Hi,
If I use a MacBook Pro or Air M1 or M2 can I use AirPlay to stream Apple music in lossless to my Sonos system?
Answer
Apple music lossless & Mac ios?
Best answer by Corry P
Hi
When your Mac receives the track, it is indeed in UHD (24-bit). Whatever software is playing the track will decompress it into PCM audio for the computer to handle internally. Up to this point, if UHD, the audio compression will be lossless. The AirPlay subsystem will then encode the PCM audio into 16-bit, 44.1KHz lossy AAC-LC for transmission to external devices, whereupon it will no longer be lossless nor Hi-Res (24-bit).
Thanks for your replies, it's most appreciated, the more I learn the better.
You are most welcome, but...
If you look at the screenshot it's outputting 44.1hz in Airplay which is lossless
This is where you are mistaken - 44.1KHz does not indicate in any way that the codec used is lossless, only how many times per second the waveform is sampled into digital information (you need at least 40,000 samples per second to describe 20,000 Hz audio, the highest frequency the human ear can hear, and there’s a little extra for good measure) - even the lowest quality, 64kbps mp3 that would sound barely better than a phone call can have a sample rate of 44.1KHz.
but I'm guessing it isn't outputting UHD (don't think we can hear the difference anyway)
Correct - AirPlay doesn’t carry 24bit or lossless. And you’re not wrong about not hearing the difference - it takes a unusually special pair of ears to do so.
Just in case you are misunderstanding exactly what lossless is, I recommend a speed-read of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossless_compression
To be clear, it is possible to stream 24bit and lossless audio to Sonos, just not via AirPlay - you must do so from within the Sonos app, and choose to play from a music service that supports the standard. You can see which services support which quality standards on our Services on Sonos page - by ticking “CD-Quality” you will see all services supporting lossless audio. 24-bit audio from streaming services tends to also be lossless, but technically does not have to be.
I hope this helps.
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I typed this into Chatgpt and here’s what it says..
Yes, you can use AirPlay to stream Apple Music in lossless quality to your Sonos system with a MacBook Pro or Air M1 or M2.
To do this, make sure your Sonos system is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your MacBook. Then, open the Music app on your MacBook and start playing a song that is available in lossless quality.
Next, click on the AirPlay icon located in the playback controls area of the Music app. Select your Sonos device from the list of available AirPlay devices, and the audio should start playing on your Sonos system in lossless quality.
It's worth noting that not all Sonos devices support AirPlay 2, which is required to stream lossless audio. You'll need to check if your particular Sonos device supports AirPlay 2 before attempting to use it for this purpose.
+19Hi
Thanks for your post!
ChatGPT is hallucinating again.
You can stream using AirPlay to a compatible speaker, but you cannot do so with lossless quality - AirPlay uses AAC-LC when sending audio to any AirPlay compatible speaker, including Sonos, which is a lossy codec.
I hope this helps.
Hi
Thanks for your post!
ChatGPT is hallucinating again.
You can stream using AirPlay to a compatible speaker, but you cannot do so with lossless quality - AirPlay uses AAC-LC when sending audio to any AirPlay compatible speaker, including Sonos, which is a lossy codec.
I hope this helps.
Hi Corry,
what about AirPlay from my Apple TV, this outputs lossless via AirPlay? So, why couldn’t a Mac if I change the midi settings to output ? I understand my iPad and IPhone can’t. Just need this clarifying before I purchase a Mac.
+19Hi
As far as I am aware, AirPlay will only operate lossless-ly when streaming from one Apple device to another Apple device. My previous statement stands.
MIDI is not even audio information, rather a list of instructions to be sent to an audio device for it to then make audio - I don’t see how it relates to AirPlay (or Sonos) in any way.
I hope this helps.
Hi
As far as I am aware, AirPlay will only operate lossless-ly when streaming from one Apple device to another Apple device. My previous statement stands.
MIDI is not even audio information, rather a list of instructions to be sent to an audio device for it to then make audio - I don’t see how it relates to AirPlay (or Sonos) in any way.
I hope this helps.
Hi Again,
So why do so many people believe that Apple TV will output lossless to Sonos? Here’s a screenshot of a Mac in Midi Set up outputting 48hz to Airplay to Sonos. You can't do this on iPhone or iPad.
