Jake Posted March 6, 2014 Author Posted March 6, 2014 Flogging a dead thread, but I've just got onto Spotify. I'm still deciding whether to go premium, but my quandry is that we're on Mobile Broadband only (absolutely no ADSL at all) where I live (down in the Boondocks...). Our service from Bigpond is the only reliable one I've tried (the Optus Network is scratchy, and the Virgin plan was forever munted). So we're capped at 16gb per month, for $100. Will this service, at 190kbps, eat a massive hole in the quota? Mog have free content to your mobile for Telstra mobile customers. Mog is turning into Beats next month but no official word yet if the same deal will transfer but expectations are that it will. If I was you I would wait a few weeks.
Jake Posted March 6, 2014 Author Posted March 6, 2014 By free content I mean the Mog data is unmetered.
Brendo09 Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 Cheers Jakerator. I'll be honest, I've never really bothered to look at the Bigpond unmetered stuff, I had a quick look and nothing much interested me. This could be a lifesaver though
JeffK Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 Might be worth trying/buying MOG for a month as Jake says for Telstra phone customers the streaming data is free. The music on MOG would be comparable to Spotify and IMO the MOG functionality is better.
Brendo09 Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 And there's no word on whether Beats Music will be unmetered for Telstra and Bigpond users?
Jake Posted March 6, 2014 Author Posted March 6, 2014 And there's no word on whether Beats Music will be unmetered for Telstra and Bigpond users? Correct. I would be surprised if it won't happen though as Telstra are trying to gain some younger market share and that is a huge draw card for them.
Brendo09 Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 I'll wait then...before shelling anything out for membership. the close date for MOG is April 15, so I'm expecting a week or two before to hear something?
JeffK Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 That's the US close date I think. I'm a bit surprised we haven't heard anything from mog Australia yet
Kaynin Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 As understand it the set-up for Beats is going to be different to MOG though. MOG was similar to Spotify, whereas I'm pretty sure Beats will be like Pandora or Rdio, not sure at finite details are sketchy so could be wrong, but it's something worth keeping an eye on- especially if aimed at the younger crowd!!! Anyway, switched to Spotify a month or so ago. Its same as MOG but not as user friendly. I get the odd streaming issue with it too, unlike MOG that ran perfectly. Not an internet issue either, home wifi and Ethernet runs great guns.
o2so Posted November 26, 2014 Posted November 26, 2014 I just wanted to say that I spent half a day comparing songs on spottily premium (320 kbps) with same songs on CD, blind tests. For new productions such as St. Vincent, Daft Punk, Coldplay etc. it was absolutely impossible (to me, at least) to hear the differences in sound quality. This may sound bad but I am just being honest. I consider myself quite an educated listener, but I really struggled in the blind tests. Oddly, the difference was a bit more evident when comparing old AAD productions, such as Tim Buckley or Nick Drake. I tried both with my speakers and my headphones. I am starting to think that we are really obsessed with sound quality, and the advantages of a CD over a 320 kbps are 95% in our head and 5% in our ears. My system is: Pre-Amp Vincent SA-31 MK class A Amp Vincent Sp-331 MK class A CD player Vincent CDS7 DAC Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100 (USB in from MacBook Pro) Speakers are a pair of Martin Logan Motion 20 Headphones are HIFIMAN HE-500 Headphone amp is Musical FIdelidy X-can v8 Any thoughts? 4
wolster Posted November 26, 2014 Posted November 26, 2014 You are a brave and honest man, Filippo. Many would be reluctant to come forward with your findings. I was an early adopter of Spotify premium and it now represents, probably 70% of my listening. I have only ever tried to compare the quality with CD on a casual basis and gave up. Bottom line was that Spotify premium sounds great for the listening I use it for and it has helped me discover some great music and has enabled me to save money on albums I thought I might like but didn't. It has also prompted me buy more music than in my pre - Spotify days. 3
adamg Posted November 26, 2014 Posted November 26, 2014 I've never done any direct comparison but generally find the SQ from Spotify Premium is better than what my ears / brain expect it should be, compared to Redbook flac files. I would say this is more so after introducing a Synchro Mesh into my system. This resulted in a bigger improvement to Spotify streaming vs the flac coming from my server. I guess the Spotify streaming has more to gain. Spotify's done the same for me as it has Wolster. I also find my wife and young kids are more likely to listen to music with the SBT / Spotify combo. I know pay for a second account for my 10 year old son so he doesn't waste his pocket money on itunes. 2
lebowski Posted November 26, 2014 Posted November 26, 2014 I'm another Spotify convert and like others I've discovered a heap of new/old music and broadened my musical horizon. I use Spotify Premium at home and in the car and find the sound quality completely acceptable but ultimately I still think my uncompressed audio sounds better, not always by much though.
