Is Apple Music good?

Submitted by resurgences t3_11ddqt3 in headphones

I know this is a generic question but I don't trust reviews on r/applemusic because subs obviously tend to be biased. I've never had a music subscription but I can get it at 4.99 5.99 with a student discount. I have checked and it has the second highest artist payout after Tidal, quite close actually (edit: Qobuz streaming service pays more I was told).

Also the 4.99 5.99 plan includes 24 bit/192 kHz and Dolby Atmos, this seems like a steal to me or am I missing something?

The only alternative I'm considering is Tidal at 4.99 as well but it's slightly lower audio quality because that's their Standard plan, not the Studio one.

I'd use it on Android and Windows so no Apple devices

Edit: Just subscribed to it, they raised the price to 5.99 for students I noticed. Honestly really impressed so far. I listened to a few house tracks and everything so far was 24bit... The UI is nice too once signed in. E. g. there is simple cues like stars next to popular songs on an album.

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wijnandsj t1_ja7yob7 wrote

Apple music on iphone is really quite nice actually.

Do be aware that 24bit/192 over bluetooth will be downgraded a fair bit

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TagalogON t1_ja8086k wrote

Don't worry too much about the artist payout and just pick whichever is more convenient or has particular features that you like. For some people Spotify's discovery of new stuff is essential, etc. Don't forget about Deezer, Qobuz, and so on for lossless/etc.

For the lossless/etc. part, a lot of people cannot really tell, so just pick whichever is cheapest or sounds best to you, see this recent thread for more experiences about those streaming services: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11akj4c/having_a_hard_time_differentiating_between/

Since you're on Windows and Android, don't forget parametric EQ too. Sometimes those apps for EQ on Android don't work for certain streaming services though.

Try parametric EQ for more sound changes.

See here for more info about Qudelix 5K, parametric EQ, squig.link comparison graphs, AutoEQ, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/109meb5/eq/j40cy1n/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11ahxu1/just_picked_up_the_dt990s_250ohm_for_my_pc_sound/j9s5sht/

Look up oratory1990 (check the subreddit, /r/oratory1990, don't forget the preset parametric EQ list (mainly for headphones but there's some IEMs there): https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets) and crinacle's articles on what amps/DACs/etc. are and what they do.

You can do (parametric) EQ with $8 Neutron Music Player or UAPP on Android. If on PC, the free (Peace) Equalizer APO. There are free apps on Android(/Apple) that can also do a good enough job, but most of them have those graphics sliders instead of parametric or just plug the numbers in EQ. EQ can also be used to help with channel or ear imbalances.

There's also the free Wavelet app that has the AutoEQ available now. And other free apps for more simple graphic sliders EQ, etc.

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ksc75mod t1_ja80suc wrote

It’s been excellent in my experience. Hard to find anything that’s not on there and in Lossless. Not to mention the convenience which is the main selling point with everything Apple. Try it for a month to see how you like it.

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resurgences OP t1_ja81qgl wrote

Replying to ksc75mod (#2,058,009)

Alright you convinced me. My only hesitation was the lack of a proper Windows client aside from Itunes and them shutting down Cider but i just saw there is a dedicated app coming soon anyways

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja838pf wrote

>I have checked and it has the second highest artist payout after Tidal, quite close actually.

The topic of artist payouts is honestly pretty murky and hard to pin down. Contrary to what you often hear, it's not as simple as different streaming services offering different fixed per-stream rates. So what you see one artist being paid might be totally different to another, based on their specific situation. What does seem to be universal, though, is that buying whole tracks pays the artist a whole lot more, so if supporting them is a chief concern then buy albums you like through Bandcamp, HD Tracks, or Qobuz, etc.

>The only alternative I'm considering is Tidal at 4.99 as well but it's slightly lower audio quality because that's their Standard plan, not the Studio one.

As far as digital formats goes, it doesn't make much difference to be honest. The actual improvement from "Standard" > "CD Quality" > "Studio Quality", or whatever the marketing terms are, pales into insignificance when compared to how well the music itself was recorded, mixed, and mastered. Seeking better quality master recordings for the album/tracks you listen to is key when it comes to better sounding music.

Also, take any comments that claim one service sounds inherently different/brighter/bassier than another with a massive pinch of salt - they don't.

