Announcements
The Spotify Stars Program: Celebrating Values Week!

Help Wizard

Step 1

NEXT STEP

[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
augieray

I posted here a month or two ago about my frustration that Spotify doesn't offer a lossless option. I mentioned I was purchasing Sonos One speakers, and I intended to test the difference between Deezer Hi-Fi (16-Bit / 44.1 kHz of FLAC quality for $19.99 a month) and Spotify Premium (which can be set for 320kbit/s for Premium users but is generally set lower--"normal" is equivalent to approximately 96kbit/s--if you don't change your Music Quality default.) Also, Spotify Premium is supposed to be $9.99 a month, but for some reason Spotify is auto-charging my bank account $10.89 a month--no reason why.) 

So, I set up my Sonos One (Gen 2) speakers. I purchased a pair of speakers and paired them. They are not hardwired but are running through wi-fi. I then tested Spotify and Deezer.

There is a decided difference in sound quality. Do I think most people hearing the music would notice? No. But I do. The sound was less compressed--I heard more highs and lows. (The little Sonos One speakers do an impressive job on the bass, at least at low to moderate volumes.) I also heard more detail in the sound. 

I decided to switch to Deezer, but I thought I'd give Spotify one last chance (since I've been a Premium customer for years.) I asked if they might change their stance on lossless, and the response was "Sorry to see you go. Rest assured, your feedback about audio quality has been noted and passed onto the right team." So, I guess I'm leaving Spotify, which is disappointing. 

Now, a word about transferring playlists. I first used Playlist Converter (http://www.playlist-converter.net), which seemed to work well but was a bit kludgy. You have to transfer one playlist at a time. I also ran into a problem with two of my playlists that wouldn't transfer--Playlist Converter would go through the motions and create a Deezer playlist, but they contained no tracks. So, I ended up trying Tune My Music (https://www.tunemymusic.com/) which worked like a breeze.  It'll batch convert playlists and had no difficulties converting the two playlists on which Playlist Converter failed.  I was a bit worried about Deezer's more limited library, but it wasn't much of a problem.  I have one ridiculously large playlist (around 700 songs) with a few obscure artists/tracks, and the converter was able to find almost 95% of the tracks.  And my jazz playlists came over with virtually no hitch--hundreds of tracks with only two missing. 

I really will miss Spotify, but I find its lack of commitment to audio quality really disconcerting. If I were Spotify and evaluating my investments, I'd give a **bleep** of a lot greater priority to improving the core product (music) before investing a dime in becoming the 197th place online where people can find podcasts. Time will tell if Spotify made the right decision. 

rudeboyalex

Spotify’s lack of vision here is truly astounding. 

Billl

Thanks augieray.  Interesting post.  Can't remember when I first posted here, but it seems an age ago and, of course, nothing has happened since and nothing seems likely to.

I'm currently paying for a family subscription to Spotify (have been a user since the days when you had to get an invite) and a single sub for Tidal.  As with everyone else, I like everything about Spotify except the quality issues.  Tidal has (personal opinion only obviously) much better useability than some people suggest and is integrated into my Naim system app.  Playing both through that, often I cannot hear a difference but when I do (probably 50 per cent of the time), the difference seems big in Tidal's favour.  Away from the Naim (iPhone and B&W P5s) oddly, Tidal wins all the time hands down.

Tidal now offers Family subs too, so I'm going to have to make a decision soon and say goodbye to Spotify. Which will disappoint me as the green logo has ingrained itself into me over the years.

wbearden1237
Can you download Tidal playlist songs to your device at lossless? I really don't like being dependent on wifi or cellular, and I can't seem to get an answer on this, which is the only reason I'm holding off on Tidal.


Billl

Was about to say yes...but thought I’d double check so turned off WiFi and mobile and the playlist, including songs with the Masters icon (though that I really cannot hear any positive difference with) plays fine.  Assume that’s what you meant...apologies if I misunderstood.

petsy48
They're listening. There's the difference. I was with Spotify since they
first came to Canada. I tried Tidal a few times and it had dropouts all
the time. I tried it again about 6 months ago and was paying for both.
Finally  I gave up on Spotify!

Great decision!!

petsy48
I can on my android. I haven't tried windows, but I'm pretty sure I can.
jhucx1

I've also been using both Tidal and Spotify family plan.  All of my initial complaints with Tidal have been addressed and I will be moving to the Tidal plan.  As others have noted, it is bitter sweet as Spotify has been good to me over the past 7+ years.  I will come back Spotify, just let me know when you are ready.

CammKelly

I've officially moved myself and my family over to Tidal from Spotify. Whilst we aren't a huge part of the market, we are a dedicated one, and the continual refusual from Spotify is pretty gross considering Tidal and Deezer are doing this just fine.

wbearden1237
Yes, I believe that answers my question. Thank you!


I have a 128GB Ipod and thinking about buying the new 256GB Ipod, which will allow me to download a lot of music at lossless and not have to worry about being connected to wifi or cellular.