Spotify Rumored to Launch HiFi Audio as Part of New Top-Tier 'Supremium' Subscription Plan

[CarAnalogy]

At last! (Or so I would have thought a few months ago.)

But… I think I'll stick to their lossy offerings since I use Bluetooth Headphones mostly nowadays. There is no chance of my 59yo ears hearing any difference.
Both Apple and Amazon's lossless music made no difference to my listening pleasure.

And if I want to fool myself that I still have the hearing I had decades ago, well, then I'll listen to my ALAC files in macOS Music app. 😄

I did actually experiment one night with some good bluetooth headphones that also have an optional wired connection. When listening to good complex music, the wired connection was clearly superior and I could actually tell a difference in quality. But only with the wired connection. Not bluetooth, not the built in speakers.

The wired desk speakers sound better but to really hear the difference requires wired headphones.

 

[mr.bee]

Although this all is very underwhelming on Spotifys side, I’m afraid that Apple will up its prices as they see the price elasticity

 

[arkitect]

I did actually experiment one night with some good bluetooth headphones that also have an optional wired connection. When listening to good complex music, the wired connection was clearly superior and I could actually tell a difference in quality. But only with the wired connection. Not bluetooth, not the built in speakers.

That is indeed correct and my experience as well.

To make any difference they headphones need to be wired… Unfortunately my BT Headphones are only of use to me when I can move about freely.
When I am at my desk or so I'll use my old faithful AKG 702s. 🙂

Ugh I would rather just have better quality music and not their “selection” of “audiobooks.”

I guess as a one trick pony they are trying to diversify, but I’d rather they just be really good at their one thing.

Definitely agree. 👍

 

[MetalMoose]

I might be the rare exception here but I enjoy Spotify. I tried Apple Music in 2016, 2021 and I just didn't like it. The Spotify algorithm and all my playlists is where the value is at for me.

 

[one more]

Spotify will give Premium subscribers expanded access to audiobooks via a specific number of free listening hours or titles.

This is a nice bonus to have. I would love for Apple to implement some sort of a subscription plan for their Books audio books collection as well, which is actually quite large.

 

[minivini]

If I’m doing yard work listening on my pro2s, it’s Spotify because I can find a song that matches my mood and play radio. If I set up speakers outside for a party, it’s usually Spotify for the same reason. If I’m plugged in to the tube headphone amp and listening to relax and be zen, it’s Apple Music. The sound quality is there, but I like the radio feature in Spotify much more.

 

[azpekt]

I'd rather listen to music I like (that Spotify recommends) in slightly lesser quality - but with UI that don't suck and has Spotify Connect, rather than listen to Dolby Atmos-Shmatmos mix of crap that I don't care about.

 

[one more]

I tried both Spotify and Apple Music. Spotify sounds better to me.

This is because Spotify comes with highest possible beat rate as a default option, whereas with Apple Music you need to tweak it up. If you try comparing AM Lossless with Spotify’s current highest offered beat rate, AM will win. Spotify just over-amplify and over-compress their stuff at the moment.

 

[minik]

Not a Spotify user and this feature is long over due.

 

[Zc456]

Spotify's new "give me more money" subscription tier.

 

[chelsel]

I personally prefer Spotify, probably due to the AI DJ feature, integrated Podcasts and cross platform compatibility. I also find their suggestion and curation engine to be better. However, I likely won't upgrade to the higher fidelity audio plan without a compelling A/B side by side where I can detect a difference in audio quality.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Just get Apple Music at those prices.

Can't think of a reason not to get apple music indeed

The only thing I can think of ; does windows have an apple music app?

(Okay and also control your playing device remotely too)

 

[Born Again]

Just get Apple Music at those prices.

Not true. I am currently using Apple Music and it has the worst - THE WORST - curation! I feel so lost with Apple Music for new music discovery.

How have they not copied Spotify yet?

 

[jameschho]

I'm still with spotify because their recommendations and depth of library are head and shoulders beyond ay other service. I'm happy to finally have lossless, I just hope it covers all esoteric genres of music I listen to.

 

[threesixty360]

How about making it $50 per month for a normal subscription which is what it should've always cost, so you can actually pay the artists an acceptable rate per stream. 😥

They'd just pay the other $40 to record companies!
The reason artists don't get paid a lot is more to do with the labels that own the copyrights.
But the artist are always too scared to attack their labels so there is the narrative that its Spotify being evil.

Ask yourself why you never hear any major record labels complaining about Spotify rates?
Cos they are very happy!

 

[GtrDude]

Spotify still the best by a long shot.
I got a few months of Apple Music with the iPhone 14 Pro Max and it's nothing short of a huge mess.
What a disaster that app is.

 

[GtrDude]

I'm still with spotify because their recommendations and depth of library are head and shoulders beyond ay other service. I'm happy to finally have lossless, I just hope it covers all esoteric genres of music I listen to.

