Which Music Streaming is the best in between Tidal, Spotify & Apple Music

[Andrewtst]

Just like to share 3 famous Music Streaming service. I am not audiophile but I love music and sensitive to sound quality.

Below is the highest setting applicable and all songs is test by using Powerbeats 3 headset.
Test on iPhone 7 Plus and all without enable equalizer. Few types of music and same song listen in 3 apps

• Tidal - 1411kbps FLAC (lossless)
• Spotify - 320kbps Ogg (lossy)
• Apple Music - 256kbps AAC (lossy)

Sound Quality - Winner Tidal, 2nd Apple Music, 3rd Spotify.
Tidal is unbeatable the best sound quality, it is CD audio quality because it is lossless.

Spotify even though is 320kbps but Ogg format is still far behind AAC, the vocal is softer, bass is less strong and sometimes still can heard artificial noise & sound fuzzy. Obvious never my favorite at all. I don't like how Ogg sound output. It is also the most far different when compare with Tidal 1411kbps FLAC.

Apple Music is kind of near to Tidal 1411kbps FLAC, thanks to Apple better format provide, even though it is only 256kbps but it is far better than Spotify 320kbps, strong vocal and strong bass. Hardly to heard any artificial noise.

Music Catalogs - Winner Apple Music, 2nd Spotify, 3rd Tidal.
If you are only english song or europe song listener, Tidal is match with any of the music streaming provider. But if you listen to anykind of songs especially Asian song, then Tidal is very far behind, most of Chinese or Malay songs is not available in Tidar.

Interface - Winner Apple Music, 2nd Tidal, 3rd Spotify
Sorry to said I very dislike the Spotify interace, it is very troublesome to search and access offline download music.

Price Value - Winner Apple Music, 2nd Spotify, 3rd Tidal. The price in RM because I am from Malaysia
Even though all 3 can be same subscription price of RM 14.90 but Apple Music having more music catalogs and better sound quality, this is the reason of why it beat down Spotify. As for Tidal in same price range you only get 320kbps AAC instead of lossless. They is no reason for subscribing Tidal standard as the catalogs is much less. Use Tidal the main reason is go for FLAC lossless but that is much expensive than others, it cost RM 29.80 monthly. Some will said Spotify have free version but the free version only up to 160kbps Ogg which to me is very bad sound quality where I won't listen, also it came with full of advertisement that I can't tolerant.

Cross Platform - All equally tie
All 3 music streaming is cross platform of PC Windows, Mobile Android & Mobile iOS. All support offline download. In this category, all equally tie.


I not include Google Play Music, Amazon Prime Music, Napster & Pandora because it is not available in my country.
As for Deezer the lossless FLAC need Sonos System where I don't have.

 

[spac3duck]

Great write up on those services mate.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I got a free 6 months trial with Tidal. I really like it. I was surprised at how good it is. I doubt I'll pay $29 a month when my freebie ends though.

 

[Andrewtst]

I got a free 6 months trial with Tidal. I really like it. I was surprised at how good it is. I doubt I'll pay $29 a month when my freebie ends though.

Ya, I never though Tidal is that great! I shall not trying it, now I can't decide.

 

[spac3duck]

Ya, I never though Tidal is that great! I shall not trying it, now I can't decide.

Tidal SQ is great but they push their own artists first. I don't want my home screen populated with Jay-Z or Beyonce. Just load up the artists I have favourited and listen to frequently.

 

[Ledsteplin]

Tidal SQ is great but they push their own artists first. I don't want my home screen populated with Jay-Z or Beyonce. Just load up the artists I have favourited and listen to frequently.

You get that with them all. Doesn't bother me what shows when I open the app. I just go to my playlists. Actually, I use Launcher to access Tidal. If I leave it on my playlists when I close the app, then when I access from Launcher it goes straight to my playlists.

 

[Andrewtst]

Tidal SQ is great but they push their own artists first. I don't want my home screen populated with Jay-Z or Beyonce. Just load up the artists I have favourited and listen to frequently.

It never affected me at all. I direct go to album I download or playlist I create. The apps home page promote what didn't bother me much.

This is the main page I often access and it is there every time I open it. When I need new song then I just go to main page look around. Their main page for me is same as Apple Music even though they promote their main artist 1st but not means I cannot seen other artist new song. If you compare 3 of the streaming apps and you will notice it is basically same new song/album display.

 

[Stefan johansson]

It all depends on what kind of artists you want,I use both Apple and Spotify,and for international/American/British artists Apple Music got all I could possibly need,for old recordings from local artists in my area,Spotify seems a little better,but of course the difference is not that important.

 

[Andrewtst]

It all depends on what kind of artists you want,I use both Apple and Spotify,and for international/American/British artists Apple Music got all I could possibly need,for old recordings from local artists in my area,Spotify seems a little better,but of course the difference is not that important.

That is the thing bother me now.

I already fall in love with Tidal because the sound quality. The catalog for English song is very great like Apple Music but sometimes I listen to Asian song like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malay and etc then this one Tidal can't fulfill me as their Asian catalog is kind of pity.

