Airplay 1 vs. Airplay 2 streaming quality?

[Moderator Edit: Split out from Early Access to its own topic.]

Few people tested it and apparently, Airplay 1 is 16/44 lossless (720-1000 Kbps), while Airplay 2 is 16/44 lossy (256 Kbps).

No it’s not it airplay 2 can be either it all depends on the apps implementation and if it uses realtime or low latency streaming. Read it all again as you misinterpreting it. Qobuz is full lossless 44.1/16 using Airplay2. Checked it myself and the bandwidth being used from my phone and to endpoints imatches to lossless ALAC sized streams not AAC.

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Have I missed any specific post in the above conversation where proof is provided?
When I briefly had the Wiim Pro Plus, it was constantly showing me lossy Airplay 2, no matter what source.
Is this the way Wiim handles Airplay 2 protocol, and other streamers can do higher kpbs?

Airplay 2 supports lossless playback. Whether or not this happens is down to implementation.

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Wouldn’t that lossless playback mode only be lossless if the source material is 44.1/16? Otherwise it would end up being resampled?

Airplay 2 supports lossless, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get lossless. In this regard it’s no different from Airplay. That’s what I was referring to.

Do we have any reliable/ repeatable tests to proof that Airplay 2 can deliver lossless?
I cannot find anything from Apple saying that Airplay 2 can deliver lossless audio.

It depends on the source and endpoints.
Darko has a very good explainer as to the complexity involved and why it is so confusing, so worth looking on YouTube for that.

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Google (or other search engine) “Airplay 2 lossless” and have a look through the results.

They also don’t say it doesn’t.

Here is an an example of streaming to two Airplay 2 devices one a Wiim Pro Plus from Qobuz app on my iPhone.

You can see them grouped in the app which you can
only do via Airplay2.

Here is what my iPhone is sending out at this point in time. 1.5mb/s which equates to 2x lossless ALAC streams at 44.1/16.

Here is what Wiim app says although this metadata is easily given wrongly and Wiim have for here. It tallies up with the data rates from my phone. Phone wasn’t doing anything else other than Airplay.

If this isn’t proof enough then you can believe what you want to, the whole implementation in each app is what decides how and what it streams.

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The search returned a range of opinions on the Airplay protocol, but non provided a scientific, objective, or definitive information.

It is not important what I (or anyone) believe. We need facts from reputable sources (not What’s hifi articles, or Apple Support opinions. I was recently chatting to Apple Support, and the level of their incompetence is staggering, so I wouldn’t count them as a good source of information either).

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Welcome to the internet. :laughing:

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FWIW

@Simon_Arnold3 @SukieInTheGraveyard @Simon_Arnold3 are all correct.

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You say that ‘they are all correct’, however, I still see no proof. Is this based solely on opinions, or is there any substance and objective perspective?

Perhaps just enjoy the music. If it sounds good then it’s ok.

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Very hard to take some posts seriously, when they post heresay, (Apparently) and then demand substance and objective perspective in return.

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:roll_eyes:

You seek the holy grail.

Do you feel unworthy to seek the truth on your own?

Do you wish others to deliver the truth?

Will you be a believer of the truth?

Or are you a naysayer!

I’m a seeker and a believer.

@Simon_Arnold3 has demonstrated this in one of his posts above. He’s a clever chap and I believe in his findings.

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Will this suffice?

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will need to update that table once Roon releases its AirPlay 2 support :slight_smile:

the Audiophile Style write-up is probably the best proof of AirPlay 2 lossless capability that i’ve seen … but it’s a lot to sort through, and the method described there is not something that most people can replicate to check their own setups (nor should they need to)

looking at network traffic to identify streaming patterns and overall bitrate (like the examples above from @Simon_Arnold3) is probably the most accessible way for most users to check if their setup (app + sender + receiver) is lossless or lossy … this by itself isn’t "proof’, but it’s certainly useful

link below to the notes that Darko used as a basis for his very nice write-up and video (there have been some updates/additions since then) …

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