Best DAP for Apple Music Lossless/High-Res/ATMOS

[Knightsfan11]

100% correct sir! That is how I’m using Apple Music lossless/high-res now: iPhone 12 Mini or iPad Pro 12.9” (2020) to many of my external DACs (I love them all); but I as I stated earlier, I still love a good DAP not tied to my phone and was researching the best DAP for Apple Music (AM).

P.S. : The best sounding AM I have heard so far is through my iPad Pro 12.9” USB-C output -> L&P W2 dongle -> 4.4mm bal -> Sony IER-Z1R….wow!

No, what I'm saying is, get yourself another iPhone or even iPod if you only need to use it with wifi & use it as as a DAP only.
Should be able to get yourself a data only SIM.

 

[Gus141]

No, what I'm saying is, get yourself another iPhone or even iPod if you only need to use it with wifi & use it as as a DAP only.
Should be able to get yourself a data only SIM.

May end up doing that. But I still like DAPs with balanced headphone jacks built in at times (no need to attach an external DAC/dongle/cable etc.), and I’m buying one that supports all the features of Apple Music without Android SRC messing with the sound quality.

I have the new FiiO M11 Plus LTD inbound, so I’ll probably be happy as long as it sounds as good as my FiiO M11 Pro (who’s ancient SOC and Android 7 OS sadly do not support Apple Music). The new M11 Plus LTD uses a customized Android 10 OS; also, as on the older M11/M11Pro and M15 DAPs from FiiO, the audio from 3rd-party streaming apps bypasses Android source rate conversion. There are other TOTL DAPs that bypass Android SRC and which play Apple Music’s lossless and high-res songs at native sampling rates through the headphone jacks (can’t confirm what’s coming out of their USB outputs though) but the FiiO costs less than most of them and I’ve been a satisfied FiiO customer so might as well give it a try.

Just to throw a wrench in this discussion/thread: if I hadn’t put “DAP” in the title or mentioned lossless/high-res and just asked, “What’s the Best Way to Listen To Apple Music,” I would probably say wirelessly from an iPhone to either Airpod Pros or Airpod Max just for the shear simplicity of that setup and pretty decent sound quality too (which I do quite a lot). But, alas, I also want a DAP with a balanced headphone jack that fully supports all the new features of Apple Music.

Cheers,
Gus

 

[Knightsfan11]

Understand you are after bit perfect listening, but seriously, can YOU notice that much of a difference, if any? I went through a phase of thinking I could, but in all honestly, the hassle people seem to go through (this thread is evident of that), doesn't seem worth it.

Also understand it's part of the audiophile journey. But, seriously, just listen to the music in the easiest way possible & you'll be much happier.

 

[rmkjr]

DX300 - AMP 12, plays Apple Music bit-perfect perfectly and sound is to my liking. Mostly on a pair of Campfire Cascade’s or FH5 on the go. Have some Nanna 2.0 Pro on the way to even out my on the go experience.

 

[shootertwist]

Glad i found this thread, also on the hunt for such dap. Right now i connect my ipad pro or iphone to my walkman wm1a via usb dac and it works great… but while this is a great solution for now, as i love my wm1a, i have also been on the lookout for a dap that can play apple lossless bit perfect. I also previously had the walkman zx507 but could not play bit perfect as mentioned here. One thing i am considering is the dx160 as its a cheap option to try apple music lossless anybody has that and can confirm to be working?
If tidal is available in out country officially i would have gone that route, but sadly it isnt not to mention its too expensive compared to apple music which costs zero for me as i am already a subscriber since it started… thanks in advance

 

[fatthumb]

I am using New Hiby R6 (R6 2020) with Snapdragon 660 SoC. Apple Music hi-res lossless perfectly output through USB. Fyi I am also using the DAP as digital transport.

 

[arjuna93]

Thanks for the confirmation. I was on the fence between a $750 M11+LTD with SD 660 SOC and Android 10, vs a $1999 R8, with same SOC but with Android 9. Same DAC chips too. The R8 does have better clocks and display. But is that worth over $1000 more? I’m still tempted though, lol. I like the look of the R8 and the higher res screen, but will it sound better then the half-price M11 + LTD?

I had pre-ordered the M11+Stainless Steal, but that fell through, so I have ordered an in-stock aluminum M11+LTD which should arrive in a couple of days. If that does not live up to my expectations, the R8 (ordered from the closest dealer, MusicTeck) is the next thing I buy. But I’m going to give the M11+LTD a chance since I have been a fan of FiiO.

Edit: Also, @normie610 , looking at your sig I realize I have a lot of the same kit, so I think I would like anything you like too. From the ESS chips of the Lumin gear, to the CL chips of the W2, and the the AMKs in the R8: I like them all too. Thanks for posting man.

Cheers,
Gus

If you want Apple Music streaming (and not just playing ALACs), why don’t you just get an iPhone + external DAC for it, something like Resonessence Herus+ or alike? Perfectly portable and no pain with Android.

 

[Lowtech Trevor]

May end up doing that. But I still like DAPs with balanced headphone jacks built in at times (no need to attach an external DAC/dongle/cable etc.), and I’m buying one that supports all the features of Apple Music without Android SRC messing with the sound quality.

