Spotify payments are compressed. Trust me.
Spotify sounds compressed
So now that I have more time to mess around with things like this, I started using Spotify and went premium right away. But it sounds compressed. I looked in the settings and the high quality streaming switch is on. When I switch it off, there is no change in sound.
I have my Samsung tablet hooked up to the preamp using it as the source while using my Asus notebook to manage things. The settings on the tablet are set to receive extreme quality signals. When I listen to Radio Tunes the signal sounds much better with extended highs and very deep lows. It just seems to me that the Spotify highs are compressed, not very extended. Is this the norm? I think Spotify is excellent for finding new music, but it doesn't sound the best.
I have my Samsung tablet hooked up to the preamp using it as the source while using my Asus notebook to manage things. The settings on the tablet are set to receive extreme quality signals. When I listen to Radio Tunes the signal sounds much better with extended highs and very deep lows. It just seems to me that the Spotify highs are compressed, not very extended. Is this the norm? I think Spotify is excellent for finding new music, but it doesn't sound the best.
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So far, over 82 million ad-free 320kbps songs will be available to Spotify Premium members. However, for Spotify free users, they will be limited to playing only 160kbps quality music.If you and want to download Spotify to 320kbps bitrate without premium, AudFree Spotify Playlist Downloader is definitely the best choice for you. It is a 100% safe and clean program, capable of downloading any Spotify playlist to MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV formats at 5x the speed. In addition, it allows you to choose different audio bit rates (from 128kbps to 320kbps), customise the output file name and decide how to organize the output files. |
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Have been reasonably happy with Tidal. Running a Volumio streamer on Raspberry Pi with the HiFi digi (toslink) board. Connects to Schiit stack: Modi Multibit to Saga tube pre-amp to Vidar amp. I think this setup is really nice for only ~$1350 USD. Used to run Spotify through same setup and I think Tidal sounds better on many songs. Really DON'T like the interface to Tidal but am living with it. Have heard good things about Amazon HD music service but they don't have a Volumio plug-in so have not tried. CheersJB |
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As Spotify free users, I'm used to downloading and converting Spotify music to MP3, WAV, M4A, etc with Spotify Music MP3 Downloader. It is for all Spotify free users to get premium rights in easy steps. You can catch more info about Spotify to mp3 converter. |
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I used to have itunes radio delivered by appletv straight into my dac, and it sounded great fo what it was, not to mention free. Since an imbecile removed the service, i stream spotify through roku and my tv dac, and it does not sound near as good. It's comparable to pandora....great for discovering music, but frustrating audio-quality wise. |
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Spotify vs Tidal. Is there a sonic difference. "Absolutely." But if your using very very good Quality DAC/Pre-Amp/Amp & speakers. The EAR is more easily Pleased! with either streamer service. I subscribe to both. Now on Spotify: Classical. Violins little less timber & sweetness. Horns a little less brassee!. Piano not all that much. The high Freq range instruments is were the missing kbps are lost anyway. Female voice depends widely on the recording. Ex: Diana Krall Tidal slightly less husky. Heir's is all there. Just a little less throaty with Spotify. My bottom line is." I can find no great loss of measureable pleasure when playing Spotify. Why both services. Easy, each has recordings the other doesn't offer. If I want to hear an old artist. K-BPS isn't going to stop or effect me!!. |
Been using Spotify premium for awhile and am quite happy. Mine is run via airport express toslink cable to dac/ preamp. As others said not all recordings equal. Try searching in Spotify for audiophile test track playlist to sample some better recordings. Also try linn radio on the web for good quality streaming music. |
Ghosthouse, all of the tracks sound compressed. I just loaded Tidal on the tablet, picked a couple favorites, checked all of the settings, and the quality blows Spotify away. Spotify is just sub-par. I thought I may be having trouble with my notebook so I updated the audio drivers to be sure they were working right. Had issues with setting up payment for Tidal, but after a while it finally took. I know using the headphone jack to the preamp isn't the best, but it sounds pretty fine for casual listening. I believe I'll keep Spotify free just to search for new music and use Tidal as the player. Thanks Mofi. |
A$280 - It's been a while since I started subscribing to Spotify's Premium service. Mostly, it sounds really good to me. I use USB 2.0 out from a MacBook Air to upsampling MF 192 SPDIF converter to Gungnir DAC to pre-amp. Doesn't sound compressed to me BUT I do notice not all recordings in the Spotify library are of equal sound quality. Some are definitely better than others SQ-wise (might be Spotify, might just be audio quality of the original music). Would you mind posting tracks or albums that sound bad/compressed? I and others could check them out too..."see" what you are hearing (or not). Maybe include a couple that sound good to you. Just a thought. You can copy and paste the Spotify URL by right clicking on a track or album. An album that sounded exceptional to me was Fabiano Araujo's "Rheomusi". Here is the Spotify URL (from a Mac) to it: spotify:album:3sGE91vWhQC1xKJQkOb4eh |
I started to load the app on my tablet, but decided against it. Since there is no connect feature I won't be able to use the notebook to navigate, plus a lot of the reviews tell of many problems. No a very good rating. I believe it does sound a heck of a lot better than Spotify, but with all of the negative reviews and twice the cost, no connect option, etc., I think I'll pass. Will see about connecting the Asus up to verify it's not the tablet, but Spotify. The only reason I started with this was because the station I was listening to was starting to get repetitive. Can always change the channel for a while. This only costs $4.99/mo. for the premium service. |
Mofi, I think I remember reading about Spotify having less quality than others. Arh, If something else is wrong, I don't know what it could be. Radio Tunes sounds excellent, Spotify not so good. I don't have the capability to hook the Asus up to the system. I'd have to buy another cable, and I just purchased the interconnect, an Audioquest Big Sur 3.5mm to rca, for using the tablet. I guess I'll look into an adapter for giving it a try. I'm also going to look into Tidal to compare the two. I have time since I've just started using Spotify on a trial basis. Thanks. |
