Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#671

Post by sbaildon » Tue, May 18, 2021, 7:15 AM UTC

aeontech wrote: post #556

sbaildon wrote: post #249

Apple can add feature after feature, but if Music continues to split albums without warning, it's close to useless. I can't curate a music library when I can't rely on my music not being jumbled around. Dropping music for licensing issues is one thing, but messing with metadata is beyond frustrating. For arbitrary reasons, Apple Music will: remove songs from albums and re-add them to your library as the "single" or "…

I've definitely seen this happen as well. It's extremely frustrating. Looking at your screenshots, I'm guessing these were all albums that were matched to your existing library? Just curious, looking for them, I see this: [1] seems ok here: https://music.apple.com/us/album/yung-gravity-ep/1500799523 Is there another version of it on AM? [2] I can't find on Apple Music - I'm guessing it's also an upload from your libr…

Nah, these aren't matched albums. They're directly added from Apple Music. And that's the thing, the albums are fine!

For [1] and [3], I added the album to my library as you see them in the links you provided. Then one day—poof! Albums are mangled, songs have been pulled out into "singles", or I find a new "compilation/greatest hits" version of the album in my library with a subset of the songs, and another subset in the original. Now I have to find all loose tracks, delete them—if I can find them all—then re-add the complete album.

The deluxe version of [4] has an extended track list, but I didn't add that version to my library. Apple Music thought it'd be a great idea to add the deluxe version, and split tracks between both albums so neither version is complete.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#672

Post by comprev » Tue, May 18, 2021, 7:16 AM UTC

knoebber wrote: post #542

stingraycharles wrote: post #518

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah good times, I’m nostalgic about managing my own music collection using directory structures, everything consistent and well-organized. Tagging metadata using musicbrainz, listening with foobar2000. Nowadays I’ve been sucked into the Spotify vacuum because of convenience, but I do miss out on more obscure music. And I have no idea how to find that, except from sites like SoundCloud and mixcloud, but their UX is h…

Bandcamp is great for this. You can buy albums from indie artists and download in your preferred format, DRM free.

In addition to 99% of artits providing the download version when physical media is purchased. I really appreciate the ability to flip between digital and vinyl media when DJing for many tracks.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#673

Post by thirdsun » Tue, May 18, 2021, 7:29 AM UTC

moogly wrote: post #175

yehaaa wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The format is ALAC, it’s not proprietary but an open spec. Secondly Apple has been using AAC since forever which is a successor to mp3 and an MPEG standard.

> The format is ALAC, it’s not proprietary but an open spec True. No one else bothers with it though, because why should they when FLAC exists? That makes ALAC, in practice, largely an Apple-only format.

My whole collection is stored in ALAC. Any half decent software or hardware player will support ALAC these days.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#674

Post by thirdsun » Tue, May 18, 2021, 7:33 AM UTC

floatingatoll wrote: post #255

moogly wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The format is ALAC, it’s not proprietary but an open spec True. No one else bothers with it though, because why should they when FLAC exists? That makes ALAC, in practice, largely an Apple-only format.

I've been storing my FLAC files as ALAC for iTunes compatibility for the past decade. Max.app on macOS, while old and creaky looking, does a fine job of transcoding them and maintaining tags.

I wonder why you wouldn't just use ALAC full time? As mentioned in my other comment any decent piece of software or hardware supports ALAC these days.

Sure, if you don't have any use for iTunes or iOS FLAC is the obvious choice, but if you do use iTunes there's really no need to keep two formats around. Just use ALAC.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#675

Post by des1nderlase » Tue, May 18, 2021, 7:47 AM UTC

astrange wrote: post #550

verytrivial wrote: post #160

> For the true audiophile, Apple Music also offers Hi-Resolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit at 192 kHz. Wow, I can finally justify upgrading my iPhone charging cable to gold plated, low-oxygen wires.

A good upgrade would be putting carpets everywhere or setting up your smart home so you can turn off the fridge so the compressor sound won't interfere with your speakers.

