Spotify to launch 'Hi-Fi' CD Quality Tier.

[Sal1950]

My Apple Music account is $10.99 a month and offers the largest catalog of Atmos and other
immersive music codec's, on top of all the regular High Resolution files being streamed by others.
A "no contest" winner in the streaming wars IMHO.

Sorry this is a family oriented website or I'd tell Spotify what they could do with this "imaginary" HiRez offering. LOL

 

[gvl]

Theres always Chromecast and LDAC

Not when you want to use your old laptop as a streamer with Equalizer APO as room EQ.

 

[gwing]

I went to Tidal when they committed to do away with the MQA nonsense. I received an email yesterday to say it's actually happening.

"On July 24, 2024, we’re replacing the music in TIDAL’s MQA catalog with FLAC versions....."

I think they have been doing this for some time, I can't remember when I last saw a MQA file dished up and regularly see Flac formats although not as many as 'just' lossless CD though.

 

[norcalscott]

My Apple Music account is $10.99 a month and offers the largest catalog of Atmos and other
immersive music codec's, on top of all the regular High Resolution files being streamed by others.
A "no contest" winner in the streaming wars IMHO.

Sorry this is a family oriented website or I'd tell Spotify what they could do with this "imaginary" HiRez offering. LOL

Only if you are deeply embedded in the Apple garden. If you are not, to me, Tidal provides the most functionality across different platforms.

 

[Sal1950]

I went to Tidal when they committed to do away with the MQA nonsense. I received an email yesterday to say it's actually happening.

"On July 24, 2024, we’re replacing the music in TIDAL’s MQA catalog with FLAC versions....."

OH HAPPY DAY.

Only if you are deeply embedded in the Apple garden. If you are not, to me, Tidal provides the most functionality across different platforms.

I'm not embedded in anything. In fact my Apple TV 4k box is the only Apple product I own, it's plugged directly into my Denon AVR and deliverers not only Apple music's Atmos and other HiRez files, but also is a great streamer serving Atmos coded, multich, and stereo content from Paramount, Disney, and any other I subscribed to. Can't imagine a better way to be connected to todays audio & video world.
YMMV

 

[ThatM1key]

Not when you want to use your old laptop as a streamer with Equalizer APO as room EQ.

The laptops Realtek DAC?

 

[norcalscott]

I'm not embedded in anything. In fact my Apple TV 4k box is the only Apple product I own, it's plugged directly into my Denon AVR and deliverers not only Apple music's Atmos and other HiRez files, but also is a great streamer serving Atmos coded, multich, and stereo content from Paramount, Disney, and any other I subscribed to. Can't imagine a better way to be connected to todays audio & video world.
YMMV

Yeah I totally get that, makes sense. I'm not anti-Apple but the only Apple device I own is an iPad. For me it is more about music portability - I use a Windows laptop for my main listening area and a bunch of different devices for other listening - Ras-pi Streamer, Android phones, other Windows machines, etc. I like that I can use Tidal on all these devices and Tidal Connect works well for being able to access my music from within the other apps or on devices Apple will never support, but you are right, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Brian Hall]

OH HAPPY DAY.

I'm not embedded in anything. In fact my Apple TV 4k box is the only Apple product I own, it's plugged directly into my Denon AVR and deliverers not only Apple music's Atmos and other HiRez files, but also is a great streamer serving Atmos coded, multich, and stereo content from Paramount, Disney, and any other I subscribed to. Can't imagine a better way to be connected to todays audio & video world.
YMMV

I use an Amazon Fire TV cube for that. It does the same thing without having to mess with Apple. It does atmos from the movie streaming services and also from Amazon Music and Tidal.

 

[Sal1950]

se an Amazon Fire TV cube for that. It does the same thing without having to mess with Apple.

What's to "mess with" beyond paying my monthly sub just like everyone else?
I used Amazon for a bit, but when Apple came along with it's big and growing every day multich
catalog it was no-contest.

 

[Brian Hall]

What's to "mess with" beyond paying my monthly sub just like everyone else?
I used Amazon for a bit, but when Apple came along with it's big and growing every day multich
catalog it was no-contest.

I've been opposed to Apple since they tried to patent the shape of a rectangular phone and "Slide to unlock". I am extremely opposed to evil BS patents like that. I had iPhones and iPads and used iTunes until they tried to pull that crap. I switched to Android and swore off Apple after that. I'll never use anything of theirs again.

 

[Sal1950]

I've been opposed to Apple since they tried to patent the shape of a rectangular phone and "Slide to unlock"

The business history of the juggernaut Amazon is not much better, I try to avoid doing any business with them for much the same reasons. Guess we all draw our lines somewhere in the sand.

