How to adjust the audio quality in Apple Music
Engadget · C · trust 45/100
The service offers both lossless streaming and EQ features, if you know where to look.
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Apple Music has shockingly robust cross-platform support for an Apple service. Native apps are available for iOS and macOS, of course, but there are also very well-designed version for Android , Windows and other devices — including smart TVs and game consoles. Thankfully, there's very little feature discrepancy between the Apple and non-Apple versions. Android users miss out on the nifty karaoke feature available on iOS, but still get all the marquee features, including lossless quality streaming. There are additional audio quality features, including an equalizer, which can help you fine-tune the sound further. All of this makes Apple Music a great Spotify alternative , especially once you activate its high quality audio.
Apple Music actually features two lossless tiers, with the basic lossless setting streaming in CD quality — 24-bits at 48kHz. If you listen to music through most pairs of consumer headphones or earbuds, and especially if you use Bluetooth, this is the highest quality such products can deliver. You don't need to waste data with Apple Music by turning on the even more extreme Hi-Res Lossless setting which delivers audio at 24-bits of depth and 192kHz. However, if you have dedicated hi-fi equipment, the latter option is recommended.
However, lossless audio isn't enabled by default. Because it uses considerably more data, you'll need to enable lossless playback from settings on each of your devices. If you're looking to turn lossless audio off, either because it's eating into your data plan or you don't have the proper playback equipment to hear it properly, you can do so using the same process. It's a straightforward process, but it's easy to miss some of the necessary steps. So, here's how to adjust the audio quality in Apple Music.
To find the equalizer, go to Settings > Apps > Music , then tap EQ in the Audio section. Select one of the presets to adjust the EQ.
Choose the quality you want to hear while listening over Wi-Fi or cellular data, as well as when music is downloaded locally, by changing those individual settings on the same screen. If you enable Hi-Res Lossless , you will see a popup warning you that you need dedicated hardware to take advantage of it. Click OK to confirm.
There is not an in-app equalizer on Android. Going to Settings > Equalizer will instead redirect to your phone's audio settings.
One caveat to be aware of is that, unlike Android, iOS does not support high resolution Bluetooth codecs. Android users can take advantage of Apple Music's Lossless quality setting with certain wireless headphones or earbuds, whereas iPhone users can only experience it with a wired playback device. Unless you use wired headphones or buy a hi-res Bluetooth adapter dongle , you will not hear 24-bit, 48kHz audio with the Lossless setting (let alone sound produced by the even higher quality Hi-Res Lossless setting), even if your Bluetooth headphones advertise support for high-resolution playback.
You can also find the equalizer on Apple Music's desktop apps. On both platforms, it's a ten-band EQ with a range of presets, a preamp and the ability to save custom settings as new presets. On Windows, you'll find it tucked into the same three-dot menu, while on Mac you can access it by choosing Window > Equalizer .
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