[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!

[timiambeing]

Good news!

Lossless audio quality is finally starting to roll out to Spotify Premium users! 🔊

Check out this post for more info:

➜ Spotify Premium: Now Streaming in Lossless Quality

[tos82]

I get Tidal and tested it song by song (windows app) Spotify vs Tidal with my wired Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones.

Tidal are a lot of more dynamic 😁

I can't wait to test it more in my Car.

[LeMule]

I get that Spotify is sulking because they wanted to charge more for lossless and then Apple and Amazon gave it away for no extra charge, but some of us would still be willing to pay more. Why not put the option out there? 

[lappymusicman]

Well personally I’m happy with Amazon Music now at the same price as Spotify Premium but there are people who are happy to pay double what Spotify Premium costs for Tidal, Qobuz etc so surely Spotify could come up with some price somewhere in the middle for these people who want to stick with them but want better sound.
I can even listen to hi res radio using the Global Radio app and that’s free!!!

[Samppa3]

@LeMule I think that it was the reason here. Other competitors messed up Spotify's plan to charge extra.

Currently, I don't have any other reason to use Spotify, but that Im still eligible for the student premium for couple years and that their service + recommendations work pretty good for me. But maybe I will have to give some serious thoughts on the matter soon.

Every service has their pros and cons, maybe missing some albums and etc but Spotify's catalogue is fine for me. Too bad they've decided not to give us Hifi..this silence speaks that it's not happening and I wouldn't wait holding my breath in the meantime.

[PabloAlonso]

Let's gather signatures to reclaim Spotify Hifi, share the link to everyone who can...

https://www.change.org/p/spotify-prometiste-audio-hifi-en-2021-es-2023-y-queremos-que-cumplas-tu-pro...

[telecastermds]

I would cancel subscriptions to Amazon and Tidal if Spotify would offer lossless FLAC

[Faintandfuzzy]

Same here. I prefer Spotify’s interface, but until they offer lossless
audio, it’s a no go. I will stick with Tidal

[hans-jürgen]

In related news the preview for Apple Music for Windows 11 desktop has been released on the MS Store:

https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/apple-music-preview/9PFHDD62MXS1?hl=en-us&gl=us

So it should be possible to listen to lossless streaming on Windows 11 now which iTunes and their web player do not offer.

[Geepstar]

In 1982 the Sony CDP-101 was introduced to the consumer marked. CD's were made 74 mins long so they could carry a complete performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. A bit depth of 16-bit for a sample rate of 44.1kHz is enough to reproduce the audible frequency and dynamic range for the average person, which is why it became the standard CD format. But as a producer I would prefer to go to a standard that is workable for now AND the future. So, lets go to 32bit float inmediately. (but we should actually get to 256bit for long term sustainability, and you may think I am completely crazy, but the sooner we set golden standards for ALL TIME the better it will be for people in the future. nb. there is more in the room than sound, but ok that will be pricey). For now we should go to 32bit float (Posit32, not IEEE 754 standard as it is more accurate). 

Right now Spotify's highest quality is 320kbps. Comparatively, uncompressed CD-quality is almost 29 times higher – sitting at 1,411 kbps. Ultra high-resolution audio provided by services like Tidal are significantly more detailed reaching.... Allthough I personally doubt if Tidal is actually reaching that because if you compare Tidal to CD quality you'd be suprised of the CD quality (so please don't throw away your CD's if you are an audiophile).

Because Spotify is the largest streaming service they should have a vision and I believe a responsibility to make sure that we aren't actually making music quality worse. So please Spotify. The introduction of the CD was more than 40 years ago. Don't you think it's time improve your quality? And seriously, you don't have to be an audiophile to hear the difference, you don't even need expensive equipment. 24bit / 192ghz would be great, 32Bit perpect. But 24 / 96ghz should really be the lowest standard by now at 4.608 kbps which suits 4G and above.

[user-removed]

Will Spotify announce a HiFi tier at their Dream On event in March? 🤔 🤞

• Spotify HiFi: Can we dare to dream the wait ends in March? by Chris Smith @ Trusted Reviews