Spotify Premium worth it for the audio quality?

[ihavenoidea]

Hey, I've been debating if I should get Spotify Premium for the sound quality increase from 160kbps to 320kbps Ogg Vorbis on desktop. Please note that the only deciding factor for me is the sound quality in whether or not I'll get premium

I've done some ABX testing(on my hd 600s) with some tracks -The Pecan Tree from Deafheaven, Get Lucky from Daftpunk, Autumn Again from An Autumn for Crippled Children among others- comparing FLAC and -q5(which I've gathered is what Spotify free uses on desktop) and I've been unable to spot any differences in any of the tracks I tried. I've done some searching on here and google and apparently some tracks would make the difference more audible(or audible at all?) than others, so maybe the tracks I've been testing are not good for this? Or is Ogg Vorbis really completely transparent at 160kbps like hydrogenaudio claims?(not sure how how of a debate this is here)
Anything specific that I could look for in songs to spot differences at -q5?
Any input or help is appreciated
Thanks

 

[kaka89]

Worth it for the copyright and software integration.

 

[mansr]

I'd say the lack of ads is a huge improvement in sound quality regardless of bit rate.

 

[Svperstar]

I don't really notice a difference in quality. I got 6 months of Spotify Premium free with Xbox Game Pass and just kept it after the trial expired.

The best thing is never ever hearing ads. I realize you can get around the ads but now Spotify is just fire and forget.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

SQ on Premium at Very High quality is very good.

 

[dasdoing]

adds are so anoying I would pay even if this would make sound quality worse lol

 

[Juhazi]

Pretty easy and cheap to try with 3 months evaluation period for Premium...

 

[Morla]

Sometimes the ads are much louder than the music. 320kps seems to be good enough for me so I went for the 12 months subscription which is 99€.

 

[ernestcarl]

Sometimes the ads are much louder than the music.

Sounds deliberately put there to annoy and frustrate.

 

[Deleted member 16502]

There are multiple services offering lossless streaming that give you more possibility for evaluation. Amazon i.e. has a 1 month test period right now where you could do some more A/B checks.
Personally, I cannot distinguish even 192 kBit/s from 320 kBit/s mp3s...

 

[dasdoing]

Sounds deliberately put there to annoy and frustrate.

could be the BS.1770 correction. if there is no(t much) bass the loudness comes out much higher

 

[ernestcarl]

could be the BS.1770 correction. if there is no(t much) bass the loudness comes out much higher

I don't remember exactly where from, but I have heard that TV advertisements were specifically, increasingly designed to be louder. I'm not certain about today as I do not watch TV anymore.

 

[dasdoing]

I don't remember exactly where from, but I have heard that TV advertisements were specifically, increasingly designed to be louder. I'm not certain about today as I do not watch TV anymore.

and how? with a dinamic range reduced to minimum (compressing). in theory this should be fixed with BS.1770 correction, but in practice audio with less low frequencie energie get's lower LUFS readings

 

[SimpleTheater]

I've done some ABX testing(on my hd 600s) with some tracks -The Pecan Tree from Deafheaven, Get Lucky from Daftpunk, Autumn Again from An Autumn for Crippled Children among others- comparing FLAC and -q5(which I've gathered is what Spotify free uses on desktop) and I've been unable to spot any differences in any of the tracks I tried.

I did similar AB testing. I could not hear a difference between Spotify premium and free. My equipment is top notch, AKG 812 and JDS Labs Element. So either it’s really hard to tell or my ears are the problem.

 

[Sophoheilip]

You can perform some nice tests here

128 kbit and down can be quite easy distinguished in my experience. But ~160 and up with each other always about 50/50.

There is also an interesting video, where the codecs are compared in using null test.

If you in for Hifi and are a student, Tidal has subs for 9,99 £/$/€ in some regions.

 

[ernestcarl]

and how? with a dinamic range reduced to minimum (compressing). in theory this should be fixed with BS.1770 correction, but in practice audio with less low frequencie energie get's lower LUFS readings

There was a time before that standard was created, right? So you're telling me you've never experienced media adverts being played louder than the rest of TV programming ever?

That's why I said I do not know about "today" if such standards are even followed for all TV adverts -- again, I do not watch television. Nor do I suffer from streaming media adverts.

*my life experience with cable TV has mostly been with crappy TV speakers which hardly have any bass to begin with.

 

[mansr]

There was a time before that standard was created, right? So you're telling me you've never experienced media adverts being played louder than the rest of TV programming ever?

I'm pretty sure that has been the case since shortly after the invention of the TV ad. Even with regulations limiting the loudness jump, they still make the ads as loud as they possibly can. It's also doubtful that such regulations apply to Spotify, so they can likely do whatever they want.

 

[ernestcarl]

I'm pretty sure that has been the case since shortly after the invention of the TV ad. Even with regulations limiting the loudness jump, they still make the ads as loud as they possibly can. It's also doubtful that such regulations apply to Spotify, so they can likely do whatever they want.

Some countries in the world probably haven't even attempted to incorporate the EBU R 128 & *ITU BS.1770 recommendations standards as of yet.

 

[Icboschert]

I also have a single device Amazon HD subscription. The difference between Spotify and Amazon HD in sound quality is noticeable on some tracks. But that might be due to the difference in compression, haven't done any testing so I can't say for sure.

I've switched between Google Music (supposedly 320kbps MP3) and Amazon HD...the difference for me is pretty clear in favor of Amazon. I haven't compared Spotify Premium to Amazon HD though.

 

[purplerain]

If sound quality is the only deciding factor for you, you shouldn't consider Spotify. Try Tidal or Qubuz.