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

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!

Updated on 2022-01-07

Hey folks,

 

We know that HiFi quality audio is important to you. We feel the same, and we’re excited to deliver a Spotify HiFi experience to Premium users in the future. But we don’t have timing details to share yet.

 

We will of course update you here when we can.

 

Take care.

Comments
taravasya2

@LawLee, yes, sure. My remark was not for you, but rather for those who will try this test in the browser and will think that it is impossible to hear the difference.

Henry172

Had enough of this muppetry and lies… Have cancelled my sub and moved to Qobuz which sounds better, even over Bluetooth, because it’s not vorbis streaming… 

DrWongKC

While it's better to provide HiFi at no additional cost, I can be damn sure that people will jump aboard the bandwagon even if Spotify makes it at an additional cost. Maybe ya'll don't have to think so hard and just provide HiFi at additional cost. Those who care about sound quality, usually do not mind an extra $5 to $10 since they have already spent so much on their HiFi. The additional $5 will just make them feel that they are getting their HiFi setup worth its money, not an additional expense. Apple HiFi, Tidal HiFi or Deezer HiFi all can't compete with Spotify in terms of its music recommendation. If music recommendation weren't Spotify's strong suit, I'd be damn sure lots of people would not have continued and probably move to Qobuz HiFi with Roon integration at the moment when we realise HiFi wasn't coming to us within the promised year, that is if they are audiophiles. At the end of the day, majority of people on Spotify are not really that eager on HiRes sound quality. Yet those who care about HiRes sound quality, or should I say CD quality, would find that an additional of $10 coupled with Spotify best in class music AI recommendation, is nothing but a fair deal as a means of enjoying their $2,000 or $5,000 HiFi setup they have taken so long to build and just want to be able to enjoy the stream of music at a resolution that is satisfactory to listen at.

 

It says that I'm a Casual Listener, but actually I'm a really hardcore listener. I just happen to be using Qobuz with Roon. Spotify is mainly for managing my library where I use Soundiiz to sync across the services. If Spotify's library weren't so extensive, and its recommendation engine so amazing, I'd not have continued since a long time ago. Roon is really up there to Spotify, other than its recommendation engine.

LawLee

@DrWongKC Very much appreciate your posting. I very much enjoyed Spotify as you do because of some of its customer facing features. Like many here I was very interested in their Hifi offering, recognizing that CD quality, while not the pinnacle, vastly increases the listening experience over their standard offering at 320kbs.

 

I spent the last year in rapt attention to see if they were going to follow through. In the meantime every other service has stepped their game up and exceeded Spotify's proposed offering. I've had an opportunity to test all of the other services that are available here in America. The conclusion I came to is that I cannot trade off quality for conveniences.

 

There's another aspect to my streaming services that’s important. It's how well integrated the service is to my audio system. All of the services integrate well to the phone-to-Bluetooth headphones or speakers paradigm. For me I want a service that integrates well to my 5.1 AV Yamaha receivers.

 

Spotify Connect is a great solution to this for all devices. With this great advantage though they've squandered its value. Since it can directly connect to devices like my AV receiver it has the best potential to provide that unadulterated bitstream at the highest rate available. But they're not offering high bit rate music and have said they won't for an indefinite period of time.

 

Like you, I would be willing to pay more than the standard premium price for the privilege of enjoying CD quality. But it seems like they're not interested in bringing that to market. If they created a marketing campaign to bring it forward, then it's likely they believed that they could have gotten it released in 2021.

 

While Spotify Connect has the superior connection scheme, if the content isn't there, it is just a convenience feature. I happen to be fortunate to have a Yamaha receiver. With the Yamaha MusicCast application, I can connect directly Qobuz, as well as a number of services to my receiver without having to use a DAC or other secondary devices like a Chromecast receiver. From a quality standpoint, it's as clean a connection as Spotify's solution. The value of Spotify Connect is effectively nullified for me. I also own  Chromecast receivers too. It's a cheap way to hedge my bet, so to speak.

 

I'd like to come back to Spotify and I'd be willing to pay a premium for it. For a while I was paying close to $23 a month by subscribing both to Amazon Unlimited and Qobuz. At this point, unlike you I'm not willing to pay an additional $10 for the pleasure of CD quality. I might be interested in coming back to Spotify IF they matched Qobuz's pricing.

 

However Qobuz has features that Spotify lacks. I love the depth of information about the recordings and the artists. It has great information about hardware. It ties into interviews and even videos from artists on YouTube. It has the right aesthetic for a serious music lover. Clearly you feel that way, because you use Roon and Qobuz. Not having those features is a big negative on Spotify for me.

 

The Qobuz app on the PC and on my Android tablets greatly surpasses Spotify's offering. From the main screen you can swipe in all four cardinal directions and get useful information. Spotify's app is starting to look like a bad Swiss army knife. And while it tries to do a lot of things, it's starting to do nothing well. When they proposed adding a new button or two for, say buying theater tickets, I cringed, it continues to loose any semblance of elegance.

 

I also appreciate how in Qobuz I can on the fly change the bitrate, and listen to the difference in the music. And the Qobuz interface and my MusicCast application transparently shows that my receiver is now operating all the way up to 192kbs. It's not likely that Spotify is going to be that transparent.

