Spotify Lossless?

[Retro_Pete]

I can't tell Spotify HQ lossy from lossless anyway. Maybe you can?

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

ABX High Fidelity Test list

A set of browser-based ABX tests comparing lossless and lossy music samples

abx.digitalfeed.net

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/ymk4fj

 

[spark1]

I surely can.

I still use Spotify for music discovery, as they do it better than any of the others. But for regular listening, Amazon HD and Quobuz are noticeably better sounding. If Spotify offered their library in lossless, they would probably be my only provider.

 

[GChief]

I surely can.

I still use Spotify for music discovery, as they do it better than any of the others. But for regular listening, Amazon HD and Quobuz are noticeably better sounding. If Spotify offered their library in lossless, they would probably be my only provider.

Yep, it's an easy tell...

 

[waggs098]

I can't tell Spotify HQ lossy from lossless anyway. Maybe you can?

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

ABX High Fidelity Test list

A set of browser-based ABX tests comparing lossless and lossy music samples

abx.digitalfeed.net

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/ymk4fj

Thats because they still compress the audio.

With a good system its easily noticeable to me.

On tidal if I select the lowest quality setting and compare it to the high quality there is a big difference. If using phone speakers or a really cheap Bluetooth speaker its hard to notice. That adds another thing. They can't be compared using Bluetooth (which also compresses audio), it needs to be hard wired. And to take a step further something I need to do is get a good external DAC.

 

[Retro_Pete]

You can hear difference between these files?
Phew, lucky me. I can't tell them apart. -Saves me a considerable amount of money.

Test #3 - Tidal Hi-Fi (16/44.1 FLAC) Vs. Spotify Premium @ Very High (320k Vorbis)​

AB-tidal-vs-spotify

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

 

[yofi]

You can hear difference between these files?
Phew, lucky me. I can't tell them apart. -Saves me a considerable amount of money.

Test #3 - Tidal Hi-Fi (16/44.1 FLAC) Vs. Spotify Premium @ Very High (320k Vorbis)​

AB-tidal-vs-spotify

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

Yall can hear?

Just kidding. But I spent enough time at shows with no hearing protection between 2003 and 2019 that I can’t really tell with these tests either.

 

[WillVT]

You can hear difference between these files?
Phew, lucky me. I can't tell them apart. -Saves me a considerable amount of money.

Test #3 - Tidal Hi-Fi (16/44.1 FLAC) Vs. Spotify Premium @ Very High (320k Vorbis)​

AB-tidal-vs-spotify

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

Spotify premium and Tidal Hifi are the same price.

 

[jayvis]

You can hear difference between these files?

Test #3 - Tidal Hi-Fi (16/44.1 FLAC) Vs. Spotify Premium @ Very High (320k Vorbis)​

Definitely, on my system.

 

[waggs098]

You can hear difference between these files?
Phew, lucky me. I can't tell them apart. -Saves me a considerable amount of money.

Test #3 - Tidal Hi-Fi (16/44.1 FLAC) Vs. Spotify Premium @ Very High (320k Vorbis)​

AB-tidal-vs-spotify

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

don't really want to download a file.

Do you have a specific song in mind?

 

[Crazy Gnome]

I can't tell Spotify HQ lossy from lossless anyway. Maybe you can?

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

ABX High Fidelity Test list

A set of browser-based ABX tests comparing lossless and lossy music samples

abx.digitalfeed.net

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/ymk4fj

This test isn't accurate.. The only way to do a test is to listen to music that you know extremely well. Then listen for differences. Higher quality files will have extra parts. Sometimes the difference is significant and others it is more subtle. Extra twang of a string. Background vocal is more clear etc.

 

[Crazy Gnome]

don't really want to download a file.

Do you have a specific song in mind?

Don't waste your time. The people who setup these comparison sites are often trying to prove a point and are bias. Splurge for a hi -res service, make sure it's setup correctly and listen to some of your favorites.
Some of the files are excellent some I like better in other formats like vinyl.

 

[spark1]

You can hear difference between these files?
Phew, lucky me. I can't tell them apart. -Saves me a considerable amount of money.

Test #3 - Tidal Hi-Fi (16/44.1 FLAC) Vs. Spotify Premium @ Very High (320k Vorbis)​

AB-tidal-vs-spotify

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

Amazon HD is less than Spotify for Prime customers. $1 more per month for non-Prime customers.

 

[Crazy Gnome]

I use Amazon and was listening to Zebra's S/t... It sounded like garbage.
My wife and I were listening to Pink Floyd The Wall in 24/96 when it was first made available and we were both hearing parts we never heard before and I have listened to that album hundred of times in multiple formats.
Blanket statements like tell the difference between these files is only part of the story. The Pink Floyd was mastered correctly for Hi res .
The Zebra was in CD quality and it wasn't mastered with care.

 

[Retro_Pete]

Yall can hear?

Just kidding. But I spent enough time at shows with no hearing protection between 2003 and 2019 that I can’t really tell with these tests either.

Don't worry. The vast majority can't.

don't really want to download a file.

Do you have a specific song in mind?

Any, really.
But needs to be the same master of course. And SPL matched. There is significant volume differences between streaming services and if your DAC and pre-amp is staying at the same settings when switching from e.g. Spotify to Tidal the latter will sound better as Tidal actually is louder than Spotify. So of course people will find Tidal to be more revealing and more dynamic as the dynamic range is higher in your room.

