If you consider yourself an audiophile, you’re probably not content with traditional audio streaming services, which lock you into compressed, lossy audio formats playing at 16-bit/44.1kHz. This is CD-quality output, but many audio connoisseurs demand nothing less than lossless audio that plays at least 24-bit/192kHz.
How can we, with only a smartphone, surmount these audio limitations? To start, we need access to high-quality audio, which we can get from Apple Music, but it takes a bit of work (and money) to set it up. Some nice earbuds wouldn’t hurt either.
Apple has its own codec for lossless audio, called the Apple Lossless Audio Codec or ALAC. This format is a step up from other audio formats like AAC, similar to FLAC. Supported songs can go to 24-bit/192kHz with the right steps. These steps look a little different between iPhone and Android, but Apple Music should work properly on both types of phones. To start, you need to activate lossless audio.
From here, you can fiddle with the settings for Wi-Fi, data, and downloading. Lossless audio is only available with a full subscription to Apple Music. On an iPhone, the process is similar.
All songs on Apple Music are available in its ALAC format, so you can find compatible songs. Lossless audio files are larger than lossy files, so they take longer to buffer or download.
You’ve activated lossless audio on Apple Music, but that’s only part of the picture. Lossless audio packs in so much data that it needs the right devices and specialized equipment to take advantage of what it offers. Otherwise, you’re listening to clear and often general high-res audio up to 48kHz. Still, it’s pretty lossy compared to what you can achieve.
Here’s what you’ll need to go beyond CD-quality audio:
With all these pieces put together, you’re ready to listen to true lossless audio sound quality and see just how much of your favorite songs you may have been missing.
If you’re satisfied with streaming lossless audio but don’t want to spend money on fancy audio gear, don’t sweat it. Most audio gains are realized with the right pair of headphones, and 99% of the population can’t distinguish the difference between Android’s 48kHz audio and anything higher.
Lossless audio takes up a lot of space and eats up a lot of data, so have plenty of both before indulging too much. We have a guide that shows you how to check your data use.
Maybe if we start telling people the brain is an app they will start using it!