 

LawLee_0-1642457112280.jpeg

 

LawLee_1-1642457112281.jpeg

 

 

Yes I would be willing to pay a bit of a premium for CD quality on Spotify. But practically everyone has now added Atmos and spatial audio at no extra cost. It seems like they're sitting on their laurels. And their laurels are starting to fade.

 

I can't spend another dime on Spotify even though I love it. For me it is self defeating. Because spending money on Spotify, even though I can afford it, only reinforces their bad behavior. Leaving loyal customers in the lurch and expecting them to continue to pay and wait is egregious.

 

As much as I love Spotify I won't even use their free app because I'd still be putting advertising money in their pockets. That's not going to help them to get where I'd like them to be for me to be a customer. So at some inconvenience I don't use their services even because of their advantages, because that's not going to help them to survive and thrive against the competition.

 

And honestly, the advantages that I have through Qobuz and Amazon Music surpass what I left behind at Spotify. For me there is nothing more compelling than listening to high quality content.

 

Best Wishes, Best wishes Spotify...

Sergjjii

@LawLee, I agree, Spotify has turned into such a combine, it gradually overloads its application with a bunch of unnecessary functions that have little to do with music. Spotify spends a lot of money on some questionable things. If they invested all that money in the development of the music component of the service, there would have been HIFI a long time ago. Yes I use Qobuz for a long time, about two years and you can say it's a benchmark in musical sound. Yeah maybe they don't have recommendations, but on the other hand that's what makes it unique, it has a lot of great curated and user lists, great selection of interesting releases every week. If it's recommendations that I want, I turn on Pandora Premium, Spotify falls way short of Pandora's recommendations.

And again, the price. Spotify in Canada raised the price of a family subscription by $2 for standard audio. And they wanted me to pay 17 dollars + tax of 1 dollar for a family subscription totaling 18 dollars. I pay $17 per family for Qobuz. I get an amazing amount of enjoyment out of my music. As opposed to the muffled and dull sound on Spotify. Spotify clearly took a wrong turn a few years ago.

PabloAlonso

Un año esperando una promesa que no cumplen!
Prometer y no cumplir es una estafa!
Por lo menos den las explicaciones pertinentes, y digan si esto será real alguna vez, y den una fecha precisa!!!
Estoy furioso!!!!

A year waiting for a promise that they don't keep!
Promising and not fulfilling is a scam!
At least give the pertinent explanations, and say if this will ever be real, and give a precise date!!!
I'm furious!!!!

1beavis

When we will have lossles hifi?

I have been premium member years, but now it is time to look something else with high MQA quality.

Zorq

@LawLee Re: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/All-Platforms-Music-HiFi-Quality-Lossless-Streaming-16bi...

 

I don't agree that lossless, or high res are hype. 

I don't agree that the difference is only perceivable on high end equipment.

It is perceivable even on lossy Bluetooth headphones. Far more perceivable on an LDAC-capable source and headphone. Definitely there on regular hifi chains. Close to night and day difference on my high end headphones and hifi chain, especially with high res, in sound stage, the clarity and wholeness notes are delivered, bass extension, resolution and impact, midrange and treble fluidity, etc.

 

Spotify is doing great in the context of lossy streaming, but can't compete with lossless sound quality, let alone with high-res. I only use Spotify to discover music, in which it's market leader IMHO. But even the free tier should do for that.

 

Whether the projected market for lossless is insignificant for Spotify, only they can tell. What I can tell is the ship is already leaking strong.

 

 

 

LawLee

@Zorq I have not done extensive testing with headphones to see how much difference there is in sound quality between standard streaming and high res. But you make good points, and to validate your thoughts I think I'm going to take on this challenge for myself.

 

On hand I have what are supposed to be some pretty decent earbuds and headphones.

 

Galaxy Buds Wireless

 

The Audiophile's Perspective: Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Review – In-Ear Fidelity (crinacle.com)

LawLee_0-1642535514866.png

 

 

LawLee_1-1642535514868.png

 

 

Sony MDR-V6 Wired

Sony MDR-V6 Review - [Headphone Review] (midilifestyle.com)

Sony MDR-V6 – In-Ear Fidelity (crinacle.com)

LawLee_2-1642535514869.jpeg

 

 

I think I'll test using Qobuz at various bit rates. I might even consider turning on Spotify premium for a month to test "Very High" quality. Not sure I want to waste an "Alexander Hamilton"($10 bill) on this…

 

When I put up a subjective opinion about their sound quality Spotify rejects my posts. Very irritating, since some folks have posted some very angry and off colored remarks against Spotify and these aren't rejected.

 

Does this forum allow for honest speech or not moderators? Or are my posts simply hitting too close to the truth?

 

Anyway stay tuned @Zorq .

GBillett

https://marker.medium.com/the-hifi-dilemma-how-apple-music-can-beat-spotify-29fe6feb0be9

 

'But the fact remains that if someone wants higher fidelity streaming music, Spotify is not the solution for them at this time...........This leaves Spotify in a bit of an awkward situation. Even if its HiFi plan does materialize, it will still be higher priced than Apple. Apple Music is now available virtually everywhere Spotify is available, so exclusivity is no longer a concern. Apple Music also pays artists more per stream, which is another disadvantage in terms of optics for the Swedish company. It seems that Spotify has made its big bet on podcasts out of necessity as opposed to expansion, where it will only be a matter of time before Apple devours them as they did BlackBerry in smartphones'