store some of them (in addition to keeping them in dedicated audio/visual hard drive) as well as play them back at the highest fidelity that may involve future technology like iPad to stereo equipment.
So I have two questions:
1. In the iPad, how to read the file size for each item copied over from iTunes?
2. Which is better for my objectives -- Apple Lossless or AIFF?

No future compatibility problems with Apple Lossless?
Yes. If Apple goes out of business tomorrow then your music is all in a proprietary codec. Presumably if that happens your computer will last long enough to convert it to some non-proprietary format such as FLAC (but don't do that yet because iTunes doesn't support FLAC).
Also, am I wrong in assuming that my iPad can store and playback CD-quality audio through high end hi-fi stereo equipment?
I can't really answer this one. I can see articles about streaming from a Mac to an iPad, but not about using an iPad as the source.
iOS: Setting up Home Sharing on your device - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4557 - "With Home Sharing in iOS 4.3 or later, you can stream your entire iTunes library over your home Wi-Fi network from your Mac or PC right to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch."

Rip music with Apple Lossless but compress when sending to my Ipod

When I pull my music off a cd onto my computer via Itunes, I want to use Apple Lossless compression. When I want to sync the music to my ipod I want to compress down to 128kbps. How can I go about doing this?
Rob

I use two libraries - a 'Lossless' library and an 'iPod' library. I use a script (http://dougscripts.com/itunes/itinfo/ituneslibrarymanager.php) to toggle between them. This allows me to stream lossless at home over my network without being confused by two sets of each song.

Can't Import Songs To iTunes Using Apple Lossless Encoder

I have about 4,000 songs in FLAC format (which is a lossless format) on my external hard drive. I want to import them into iTunes using the Apple Lossless Encoder. I called Apple support and asked them how to do this, and they told me to go under "Preferences" in iTunes and chose to import using Apple Lossless Encoder.
I did this using Preferences>General>Import Settings, and then went to File>Add Folder to Library, however, it still imported my songs as AAC Audio Files. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Thanks.

iTunes cannot read nor import FLAC files - not without third-party plugins, anyway, and I don't know of any that will allow iTunes to convert a FLAC file to another format - so I'm a bit confused as to the procedure you're following. If all you're doing is using the Add to Library command and choosing the FLAC files, it's quite possible that iTunes is misinterpreting the format and adding what is in reality an invalid link with erroneous format information.
If you have some sort of third-party plugin for FLAC for iTunes, please post that information and perhaps someone here can determine whether iTunes can do a conversion successfully.

How do I Download from Itunes store using the Apple Lossless format?

I use my music on a home sterio and import locally from CD's to Windows using the Apple Lossless format only, to achieve the Highest quality sound. However, When I buy from Itunes store I can only get AAC format, which is low quality. How can I get Itunes to give me only Apple Lossless format?
Your help will b e appreciated.
Thanks
Phil

I do agree with what i have been said. I am a musician, i think AAC is definitely medium-low quality. I bought this year lots of AAC 256 for Itunes. I have been surprised. SO many times i need to go to the equalizer to counter-balance the weakness of this file format.
I advise you to do the following. Import a CD using Apple LossLess and then import a CD using AAC 256. You will see a HUGE difference.
Now i start to buy CD again in order to get the music Quality. Then i import my CDs to Itunes using Apple LossLess (920Kbps). You will ear that on Snares and Rides. Bass will sound more natural. Bass, Medium, Sharp will more balance with each other. You will hear instruments with more clarity especially when there are a lot of instruments. Because of that, you will not need to raise up the volume.
But more than anything... you will gain VOLUME in your files.
In general over the internet all the online music stores including Itune doesn't provide HD quality. AAC 256 is not enough. A track bought over Itune Store should weight 30 megabytes, not 5. And then you would decide to compress it or not.

How do i convert my exsisting itunes library to apple lossless?

