When are Spotify stopping supporting Pioneer Receivers which support Spotify Connect?

[bradavon]

Hi,

I received an email yesterday to say Spotify are stopping support for my Pioneer Speaker soon.

- When is soon?

- Does stopping support mean Spotify just won't support it or it will stop working?
Stopping support means a company won't address issues but I believe Spotify are going to actually stop the feature from working.

- Why? There's no reason given why this is necessary.

The email rather bizzaely says:

"We want to make playing Spotify on your speaker and other devices better and easier"

How is stopping support better or easier? Why not just stop supporting it? So if it breaks too bad.

I only bought my receiver 2 years ago specifically as it supported Spotifty Connect. Spotify is in part more popular over rivals as Spotify works on so many devices, or did.

I guess like everyone else I'll need to buy a Chromecast Audio 😕

[Bakersdozen]

Hi @5tratocaster - can you please check that email address format?

It is not going thru for me.

[5tratocaster1]

Sorry, the email address of the CEO Pioneer Japan should read:

susumu_kotani@post.pioneer.co.jp

[wouterke]

Same here. Spotify Connect suddenly stopped working on my N50a.

But the strange thing is that a friend of mine can still use this feature using his account.

As a test I used his credentials to login my iOS  app, and guess what: Spotify Connect works again! Same goes for the desktop app (mac) and webplayer.

Then when logging in with my credentials, it stops working again.

So in conclusion it does not seem to relate to the phone or app version of Spotify, or the Pioneer reciever itself. But for some odd reason it is tied your account. So the question remains, why? This seems very random.

I do expect its going to be only a matter of time before his account stops working, as I also noticed this feature has been stripped off any documentation and any website, but for now I have a workaround.

[nick_a_james]

You can also vote on the Spotify platform, I found it just now and it needs more votes to get considered: 

Petition to restore Spotify Connect on Pioneer

[Steffen114]

Any news?

[jprins747]

I downloaded an older version of Spotify for Android and could then see my Pioneer speaker again but still could not connect to it. If someone else wants to try a few earlier versions they might have some luck. List of apk's found at https://spotify.en.uptodown.com/android/old I tried spotify-8-4-7-1108

Another option if you're desperate, buy an apple device, that still works.

[skeets2018]

I've dropped the CEO the following email, will probably get read and disregarded by a PA but worth a shot.

Dear Mr Kotani,

I hope my email finds you well. I am writing in hope that in your position of leadership I can appeal to you to look into an important matter on behalf of your customers.

Recently Spotify made changes to Spotify Connect which has meant it is no longer usable through Pioneer amps. Spotify Connect was a key selling point for Pioneer receivers for myself and many other customers and this has now stopped working.

I would comment that all of the five major names in the Home Cinema market, Yamaha, Denon and Marantz have all agreed to support their customers by issuing firmware updates to maintain the full advertised functionality of their equipment. By contrast, Pioneer and Onkyo have not.

This reduces confidence in Pioneer products and may turn many previously loyal customers like myself to your competitors. I would ask why Pioneer are not investing in delivering firmware updates to address this issue?

[nick_a_james]

All, I've been in discussion with Spotify support and suggest you all do
the same. In a polite but determined way I have been pushing them to
consider re-enabling the functionality for my Pioneer equipment, asking for
the issue to be escalated to the developers - I suggest you do the same.
They've given me an extra two months subscription for free too. Keep the
pressure on.

[In2survive]

I just emailed Susumu Kotani (*snip*), Pioneer President/CEO. I guess it is a long shot, but I hope that if enough people bring up the brand damage this is causing to Pioneer, they may reconsider updating the firmware of the receivers.

[jprins747]

I have sent email. Also included screen shot of "Compatible Models" posted on their website. One of which is mine that is now no longer working.

https://pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Spotify

[Monorail_Matt]

I've been using my chromecast and airplay these last few weeks and I can't believe just how horrible the expirence Is compared to the built in feature. Poor sound quality, lack of control ability. There really is no comparasion, I really hate listening to Spotify using these options. Use it far less at home than I used to.

[megadro]

Airplay is nothing compared to built in app either. I am giving up on Pioneer for sure.

Shame on Spotify for leaving us like this.

[Hikoki1]

Hi there, 

Though I understand you are pretty annoyed, to use a mild expression, about the lack of Spotify Connect support, I just wonder what exactly you mean by poor sound quality and control. Mind you, I have never owned a Spotify Connect equipped device before, but I do have a Chromecast audio and using its optical out through a decent DAC produces excellent sound quality. So what's the beef here? The Pioneer IS a excellent DAC so the SQ should be the same in both scenarios. As for controlling Spotify, I 'd rather use the Spotify app on my tablet than the Pioneer one, since I've only  been reading negative comments concerning it. Now, could you elaborate a bit about this? I am actually eying a used Pioneer N-50A now so I would appreciate your input.

Cheers 

Hikoki 

[In2survive]

I believe the comment was made in regards to Airplay/Bluetooth, not using a
device attached to the receiver like Chromcast.

