[All Platforms][Music] HiFi Quality - Lossless Streaming 16bit 44.1khz

[timiambeing]

I've just started a trial of Qobuz - they offer the standard 320kbps as well as lossless FLAC streaming (and high res downloads if you purchase them) the sound quality is noticeably better and on classical it's just wonderful to get all that resolution through your hi-fi or headphones! The catalogue has a way to go to get to Spotify's level, but they are getting there. The iPad app isn't' too bad (the desktop app is in need of an upgrade but I hear they are putting all their efforts into mobile apps right now).

So - lossless streaming - if Qobuz can do it then so can Spotify, they must have the same source - and obviously if you are asking £20 a month then those record labels and distributors take enough notice to make the high res tracks available for streaming. What this all means is soon, very soon, we will get lossless streaming and closely followed by high res downloads - but if Spotify aren't careful it will be Apple who get there first with an audiophile premium offering, and when they do it will be a much harder market place to make money in!

** please don't lump this suggestion with the main one on lossless downloads, that's a different idea entirely guys!

[timiambeing]

I've just started a trial of Qobuz - they offer the standard 320kbps as well as lossless FLAC streaming (and high res downloads if you purchase them) the sound quality is noticeably better and on classical it's just wonderful to get all that resolution through your hi-fi or headphones! The catalogue has a way to go to get to Spotify's level, but they are getting there. The iPad app isn't' too bad (the desktop app is in need of an upgrade but I hear they are putting all their efforts into mobile apps right now).

[timiambeing]

So - lossless streaming - if Qobuz can do it then so can Spotify, they must have the same source - and obviously if you are asking £20 a month then those record labels and distributors take enough notice to make the high res tracks available for streaming. What this all means is soon, very soon, we will get lossless streaming and closely followed by high res downloads - but if Spotify aren't careful it will be Apple who get there first with an audiophile premium offering, and when they do it will be a much harder market place to make money in!

[PaulMac]

Glad the new pricing plans will work for you @rollerotr👍

Personally I'll be sticking with Tidal that does everything I need for a lot less money each month. Plus it has none of the constant pushing of audiobooks and podcasts that I get with Spotify. 

[tts42572]

Agree @paulmac!

I've only been using tidal a couple days but so far I'm loving it.  And I notice the increased quality very often.  

I love using Spotify but you can't lag behind the other services for so long and expect people not to shop around.  And you can't expect people to stick around if you're charging way more than other services.  Yes, I do enjoy the spotify UI more but Tidal isn't really all that different IMO and it's working just fine for me so far.

If they are going to make HIFI an add-on that they're charging more for....Then make audiobooks and podcasts and add-on (or add-off) also that we can get rid of if we just want to listen to quality music.  They have to find a way to stay comparable in price to the other services and to me going more piece meal would be the way to do it.  And frankly, they'd probably increase their revenue that way.  But there's no way I'm going to pay $25 a month for my family spotify HIFI plan when I can go to tidal and get it for $16.99. 

My tidal trial goes for 2 months and I'm planning to keep both services over that period so we'll see what happens.    But come early August, I'm going to make my decision which one to drop as I'm not paying for 2 services.  And I think I'm going to have a hard time giving up the quality of tidal.

Well see though.  Spotify needs to give it some serious thought.  Trouble is, if these streaming services get too high in cost, I'll just go back to listening to CD's and ripping them to USB sticks if I have to.

[bart1981]

Where the **bleep** is HIFI 

[Faintandfuzzy]

On Tidal!!!

[ljosb0xet0ebanix5wza]

Hi there 

Can you comment on the announcement from Bloomberg this week that a premium tier with hi-res content is in the pipeline ? And if it's true, when is it likely to happen ?

Bloomberg article 

I'm burning through my Tidal trial and although the UI and the algorithms are significantly poorer than Spotify, the sound is noticeably better and that matters to me.

Thanks 

[user-removed]

it’s unreal how long Spotify is taking to offer lossless . 

[Nilxm]

I want a higher tier Audio Quality, that supports spatial audio and Dolby Atmos.

[tts42572]

Well.....they can't even offer CD quality streams so I wouldn't hold my breath.  

Probably better off looking at something like Tidal or Qobuz if you want that feature.

[tts42572]

Agree @soundquality!

This thread is amazing.  I haven't looked at them all, but is it the biggest one here?  500+ pages, 5,000+ comments, 27,000 votes....just wow.  And spotify still just drags their feet.

It's just a shame that your customers want something so bad and you can't deliver it.  And it's made even worse when your competitors all have it.  It's just frustrating.....you want to stay loyal to Spotify but it's gotten to the point where you're almost forced to go somewhere else.

I gave it about 2 years and I've just sort of thrown up my hands and finally decided to give tidal a try.  I've been using them both concurrently for now and I'm really liking tidal.  I keep listening to the same songs on each service and I definitely keep hearing more depth to most songs on tidal.  Once you start hearing that sort of thing, it's hard to "unhear" it and accept the lesser quality of Spotify even if does have a better UI than Tidal.

My plan is to keep using them both over my trial period to get a good feel for differences and then will decide.  Most likely though, I suspect I'll be moving to Tidal for my paid plan and just going back to free Spotify.  Then I'll consider coming back to spotify if/when HIFI ever comes....depending on the price of course.  

[Nilxm]

It would be great if they implement a hi res audio like apple music has. I'll also look into your suggestion. Thanks.