>I'd use it on Android and Windows so no Apple devices

I haven't had much experience using AM through the new Windows app, but I hear it's... temperamental.

The best way is to take some free trials and see which service ends up working out giving you the best user experience.

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Mhosie t1_ja83qqh wrote

I used Spotify for years before moving to Apple Music about 6 months ago (due to a student discount). Honestly, I quite like it. The biggest criticism people seem to have when they move away from Spotify is that other apps have inferior UIs but after a couple of weeks you get used to the AM UI so don't worry about that. Music quality is great and I find the discovery/auto play features to be pretty good (can't compare to much to Spotify though as I never really used them that much before I left). Be aware that on Windows the AM Preview is only available from the Windows 11 store in the States (unless you VPN and change location in Windows settings) although you can use the Windows Subsystem for Android to install the Android app on your PC which actually works pretty well. Alternatively you will need to install something like Cider which doesn't support AM's lossless options.

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IMKGI t1_ja8426a wrote

The problem with every music streaming service i found that isn't youtube music is that they have a severe lack of music for nieche genres, so make sure the songs you want to listen to are actually on the platform

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spartaman64 t1_ja84pcg wrote

my only complaint is there seems to be massive battery drain on my android. maybe its just my device. it drains 20+% in the same amount of time amazon hd/youtube music would drain 7%.

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Aracari_LoA t1_ja84x2m wrote

I've had a good experience using apple music on Android. Technically you can get better sound quality out of tidal because UAAP supports tidal streaming (UAAP bypasses android's audio processing) but it takes a decent amount of listening training and a transparent setup to even hear that difference so I wouldn't worry about it. Imo apple music is a good middle ground offering good enough sound quality while still being reasonably convenient.

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Lelouch25 t1_ja8526f wrote

Tried it for 2 weeks on windows. Even though it’s only in a browser for now, it sounded better than Quobuz and Amazon HD.

It sounded more airy than Tidal.

Anyway definitely 👍 😊

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GimmickMusik1 t1_ja85zju wrote

Apple Music is good. I used the student discount of spotify for awhile because Apple Music didn’t always have a discount. I would say it like this…

If you value knowing that you are streaming high quality audio, go with Apple Music.

If you like being able to discover new music very often, go with Spotify.

For a brief period I had both but only use Spotify now. I personally didn’t think that the higher quality audio was worth my extra money.

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AKAlarslars t1_ja86bwc wrote

The sound quality is excellent. However, the shuffle algorithm is laughably bad and the main reason I intend to drop Apple Music. I have over 12k tracks on my main playlist, but the "shuffle" plays only ~75 of them. Over and over. Similar problem with the customized (your name) radio. You can sort of get around it with Smart Playlists, but those do not sync or appear on other devices like streaming boxes, only on your phone or laptop.

If you don't need a good shuffle feature, it's great. The old disk-based iPod had a great shuffle algorithm, so I'm not sure why Apple decided to get rid of that, but it's truly the worst part of Apple Music. Spotify's shuffle is considerably better, but their sound quality is awful. If they ever get true lossless service (as they've repeatedly promised for years) they could own the category, but they're too stupid and/or greedy to ever do that. There is no single service that gets everything right.

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717x t1_ja87un8 wrote

I thought lossless is only available on iPhone as of right now?

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resurgences OP t1_ja88vc8 wrote

Replying to 717x (#2,059,875)

No, I just subscribed and checked on Android. It supports their highest audio setting, Hires Lossless, which is 24bit/192 kHz ALAC

I haven't turned that highest option on yet because I'm using Bluetooth In Ears right now anyways and they give an average of 145 MB per 3 minutes but if it's there it should work. You first need to switch a 'Lossless Audio' toggle for it to appear

Here is a screenshot

https://imgur.com/a/G5VbhdX

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717x t1_ja895dd wrote

Replying to resurgences (#2,060,137)

Good shit. Didn’t expect something like that from apple tbh. I have it on my iPhone and windows. I don’t see any indication of my music being lossless on windows which is why I made the comment.

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NeonDelteros t1_ja8bmpw wrote

As a long time Apple hater myself, after using Apple music for over 1.5 years I got to admit that it's actually very good, the best music streaming service, even though I still dislike pretty much everything else from Apple.

