I’m not quite sure what you’re asking. I’d be happy to test something for you, if you give me the details of what you’d like tested.
Ah, sorry about that I meant if the music app supports any kind of sample-rate switching/exclusive mode when playing anything hi-res?
Also, as far as I’m aware, you’re able to download from apple music for offline use…I’m wondering if it downloads the files and places it on the same folder/directory as your local files?
I’ll hook a dac up to my computer tomorrow and give this a shot, see what I can find out.
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You have to Go to:
= Settings - Music - Audio Quality
Activate lossless audio and then make the respective quality settings!
PC Settings:
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As a “hardcore” 
Apple user, I have found my Endgame streaming provider now.
Everything works perfectly 
with first-class sound quality 
To be honest, as a music lover, I have absolutely no use for the Dolby Atmos function for music.
As with Amazon’s 3D function, Apple Music D-A
now sounds completely unnatural and like a musical pulp, with which nothing can be realistically assigned spatially.
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Okay, on my phone I see IOS 14.6 update is available, hence why I didn’t see it. I’ll check my Mac tonight and see what os it’s on and if there is an update.
As @Lothar_Wolf showed, the bit rate selection is a drop down box in settings. Once you pick, it seems to work as an “this is the upper limit” gate. Miles Davis Kind of Blue played at 24 - 96, Keb Mo at 24 - 192.
I set up a fake music directory in apple music, and when I clicked download, it added a folder to that directory titled “Downloads-Music”. It stored the temp download files there, and then moved the completed files to an “Apple Music” folder in the original directory. The format is HLS Media.
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Looks like you might value adding a lightning extension cable to your iPad set up.
Not convince it works properly. I see the drop down, says lossless but my dac stays at 24 bit 44.1 khz, doesn’t sound good. On a Macbook air m1, most recent os, printer usb to matrix x-sabre. Works with no issues with Tidal.
If you want to take advantage of the full potential of Apple lossless 24 Bit / 192 kHz, you have to connect a DAC to your iOS device, which is why this adapter is necessary for the ifi Signature.
Are you sure the source isn’t 44.1? Just because it will play up to 24/192 doesn’t mean that all tracks are now available at that bit rate. I really had to search to find a 192 track to listen to. I finally gave up an used the Keb Mo from @Lothar_Wolf post.
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I don’t think the music app on macOS supports bit-perfect playback yet so you’d have to change the sample rates manually on audio midi…
I think the drop-down menu is to allow files up to 192 to play, but it doesn’t automatically switch to it like you’d get in Roon/Audirvana.
Kind of bogus but, well, it is what it is…I hope they update it soon, otherwise we’d be waiting until macOS Monterey in the fall.
I do wonder if Audirvana can serve as a workaround using legacy mode…
Just like with Amazon Musik & Qobuz & TIDAL, also clearly visible;
Of course, all recordings are never available in 24/192, but rather in the qualities available in the studio recordings.
For Example:
Like for example in Amazon:
……
The respective rates also arrive at the DACs used, as, for example, the color changes on the ifi DAC, the Audioquest Dragonfly or the Fiio.
Exactly the bitrate being played appears on my Questyle CMA400.
However, the default setting for the respective DAC should be set on Mac’s midi setup.
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On the Mac, using only apple music (making sure no other player is open to cause issues), I used for example, Billie Ellish which has both icons for Apple Digital Master and Lossless (no icons for lossless, no hi-res, then you won’t get the hi-res lossless output, that’s straight forward). When the music is playing, you have the pause at the top of the player and then the Hi-Res Lossless icon on the top right of that play bar. When you click on that, it gives you what the resolution output is, that output did not match what my dac shows. Playback preference is set to the highest available but still only 24 bit 44.1 khz at the dac, like the OS has it locked down even though the settings are set correct and the music has the option. There’s not a lot of options, it should be straight forward. In tidal, you have the player icon inside Tidal that shows if it’s computer or Tidal that has control. Also, sound in the OS that you can make sure that your dac is the output. With Apple, the dac was the output (no sound would come out if it wasn’t), player, preference was set to the highest and enabled, music had hi-res options but the output again was 24 bit 44.1 khz. It’s not complicated, were not troubleshooting scripts. To me, so far, unless I missed another button, it doesn’t work properly yet.
macOS will always output at the rate set for the device in the Audio MIDI Setup tool.
Some applications change those settings to match the bit rate and depth for the track they are playing (Roon, Audirvana, TIDAL, Qobuz and so on). But if they don’t, then the source material will get up, or down, sampled to match the Audio MIDI settings.
Apple Music does not, at present, change the output sample rate automatically so you will see whatever bit rate and depth you have set in the Audio MIDI Setup tool.
Whether they make it so it does remains to be seen.
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I’ve never found that “Audio MIDI Setup tool” yet, so that’s the button I’m missing. There’s an old troubleshooting method that I’ve always lived by, kiss, some of us might know it. Apple shouldn’t make another step, I’d stick with Tidal if they choose that method but I also get military discount with Tidal, so it’s the same price but Apple has a very large library.
I’m new to Mac, first I’ve ever owned, I’ve been on Windows and Linux forever. So I’m fumbling through learning the Mac after a couple weeks ownership.
It’s in Applications | Utilities.
Windows and Linux behave in exactly the same way under the same circumstances (e.g. a player has to operate in Exclusive mode/bypass the OS mixer to even be able to change the output sample rate, and then it has to be coded to do it … otherwise Windows resamples up/down to match the OS output settings as well).
There was (don’t know if there still is, nor if it works with Big Sur) an add-on to iTunes/Apple Music called “BitPerfect” that did the automatic bit rate/depth switching for you.
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Apple shouldn’t make another step
Yeah it would be nice. But Amazon Music behaves the same as Apple here - it will up or down sample based on the OS settings. I was wondering what Apple was going to do here. I am curious if this is the standard for the big players in the streaming market.
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I don’t think it’s a standard, I didn’t have this issue with Tidal or Qobuz. Depending on the album, Tidal matches the output to my dac (many albums are different) but it has the ability to have exclusive control and I’m pretty certain Qobuz does also when I tried it lately.