[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]

For a lot of us patience does now seem to be wearing very thin. It would have been so easy for Spotify to release a short statement to say things are still on track (or not). 8 months on from their original (and only) statement and we still know very little about the new service or how much its going to cost. They just continue to maintain this wall of silence approach which is very difficult to understand. 

If lossless isn't delivered at a reasonable price by the end of the year then I'm moving my family subscription to Qobuz. 

[bzero]

Hi @PaulMac , Spotify simply won't care, they have enough paying users... 

[Soundquality]

I think you are right on this. If they backtrack on lossless and decide not to do it ,they may not lose many customers. 

I bought a year of Tidal on Best buy for about 10 bucks a month and Tidal connect works great. 

[Soundquality]

Goodbye Spotify. Hey that rhymes! I have deleted all their apps and bought a year of Tidal from Best Buy at 110 a month. It has TIdal Connect which works fine. I also have Apple Music. 

Not waiting and they will probably ask for a price increase. 

Im done and its really sad that they don't provide updates anywhere not just on this forum. See ya guys! 

[habu77]

I have subscribed to a free Qobuz trial and the weird thing is that I can't hear a difference anymore between Qobuz hires and Spotify. I have been listening to Qobuz tracks via the BubblePnP app because Qobuz is not supported by HEOS (amp is a Marantz NR1200). Via Bubble you can listen to all hires files. I have been listening to a lot of tracks that I know well side by side and I just don't hear a difference anymore. So I think Spotify is already rolling HiFi out and at some point just says it's there. I really want to like the hires files better but I can't discern the difference. You can try Qobuz now free for a month and can end it whenever you want to so if people want to give it a try, I am really curious if other people experience the same thing.

[Jodokus]

That is absolutely not the case in The Netherlands: Tidal sound quality is miles above…

[lappymusicman]

To be honest listening through my MacBook with Keff headphones I’ve felt like Spotify sounds better/crisper over the last few weeks so I did wonder if they had started it but not announced anything just to see if we noticed!!!

[habu77]

@lappymusicman it does, doesn't it? I keep comparing the Qobuz versions against Spotify but they just sound the same, I'm almost trying to placebo-think myself in liking the hires files better but it just isn't so 😂 Whatever it is, I hope it stays like it is now because Spotify's UX is still the best imo and a no-brainer for me if the SQ has improved. 

[huck50]

I need a hearing check...could someone who has both Spotify and Amazon Unlimited (HD ,Ultra HD) and preferably with headphones,the the song called "Ambition" by City Boy (not the rapper) from the album "The Day The Earth Caught Fire" and tell me if you can hear any difference in the audio quality between the two systems? In Canada.Thanks,Huck

[Sonos_Steve]

My Streamer shows the sampling freq and bit depth.

Spotify is firmly 320 / 16 according to it 

This is the UK.

Qobuz can be 44K, 48K, 88K, 96K, 192K and 16 or 24 bits.

I can definitely hear the difference. 

Don't get me wrong Spotify's encoding is good. Maximises the limited spec, but it's not as resolved sounding.

Often new releases are out on Spotify a few days before Qobuz.

I'll listen to them on Spotify, get used to them, then when they are available on Qobuz you really hear the upgrade!