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Switching away from YTM but to what?

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buz

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Ok seeing that Google decided to cancel my grand fathered discount on YTM, it's time to kick that sorry service - especially as I could not care less for video...

But what shall I go for? I mostly listen on my Android phone (though Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, occasionally HD800s via a Qudelix) or the living room system (driven by n Pioneer LX505 which YTM feeds through integrated Chromecast). Downloaded tracks are a must for travel but other than that (and occasionally lyrics), I need no exotic features. A decent recommendation engine / radio station featureis appreciated. FWIW, Amazon Music is not available where I live (so that's out) but all the other usual suspects are.

Thanks for all inputs...
 
Tell said:
Spotify have great sound quality, awesome recommendations, very usable Spotify Connect and quite a decent UI.
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I guess I need to try it again, last time (couple of years ago) the app was an even bigger disaster than YTM
 
I'd highly recommend just going with local flac files. You're going to get far more quality, reliability and value for money by just using local files. Music streaming is extremely unreliable, expensive, and an album can disappear overnight and there's nothing you can do about it. With local files you can have what you want, no one else can take it away and you don't need an internet connection just to listen to music
 
buz said:
I guess I need to try it again, last time (couple of years ago) the app was an even bigger disaster than YTM
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It's worth a try. Have you given Tidal or Qobuz a shot?
 
BDWoody said:
It's worth a try. Have you given Tidal or Qobuz a shot?
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Personally I'd not recommend Qobuz, they've been caught lying about the quality of their files on more than one occasion. They served me MP3s re-encoded as 48kHz 24bit FLAC and upsampled the music of someone I know from 44.1kHz to 192kHz without their consent
 
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BDWoody said:
It's worth a try. Have you given Tidal or Qobuz a shot?
Click to expand...
2 or 3 years ago, qobuz was nigh unuseable, Tidal okayish but the recommendation engine pretty subpar. And back then it used tghe poison that is MQA but that's resolved, I guess.

Just downloaded Spotify, seems much more useable than last time. I guess it's either that or Tidal. In principle I guess it could also be Apple Music but I really do not feel like giving money to the dark side
 
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womanofscience666 said:
I'd highly recommend just going with local flac files. You're going to get far more quality, reliability and value for money by just using local files. Music streaming is extremely unreliable, expensive, and an album can disappear overnight and there's nothing you can do about it. With local files you can have what you want, no one else can take it away and you don't need an internet connection just to listen to music
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There's no way in hell I am going back to manual library management and syncing between devices.
 
I think the best thing about Spotify is the ability to change songs via another device. I plug my tablet or mobile into my Topping DAC. Swapping songs with the other device I didn't plug in. I change the volume on the DAC via its remote control.

Disadvantage of Spotify. So far not lossless, but it may come, which leads into the second disadvantage. When or if Spotify introduces lossless, the subscription will probably increase by around $5 a month.

Otherwise, regarding functionality, UI and user-friendliness, try it. As far as I know, most streaming providers have free trial versions that you can try for one or a few months. :)
buz said:
.... radio station ....
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Even if it is not exactly what you are looking for, I recommend this one.Many different genres of music: :)

Channels / Dynamix Radio

Dive into a diverse world of music with Dynamix.top, your ultimate destination for Internet radio. Explore an extensive selection of genres, including electronic beats, soothing relaxation melodies, rock anthems, country tunes, R&B vibes, hip-hop rhythms, and timeless classical compositions...
dynamix.top dynamix.top
 
buz said:
2 or 3 years ago, qobuz was nigh unuseable, Tidal okayish but the recommendation engine pretty subpar. And back then it used tghe poison that is MQA but that's resolved, I guess.

Just downloaded Spotify, seems much more useable than last time. I guess it's either that or Tidal. In principle I guess it could also be Apple Music but I really do not feel like giving money to the dark side
Click to expand...
Sorry, I missed what you wrote. Then you have tested and are now testing. Good luck!:)
 
buz said:
2 or 3 years ago, qobuz was nigh unuseable, Tidal okayish but the recommendation engine pretty subpar. And back then it used tghe poison that is MQA but that's resolved, I guess.

Just downloaded Spotify, seems much more useable than last time. I guess it's either that or Tidal. In principle I guess it could also be Apple Music but I really do not feel like giving money to the dark side
Click to expand...
There's the other dark side, Amazon music.
 
DanielT said:
Sorry, I missed what you wrote. Then you have tested and are now testing. Good luck!:)
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No worries :)

I agree if you need it, the Spotify cross-device setup is neat. With chromecast it's less crucial :)
 
SKBubba said:
After trying them all, I stayed with Tidal. Best balance of sound quality, discovery, app, etc.
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I'm discovering that Apple Music is "more musical" than Tidal (yes, I know, it's subjective and we're on ASR but with the same song, I always prefer Apple Music).
 
JustJones said:
There's the other dark side, Amazon music.
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Not in Switzerland. And VPN trickery is a bridge too far for music streaming.

Besides, unlike Apple (who figured that a Gen 3 iPod with a near dead battery after 6 months was my problem, ever since I refuse to use their crap), Amazon has never once screwed me despite buying a fair bit of stuff from them.
 
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womanofscience666 said:
I'd highly recommend just going with local flac files. You're going to get far more quality, reliability and value for money by just using local files. Music streaming is extremely unreliable, expensive, and an album can disappear overnight and there's nothing you can do about it. With local files you can have what you want, no one else can take it away and you don't need an internet connection just to listen to music
Click to expand...
FLAC doesn't give you even close to far more quality no, in most cases it does sound just the same. Maybe more reliability but the only times I have trouble with my Spotify is when my internet goes down once a year. Paying around 12 euro/month for millions of songs is far better value for money than paying the same for one single album, but of course you don't own anything when streaming so it's less reliable in that way of course.
But going the streaming way is by FAR (and I really mean FAR) more convenient then buying CDs ripping them or buying FLAC files, sorting them into folder etc etc. I mean it's really no contest how much easier it is to find new music using Spotify or something similar. Also having Spotify Connect where I use my computer or phone to play music from my Nvidia Shield is just so extremely convenient! I really don't miss the old days of collecting local music.
Of course I still have my old collection with music that doesn't exists on any streaming platforms, or stuff that I really want better masters on that I listen to some time to time, but for everyday music nothing really beats Spotify :)
 
Tell said:
FLAC doesn't give you even close to far more quality no
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Besides, Tidal, Apple, qobuz and amazon give you lossless anyhow. It's really just spotify and YT who are incompetent there...
 
buz said:
Besides, Tidal, Apple, qobuz and amazon give you lossless anyhow. It's really just spotify and YT who are incompetent there...
Click to expand...

I go with Tidal mainly because of its integration with Roon, but if not for that I'd give them all another tryout and see what I ended up using most often.
 
Hmm. Would I like lossless audio with Spotify? Sure, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I tried it with Tidal during a free month and couldn't distinguish any difference. I already had an idea of this from online tests I've taken, but I enjoy doing blind tests occasionally to reaffirm that my choices are sound.
And, in my opinion, nothing comes close to Spotifys algorithms.
 
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