I like them for all those reasons and so many more but one of my top reasons is that you can use traditional folders to sort your music.
So for example you can have:
Classical>Mozart>String Quartets (or Symphonies, or Operas) and in there sort it by performers each in different folders with playlists if you want.
I also have a Jazz folder and in it I have folder called Recommend (something people have told me they recommend) and another one called Trios.
Apple music is a mess.

 

[neuropsychguy]

I would go so far as to say that there is not a human alive that can tell the difference.

And I am yet to meet anybody that can tell the difference between 320kbps mp3 and lossless. Spotify claim to be streaming 320kbps, but there was a scandal at one point where they were caught upscaling 160kbps files to 320.

I wouldn't go that far. There are probably some people out of the 7.89 billion on earth who reliably could. This might be a small fraction of a percent or even just 5-10 people who could but I'm sure they exist. There are "supertasters" and "super-smellers" and people who have better than "perfect" vision.

This means that 99.99% of people (or more) wouldn't be able to tell but I'm sure there are some who reliably could in a scientific experiment.

 

[flexwithmarius]

I have Tidal’s HiFi service and have compared it to Apple Music’s Lossless albums (as well as Spotify but they’re compressed obviously) and it’s interesting that Tidal noticeabley leans more into the low’s, it’s a beefier sound, and Apple Music accentuates the highs, less oomph but more sparkle.

From A to B comparisons between different albums it’s hard to say which one is “better” necessarily, but if you like the rap and pop genre’s for instance Tidal is definitely the way to go, but for rock and anything with dense composition they can definitely sound muddier than Apple Music.

I’m interested to see where Spotify HiFi falls, currently comparing the compressed (but still 320kbps) to Apple and Tidal the sound is very “flat,” like you’ve capped the high’s and accentuated the mid’s. I’d love to stop paying for both Tidal and Spotify, currently I use Spotify for playlists and then sync between the two services to get the better sound…not very cost effective lol.

(Just my e-cents!)

On Tidal, they may be doing something different in the mastering process. Maybe opening up some of the lower end, or it’s a byproduct of the extra data from those massive files. Tidal has specific instructions for how to master and deliver these tracks. Are you listening to “MQA” tracks?

 

[krspkbl]

I won't be upgrading. Lossless is wasted on most people. If you have AirPods or basically any Bluetooth headset then you're not hearing Lossless.

I'm quite happy with the sound quality I get now. Even if I used Apple Music I'd turn Lossless off. It's useless unless you have the proper equipment and even if you did you probably still won't be able to tell any difference!

 

[flexwithmarius]

I would go so far as to say that there is not a human alive that can tell the difference.

And I am yet to meet anybody that can tell the difference between 320kbps mp3 and lossless. Spotify claim to be streaming 320kbps, but there was a scandal at one point where they were caught upscaling 160kbps files to 320.

On the lower bitrates, I can easily spot the difference. We’re essentially taking about 480p vs 1080p, just more clarity is offered, bass notes sound deeper, richer and mids/highs more precise. If the file is heavily compressed, synth-like garbling can be present.

 

[krspkbl]

On the lower end, I can easily spot the difference. We’re essentially taking about 480p vs 1080p, just more clarity is offered, bass notes sound deeper, richer and mids/highs more precise. If the file is heavily compressed, synth-like garbling can be present.

Most people can easily tell the difference at the lower end. Not between 320 to Lossless.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Not true. I am currently using Apple Music and it has the worst - THE WORST - curation! I feel so lost with Apple Music for new music discovery.

How have they not copied Spotify yet?

I've had the opposite experience with discovering music on AM versus Spotify. Spotify could never really figure me out (I listen to every genre but with a heavier dose of classical). I used it for years and it would find some gems for me but on Apple Music it's been much more consistent, especially now with Apple Music Classical in the mix. Maybe Spotify's improved in the past few years though. I gave up on Spotify about 3-4 years ago.

 

[canadianreader]

This. Plus you have the knowledge that the artist is getting paid a lot more per play than they do with Spotify. ($0.01/play on Apple Music vs $0.0033/play on Spotify).

Usually artists publish their work on both platforms. I've heard that artists prefer Spotify because it has close to 500 millions users both free+ads and paid. More users = more clicks.

 

[flexwithmarius]

Most people can easily tell the difference at the lower end. Not between 320 to Lossless.

At that point it’s about precision. Going from good enough to laser sharp.

It’s about giving the compression algorithm the best sample possible to work from. If you give it a mediocre file, it will have far more artifacts upon playback than a higher bitrate file. Making lossless files available to the consumer is more of an amenity than a necessity. Delivering (to the encoding house) in lossless is a necessity however.

Whether or not the consumer knows and can tell is subjective, and people will always be on one side or the other, with the opposing side calling them nuts.

Personally, I don’t believe in dumbing things down (master quality or otherwise) just because the majority can’t tell the difference or just doesn’t care. It’s bad practice and straight up lazy. For the ones who do care and enjoy it, it’s worth it.