[Poppacheez]

I listen to a lot of music on Spotify, and I know that some of their music isn't the highest quality.
Which of the headphones below would be forgiving of low quality files?
1. Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm
2. MrSpeakers Mad Dogs 
3. Sennheiser HD600
4. Hifiman He-400

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
1. The Beyer will reveal all flaws of compressed streamed content.
2. The Mad Dogs will reveal all flaws of compressed streamed content.
3. The HD600's will reveal all flaws of compressed streamed content.
4. The HE-400's will reveal all flaws of compressed streamed content.

None of these are forgiving.
 
Maybe look at the Sennheiser HD650. I find dark headphones with treble roll-off are much more forgiving of bad content.
 
But honestly, why even get a headphone over $200+ (and source gear where required) for spotify listening?
 
Very best,

 

[Poppacheez]

Thank you, what about 256kbps and 320kbps mp3s?

 

[musical-kage]

What exactly is wrong with Spotify?
 
I guess you don't have Premium? I do, and have all my music (as long as all the music I listen to has been converted to 320kbps OGG, as they say the library would be) and the sound is very good indeed.
Why all the hate?
 
It is the best service in my opinion for music on the go.
 
320kbps OGG's Spotify Premium outputs in has been said to be better than 320kbps MP3.
 
256kbps (I think) of the free service shouldn't be too bad either

 

[Curly21029]

Quote:

What exactly is wrong with Spotify?

 
For a lossy stream, I found Spotify to do a serviceable job from both a quality and convenience standpoint.  The only reason why they didn't retain me as a subscriber for a second month is due to what I considered to be an extremely constrained library. (that, along with some incomplete albums and mis-tags)  Still, compressed content will always be compressed content regardless of how it's marketed and I'd have to agree with MalVeauX: if it's one's primary source then take a pass on making a major investment.  Grab a KSC75 and be happy.

 

[oblique63]

Spotify seems to work best for me when I choose to actually download the tracks. I have premium, but for some reason even when I select the 'extreme' quality setting for the streaming, it still doesn't sound like there's much of a difference and not nearly as good as my 'extreme' quality downloads. And I'm sure my network can handle the additional load of higher quality files, so who knows what's up with that. I did start using Mog recently though, and that sounds excellent when streaming, at least as good as the downloaded spotify tracks, and totally comparable to my lossless stuff. Unfortunately spotify still seems to have the wider selection of the 2, so I still keep it around for mobile use, but mog is all I use for streaming when I'm on my computer now. I would say either Mog or downloaded Spotify premium stuff is totally worthy of higher end headphones, so don't let that dissuade you if you plan to sign up for either one of those down the road.

 

[musical-kage]

Quote:

Spotify seems to work best for me when I choose to actually download the tracks. I have premium, but for some reason even when I select the 'extreme' quality setting for the streaming, it still doesn't sound like there's much of a difference and not nearly as good as my 'extreme' quality downloads. And I'm sure my network can handle the additional load of higher quality files, so who knows what's up with that. I did start using Mog recently though, and that sounds excellent when streaming, at least as good as the downloaded spotify tracks, and totally comparable to my lossless stuff. Unfortunately spotify still seems to have the wider selection of the 2, so I still keep it around for mobile use, but mog is all I use for streaming when I'm on my computer now. I would say either Mog or downloaded Spotify premium stuff is totally worthy of higher end headphones, so don't let that dissuade you if you plan to sign up for either one of those down the road.

I'll have to try Mog, thanks, but I'm really happy with the sound output I'm getting out of Spotify.
 
EDIT:
 
Can't use MOG as its not available outside of the U.S, so Spotify it is.
 
I havent' had many issues with tracks not being available if I'm honest. I've even read many reviews, and I've gone straight to Spotify to find the tracks the reviewers listened to, and have had no problems grabbing them for listening.
I've also had no problems even getting some good quality orchestral recordings, and even older style 60's.
 
Tracks that are not available, I either buy on CD, or as FLAC's for home use, and convert to MP3 at 320kbps, and upload them to my Spotify on the go library.
They instantly encode and get sent straight to the mobile and can also be listened to on the go without the need to copy data to my card.
 
So, it seems like an all in one solution for me. The only thing they could improve is, yes, allow for FLAC playback from the program internally, but 320kbps is by far enough for portable use.
 
The only thing I worry about, comes from some newer tracks, hearing distortions like the tracks are hitting the limiter. I'm yet to try buying a track that does this and test if its still the case.

 

[Eide]

I've compared Spotify 320 kbps to 24bit/96kHz FLAC - switching back an forth from the same track. There was almost no difference at all. I was actually quite surpized as there is over ten times more data in the FLAC-file. I used Fostex TH900 and Fostex HP-P1 amp/dac when I did the test.

 

[rjb1101]

Any recommendations for Mog replacements?

I'm considering hd650 and beyer 770 for work and home. I plan on listening to records at home.