Apple music easily has the best catalog for my music, on par with Spotify, and way better than Qobuz, Tidal and Deezer that I used to try but sometimes couldn't find my music.

The lossless in Apple music is 100% legit, and it comes with no additional cost and very cheap. I know some people will say you might not be able to tell the difference compared to sth like Tidal or Spotify, but I much rather know the fact that I listen to authentic lossless than unauthentic ones from Tidal, or lossy from Spotify while I'm paying even less, so the value for purchase is just much higher with Apple music, even if I might not be able to tell the difference myself.

Not to mention, I found Apple music to be quite easily registered using VPN to get even much less price, as compared to Spotify that can notice the change in location. I don't know if this still holds true but if it does, you can get Apple music lossless for dirt cheap, which I think is an absolute no brainer compared to everything else.

Also, I don't know how this is possible, but sometimes I even find some of my music on Apple Music to have exclusively higher mastered versions than everywhere else, having songs and albums entirely in Hi-Res quality while others like Qobuz only have standard lossless, this probably doesn't matter much but it's still a nice bonus for me, showing that Apple is very serious about their lossless catalog.

It's also worth noting that I only use these services for Music, not for something else like podcasts on Spotify, which to be frank I don't give a damn about. And even though back then I used to believe that the UI on AM is worse than Spotify, that's not really the case anymore and I actually found it looks quite nice and very modern. On Windows I use Cider which looks fine, and you can also try the official Apple Music Preview if you can.

Overall I believe Apple Music is currently hands down the best service for sound quality, catalog, and value, probably even UI, and I will keep using it even though I use Android and Windows, it's simply too good.

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guesswhochickenpoo t1_ja8e69n wrote

Replying to IMKGI (#2,058,852)

If you already own some of the niche songs or are willing to buy them separately Apple Music allows you to upload your own songs. It’s one of the reasons I chose it over Spotify and other platforms.

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Tanachip t1_ja8ffgr wrote

I have been using Amazon HD for a year, but recently signed up for Apple music because I have a free 6-month trial period when I bought my AirPod Pro 2. I quite like the Apple UI, but I will note that if you use WiiM Mini (which I do), you will need to stream over Airplay, which is not lossless. Moreover, I've noticed that streaming Airplay to WiiM will cause some tracks to stutter, which is very annoying. I also don't like that Apple music doesn't incorporate podcasts.

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pkelly500 t1_ja8gm0k wrote

Qobuz is better than both, although its playlist algorithm isn't as good and its userbase-generated playlists are far more sparse.

So, if you want the best sound quality and don't listen to a lot of obscure bands or genre, Qobuz is the pick. If music discovery and social sharing are most important to you, Spotify still is the king. Otherwise, Apple Music is pretty damn good.

I don't like Tidal because it shoves MQA in our face, which isn't true lossless and is largely marketing snake oil. Qobuz only uses MQA when no other source file is available from the record company.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja8k5xq wrote

Replying to pkelly500 (#2,062,108)

>Qobuz is better than both ... So, if you want the best sound quality and don't listen to a lot of obscure bands or genre, Qobuz is the pick.

You know there is no inherent difference in sound quality between lossless streaming services, right? All the apps do is download the files they have on their servers and play them.

If the files are based on the same master recordings, which they generally are (especially if the album was released in the past twenty years or so), then they will be the same regardless of which streaming service you happen to be using.

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guesswhochickenpoo t1_ja8knpc wrote

Replying to kerouak (#2,062,953)

Yeah it’s pretty huge and I never hear it talked about. I have a ton of niche “EDM” tracks from back in the day that are even hard to find on YouTube and elsewhere as well as many DJ sets from myself and friends that I’ve uploaded. Super convenient.

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andysaurus_rex t1_ja8kshh wrote

Personally I've been using Amazon HD without much complaints, other than the UI being pretty bad. But it's free (with Prime, which I already pay for) and high quality. If not for this I would have probably gone with Apple Music.

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TagalogON t1_ja8o0pw wrote

Replying to Pauoolk (#2,060,997)

Oh yes that's true but in reality if people are on a budget it's not really that worth it. Like IIRC a lot artists these days have merchandise and those have better support options to the artist.

