[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!

[Soundquality]

In Amazon HD even artists from playlists ,even it its only one song ,show up under artists. There is no way to sort to main artists.  With albums you also get every album from a playlist . This is ridiculous and a big reason why I wont subscribe to Amazon.  It's hard to find my music in a large library. 

No other music service does it like this. 

[johan-sson]

The competition tightens in the home country, Qobuz launched in Sweden

[Happyaudio77]

Please vote here. 

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Idea-Submissions/Community-Developer-Wasapi-asio-direct-sound-all-p...

[Blueshound24]

Good idea. DONE!

"Please vote here. 

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Idea-Submissions/Community-Developer-Wasapi-asio-direct-sound-all-p...

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[dkhantivong]

Every service that offers HiFi right now has some flaw. Tidal's UI sucks, it doesn't do a good job of curating playlists, and there are too many tracks that it can't generate stations from. Qobuz UI sucks, has a crappy library, sucks on curated playlists and doesn't even offer the ability to generate stations. Amazon HD's flaw is it sorts everything in alphabetical order. Every service has something wrong with the UI. I never had any issue finding music through either Tidal or Amazon HD. With Qobuz...good luck. But I prefer Amazon HD out of all the three since I don't mind having my artists, albums, or playlists listed alphabetically. Also, with Amazon you still can modify the order of your own created playlists. No major issue with Amazon HD, plus you are able to generate stations from just about anything, so it's better for discovering new songs, it's benefits outweighs the minor flaws it has.

[adam2434]

Received an email from Spotify today indicating a price increase of $1 per month.  See below in quotes.

I wonder if this is related to the launch of lossless, or just a pre-launch rate hike?  🙂

"Starting April 30, 2021, we are increasing the price of Premium Family so we can continue to bring you new content and features that you can enjoy as a family and as individuals*."

[Audioplayer]

@dkhantivong

You didn’t mention Deezer or YouTube Music. What are their problems?

[Audioplayer]

@adam2434

It’s just a complete b.s. excuse to see how arrogant they can be to siphon more money out of customers pockets. If customers don’t complain or completely stop paying and switch to another service the price will not stay the same or go down.

[dkhantivong]

@Audioplayer:

I never really bothered with Deezer as they don't offer Hi-Res quality streaming (24-bit 44.1kHz and higher). Why go with Deezer when you have 3 other options available that offer higher quality at the same price range? (Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon HD). YouTube Music doesn't even offer HiFi or Hi-Res streaming. Well I guess with YouTube Music you can upload your own FLAC files and play them (and even mix them into your playlists) but the service itself doesn't offer HiFi or Hi-Res streaming in general, I think the highest quality was 256 kbps AAC.

[Steelberry]

I'm following this closely. Waiting a few more years is not an option. If football and talk shows seem more interesting than music, maybe it's time to sell and leave those more interested in customer value in charge.