[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!

[forroati]

Soemthing started almost 2 years ago, but then it got drowned?

https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/1/14776780/spotify-hi-fi-preparing-launch-lossless-audio-tier

[jbd00]

Back to Spotify after using Tidal in 2 months

Sorry for being "that one person", but Tidal sucks big time.

1. Lacks of songs

When I used Soundiiz to transfer my 500+ playlist from Spotify to Tidal, Tidal lacked 50 of them. It is true that Tidal is amazing, but only if you are listening to top100 or are in love with ONLY American indies. If you are into global music, like Asian pop in general (China, South-Korea, Vietnam and Japan), Tidal does not give a **bleep**.

2. HORRIBLE UI

Mac UI:

• They outright refuse to let you download playlists offline. The playlists are really buggy, they only let you load 50 songs in the playlists at a time, and you need to scroll down to load more.
• There are no "search in playlist"-function, so if you would like to find one speciffic song in your playlist, you literally need to scroll your way to it.
• Their "Master" function is implemented VERY disappointingly. Instead of automatically change all songs available to "Master" when enabled, they have instead added the "Master" as an independent album on the artist's pages, so you need to go through every single artist to see if any of the songs on your playlist have a "Master"-version

Android UI

• On top of lacking the search function of the Mac-app mentioned above, you can't here even sort your music (like time added, length, song name, album name), making the user experience even more crappy

Apple TV UI

• Lacks all of the above, but on top of it YOU CAN ONLY LOAD THE LATEST 29 SONGS ADDED. Even if you try to scroll, it refuses to load further, pretending like there are only 29 songs in my playlist of 500+

Crappy customer service

• Only provides generic copy-paste answers when I compalin of the problems mentioned above, even when I specifically ask to talk to a real human

Again, I do hear the difference between the provided sound quality of both services. When people in this forum complains Spotify does not give a **bleep** about their customers, I can surely tell you Tidal doesn't either.

I went back to Spotify because of the convenience, even if that means I have to listen to Spotify on my PS4 (because they have no Apple TV-app, if you were wondering, that is the second most complained issue to Spotify) or have to deal with their provided sound quality. At least their UI is usable, and they provide the music I'm into. I won't ever let a streaming-provider force upon me what I listen to again.

[forroati]

This thread is not about Spotify vs. TIDAL, it's about showing Spotify we do need a new higher tier with Hi-Res audio.

[jbd00]

Fully aware of this, but I think you missed my point. I just want people to be aware of what switching streaming-provider also has its implications. I feel the picture presented of the Hi-fi providers in this forum by some is drawn as too perfect.

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@forroati wrote:

This thread is not about Spotify vs. TIDAL

---

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[garn63]

I agree jb... think I will have a look at other services in the future. Folks think leaving Spotify is going to make their musical world rosy. The big picture is far more complicated.

At 55 I have broad and expansive tastes in music and want to listen to it all.

To be constrained to listening to 30% of that isn't going to work for me...and double the dollars ? No chance.

Have tried Quobuz. The first playlist I moved from Spotify had 40% missing from a 5 hour playlist. Often when selecting an album I couldnt play it but was offered to buy it as a dwnld ? .....irritating.

I too would like better sound quality but not at the expense of being told what to listen to from a very small pool of music. Content wise Spotify has put some work in over the years and if they carry on improving their competitors will Always be playing catch up.

My comments are only based from my own experiences and having a balanced opinion. As far as I am concerned when ive payed for the service it is my music and I just want to enjoy it....no hurdles or sales pitches.

Although better sound quality would be good 🙂

[MathiasLaubli]

As the person who originated this thread, I fully agree with you jbd00. I went to TIDAL for 6 months, and stopped. I don't like it, I don't like the way it force-fed me American rubbish, centered around Jay Zee and co. In truth I haven't tried qobuz but a friend of mine has it, and again, it doesn't deliver the music that I want (having tried it, albeit a little superficially).  So Spotify has me by the nuts I guess, and I just wish that they would step-up and give us lossless audio. I also have a whole bunch of ideas for them, and tried to get in touch with management to discuss, but finally gave up because the contact mechanism is impossibly complicated if you want to talk to a person. I hope that Spotify 'pull their socks up' and get with the program because Apple and Google will not be far behind and I fear that they will try to murder Spotify.

[justints]

I run both Spotify and Tidal - make my playlists in Spotify and sync
them to Tidal, for which I use Roon as the front end and HQ Player as
the playback engine.

I agree that nothing beats Spotify for catalog, searching etc. I find I
miss maybe 10% of a playlist when opening it in Tidal/Roon. While it
would be so much better to have uncompressed with Spotify, this
workaround is useful here for now.

The SQ difference between uncompressed and Spotify is not small in a
resolving system. It is very frustrating that Spotify does not offer an
uncompressed subscription tier.

[JeffwithsilentH]

I really love the user experience of spotify, and all my friends use it. But after using Tidal for a couple weeks, I'm gonna have to switch. It doesn't have as many other features, but Hi-fi sound is amazing. It adds so much more to lots of the music I have discovered through spotify.

[Markantony]

I have been a fan of the Spotify system and interface for sometime and over years enjoyed the music it has played for my recreation. That was then, this is now, our connections are faster, the data we consume transfers faster, the result, we use high definition. It’s part of our modern life’s, we stream videos in high definition, play games online without blinking.  Technology moves forward and we change our lives with it, often we look back and ask ourselves “how did we ever live without it before”.

Once we had MP3 players because we wanted music and enough to consume without the need for a super computer.  Storage now is cheap and plentiful, streaming doesn’t buffer, downloads happen at a blink of an eye, isn’t technology wonderful. So Spotify my message is simple “keep up with modern times” people now want quality in their music, why, because they can, speakers are better, affordable and the delivery of the data is plentiful.

I too took a look at Tidal, and whilst I like the Spotify interface, I was taken back at the depth of music, my life was enriched by the lossless sound transplanted to my ears. This is not overstated the fact that the lossless sound provides depth, the cymbals, the drum, the strings, the voice or the inhaling of breath before the next vocal, in short the sound is how it’s meant to be heard.  We have lost this over time with electronic music at our finger tips, quality suppressed for size of data, but with faster more plentiful data, this doesn’t have to be this way.  Why do we subscribe to high definition streaming, well for the very fact quality matters.  Lossless is the future and how the music was recorded by artists to be heard by us.  The shame for Spotify is that’s others have beaten you to this, don’t let the competition beat and surpass you, after all “becoming number one is easier than remaining number one”.

I have had my Tidal lossless trial, and after two years of being a complete fan of Spotify I find myself drawn to your competitors as they have simply moved forward with the needs of an ever evolving market place and the ever increasing demand for quality.  Just look at the technology around you, the phones, the tablets, the streaming, the speakers, the headphones.  The technology is there, others have seen this, others are leading this and the momentum is here and now, not tomorrow.  People who buy quality equipment want the quality resources to use, after all who wants to buy a high definition TV to play a video cassette.

It is with a heavy heart I say to you Spotify, you have taken me on a fantastic journey, but you have taken me as far as you can. The next part of this journey will be with those that see the future of streaming, the future of quality and the future of the public’s needs.

There comes a time when we the consumer must face the toughest task, the task to pass the baton to the next generation.

Please listen, please action, please communicate with your customers, the silence paints the picture to us all.

[petsy48]

Well said!! Spotify. Can't you hear us???