In the Kpop/Jpop(/Cpop/etc.) world, some of us also just buy CDs, exclusive socialization access, sponsored brands, etc. for our favorite idols. There's also the option to meet them through the staff members, fan meeting, et cetera.

Or like these days some of them are in New York, Milan, Paris, etc. doing Prada, Gucci, Chanel, etc. promotions as the local/global ambassadors for the brands. And so some fans just show support on the actual IRL sidelines by hyping the idol up when they're on the way to the event/show. Sometimes in those western fashion events, the idols take so much time interacting with the fans or signing stuff that they get told to hurry up by the event people, lol.

I forgot exactly what the ratio was, but IIRC, touring or concert sales are one of the biggest ways to support artists aside from merchandise. Otherwise streaming or spreading the word is also good enough.

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daniellearmouth t1_ja8pquf wrote

Replying to BoogKnight (#2,063,009)

There are builds available on Windows right now that support Hi-Res Lossless. I currently use one on Windows 10 (even though the target platform is 11). It's surprisingly stable, all things considered, but I'm using it in conditions it's not really meant to be used (wrong OS version, for a start, and it being a really old build at this point).

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daniellearmouth t1_ja8qcgc wrote

I use Apple Music. My plan's a bit more expensive, since my mother uses it (sometimes), but really, the price is fine for what it is, and it pays artists more than Spotify does anyway.

The UI/UX is a bit weird in places. There's no immediate signifier of whether a given album is 'Lossless', 'Hi-Res Lossless', 'Apple Digital Master', 'Dolby Atmos' or anything unless you actively search in those categories, or just go through albums individually to check. They could do to change that.

The other gripe I have is that on Android, I find that when it activates lossless (in whichever flavour is available), I sometimes have a very brief moment where the sound cuts out before coming back in. It's a bit weird, and I don't like that it does that every time, but I've gotten used to it as a quirk of the program.

Otherwise? I'm very happy with it. It has pretty much all the music I'm likely to listen to, downloading music to the device is simple and easy, and you can use your iTunes library on top of what Apple Music offers. I'm quite content with it.

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CLOUD10D t1_ja8un2y wrote

I think the only one with a good algorythm to find new music after you trained it a little is Spotify.

In my opinion it`s not about the codec, it`s about curation.

​

With Spotify i found so much new music I love..

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mcjasonb t1_ja8vysz wrote

I’ve used them all and I’ve been using Apple Music for over a year straight. That’s the longest I’ve stuck with one streaming service. No complaints.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja8zhg6 wrote

Replying to pkelly500 (#2,065,903)

Tidal aside, it is absolutely true. Amazon, Deezer, Qobuz, and Apple will generally be using the exact same files.

But yes, Tidal is the one exception.

That said, the distortion introduced by MQA is apparently not significant enough to be audible. In a blind test, people seem unable to tell them apart. While the philosophy behind MQA may be objectionable, it doesn't seem to adversely affect the sound in a noticeable way.

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pkelly500 t1_ja91or5 wrote

Replying to ultra_prescriptivist (#2,067,203)

Saying "Tidal aside" is like making a sweeping generalization about the pickup truck market and saying, "Toyota aside ... "

Doesn't really work, man. Tidal is not like the others. It's not pure lossless.

But yes, once you remove Tidal, the files largely are the same. Then it comes down to which UX, algorithm, additional features you prefer.

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guesswhochickenpoo t1_ja926ae wrote

Replying to IMKGI (#2,062,185)

Depends on the use case. I already had hundreds of niche EDM tracks from years ago on MP3 when YouTube itself was barely a thing never mind YouTube music or Vance and they were already in my iTunes collection. I have also ripped my own niche vinyl tracks that are hard to find anywhere online.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja94d24 wrote

Replying to pkelly500 (#2,067,769)

You're the one who keeps trying to make this all about Tidal, but that's not the reason why I responded to your initial comment.

You started by sayin:

>Qobuz is better than both ... So, if you want the best sound quality and don't listen to a lot of obscure bands or genre, Qobuz is the pick.

Now you're saying

>But yes, once you remove Tidal, the files largely are the same. Then it comes down to which UX, algorithm, additional features you prefer.

That's quite a shift in stance, don't you think?