 

[gvl]

The laptops Realtek DAC?

Any USB DAC.

 

[bluefuzz]

I've been opposed to Apple since they tried to patent the shape of a rectangular phone and "Slide to unlock". I am extremely opposed to evil BS patents like that.

It's not Apple's fault that the patent/copyright system is broken. All big (and small) tech companies have to patent all sorts of daft things like 'rectangular phones' etc. because if they didn't then some patent troll would come along and patent those things for them and then sue them to kingdom come. And quite probably win ...

It seems a bit naïve to throw a wobbly over Apple's essentially defensive patent applications when at the same time praising Google/Android whose indescretions are well-documented and who are in almost every area of their business predatory, anti-competitive and egregiously invasive of their users' privacy. At least in the latter case Apple is relatively benign. I certainly know who I prefer to do business with.

All the big-tech companies – including Apple and the subject of this thread Spotify – are 'evil' in one way or another. Due to the nature of twenty-first century global capitalism, they have to be to survive for long. But unless you plan on moving to some remote island without contact to modern civilisation then we all have to deal with these monsters as best we can. Hold your nose and pick your poison ...

 

[TheBatsEar]

My Apple Music account is $10.99 a month and offers the largest catalog of Atmos and other immersive music codec's, on top of all the regular High Resolution files being streamed by others.

What kind of hardware do i need to get Apple music into a MiniDSP Flex HT (input would be USB with max 8 channels, the device has no codecs or something)?
Would a regular Thinkpad do for a test?

 

[voodooless]

What kind of hardware do i need to get Apple music into a MiniDSP Flex HT (input would be USB with max 8 channels, the device has no codecs or something)?
Would a regular Thinkpad do for a test?

Apple Music doesn’t support Atmos on Windows as far as I know. You’ll need a Mac or AppleTV (via eARC) to get multichannel Atmos into your Flex. You’ll only get 7.1 via HDMI though (DD+).

 

[Brian Hall]

It's not Apple's fault that the patent/copyright system is broken. All big (and small) tech companies have to patent all sorts of daft things like 'rectangular phones' etc. because if they didn't then some patent troll would come along and patent those things for them and then sue them to kingdom come. And quite probably win ...

It seems a bit naïve to throw a wobbly over Apple's essentially defensive patent applications when at the same time praising Google/Android whose indescretions are well-documented and who are in almost every area of their business predatory, anti-competitive and egregiously invasive of their users' privacy. At least in the latter case Apple is relatively benign. I certainly know who I prefer to do business with.

All the big-tech companies – including Apple and the subject of this thread Spotify – are 'evil' in one way or another. Due to the nature of twenty-first century global capitalism, they have to be to survive for long. But unless you plan on moving to some remote island without contact to modern civilisation then we all have to deal with these monsters as best we can. Hold your nose and pick your poison ...

Apple tried to sue Samsung over the rectangular shape BS and also over a slide to unlock function. Patents on such obvious things are ridiculous. A rectangular shape is not original and we have had real world slide to unlock devices for hundreds of years. Instead of doing the right thing and fighting against a broken patent system, Apple tried to use it against their competition.

I had a stupid little patent company that never created a product sue me over a BS obvious software patent over something I created 5 years before the idiots at the patent office granted those jerks a patent on it. I was able to prove it was obvious to anyone doing software development and that they had ignored years of "prior art" and got the stupid patent thrown out. So yes, I hate stupid patents of any kind and the companies that try to use them.

 

[Jimbob54]

The Tidal app on my streamer (android TV) is a steaming pile of poop. And Spotify is still leaps and bounds better when it comes to their recommendation algorithm.

Nevertheless, I'm subscribed to both because of Tidal's support of Atmos.

Try using tidal connect to control tidal from your phone with the TV app as just an endpoint.

 

[alont]

Try using tidal connect to control tidal from your phone with the TV app as just an endpoint.

I'm afraid tidal connect isn't supported on their android TV app. It's a downright abysmal experience, unfortunately.

 

[gvl]

I'm afraid tidal connect isn't supported on their android TV app. It's a downright abysmal experience, unfortunately.

Is it supported in any of their apps? Last time I checked it was only available on third party streaming devices, I think the reason being Tidal charges a licensing fee to embed it and unlike Spotify has no interest to provide it for free in their native apps.

 

[Jimbob54]

I did not know that. But just installed the tidal app on my TV and indeed I can only chromecast to it (from android phone obv) not Connect. Rubbish indeed.

And yes, the TV app is horrific