Spotify super premium

[warweary]

I'm thinking of one of these http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/dayton-audio-dta-120bt-60w-channel-amp

for running my def tech bp7004's, I expect spotify will prove the main music source in that system too.

 

 

[DanD2019]

On 23/10/2019 at 8:46 PM, Mat-with-one-t said:

I use this approach:

 

iphone 5 permanently at stereo (permanently on charge) > iPhone “camera connector” > USB to spdif converter (Gustard). > digital in on Dac.

 

This cost me almost nothing as I had all the bits.  That is, can use an old phone as your digital end-point, use an external DAC for sound quality, and voila!  The result is really impressive!  We can then just use any device with Spotify app in the house to “send” music to the iPhone 5.....

I do the same, but iPhone straight to the USB port on my Rotel A14. Works a treat. 

[DanD2019]

On 24/10/2019 at 10:08 AM, blybo said:

My streaming integrated does not do Spotify. I can bluetooth from my phone or ipad but it sounds terrible in comparison to the native Tidal app. I do have a usb input, is the ipad/iphone charge cable also a digital output that I can plug straight in?

 

There is a fair bit of mucking around getting a cable to the back of the unit so prefer to know it's going to work first. Integrated is a Moon Neo ACE.

I compared using My iPhone by Bluetooth to my Rotel A14 and USB direct to it, the USB is a lot better. 

[Chigurh]

On 24/10/2019 at 9:08 AM, blybo said:

I do have a usb input, is the ipad/iphone charge cable also a digital output that I can plug straight in?

That USB input is so that you can connect a PC and use the amp's DAC. It's a type b socket and not designed for an ipad/iphone.

[blybo]

11 minutes ago, Chigurh said:

That USB input is so that you can connect a PC and use the amp's DAC. It's a type b socket and not designed for an ipad/iphone.

I know. I've ordered a type b to lighting cable. I guess we'll see.

[warweary]

I'm interested to discover if a lightning cable to usb type b works too.

[blybo]

3 minutes ago, warweary said:

I'm interested to discover if a lightning cable to usb type b works too.

BTW, if you have an iPad, they utilise AptX bluetooth which is superior to even the latest and greatest iPhones AFAIK. WE connected my daughters iPad last night so they could play kids crap not found on Tidal, and although I couldn't stand the content, the sound didn't seem too bad, whereas I've found spotify via bluetooth from my iPhone X as near un-listenable.

[Chigurh]

I'm interested to discover if a lightning cable to usb type b works too.

It won't

[Hytram]

Raspberry PI with a tophat DAC (hifiberry or the like) , will set you back about $180 all up. 

 

Copy a Volumio Raspberry PI build to a SD and once working install the Spotify plugin, very easy to do, no coding needed 

 

The you just use your Spotify app on your phone or PC and select the Raspberry PI as the output and the Volumio does the streaming. 

 

Volumio will play all you music files too

 

 

**edit

https://www.hifiberry.com/docs/software/setup-hifiberryos/

 

hadn't seen this, hifiberry now have their own OS to put on a Pi and it streams Spotify 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Hytram

[Syrot]

6 hours ago, blybo said:

BTW, if you have an iPad, they utilise AptX bluetooth which is superior to even the latest and greatest iPhones AFAIK. WE connected my daughters iPad last night so they could play kids crap not found on Tidal, and although I couldn't stand the content, the sound didn't seem too bad, whereas I've found spotify via bluetooth from my iPhone X as near un-listenable.

Agree with blybo, I have Dynaudio Xeo 2s in my Gym room and steam to them from my Google Pixel 3 via AptX Bluetooth with Spotify.  I quite often pause and wonder if the music is actually still compressed as it sounds so good.  ( do have a premium account so stream at 320Kbs)

 

I have tried Tidal HiFi for a while and while they may have Hi Res audio, I really didn't notice any real improvement in the environment I was using it for. Tidal  supposedly has more content than Spotify but my teenage son could not find much of  the music from the Netflix shows he likes watch via Tidal.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Syrot

[mwhouston]

Currently using Spotify free on high quality (160kbs - not really HQ). My Samsung J4+ phone transmits on aptX HD and I have an aptX HD receiver for my main system. Only ever used as back ground music never “listening” music. Barely tolerable. 

[Hytram]

8 hours ago, mwhouston said:

Currently using Spotify free on high quality (160kbs - not really HQ). My Samsung J4+ phone transmits on aptX HD and I have an aptX HD receiver for my main system. Only ever used as back ground music never “listening” music. Barely tolerable. 

 

 

you get what you pay for...

[08Boss302]

I run Spotify Premium and Tidal HiFi via Bluesound Node 2i and into my Denafrips Ares II DAC.  I also stream via my phone in the car, at work on desktop and on headphones if out for a walk or at gym etc. 

