I have Apple One as well. Pretty much a must have when you own 2 MacBook’s, an iPad, iPhone and an Apple Watch.
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How does Apple provide a direct network connection to hi fi systems.??
AFAIK it still via a USB C (or Lightening) → USB A Socket into the iDevice then a string to the USB input to a DAC , hardly elegant.
Until Apple comes up with Apple Connect ala Tidal Connect which turns the Tidal app into a control app controlling an Ethernet stream, its still a wire from a phone or AirPlay both using the iPhone/iPad as the renderer. If that is commitment to hi fi I for one am not impressed
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This is where Spotify lossless would have the advantage even 2 years late. Tons of devices with Spotify Connect and one manufacturer already mentioned the software on their hardware was already upgraded to handle lossless. They were just waiting for Spotify to roll it out. Apple still doesn’t have a wireless lossless solution. Even if they add digital out to new HomePod, that’s an additional device you’d need to buy. With Spotify, I’d be able to play lossless on my current devices. Whether or not it’s hires is not that important. And because it’s completely handed off, don’t have to worry about battery drain or any other streaming issues.
The question is, would this be better than roon and Qobuz? For new users, probably. You don’t need roon core or pay for 2 services. Uses the same app for at home and on the go. For me, I’d have to see if like the interface. When I tested it 2 years ago the iPhone app seemed better than roon since it was built for the phone. Like how the scrolling lyrics worked. Like how their search engine allowed searching by years and record labels for whole catalog. I may miss the star rating and not sure if they have album and artist info but seems most services now have that.
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Apple one as well!
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I don’t know, I wasn’t privy to it, but I’ll take the word of the Roon CEO who was that its not happening. Businesses have conversations all the time about potential co-operation and I would assume only a few of those discussions end up fruitful. But Roon users are welcome to wish for a pony under the Xmas tree all they want…
Apple Music already does this with devices that support AirPlay 2–for example, Devialet Phantoms and HomePods.
My Naim Atom HE supports AirPlay 2 but not a direct network feed from Apple Music
How would I tell
Via my iPad Pro it still uses the iPad as a renderer in the chain and then casts wirelessly to the Naim as far as I can tell
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Add the NAIM as a device in the Home app. Give it an easy to pronounce name, like “Atom.”
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In the Music app, click the AirPlay icon, click “Control Other Speakers & TVs,” and then click the NAIM.
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From that point, the Music app should be acting as a remote control for the speaker, without streaming from your phone.
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Alternatively, you can ask Siri (on an iPhone, HomePod, or other device) to play music on your NAIM by referring to whatever name you gave it in the Home app. For example, “Hey, Siri, play Sonic Youth on the Phantoms.”
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Start play on the iPad with the Atom as the endpoint. Shut down the iPad. If the iPad works only as a remote like Tidal Connect, and if it’s implemented sensibly, the Atom should continue to play. If the stream goes through the iPad, the play will stop
Nope only the HomePods handoff no 3rd party does. Also Apple Music is limited to AAC over AirPlay 2’just to round their crapness off.
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Nope just tried it and it doesn’t work. Stops the moment the phone is off the network or powered off. There is no handoff. Maybe different if you have a HomePod in your house as it may acts as a hub, but without one doesn’t work.
Yeah I have Naim HE and you can easily play Apple Music on it. But as mentioned, it’s not lossless. But that’s the thing, most people don’t know that. So does Apple even care since most people think they’re already getting it? Not sure if anyone’s tried ios17 to see if anything’s changed.
It stops just tried it.
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Think Apple TV may also do a handoff as well. But they have not added this to any 3rd party device yet.
Yes it’s apple only devices, not a surprise really and it only works for Apple Music all other handoffs are purel changing the AirPlay target and your phone or tablet are still the streaming client.
There’s been some updates to Airplay and Apple Music in ios17 but I haven’t heard any talk lossless working.
And like a lot of people I have an Apple One subscription. My son wasn’t a fan of roon and we do watch a lot of the Apple TV shows. I only use Apple Music in car or play an album not on Qobuz. If I could Apple Music it to play lossless, I may switch over full time.
I don’t know about a handoff but the music app is built in. It goes to 24/48 max. I play Atmos stuff that gets downmixed to 5.1. Sounds as good as any blu-Ray I have.
I use Apple Music (and Classical) in a similiar manner but I have to say that Quobuz and Tidal sound much better than AM, even using Airplay (with the Hegel H120). So, I think that AM files are of lower quality compared to Quobuz, even if both are HiRes. AM music sounds thinner to my ears. In addition, the Apple App is a mess and kind of ugly and outdated, which says much about the committment of a company that always prouded itself for making products that look good and make you feel “cool”. The way they shut down Primephonic and downgraded (degraded maybe be a better word) it is offputting to say the least. They couldn’t care to come up with an Ipad App thus far. Seriously?
Now, a bit of audio snobbery. I live in Brazil and when I open up Quobuz, I get recomendations and magazines of all sorts of interesting local music (which is lost within Roon, btw), as well as international. It’s not all good to my taste but I appreciate the suggestions. When I open up Apple Music I’m offered all kinds of musical trash, especially local trash, as if I were tunning to a really lousy radio station. Would I appreciate Apple’s integration with Roon? Sure, but Apple seems so out of tune with what seems to be Roon’s environment that I feel we’re just wasting time discussing it. Anyway, I just did it. Guilty as charged. Cheers
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FWIW, this does work with my Devialet Phantoms. That is, if I start them playing through Music.app or Siri on my iPhone and then turn off the iPhone, they continue to play. Perhaps it is streaming from one of our HomePods or the AppleTV–no idea.
Edited to add: we have 8 HomePods scattered around the house, and I do not intend to test how this works by unplugging all of them and the AppleTV.
As mentioned above, there seems to be a handoff to Apple devices like Homepod or Apple TV, but not to third-parties like the Airplay in the Atom. If you want to know for sure, turn off the Homepod and the Apple TV as well, start playing on the iPhone to the Phantom, and take the iPhone offline
When using Tidal Connect, you can turn off everything else except the streamer after starting the play on the streamer
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