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Sound Difference - Using Tidal/Apple music from within Sonos app and Apple TV versus Bluray

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I understand the technical aspects of the sampling rate, bitrate and mastering of media sources. However, if I play a Max Quality (24 bit, 192 kHz song on Tidal) or the high res lossless version in Apple Music from within the Sonos app or the Lossless capped version in Apple TV and compre vis a vis a Bluray, I find that the sound quality in terms of the fidelity, overall tight sound, louder, wider soundstage and greater feel  iis observed when the source is Bluray. 

 

My setup is Sony A95, Apppe TV and a mid range Sony Bluray player with Sonos Arc, 2 Era 300s and a Sub in a single room. 

​@jgatie ​@Corry P 

Best answer by Corry P

Hi ​@AbhinavArya 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

AbhinavArya wrote:

However, if I play a Max Quality (24 bit, 192 kHz song on Tidal)

This is not possible on Sonos products - we support up to 24bit at a 48KHz sampling rate. This limitation is in place due to the demands of networked, synchronized playback and the increased bandwidth needed to play sampling rates of over 48KHz that are arguably indiscernibly better. 

AbhinavArya wrote:

or the high res lossless version in Apple Music from within the Sonos app or the Lossless capped version in Apple TV and compre vis a vis a Bluray, 

Be careful not to confuse High Resolution with High Definition. High Resolution refers to the bit depth - the number of possible values the sound waveform’s amplitude can be digitally described by. 16 bit can describe 65,536 possible values, whereas 24 bit describes 16,777,216, so sounds clearer. High Definition - when it refers to online music streaming - simply means that it is CD quality, i.e. 16 bit, 48KHz, as opposed to lossy-encoded MP3 or a dozen other lossy codecs. A lossless codec like FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) or ALAC (Apple’s version of FLAC) is used instead.

So, if a stream is described as “High Definition” and/or “Lossless”, just read that as being CD quality.

If it is described as High Resolution, it will be 24 bit rather than 16 bit, but also lossless. If streaming to Sonos, it will be 48KHz, regardless of what is available via native, third-party apps, or websites.

AbhinavArya wrote:

I find that the sound quality in terms of the fidelity, overall tight sound, louder, wider soundstage and greater feel  iis observed when the source is Bluray. 

As should be expected, as explained by ​@Airgetlam above.

A music Blu-ray has no concerns about bandwidth or data storage, so is likely 24 bit at 96 or 192KHz, and thus sounds better than the CD quality that will be streamed. It may also be mastered with more than 2 channels.

AbhinavArya wrote:

But now another question arises what is all that extra information packed into bluray audio tracks which is not present on the lossless tracks of streaming services since they also boast of complete lossless codecs and that no hearable information is lost during transmission. 

My personal assumption would be that Apple will also see the sense in not trying to stream 96 or 192KHz sample-rate audio over the internet for no real benefit. These sample rates are for mastering purposes - mathematical algorithms (filters or passes) may yet be applied to the audio during the process, so it makes sense to have a high as possible sample rate. Once mastering has finished, however, it makes little sense to not resample to a lower rate for distribution, as human ears really cannot tell the difference. For the Blu-ray, they likely just put multiple versions of each track on the disc as there are no concerns about filling it up, and it will keep audiophiles happy.

I hope this helps.

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6 replies

Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • 42459 replies
  • March 12, 2025

It depends on the bitrate being sent by the source. In general, a Blu-ray will usually be superior to the bitrate being sent by a streaming provider. They have to optimize for millions, perhaps billions of simultaneous streams. Your stream from a Blu-ray device is a singular event, and nobody has to ‘pay’ for that bandwidth. 

Bruce
A
  • AbhinavArya
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • 3 replies
  • March 13, 2025

​@Airgetlam Understood. As per Apple high res lossless is 10 GB per 200 songs ~ 50 MB per song while a typical audio track on a Bluray could be 1-10 mbps. But now another question arises what is all that extra information packed into bluray audio tracks which is not present on the lossless tracks of streaming services since they also boast of complete lossless codecs and that no hearable information is lost during transmission. 

Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • 42459 replies
  • March 13, 2025

I suppose the streaming companies use different ‘versions’ of the files than are used on your Blu-ray’s. You’d need to ask them. 