Also whrn i do this will i have duplicate files(original/lossless)? If so what is the best way for me to delete them form my macbook? Thanks

Not to pile on here, but the only point of Apple Lossless is to have a slightly compressed version of the an original CD (AIFF). I have converted my full CD collection (too many disks to even count) to Apple Lossless. The sound quality is indistinguishable from the original CD. Because the files are rather large for use on an iPhone or smaller iPod, I then convert them to 256 AAC (for my iPhone) or 160 MP3 to burn MP3 disks for my cars. I keep the Lossless files as the original content.
However, lately, I'm just purchasing 256 AAC iTunes Plus files. I'm losing quality, but it's just not worth the time to purchase CD's and convert them any more.
There is absolutely no reason to convert 256 AAC files to Lossless. In fact, I'm sure it might degrade the sound quality in that a lot of information just isn't in the 256 AAC file. However, don't quote me on this.

Converting "Apple Lossless" back to "AAC" - More than 1 track at a time...

Hello,
Short version: I have hundreds of tracks that need to "Create AAC Version", and I can't right-click 8,536 songs in my library one at a time to find them all. Is there a method to sweep the entire library and convert all songs to this format if they are not already?
The problem with this is it still creates a duplicate of the song and the other original needs to be deleted.
Note - the file name changing (it appends a "1" on the M4A file), the "tag" displayed in iTunes retains the song name.
Thanks!,
Joseph
Long version: For the benefit of people facing the same problem and combing the forums for help, here's the rest of the story...
I'm not entirely sure when this changed (and I've reset my Import settings back to AAC 128-bit now), but I've managed to import a good number of CDs at this higher quality "Apple Lossless" format. Essentially, that's overkill - I listen to an iPod classic with headphones the majority of the time (98%) and I won't hear the difference.
CHECK: Edit | Preferences | "General" tab | "Import Settings" button
Essentially my hard-drive space has been disappearing at a rapid rate. I downloaded a tool (WinDarStat) and found my iTunes folder is 50% of my 200GB used. (Yes, I'm on an older laptop -- HD=220GB -- and am getting the 'out of space' warnings.) I found some folders for recent CDs were over 1GB alone and started digging.
I happend to have REM's studio "Man on the Moon" on here twice. The IN TIME version is AAC 128-bit and only 4.9MB in size, whereas the PART LIES version is Apple Lossless 1068-bit and 8x's larger at 39.9MB.
If you right-click a track, it provides option to "Create [other] version.", depending on going to/from ACC to Lossless or vice-versa.
Once I did this for "Man on the Moon", I got 75% of the song's space back ... from approximately 40MB to 11MB.
It does create a second copy of the song, so the original has to be deleted - be certain to "Move the song to the Recycle Bin" when warned.
A better option - all be it more time consuming - is to re-import the CDs.

For backup see this user tip.
The Create <Format> version tool uses whatever the current import settings are.
You can create a playlist of things that need converting as Ed says above.
To ease the conversion process, and keep your current ratings, playcounts, and playlist membership, plus recyle the old files automatically see my script ConvertFormat. Test on say a single album first to make sure it works as you expect/need.
tt2

Apple Lossless Tags won't Save

Hi everyone,
Has anyone experienced this? I have about 4 CDs that I've ripped in iTunes (I think), and they are all in Apple Lossless m4a. Despite the fact that their tags load just fine in other programs, iTunes is treating these files as if they had no tags whatsoever. I've tried to rewrite some of the tags within iTunes, but removing and reloading my library into iTunes reveals that these tags were never written in the first place.

Yes, I have experienced it. (not written into the audio file)
What version of iTunes are you using?
Over on the LogicPro8 forum
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8108295#8108295
describes a problem with adding metadata (the ID3 tags) in to a file with
versions of iTunes higher than 7.6.2 it won't write them into the audio file.
Versions of iTune 7.6.2 and lower seem to work ok and will write the info into the audio file.

Streaming apple lossless

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