If I subscribe both, the price I need to paid equal to one month purchase one physical CD.

 

[Stefan johansson]

That is the thing bother me now.

I already fall in love with Tidal because the sound quality. The catalog for English song is very great like Apple Music but sometimes I listen to Asian song like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malay and etc then this one Tidal can't fulfill me as their Asian catalog is kind of pity.

If I subscribe both, the price I need to paid equal to one month purchase one physical CD.

Depends on what kind of subscription and internet provider you use,in Sweden,the main phone company include Spotify in their services at no cost,so,economically,I can as well use it,as it's already a part of what I pay for in my phone bills.

 

[Andrewtst]

Depends on what kind of subscription and internet provider you use,in Sweden,the main phone company include Spotify in their services at no cost,so,economically,I can as well use it,as it's already a part of what I pay for in my phone bills.

In my country for the moment no more free for any music service for any telco subscription. The only they give is few GB data quota for download from Spotify which not affecting current data quota.

Most promotion give also Spotify and Spotify is the one I not interesting at all. The sound quality is not there for Spotify compare with Apple Music and Tidal.

 

[Stefan johansson]

Understandable,but where I live,I get almost the same sound quality from both Apple Music and Spotify.

 

[Andrewtst]

Understandable,but where I live,I get almost the same sound quality from both Apple Music and Spotify.

If you listen carefully you will notice Spotify sound the worst. It is not very bad but when compared it is the worst. (Don't use the bundle earPods as that won't show different).

 

[Stefan johansson]

If you listen carefully you will notice Spotify sound the worst. It is not very bad but when compared it is the worst. (Don't use the bundle earPods as that won't show different).

You're absolutely right about the earbuds,I tried different headphones,car stereos and my home sound system,obviously there might be some difference,but in my country,and with my carrier,that difference means less to people than totally free service. The main cellphone provider here include Spotify premium in their phone service,and as I said,I use both,but it's not just a matter of sound quality,some old recordings with local artists here can only be found in the Spotify classics library.

 

[Justin_Kemp]

Understandable,but where I live,I get almost the same sound quality from both Apple Music and Spotify.

You will not notice it unless if you are a critical listener. The difference is not too significant, so don't mind with it.

 

[isanka]

I much prefer Apple Music, compare to Deezer or Spotify.

 

[MH01]

In my case it comes down to hardware, if you have DAC and headphones that take advantage of the SQ, Tidal all the way.

I've given up on storing files on my DAP and just use Tidal HiFi now. If apple or Spotify match Tidal SQ, I'll jump

 

[skiltrip]

I've stuck with Apple Music for quite a while and I'm pretty satisfied. Google Music is my close second favorite, and if I could justify paying for both I would.

I've got the family plan with Apple Music and it's the only one that let's me turn off explicit songs for my kids. It's not a perfect filter but it helps. That is a huge deal to me.

 

[Vjosullivan]

Was this a blind test - using the same hardware in all cases - and with someone else setting the provider and you not knowing which service you were listening to?

 

[ozaz]

I realise this is an old thread, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

I think the best interface is quite subjective. Anyone thinking of using these services should try them all to decide which interface works best for them.

I disagree that cross platform is a tie. I think Apple Music has to come last in this category due to lack of support for Chromecast and lack of a web-app. iTunes on Windows is a pain. Spotify should really come first when you consider all the platforms it supports beyond traditional ones. For example voice controlled speakers, smart TV and smart watch platforms beyond those made by Apple.

 

[the future]

Another thing to consider: if you care about the artists, especially the lesser known ones, Apple Music pays out more per stream than Spotify; not sure about Tidal. And, in my opinion, the free tier of Spotify devalues music, especially for young listeners getting used to the idea that all music should be free (of charge).

 

[qawes]

You forgot about bandcamp, where you can actually purchase and stream albums on the same platform.

Artists get far bigger cuts there than on any of the platforms you stated above and has great cross-platform support.

Apple Music on an Android device is awful, just awful.

 

[negativzero]

I'm using Spotify now. My carrier has a tie-in with Spotify, so I do my subscription through my carrier, they knock a few bucks off the normal Spotify subscription as well as give me unlimited data for Spotify streaming so I can listen to as music as I want to on the go without worrying about busting my data limit.

If anything for me, go with the one that offers unlimited data with your local carrier.

 

[HDFan]

Tidal is unbeatable the best sound quality, it is CD audio quality because it is lossless.

Actually it delivers much better than CD quality with MQA, up to 24 bit 192K vs 44 Khz 16 bit. I am going to ignore the discussions about MQA, just to state that with the proper listening equipment and source MQA sound is breathtaking.

 

[Ralfi]

Thinking of taking up Tidals 3 month deal, but with my AirPods, I’m not sure I’ll notice the difference in audio quality from my premium Spotify & Apple Music accounts?

Can any other AirPods/Tidal users confirm if it’s worth it?