Bruce
Corry P
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  • Corry P
  • Sonos Staff
  • 8486 replies
  • Answer
  • March 13, 2025

Hi ​@AbhinavArya 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

AbhinavArya wrote:

However, if I play a Max Quality (24 bit, 192 kHz song on Tidal)

This is not possible on Sonos products - we support up to 24bit at a 48KHz sampling rate. This limitation is in place due to the demands of networked, synchronized playback and the increased bandwidth needed to play sampling rates of over 48KHz that are arguably indiscernibly better. 

AbhinavArya wrote:

or the high res lossless version in Apple Music from within the Sonos app or the Lossless capped version in Apple TV and compre vis a vis a Bluray, 

Be careful not to confuse High Resolution with High Definition. High Resolution refers to the bit depth - the number of possible values the sound waveform’s amplitude can be digitally described by. 16 bit can describe 65,536 possible values, whereas 24 bit describes 16,777,216, so sounds clearer. High Definition - when it refers to online music streaming - simply means that it is CD quality, i.e. 16 bit, 48KHz, as opposed to lossy-encoded MP3 or a dozen other lossy codecs. A lossless codec like FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) or ALAC (Apple’s version of FLAC) is used instead.

So, if a stream is described as “High Definition” and/or “Lossless”, just read that as being CD quality.

If it is described as High Resolution, it will be 24 bit rather than 16 bit, but also lossless. If streaming to Sonos, it will be 48KHz, regardless of what is available via native, third-party apps, or websites.

AbhinavArya wrote:

I find that the sound quality in terms of the fidelity, overall tight sound, louder, wider soundstage and greater feel  iis observed when the source is Bluray. 

As should be expected, as explained by ​@Airgetlam above.

A music Blu-ray has no concerns about bandwidth or data storage, so is likely 24 bit at 96 or 192KHz, and thus sounds better than the CD quality that will be streamed. It may also be mastered with more than 2 channels.

AbhinavArya wrote:

But now another question arises what is all that extra information packed into bluray audio tracks which is not present on the lossless tracks of streaming services since they also boast of complete lossless codecs and that no hearable information is lost during transmission. 

My personal assumption would be that Apple will also see the sense in not trying to stream 96 or 192KHz sample-rate audio over the internet for no real benefit. These sample rates are for mastering purposes - mathematical algorithms (filters or passes) may yet be applied to the audio during the process, so it makes sense to have a high as possible sample rate. Once mastering has finished, however, it makes little sense to not resample to a lower rate for distribution, as human ears really cannot tell the difference. For the Blu-ray, they likely just put multiple versions of each track on the disc as there are no concerns about filling it up, and it will keep audiophiles happy.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Airgetlam
1 person likes this
  • Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
A
  • AbhinavArya
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • 3 replies
  • March 14, 2025

Thanks ​@Corry P  but my doubt still remains. For a max 24 bit 48 KHz, there should be a max bitrate cap also. Any additional information is not perceivable by human ears. But then if I am playing a 24 bit 48 KHz through Tidal/AM on Sonos and through Blu-Ray, then technically the sound should be the same. But I do find both quite different. For comparison, I am playing Madmax Fury Road Blu-Ray which is a Dolby Digital 7.1 (24 bit 192 KHz) Channel audio being read at ~ 4-10 mbps by the player. The same is being output by Sonos as per the input audio signal description. And the sound is absolutely great. However, I don’t feel the same while playing the max quality track of Madmax on Tidal or AM which read 24 bit 192 KHz. I have played the Dolby Atmos version also of the same and the difference is the same.

I have always known that Blu-Rays do sound better but I am genuinely puzzled about the reason.  

Corry P
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  • Corry P
  • Sonos Staff
  • 8486 replies
  • March 17, 2025

Hi ​@AbhinavArya 

Perhaps your Blu-ray is delivering Atmos (MAT) while your streamed source is Dolby Digital + (Atmos)? Both would just show as “Atmos” in the Sonos app.

While I am unsure of the exact technical reason why, it does not surprise me in the least to hear that Blu-ray movie audio sounds better than streamed audio from the internet. Presumably, you are listening to the soundtrack (list of songs chosen for the movie) on Tidal rather that the movie’s own actual audio soundtrack, which is a different thing altogether.

I have noticed that the limit of 48KHz seems to only be mentioned in relation to music playback - there are no such stated limitations for audio delivered by HDMI, so perhaps when playing Blu-rays, you do indeed get a higher sample rate than 48KHz, though I personally doubt that this is behind the difference that you are hearing.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Airgetlam
1 person likes this
  • Airgetlam
    Airgetlam

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