+19Hi
So why do so many people believe that Apple TV will output lossless to Sonos?
An Apple TV device can output lossless audio to a TV, and if that same TV has a Sonos Arc or a Sonos Beam connected to it via eARC, then you can get lossless audio from Apple TV on Sonos. It has nothing to do with AirPlay, however.
Here’s a screenshot of a Mac in Midi Set up outputting 48hz to Airplay to Sonos.
Is it though? I see no mention of Sonos there. Nor is it MIDI (unless Apple has their own definition of MIDI that I am unaware of), and even if it was, Sonos does not support MIDI playback. Note that 48KHz is a sampling rate and both lossy and lossless compression techniques utilise it (in fact, all digital audio other than MIDI has a sampling rate, and MIDI doesn’t have it because it is not actually audio, as mentioned), so it in no way indicates that lossless compression is in use.
I think you have either misunderstood, or have been misinformed. I hope this helps.
Hi
So why do so many people believe that Apple TV will output lossless to Sonos?
An Apple TV device can output lossless audio to a TV, and if that same TV has a Sonos Arc or a Sonos Beam connected to it via eARC, then you can get lossless audio from Apple TV on Sonos. It has nothing to do with AirPlay, however.
Here’s a screenshot of a Mac in Midi Set up outputting 48hz to Airplay to Sonos.
Is it though? I see no mention of Sonos there. Nor is it MIDI (unless Apple has their own definition of MIDI that I am unaware of), and even if it was, Sonos does not support MIDI playback. Note that 48KHz is a sampling rate and both lossy and lossless compression techniques utilise it (in fact, all digital audio other than MIDI has a sampling rate, and MIDI doesn’t have it because it is not actually audio, as mentioned), so it in no way indicates that lossless compression is in use.
I think you have either misunderstood, or have been misinformed. I hope this helps.
Thanks for your replies, it's most appreciated, the more I learn the better.
If you look at these screenshots we have my friends Mac hooked up and have both Amazon Music and Apple Music connected to Airplay. If you look at the screenshot it's outputting 44.1hz in Airplay which is lossless, but the track is Ultra HD, but I'm guessing it isn't outputting UHD (don't think we can hear the difference anyway). This is how we have enabled their Audio from his Mac to my Sonos 5’s. If you could clarify, I would be most grateful.
+19Hi
When your Mac receives the track, it is indeed in UHD (24-bit). Whatever software is playing the track will decompress it into PCM audio for the computer to handle internally. Up to this point, if UHD, the audio compression will be lossless. The AirPlay subsystem will then encode the PCM audio into 16-bit, 44.1KHz lossy AAC-LC for transmission to external devices, whereupon it will no longer be lossless nor Hi-Res (24-bit).
Thanks for your replies, it's most appreciated, the more I learn the better.
You are most welcome, but...
If you look at the screenshot it's outputting 44.1hz in Airplay which is lossless
This is where you are mistaken - 44.1KHz does not indicate in any way that the codec used is lossless, only how many times per second the waveform is sampled into digital information (you need at least 40,000 samples per second to describe 20,000 Hz audio, the highest frequency the human ear can hear, and there’s a little extra for good measure) - even the lowest quality, 64kbps mp3 that would sound barely better than a phone call can have a sample rate of 44.1KHz.
but I'm guessing it isn't outputting UHD (don't think we can hear the difference anyway)
Correct - AirPlay doesn’t carry 24bit or lossless. And you’re not wrong about not hearing the difference - it takes a unusually special pair of ears to do so.
Just in case you are misunderstanding exactly what lossless is, I recommend a speed-read of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossless_compression
To be clear, it is possible to stream 24bit and lossless audio to Sonos, just not via AirPlay - you must do so from within the Sonos app, and choose to play from a music service that supports the standard. You can see which services support which quality standards on our Services on Sonos page - by ticking “CD-Quality” you will see all services supporting lossless audio. 24-bit audio from streaming services tends to also be lossless, but technically does not have to be.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for the clarification. I will just use the Amazon Unlimited service. I so wish apple would allow Sonos to use lossless audio as I prefer their UI.
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