Don't waste your time. The people who setup these comparison sites are often trying to prove a point and are bias. Splurge for a hi -res service, make sure it's setup correctly and listen to some of your favorites.
Some of the files are excellent some I like better in other formats like vinyl.

Do the tests and if you are honest you might be surprised about the results and have learned something valuable about bias. I had the same opinion once. I was surprised to learn that I can not tell HQ lossy from lossless but also really relieved in that I know my hearing (which is flawless BTW) has a limit and I don't need to chase expensive esoteric gear to get a completely transparent music experience. I just need to clear a threshold.
But it might as well be that you are all gifted with greater than average haring. I'd like to see some proof of that but also am confident that it's probably not gonna happen.

I use Amazon and was listening to Zebra's S/t... It sounded like garbage.
My wife and I were listening to Pink Floyd The Wall in 24/96 when it was first made available and we were both hearing parts we never heard before and I have listened to that album hundred of times in multiple formats.
Blanket statements like tell the difference between these files is only part of the story. The Pink Floyd was mastered correctly for Hi res .
The Zebra was in CD quality and it wasn't mastered with care.

Of course the same masters must be compared between the services.

You can for sure compare the same mastered track between services. The comparison is otherwise futile.

Many re-masters are sh** IMO. Just a more compressed version with smiley EQ.

 

[Crazy Gnome]

Don't worry. The vast majority can't.


Any, really.
But needs to be the same master of course. And SPL matched. There is significant volume differences between streaming services and if your DAC and pre-amp is staying at the same settings when switching from e.g. Spotify to Tidal the latter will sound better as Tidal actually is louder than Spotify. So of course people will find Tidal to be more revealing and more dynamic as the dynamic range is higher in your room.


Do the tests and if you are honest you might be surprised about the results and have learned something valuable about bias. I had the same opinion once. I was surprised to learn that I can not tell HQ lossy from lossless but also really relieved in that I know my hearing (which is flawless BTW) has a limit and I don't need to chase expensive esoteric gear to get a completely transparent music experience. I just need to clear a threshold.
But it might as well be that you are all gifted with greater than average haring. I'd like to see some proof of that but also am confident that it's probably not gonna happen.


Of course the same masters should be compared between the services.

You can for sure compare the same mastered track between services.

I didn't say anything about between services.... I only listen to Amazon. I was talking about different formats . My experience is with vinyl CD and cassette. Some albums I had only heard with mp3 . When I got Amazon HD I was like holy crap what a difference.
My hearing isn't great... 20 years of industry and trucking and loud music has done it's toll. But I can hear when there is something extra to my favorite tunes.
Hi res done correctly is all that was recorded in the studio. Due to the inherent limitations of certain formats some of that was left out.

 

[Retro_Pete]

I didn't say anything about between services.... I only listen to Amazon. I was talking about different formats . My experience is with vinyl CD and cassette. Some albums I had only heard with mp3 . When I got Amazon HD I was like holy crap what a difference.
My hearing isn't great... 20 years of industry and trucking and loud music has done it's toll. But I can hear when there is something extra to my favorite tunes.
Hi res done correctly is all that was recorded in the studio. Due to the inherent limitations of certain formats some of that was left out.

My point in this regard was and is, that you MUST compare the same mastered tracks. And that be on CD / TIdal / Spotify / Amazon. If you are not comparing the same mastered track you are not comparing the same track at all and you will hear differences because differences there are.

If you are comparing the same tracks between CD / Spotify / Amazon HD I encourage you to do the tests I linked to earlier. Maybe it will reveal something useful to you.

 

[Crazy Gnome]

My point in this regard was and is, that you MUST compare the same mastered tracks. And that be on CD / TIdal / Spotify / Amazon. If you are not comparing the same mastered track you are not comparing the same track at all and you will hear differences because differences there are.

If you are comparing the same tracks between CD / Spotify / Amazon HD I encourage you to do the tests I linked to earlier. Maybe it will reveal something useful to you.

No it won't. I already said it's better to use familiar songs. Why would I compare to different services?
You have to know the song to hear the difference.....

 

[Retro_Pete]

No it won't. I already said it's better to use familiar songs. Why would I compare to different services?
You have to know the song to hear the difference.....

No you don't. It just has to be the same track.

 

[Crazy Gnome]

No you don't. It just has to be the same track.

The anti hi res CD quality crowd says that. I disagree. I only heard Queens of the Stone age Like Clockwork via mp3 when I was an Amazon prime member. When Amazon offered HD I was on it day one. Listened to Like Clockwork and was blown away by the difference.
I absolutely don't care about convincing you about my own experience.

 

[Retro_Pete]

The anti hi res CD quality crowd says that. I disagree. I only heard Queens of the Stone age Like Clockwork via mp3 when I was an Amazon prime member. When Amazon offered HD I was on it day one. Listened to Like Clockwork and was blown away by the difference.
I absolutely don't care about convincing you about my own experience.

I'm not anti hi-res. Don't label me like that. I'm anti audiophile bias BS.
And that's the peculiar thing. These discussions where someone claims to hear something always end up with a closed door and no proof.