Submitted by Steel_Cube t3_yqacc6 in headphones
What are the best streaming services for high quality audio? I have been using YouTube music but I'm getting a pair of sennheiser hd800s', and would like to move to a higher quality streaming service, of the looking I've done Apple music and tidal look good, what else are good?
Most people can't hear a difference between Spotify Premium and Qobuz and Tidal in a blind test, but who knows ... maybe you are in the 0.01% who can?
I did some extenstive testing recently that you might find helpful. You can download the test samples and see if you can personally hear a difference or not.
Apple music is actually good
Good if you are using it from a phone. Windows will not have an app until next year (hopefully with lossless and not just a wrapper for the website) and Mac app so far has been hit or miss for me and no true exclusive mode. If you play music mainly on IPhone/iPad it’s plug and play with DACs and android seems to depend on phone manufacturers. I know my Samsung phone seems to do a good job at matching sample rate with Apple Music and DAC but I know some other phones are hard capped to 48kHz even though a DAC. My Fiio DAP also works with Apple Music really well.
On windows it is possible to use Windows Subsytem for Android and install apple music(android version) from apkhere(or another store?). It is a weird process but possible and still better than tidal + not everyone needs exclusive mode, if the quality is above 16bit 44.1kHz like what apple music gives why taking so much importance if a resampling is not going to change anyhting to a 96kHz record(at least not anything audible)
I’ve tried it with the Windows 11 Android Subsystem but I found it uncomfortable to use and not the most efficient way to run it. I just use Cider on my desktop because I am usually playing games and listening to music. But if you wanted to listen to lossless on Windows, it’s a pretty good option. Miles better than iTunes or Web Apps/Cider. I just hope the native app comes out early next year because it is way better than emulating android app especially on laptops and lower end PCs
Do you lose the ability to EQ when doing this? This sounds way better than using iTunes on Windows but I own 8XXs so EQ is a must.
No, I use EQ too
Yup. This is what I’ve been using since January 2022.
I'm on Apple Music free trial right now (I got a company issued MacBook Pro at my new job, so I figured it's a good opportunity to try) and I think I'll go back to Tidal once the free trial expires. The UI is awful, as are most things Apple - for one, I can't even find a way to disable autoplay.
Qobuz with ROON is the best choice in my opinion its expensive but worth it. tidal is a licensing scam. Also ROON combines local files and streaming really well.
qobuz.
One option I’d recommend that I’ve taken is to download the music player “foobar2000”. You can then temporarily use a deezer account on the software deemix-gui to download as much FLAC music as you like (or mp3 for storage space), and then use the foobar2000 player to play the music. It’s an incredibly customisable music player that can pretty much look anyway you’d like and can have many inbuilt features such as a music visualiser, artist descriptions, synced lyrics, etc. The downside being you need to download the music which can take up a decent chunk of storage if you download FLAC. I also personally recommend using foobar with a theme, I use the theme “Eole” (tutorials to do this can be found on YouTube)
Any of the paid subscriptions are pretty good.
I use Tidal at the moment, I was using Qobuz but often found that they didn't have the music I wanted. With a phone you also have to use a separate app called UAPP to ensure that music plays at the right sample rate through a DAC/amp and with decent volume. With Tidal you don't have to do that though you can if you prefer, Tidal can run in exclusive mode from the phone app. I enjoy using it quite a bit, they recommend stuff that I actually like rather than whatever is popular. They also show you how much of your subscription fee goes to artists and you can nominate an artist to receive it. I also use Bandcamp and Bleep to discover new stuff, I buy FLAC of my favorite albums from them.
Interesting, that might be a deal breaker for qobuz then
Idagio if you're into classical
To me, Qobuz sounds better than Tidal and Deezer. I have tried them all. The sound is "thinner".
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deezer imo. try qobuz if your country has it.
Qobuz has the best desktop and mobile apps, IMO, and I've tried most of them.
Tidal user here. Can most certainly hear the difference between some Tidal Master tracks and Spotify.
Qobuz
Interesting that nobody recommends Amazon Music HD....
I despise Amazon and would do anything but support them so Amazon isn't an option for me
Tidal
emalvick t1_ivnhtvv wrote
Qobuz and Deezer would be good options as might Amazon. They all have CD or better quality without the questionable quality of Tidal.
I personally don't mind Spotify, but they're not lossless; however, my ears can't tell.