It's still more awesome (to your friends) and less compromises (to your home) to buy highly overpriced shielded snakeoil cables

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#676

Post by thirdsun » Tue, May 18, 2021, 8:08 AM UTC

movedx wrote: post #621

dmamills wrote: post #613

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You consume in a slower manner. You use an example of your ability to stream a thousand tracks in a single day if you wanted to, I don't have the same aspirations, so I'd also not pay thousands of dollars up from to kick start it. To answer your question of how do I curate a library, legally, is just over time. I have a lot of musicians I like, and when I find them, I purchase their music, and I listen to it. I do it…

> You consume in a slower manner. > To answer your question of how do I curate a library, legally, is just over time. I have a lot of musicians I like, and when I find them, I purchase their music, and I listen to it. I guess I can just start buying their albums today, slowly, but I often found it difficult to even find a vendor of their stuff online. Thanks for the response.

Have your tried Bandcamp, Qobuz, Boomkat, Bleep and others?

Personally I buy and find all my music in lossless digital formats. Any release I want to have. Interestingly you may have a harder time finding very popular mainstream music in a lossless format.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#677

Post by SSLy » Tue, May 18, 2021, 8:13 AM UTC

dawnerd wrote: post #558

chorsestudios wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple must have been aware of bluetooth data transfer restrictions when designing AirPod Max.. Seems odd that they didn't include onboard storage for lossless songs, or enable lossless support for AirPod Max while tethered to a MacBook. If this is a codec issue as the article indicates is there any potential for a software fix?

BT 5.0 in theory could probably stream lossless so it is a bit weird they didn't consider it. Maybe they did and it wasn't really stable enough longer distances. But not being able to be tethered without using a digital to analog to digital adapter is so silly. Come on apple.

Not in theory, Sony's LDAC is lossless (in the CD quality range) and goes over BT4.2 just fine.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#678

Post by capableweb » Tue, May 18, 2021, 8:35 AM UTC

websites420 wrote: post #568

capableweb wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not sad that Apple is using an open source codec, it's sad that Apple specifically created ALAC instead of just using FLAC that already exists. Instead of building hardware that can efficiently play FLAC, they created their own format in order to promote harder lock in to their walled garden. Fine, probably makes business-sense, but as someone who was brought up with the mindset of an open internet and web,…

>Instead of building hardware that can efficiently play FLAC, they created their own format in order to promote harder lock in to their walled garden. I don't follow how ALAC promotes a harder lock into their walled garden. If you have a file in ALAC (not a streaming instance, an actual file), it can be converted losslessly to FLAC. Moreover, ALAC has been open source for almost 10 years. Android plays it fine, as do…

Let's say you have two file formats. One is a open standard, the other one is not (but has it's specifications published, that's something at least). Both formats have the same purpose and basically works the same way. One has been around for almost 20 years, the other for around 9 years (but specification not open until 2 years after release).

Instead of going for the one with the open standard, that does the same thing, Apple prefers to invent their own format, that they can change at their own whim and that they now can optimize their hardware for, so they get an advantage no one else can use.

You don't see anything bad in this? Are you really arguing against open standards? I thought we went through this with the internet and the web already, and open standards is something people generally prefer. It just ends up better for everyone, instead of companies inventing their own formats time and time again, especially when a format that suits their needs already exists...

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#679

Post by KingOfCoders » Tue, May 18, 2021, 8:51 AM UTC

tootie wrote: post #224

KingOfCoders wrote: post #207

Wouldn't lossless Audio need to be some kind of analog? Or some fourier transformations? Isn't the quantization of digital already a loss over the continous nature of sounds? I have no clue about audio.

Short answer: no. Digital audio can reproduce analog audio flawlessly already. Chris "Monty" Montgomery has some excellent videos on the topic that I was coincidentally listening to just this morning. This Verge article sums it up and links to his really excellent talks. https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/6/9680140/chris-montgomery-...

The point was not "flawlessly" but lossless.

Re: Apple Music Announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio

#680

Post by movedx » Tue, May 18, 2021, 9:04 AM UTC

joshspankit wrote: post #624

movedx wrote: post #617

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Buying direct from the artist can be as low as $1 per album Not the artists I listen to. They're all signed with big labels, thus you can only buy from that label. > Buying CDs and records used, then posting them on social media is a form of social currency And criminal currency known as Copyright Infringement. I'll pass.

(shaking my head and laughing at myself) I edited the post, as I meant promoting the artist by posting photos or why you love the music, and not posting the music itself.

HAAAA! Nice.

Alright, THAT makes more sense ;-)