awty Posted November 26, 2014 Posted November 26, 2014 Ive been using the subscribed package for a couple of weeks. Been having a few problems with drop outs and switching stations, seems to be a problem with the mobile app over riding the PC. Also tends to repeat song more often than Pandora. Sound quality seems to very a bit especially with older tracks. Makes good back ground music, for when I cant be bothered playing an album. I would say this is more so after introducing a Synchro Mesh into my system. This resulted in a bigger improvement to Spotify streaming vs the flac coming from my server. I guess the Spotify streaming has more to gain. What has a gear box got to do with audio and where do the ic's connect? :huh:
Kaynin Posted November 27, 2014 Posted November 27, 2014 I've found the biggest improvement in using Spotify is the source you're streaming through. When I run it via Airplay from the iPad through either the Consonance Ref7 or Apple TV, then the improvement via the Ref7 is huge. I still prefer my CD collection, but I think Spotify through a top quality DAC etc. would surprise many, many people. 1
Galactic Soap Posted November 28, 2014 Posted November 28, 2014 Another Spotify Premium user here for all the reasons others have mentioned previously. What I find surprising though is that media server manufacturers haven't cottoned onto this trend and in some cases actively don't support Spotify through some of their products e.g. the Aurender X100; here's a $4K product aimed at computer audiophiles that doesn't cater for the section of the market that also use a streaming service. Perhaps this is the price we pay for being early adopters...
adamg Posted November 28, 2014 Posted November 28, 2014 Another Spotify Premium user here for all the reasons others have mentioned previously. What I find surprising though is that media server manufacturers haven't cottoned onto this trend and in some cases actively don't support Spotify through some of their products e.g. the Aurender X100; here's a $4K product aimed at computer audiophiles that doesn't cater for the section of the market that also use a streaming service. Perhaps this is the price we pay for being early adopters... Apple (ipod/pad/phone) has been a safe bet for a while when it comes to support software. Some manufacturers like Integra have backed Spotify but it doesn't surprise me that others haven't. Your gear looks dated with yesterdays software. Surely though Spotify has come to far to let competitors like Tidal take over.
Kaynin Posted November 28, 2014 Posted November 28, 2014 Surely though Spotify has come to far to let competitors like Tidal take over. It doesn't matter how big they are, they always have to keep ahead of the curve. I remember when Nokia was THE mobilephone everyone had to have... Having said that, I do think Tidal is aimed at a much smaller market to begin with though...
Hi-Fi Whipped Posted November 29, 2014 Posted November 29, 2014 Spotify Premium lover here too, loving it even more since Spotify Connect is now available on Mac! Mac Mini HTPC with Spotify connected to my Cyrus 8 Dac amplifier and controlled using the Spotify app on the iPad has removed any sound drops outs that used to occur in my network sending the music from the iPad to an Airport Express using Airplay. Can't see Spotify doing a lossless streaming service, they will always focus on the masses and keep price down to a minimum so they get more bums on seats. Plus it's probably only 1 in 10 people that have systems that justify the extra sound quality, that said even the 320kpbs streaming sounds pretty damn good on my system.
avalon27 Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 spotify is something that I use everyday...found so much new music that I wouldn't have known about if I wasn't on spotify
Galactic Soap Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Just canceled my Spotify Premium subscription as I'm now happily using TIDAL. The difference in SQ is dramatic and enticing. It's a pity Spotify aren't playing the high res game. Edited February 9, 2015 by Galactic Soap
New Sensations Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 It's a pity Spotify aren't playing the high res game. Neither are Tidal. 1
Johnnygohard Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Just canceled my Spotify Premium subscription as I'm now happily using TIDAL. The difference in SQ is dramatic and enticing. It's a pity Spotify aren't playing the high res game.I tried to sign up to tidal but but said wasn't in the country yet, what am I doing wrong soapy?
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