Apple is facing stiff competition from the streaming might of Spotify, but new rumours hint that iTunes could bite back with a move to HD audio.
According to The Guardian, iTunes Match will offer a new file format that streams music in the best available quality for your connection speed.
In practice, this means sparkling audiophile-worthy streams when on broadband at home, where you might listen through a hi-fi, but slim file streams over mobile broadband. Perfect for saving on that monthly iPhone data cap.
The unnamed source in The Guardian says users wouldn't have to change a thing to see their iCloud music collection upgraded, though it remains to be seen whether Apple will slap additional costs on the rumoured service.
So what is HD audio? Let's break it down.
Recording studios make music in an HD format, which is mixed down to CD quality at 16-bit/44.1KHz. Don't worry about what those numbers mean, just consider it a bare minimum for HD audio.
Digital music from stores like iTunes will usually be in the MP3 or AAC format. They're pretty good for compressing HD audio to iPod-friendly sizes, but in doing so, some quality is sacrificed from the original recording.
Apple's solution is apparently to store HD files online at 24-bit/96KHz in the futuristic HD-AAC format. It can stream from a server at smaller file sizes with tip-top sound quality, and will work with any device that plays the older AAC format, which includes every post-iTunes Apple device.
It looks like Apple has struck upon the holy grail of audio formats, because HD-AAC contains better quality than our ears can even hear -- and then allows for uninterrupted mobile listening to boot.
Will you be tempted by the rumoured iTunes upgrade, or do audiophiles need to put a plug in it? Share your view in the comments, on Facebook or on Google+.
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anonymous 1 March, 2012 12:45
I think audiophiles need to put their ego to one side and actually learn how music compression works, not just go along with assuming that the word "compression" means a big loss of quality.
Take MP3 compression for example - the highest quality MP3's get their smaller size simply by taking silences in the track and removing the data (stuff that's not even needed anyway!), removing frequencies which the human ear can't even hear, and sometimes altering transients, which to any "audiophile" won't actually any sound any different, despite what they think. Obviously with lower quality MP3's the quality is noticable.
It seems audiophiles want to be able to hear stuff which is physically impossible to hear anyway - what's even funnier is they'll spend £150 on a crappy phone cable which is gold plated, thinking it'll cast a magic spell over their music and make it sound better.
To conclude, before you say all MP3's lower the quality, read up on how the files are compressed before you jump to conclusions.
anonymous 1 March, 2012 12:49
oops, that was meant to be 'phono', not phone.
anonymous 1 March, 2012 14:17
Its not just the bitrate - the actual quality of the media player makes a huge difference
Plug an iDevice in to a decent hifi and play a high bitrate tune, then play it through a decent quality media player and the difference is immediately noticable
Also, you can still make out a compressed recording even at a high bit rate, in certain circumstances : an obvious one is when recording a mix - two tunes played together tends to bring out the compression artefacts, especially with hi-hats and snares - and I'm certainly no audiophile! (I'm half deaf from years of dj-ing and even I can pick out the errors)
anonymous 1 March, 2012 19:10
I think anonymous is missing something- those frequencies which are commonly referred to as not being in our audible frequencies- do indeed effect the overall sound that are within our frequencies. They are overtones, which are present in all sounds. Ever since the commercialization of MP3's- I've been able to hear the "flanging" that takes place on a 128kbps MP3 when a drummer rides her cymbals. Of course, the software compressor used to create these mp3s plays a big role. But for the most part- loss-less algorithms will make a huge difference- especially in Jazz and Classical.
anonymous 29 April, 2012 08:18
There IS an audible difference between MP3 and non compressed 16bit/48KHz audio.
Maybe because your Apple earbuds made you deaf or you only listen to some crappy pop music.
Try A/B MP3 vs. lossless on real acoustic music, you'll immediately notice the soundstage was altered and the instruments sound generally less natural. You'll most likely not hear any difference on Apple earbuds or Monster Beats by Dr. Dre phones, but for the folks with real headphones: try it!