I have the new FiiO M11 Plus LTD inbound, so I’ll probably be happy as long as it sounds as good as my FiiO M11 Pro (who’s ancient SOC and Android 7 OS sadly do not support Apple Music). The new M11 Plus LTD uses a customized Android 10 OS; also, as on the older M11/M11Pro and M15 DAPs from FiiO, the audio from 3rd-party streaming apps bypasses Android source rate conversion. There are other TOTL DAPs that bypass Android SRC and which play Apple Music’s lossless and high-res songs at native sampling rates through the headphone jacks (can’t confirm what’s coming out of their USB outputs though) but the FiiO costs less than most of them and I’ve been a satisfied FiiO customer so might as well give it a try.

Just to throw a wrench in this discussion/thread: if I hadn’t put “DAP” in the title or mentioned lossless/high-res and just asked, “What’s the Best Way to Listen To Apple Music,” I would probably say wirelessly from an iPhone to either Airpod Pros or Airpod Max just for the shear simplicity of that setup and pretty decent sound quality too (which I do quite a lot). But, alas, I also want a DAP with a balanced headphone jack that fully supports all the new features of Apple Music.

Cheers,
Gus

Im currently on the same hunt. Just curious if this solution worked for you?

 

[nuze]

Interested on this as well. I am now torn between the M11 Plus vs DX 300. Just want a good DAP to play my High-res Losless Apple Music.

 

[SlothRock]

I'm just wanting a great dongle for the iPhone that supports up to 384khz, 4.4 connections and doesn't require it's own battery. I have the BTR5 but don't like needing to charge both that and my phone and don't like that it doesn't support a 4.4 connection either. Sounds like the T&S W2 is a good one but nervous about some of the reports of weird volume stuff with the iPhone. Any other recs?

 

[enn1]

Hi guys. I am very new to this forum and it is in fact my very first post. Considering the discussion in this thread, I hope I am in a right place. I am looking for some advice, as most of us do in here.
My situation is that I currently listen music from my iphone 7, where I have syncronized music from my macbookpro itunes in ALAC format. And then I have also downloaded some from Tidal for offline mode. Well, offline is my major listening mode. So now I would like to take a step forward in terms of the sound quality and I have a following dilemma.
1) Use my existing iphone 7 as a source and buy a good dac/amp like a new ifi xDSD Gryphon. Here my question is if iphone 7 stores my music files from macbookpro as ALAC or does it convert it to AAC while synchronizing via itunes? And then I wonder how long the iphone battery lasts while supplying the dac/amp via cable?
2) Another option is to buy a decent DAP, load all my music from macbookpro in ALAC format into it and aquire new music via Tidal downloads. Looks like iBasso has a new DX240 DAP out there with all the new goodies. For about the same money (ca 1000€) I could get a secondhand A&K180 or 1000 unit or Sony WM1A, which are arguably superior in sound quality, but not sure about their ability of streaming/downloading Tidal.

Can't make up my mind. I would be very thankful on any suggestions and cons/pros of either alternative. By the way, I have Sennheiser IE300 iems, if that matters.

 

[torifile]

What are people’s thoughts on using an iPhone (13 pro in my case) with apple lightning dongle vs a dedicated DAP like the R6 Pro? Both with Apple Music lossless streaming. This would be to listen through a pair of campfire audio IEMs.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Perhaps somebody here can clear this question up. It seems on the iphone that Apple atmos is really just some kind of spatialization technique to 2 channel sound using a variant of AAC (compressed). But current Apple 4K TV units supposedly can provide an true Dolby Atmos output over HDMI. Is that true for 4K TV devices, or is it just working with the same AAC files as the iphone?

 

[OlosAftia]

100% correct sir! That is how I’m using Apple Music lossless/high-res now: iPhone 12 Mini or iPad Pro 12.9” (2020) to many of my external DACs (I love them all); but I as I stated earlier, I still love a good DAP not tied to my phone and was researching the best DAP for Apple Music (AM).

P.S. : The best sounding AM I have heard so far is through my iPad Pro 12.9” USB-C output -> L&P W2 dongle -> 4.4mm bal -> Sony IER-Z1R….wow!

I'm fast reaching the conclusion that ideal mob set ups go something like your postscript. Phone (most reliable hardware/software combo out there) + decent dac/amp.

 

[royalshadow]

At last, the forum I’ve been looking for, and people who understand my dilemma.
I have a fairly long daily commute, so audio is essential to me. I have an iPhone 13, and have tried a few dongle dacs to get a compact set up. I’m currently using the lotoo paw s1 which is great apart from the awful EMI it picks up. I also have the BTR5 which I love, but again this is really restricted in terms of AAC from my iPhone. I can get better codecs with my MacBook, but then that doesn’t travel to work with me. I have a pair of CIEMs too, and I feel that I am robbing them of good quality audio sometimes.
My music source is Apple Music, and so I have done loads of research on whether I would actually benefit from a dap, and if I could, which one to go for. A dap would certainly give me a better choice of Bluetooth codecs, but I am acutely aware of the bandwidth limitations of Bluetooth on hi-res audio.
Am I expecting too much from OTG audio? I hate someone calling me when I’m listening as I have to unplug my setup to answer them (or just bounce the call). I’ve done loads of research too, and I’m thinking of spending around 300GBP, but I’d be grateful for feedback from anyone who has conquered this challenge.