[sidpost]

I have dabbled with Sirius/XM a little bit in the past with mixed to acceptable results with car audio but, I have been offline for a few years so, I know things have evolved.

Spotify is the only one I have any vague familiarity with right now but, I know things have evolved for better or worse. What "PREMIUM" services are the better ones at modest costs? By modest costs, I know it is a sliding scale depending on where you live and what the local "economy" is where you live.

What is good, better or, best for $10~$20/month on the cheap end and, what about more premium and expensive streamer options?

I should note, I need a service that will let me "checkout" or "reserve" media for use when I need to use a cellphone where I don't have cell service or, put it on a media player for use offline. At home, I would just stream off my internet connection.

What do you use? Why do you use that service?

TIA,
Sid

 

[ScubaDrunk]

Hey there

I have tried and tested all of the following devices and services extensively over the last couple of years

Streaming Services (All Paid subscriptions with Hi-Res options)
Spotify Hi-FI
Qobuz Premium
Amazon HD Music
Tidal Masters
Apple Music
Universal Audio Player Pro

Devices
FiiO M11 Pro
HiBy R6 Pro
iBasso DX300
Shanling M8 paired with Romi BX2 Plus
FiiO Q5s
iFi Hip Dac v1
Several Android phones
Several iPhones

I have decided after listening to all the above, that the following now serves me the best solution for Quality/Cost and Portability.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 512GB Paired with a iFi Hip Dac v2
Apple Music paid subscription
HiFiMan HE400i Ver.2020 Open Back Listening
Sony mdr-z7m2 Closed Back Listening
IEM - Still deciding what to get

 

[starence]

Spotify HiFi should be launching soon, for the same price as Premium I believe.

 

[Deleeh]

I have dabbled with Sirius/XM a little bit in the past with mixed to acceptable results with car audio but, I have been offline for a few years so, I know things have evolved.

Spotify is the only one I have any vague familiarity with right now but, I know things have evolved for better or worse. What "PREMIUM" services are the better ones at modest costs? By modest costs, I know it is a sliding scale depending on where you live and what the local "economy" is where you live.

What is good, better or, best for $10~$20/month on the cheap end and, what about more premium and expensive streamer options?

I should note, I need a service that will let me "checkout" or "reserve" media for use when I need to use a cellphone where I don't have cell service or, put it on a media player for use offline. At home, I would just stream off my internet connection.

What do you use? Why do you use that service?

TIA,
Sid

Hello,
Deezer Amazon and Tidal can also be used offline if you have downloaded the playlist and have no mobile data available.

I don't know about Apple and Spotify either.

I would go by the application, if you don't have Dac ect then I would take Deezer or Amazon.
You just have to make sure that you always have enough storage space, which is sometimes difficult with Apple devices.
Because the memory card cannot be expanded.

If you have a Dap you have to pay attention to the specifications of the manufacturer.
Unfortunately, cheap Daps like the Hiby 3 can only be used for streaming with Tidal and not for offline use.
This also applies to other devices, not just Hiby.

It is less of a problem on smartphones and tablets.

With Apple, I would try it first to see if it can be used offline, as it is free for the first 3 months.
If not, then deezer because it has the best algorithm for what you listen to and mostly brings hidden songs to light that you have forgotten but still know.
Tidal and Amazon have by far the most annoying algorithm.
You listen to R&B and the suggestions have nothing to do with R&B.

 

[yolosauce]

I use Deezer. The decision in the end for me comes down to each service's music library. Tidal, Amazon, and Qobuz are missing some of my favorite artists and albums. The main negative for Deezer is no gapless playback on windows and no audirvana integration.. I will make the switch to Spotify Hi-Fi because of Spotify Connect.

 

[sidpost]

With my searches yesterday, it came down to Spotify and Tidal to me. Tidal may not have the best playlist algorithms but, it has other features that I liked in addition to good lossless recordings.

 

[iFi audio]

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 512GB Paired with a iFi Hip Dac v2

Cool! Is there anything in particular you like about that setup? Well, other than hip-dac 2's price-to-performance ratio ?

 

[project86]

Hello,
Deezer Amazon and Tidal can also be used offline if you have downloaded the playlist and have no mobile data available.

