what is the “lossless sound quality” in the upcoming music streaming platform battlefield? Part 2
But what exactly is lossless sound quality?
For the music files supported by the current Dashuosu music streaming platform, the formats are mostly “MP3” and “AAC”, and the specifications range from 128kbps to 320kbps. However, the format for lossless sound quality is “FLAC”, and the specifications are “sampling precision (unit bit)” and “sampling frequency (unit Hz)”, the higher the two values, more music can be retained.
For example, in KKBOX “HiFi Lossless Sound Quality”, it is divided into 16bit/44.1kHz and 16bit/48kHz. The sound quality effect is the same as that of a CD; and the most advanced “Hi-Res high- resolution sound quality” sound quality It is better than CD and the specifications are 24bit/48kHz, 24bit/96kHz, 24bit/192kHz.
But on different music streaming platforms, the definitions are slightly different. Apple collectively calls this “lossless sound quality,” and the rating ranges from 16-bit/44.1 kHz, which is the same as CD quality, to 24-bit/48 kHz, which is higher than CD quality. CD, and even up to 24 bits. /192kHz.
Such an upgrade, if picture quality resolution is used as an analogy, is from SD to HD, or even 4K. You can hear the singer recording the “real” sound in the studio, but the music file size has changed. also increased a lot, which can be even 25 times higher than the general music streaming specifications in the past.
Apple Music VS KKBOX, the sound quality strategy is very different
Taking stock of the practices of major music streaming platforms at present, for KKBOX, which has a music library of 70 million songs, hi-fi songs exceed 40 million, and hi-res songs exceed 3 million, but KKBOX considers it as a new added value. The service costs twice the subscription fee to obtain it. It can be seen that the cost of producing lossless sound quality is not low.
But Apple Music takes a very different approach. Users won’t have to pay extra, and the 75 million song library will eventually be fully upgraded, but by the early June release, around 20 million songs will support lossless sound quality.
Source: KKBOX
But with lossless sound quality, whether the headphones can actually deliver such specs is another question. If you use a Bluetooth headset, it must support aptX HD and LDAC decoding; wired headphones are better with DAP (Digital Audio Player) or DAC (Digital Analog Converter).
Source: Apple
Due to the large size of lossless sound quality files and the need for large bandwidth, in the initial state of Apple Music, this function is disabled by default and needs to be activated manually. Apple further explained that its AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and Beats are Bluetooth headphones that cannot support Apple Music’s lossless sound quality and must be paired with a DAC.