Talking about AirPlay, my particular issue is that I have the receiver in
my living room and I have 2 outdoor speakers in the backyard wired to it.
When I’m in the backyard BBQing I stream to the receiver and I control what
will be playing as well as the volume from the iPhone.

Without Spotify Connect, I need to use AirPlay over my Wifi to stream from
my phone to the receiver. The problem is the Wifi in the backyard is not
that good, especially if I’m playing with the kids away from the house.
Then the sound breaks up and it is just terrible. When I use Spotify
Connect, the stream goes directly from the cloud to the receiver, the phone
is just controlling what is playing, not sourcing the stream. Same for
Bluetooth, which would be even worse.

I think I will end up connecting an Amazon Echo Dot via analog connection
to the receiver. I won’t be to use Alexa while outdoor, but I will be able
to stream to the Echo/Receiver. $50 dollars later I guess. Better than
buying a brand new receiver, which would NOT be Pioneer, I guarantee you
that! Fortunately for volume, I can use the Logitech Hub’s app on my phone
too. Not the same experience though as I will have multiple apps.

[meyster]

Chromecast Audio should be the better option than Echo for audio quality. 

With my Chromecast connected through HDMI to the LX57 I also consider the sound quality worse than through connect. With Tidal Hifi it is quite good. Maybe Spotify streams with lower data rate on Chromecast?

[Hikoki1]

That sounds strange, since Spotify streams at the highest possible bit rate of 320kbs over the Chromecast Audio too. I just don't see any reason it should sound any worse than with the Connect. However, the gapless playback is not supported when streaming to the Chromecast. Which is a pain in the neck. 

[5tratocaster1]

OK Hikoki. First of all, Spotify announced this change by saying, effectively, "never mind, you can always use Bluetooth or buy a new receiver", which seriously upset a lot of owners of Pioneer receivers who had owned them for only a few years and weren't thinking about changing for some time.

That aside, Bluetooth is universally recognised as hugely inferior to direct streaming for sound quality, and it also ties up your phone/tablet, draining its battery and only functioning when you're in the same room or nearby.

Alternative solutions work, but are far less convenient. I used to fire up Spotify on my phone, start playing a track and select my Pioneer receiver as an available device. That turned on the receiver, switched it to Spotify and I could then adjust the volume by using the volume buttons on my phone. Simple and effective.

Now, I'm using my Amazon Fire TV Stick into one of the HDMI sockets on my receiver.

I have to open the Spotify app on my phone and start playing a track, then I have to fire up the Pioneer iControl AV app, select the screen that enables me to turn on the receiver, go to another screen that allows me to select the input  for the TV Stick, turn on the TV so I can then open the Amazon Fire TV app and navigate to open Spotify on the TV Stick. Then I have to go back to the Spotify app on my phone and select the TV Stick as the available device, then I need to go back to the Pioneer iControl AV app to adjust the volume. Then I can turn off the TV and listen to the music, by which time the track has ended.

Do you get my drift?

I'm not convinced the sound quality is as good either. I can't explain it, but there are a number of reasons why it might not be quite as pure. Firstly, the TV Stick (or Chromecast if that's what you're using) both rely on a strong, interference-free wifi signal, whereas my receiver is wired direct by ethernet cable to my router.

Secondly, the data is being processed by a relatively cheap device before being fed to an HDMI output, then by cable to an HDMI socket. HDMI sockets are designed primarily to process video and accompanying audio. Hi fi purists would say that it is not as clean a path as you would get when all the processing is done internally and there's a short path between the ethernet port and the high quality DACs. I know digital is digital, but ask any enthusiast and they will tell you it's not that straighforward.

So, I'm still able to listen to Spotify, but it's far less convenient and, to my ears, not as dynamic.

I can't decide where the blame lies. On the one hand, Spotify should perhaps have designed a replacment platform that was backwards compatible. On the other hand, if Yamaha, Denon and Marantz can all issue firmware updates to keep their equipment functioning as it was advertised to do, why can't Pioneer?

I feel let down by Pioneer for not even giving an explanation as to why it can't be done. All they've said so far is "It's nothing to do with us. It's Spotify's fault".

Not good enough, is it?

[megadro]

Hikoki people explained their reasons for 30 pages. You can read them. Are you a representative of Spotify or Pioneer?

[Hikoki1]

I completely agree with you on most points you made there. I am definitely not taking sides with Pioneer since I have never ever owned a Pioneer product in my life. It' s just that I have had the chance to buy a used Pioneer N-50A  device and have been been wondering if, even with the handicap of not being able to take advantage of Spotify Connect, it would be a kind of a bargain. I mean, the device has been  applauded in the past for its sound quality by the Hifi Choice magazine and others. 

[Hikoki1]

Megadro, this is funny, I'm definitely not a representative of either. And you probably meant Sony not Panasonic, eh? I was just wondering if the device was any worth even without the Spotify Connect functionality, to cut a long story short. And I completely understand the frustration and anger of all Pioneer product owners.