I don't know about Apple and Spotify either.

I would go by the application, if you don't have Dac ect then I would take Deezer or Amazon.
You just have to make sure that you always have enough storage space, which is sometimes difficult with Apple devices.
Because the memory card cannot be expanded.

If you have a Dap you have to pay attention to the specifications of the manufacturer.
Unfortunately, cheap Daps like the Hiby 3 can only be used for streaming with Tidal and not for offline use.
This also applies to other devices, not just Hiby.

It is less of a problem on smartphones and tablets.

With Apple, I would try it first to see if it can be used offline, as it is free for the first 3 months.
If not, then deezer because it has the best algorithm for what you listen to and mostly brings hidden songs to light that you have forgotten but still know.
Tidal and Amazon have by far the most annoying algorithm.
You listen to R&B and the suggestions have nothing to do with R&B.

Can confirm Apple Music and Spotify both allow saving music for offline playback. Both work well in my experience.

Qobuz also has that function but at least for me it does not work properly. It seems every time my phone connects to a wifi network, Qobuz stutters the music playback. Almost like a CD skipping type of result. I don't know if it's trying to "phone home" to verify my account, or considering whether or not to stream over that network rather than play the existing file, or what. But it's quite obnoxious when driving around and picking up/dropping new networks as I go.

I have experienced this for years, over Android 9, 10, 11, and 12, on various Pixel, LG, Samsung, and Motorola devices. So I don't think it's just an isolated incident.

 

[Chibs]

Made a video about this

I'm in Canada so no Quobuz unfortunately. Sticking with Amazon for home, Apple for portable and Spotify for my kids / Sonos speakers around the house.

Chibs

 

[sidpost]

Curious. Doesn't Spotify have high quality on everything but their web player right now?

Spotify Free:
Low: Equivalent to approximately 24kbit/s

Normal: Equivalent to approximately 96kbit/s

High: Equivalent to approximately 160kbit/s

Spotify Premium:
Low: Equivalent to approximately 24kbit/s

Normal: Equivalent to approximately 96kbit/s

High: Equivalent to approximately 160kbit/s

Very high: Equivalent to approximately 320kbit/s

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Hey there

I have tried and tested all of the following devices and services extensively over the last couple of years

Streaming Services (All Paid subscriptions with Hi-Res options)
Spotify Hi-FI
Qobuz Premium
Amazon HD Music
Tidal Masters
Apple Music
Universal Audio Player Pro

Devices
FiiO M11 Pro
HiBy R6 Pro
iBasso DX300
Shanling M8 paired with Romi BX2 Plus
FiiO Q5s
iFi Hip Dac v1
Several Android phones
Several iPhones

I have decided after listening to all the above, that the following now serves me the best solution for Quality/Cost and Portability.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 512GB Paired with a iFi Hip Dac v2
Apple Music paid subscription
HiFiMan HE400i Ver.2020 Open Back Listening
Sony mdr-z7m2 Closed Back Listening
IEM - Still deciding what to get

I've been waiting for Spotify Hifi. Where have you heard it? Is it available anywhere?

 

[Ufanco]

With my searches yesterday, it came down to Spotify and Tidal to me. Tidal may not have the best playlist algorithms but, it has other features that I liked in addition to good lossless recordings.

Tidal has much cheaper plans when bought thru Best Buy.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/search...criptions~pcmcat1590505113231&st=subscription

 

[cradams1020]

Amazon Music HD for me. Works well for my family overall and I've been pleased with it so far. I'd like to see UI improvements for their applications. Their AI algorithms do a decent job of suggesting other artists and songs I may like, but could use some enhancement as well.

 

[silent-circuit]

Tidal has much cheaper plans when bought thru Best Buy.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&qp=category_facet=Streaming Media Subscriptions~pcmcat1590505113231&st=subscription

Also be on the lookout for occasional bundle deals. I got a year of Tidal Hi-Fi for $50 bundled with a ~$30 record (don't even remember what it was) at one point.

 

[ahbock]

Living in Asia, I am using Kkbox. It offers wide variety of genres of tracks in Hi Res. Cheaper price point than Tidal and Qobuz. Is a shame it lacks equipment integration like Spotify connect function.