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Lelouch25 t1_ja959aw wrote

Replying to dan_bodine (#2,068,737)

You kind of get the sound around the mic, like that hollow sound or echo from the recording room.

Tidal seems to have gotten rid of that effect. It’s like Apple Music has that raw quality while Tidal masters them to sound like they’re from a studio.

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LoanedWolf666 t1_ja99w6v wrote

I really enjoy Apple Music. The sound quality is great. Huge library.

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blargh4 t1_ja9bp8x wrote

It's fine, but the main issue is Windows compatibility.

Right, now you have to go through iTunes, which is a bloated shitshow of a program and doesn't support lossless. There's a beta Windows 11 app, but it's not really built for nitpicky audiophiles - no audio output settings at all, let alone proper exclusive mode/asio support or whatever. And of course, if you're still stuck on Win10, you can get fucked. Another annoyance is that installing the Windows app prevents you from using iTunes at all. So if you still use it to manage your iPhone's library, I can guess you can get fucked too.

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pkelly500 t1_ja9cpcp wrote

Replying to ultra_prescriptivist (#2,068,576)

Fair enough. But you made the sweeping generalization that all lossless streaming services use the same files. They do not.

And your "Tidal excepted" retort was lame because it's not like Tidal is some puny upstart in the lossless streaming space. Just admit you were wrong, just like I'm admitting that Qobuz, Deezer, Amazon and Apple pretty much use the same files, so my initial response was wrong -- Tidal excepted, of course. :)

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blackrao t1_ja9ezwz wrote

yes high res music available

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Gonstachio t1_ja9llq0 wrote

The lossless made it a no brainer for me

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Ok-Change503 t1_ja9nl2m wrote

I used it for a while but found myself always going back to spotify. I liked the discovery a lot more and the fact that I could play from any device and use and other device as a remote. Recently started using roon/qobuz and so far I like it a lot. I didn't care for qobuz as a standalone but it's pretty good with roon. Let's see if I switch back to spotify haha. Why can't they just release the damn hifi tier

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Akella333 t1_ja9qo51 wrote

its probably the best no frills lossless service out there aside from Qobuz, which is not available where I'm at. I would experiment which one you like more between the two.

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HeyoLetsGO16 t1_ja9rkis wrote

I think so. I enjoy what i get for it and I enjoy apple products

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AlmondVF t1_ja9ydlz wrote

Replying to FloatingSheep (#2,058,629)

Lossless is actually supported on Windows, just hidden in the mess that is iTunes settings. You may also need to have a compatible dac/amp in order for it to allow you to set your audio to 24b/192khz, however as I always used it with my Fiio dac connected I cannot tell for sure.

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dimesian t1_ja9yv66 wrote

I don't use Apple music now but when I did I thought it was good value, they have a very wide range of music, it all sounds good. The only thing I didn't like was the phone app, I found it a bit irritating though it was perfectly functional.

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burito23 t1_jaa0e7q wrote

I have it as part of apple one with tv+, music, iCloud storage. Also Apple Music Sing (karaoke mode) is a game changer for my family who loves to sing.

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Even-Cash-5346 t1_jaa4ftq wrote

People buy $2k cables saying they hear a difference. Listen to whatever music service works for you. Care about artist payout? Find a service with a higher payout. Care about really good discoverability? Spotify's algorithm for finding similar music to what you like is, imo, miles ahead of any other service.

Personally I have a DAP for listening to music on the go or in my car and when I'm at home I use foobar, but the convenience of any music service is also great.

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whitechapel6 t1_jab4x1r wrote

I prefer apple music over Spotify just for a good ui . Dolby Atmos is nice too . New album notifications for fav artists can be hit or miss sometimes though

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o0genesis0o t1_jac1sdo wrote

It's affordable, with real lossless (on my DAP, I can see the bitrate jumping up and down as I change sound quality). Dolby Atmos can be hit or miss, but when it hits, it's quite fun. I use Apple Music across iPhone, Android DAP, and my windows laptop. Unless you have problem with Apple itself, there is no problem with this streaming service.

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09212 t1_jac36or wrote

if you have an iphone, i’d definitely recommend apple over tidal. its android app is a little choppy

sadly its recommendation system is absolute garbage compared to spotify’s, but what can you do

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