Airplay from iPhone versus Apple Tv

[Hedrus]

I hope my question makes sense:

i have a stereo system with a tube amp and Cambridge Cxn v2.Cornwall IV speakers

i stream via my iPad or iPhone. Apple music and Tidal. Happiness.

i also have in same room a home cinema(dolby via, marantz 8015)

on my home cinema i have a apple tv, i like the navigation and my way around apple tv’s interface.

my question is; if i stream music via apple tv and have menu and apple music up on my AV and choose my music to go via Cambridge and tube, is is a bad practice and is it worse than streaming with iphone or ipad?

short question. Is it same to stream via Iphone to your streamer as with Apple tv?

[pbphoto]

Assuming your ATV, iPhone and iPad are all pulling from the same source music catalog, then it is just different ways to deliver a lossless 44/16*** or 48/24 digital stream to either your Cambridge DAC or the DAC inside your Marantz for processing.  On your ATV, make sure the Music app is set to lossless audio output. ***one caveat, your Cambridge is an Airplay2 streamer and Airplay2, as opposed to Airplay1, downsamples everything to lossy AAC256 it appears.  IMHO, a minor difference in sound if any, but something to be aware of:  https://darko.audio/2023/10/apple-airplay-isnt-always-lossless-sometimes-its-lossy/

[backlog]

No, AirPlay is inferior to AppleTV.  Sometimes I’m on my phone and just want to hear it see it on my screen and AVR, and I appreciate the convenience, but switching where the signal comes from Internet to AppleTV makes a difference, and I can tell a difference airplay to AVR, airplay to TV, and AirPlay to AppleTV.  
 

This article is about HomePod but it’s a similar situation…comparing an internet stream to an internet stream+bluetooth.

 https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/apple-homepod-24-bit-lossless-audio-airplay-2/
 

Some implementstions will share the source url and offset with the other device rather than transmitting the content over Bluetooth, getting the content directly which is preferred for quality, then the iPhone becomes “just the remote” instead of the source. 
 

Use whatever is most convenient and enjoyable to you.  Sometimes we work so hard to get the best quality that we give up because it’s not convenient enough. 

[Shakeydeal]

Streamers are so cheap these days so there's no reason not to use one and stream lossless content like Tidal or Qobuz.

[Hedrus]

Thanks for contributions and shared links. oh no Shakeydeal. I do have a Cambridge streamer. And use it for Tidal and to Airplay. I am curious to do something.

its more a question of airplay managed from iPhone versus airplay from Apple Tv.

because I enjoy the onscreen interface. Both are iOS devices and Airplay to Cambridge

the same question goes for Tidal on Apple Tv versus Tidal on phone. Are there a quality differences when airplayed.

 Just for info. My Apple TV and my Cambridge are hardwired to network.

 

[pbphoto]

It looks like Tidal Connect, the transport mechanism between your IOS devices and your Cambridge DAC, currently supports CD quality streaming but will support hi-res 192/24 streaming later this year as Tidal moves away from crappy MQA.  The Tidal App on an Apple TV, like all apps on an ATV, maxes out at 48/16 - basically CD quality - music streaming.  Whether any of this makes a difference in sound quality that you can hear is debatable - assuming the source music files are all the same.