I have had Tidal and Spotify for about 5 months, Tidal HiFi subscription and Spotify Premium on trial. 

As of next month my Spotify trial ends I think i'll be giving Tidal the flick. 

 

I find Tidal's interface awful, suggestions are useless, playlists are sub parr and the my mix is hit and miss. Every morning I open it up and see either Kanye West, Beyonce or Iggy Azalia etc, nothing at all remotely close to my listening habits, the suggested new music for me is even worse.

Spotify has a much better user experience and their suggestions are accurate, their playlists are great and their Made For You is also accurate. I even get an email of new releases, gigs and other useful bits (which i can turn on or off)

 

In my understanding when using BlueTooth in the car or to anything that is not aptX you'll get a restricted feed of up to approx 320kbps no matter which service you are using, this is due to the BlueTooth SBC codec being used, not the service. 

In developer settings on my phone I checked this and on my IE headphones which are not aptX and also in the car both showed SBC as the codec,  so the differences between Tidal and Spotify in that usage for me are completely negligible to my understanding as both will transmit at a maximum of 320kpbs.  They will both still use 44.1khz sampling rate.

 

When using my OE headphones which are aptX the sampling rate will remain at 44.1khz but the bit rate has the potential to be greater.  For aptX to work properly you must have the aptX codec compatible at both ends. At its lowest its approx 350kpbs and at best its (aptX HD) 570kbps (or something around these values from memory). Again this is only my understanding and I am happy to educated otherwise. 

I only use headphones at gym or out walking etc and I prefer to BlueTooth as opposed to cable for this, but if you have a good HP set up then the above is probably not relevant.

Listening on the desktop at work is hardly a good comparison so either or in that one.  

 

At home, the Ares II DAC does a fantastic job and I would be honestly hard pressed in a genuine blind test.  This is streaming via an Ethernet connected Bluesound Node 2i where I use a Lenovo tablet as the control.

Listening to Tidal and Spotify using the Bluesound I have found any difference very minor - if any.  Spotify allows me to use their app as an endpoint, where Tidal via Bluesound uses the BluOs app, which is fine but not perfect.

Obviously I am not referring to the free tier of Spotify here, Spotify premium is 320kbps,  the premium tier of Tidal is also 320kbps, and HiFi (my current subscription) is FLAC/MQA. 

 

In the end, given I have so many CD's and Vinyl I have found myself using Tidal to listen to albums I already own or creating playlists of tracks on albums I own, so I have decided to rip all my CD's to FLAC and access them via my Bluesound Node 2i with a HDD connected.  I can also them store them in my phone if I choose but unlikely I'll do that.  Listening to those playlists in the car or at gym etc is not at FLAC anyway.

 

I enjoy the Spotify user experience and the SQ is great IMHO, given that and all the above I'd rather go with the better user experience.

[Kali Mallikh]

Spotify on iOS is good

[pjohn]

I have an Arcam r doc . It accepts the lightning connection on the i phone and has its own DAC .

I by pass it's DAC via coaxial out into my CD player's DAC. I regularly run Spotify and sounds great through my home system. With the versatility and range Spotify offers its hard to find the time to dig into my CD collection! 

[Lachie7]

Reading through this has been great. 

I recently picked up a Fiio BTR 5 which now lives on the end of my Atlas 3.5 to RCA running into the Amp. 

For ease I have the old Samsung S7 plugged in via the cables and run Tidal lossless though the Fiio and it sounds amazing. I enabled LDAC bluetooth and it is stunning, but prefer cabled due to drop outs. 

I A/B with a few CDs I own and streaming blew them away. 

I had a day off today and got to crank it up and play with the sub settings, as the lossless Tidal has opened up a whole other world of bottom end. End of the day some material sounds brilliant with the subs, some is actually better through the bookshelves due to room resonance. In all, a big win for only $180 dollars. 

[Mat-with-one-t]

I use an old iPhone5 for streaming duties.  Here is the best approach in my experience....

 

iphone>iphone “camera adapter” with ability to leave on charge at same time>USB to spdif unit>DAC

 

With a free old iPhone, a camera adapter (only get a genuine Apple one - used for about $20), and a cheaper USB>spdif converter (say, a Gustard u10), and if you already have a DAC (if you have a USB DAC, then don’t need the converter!), then you can do this for as little as $50.  I leave this setup plugged in, and control the phone from my current phone or iPad.

 

done!

 

[pjohn]

I have an Arcam Doc which accepts an i phone or ipad via lightning connection.

It has its own Dac but has RCA , digital and coaxial out. I use the coaxial out to the better DAC in my CD player to play Spotify Premium and am pleased with the results. Given that Spotify premium is 320 KBPS i'm not sure that upgrading to another DAC would yield any better results.

[Milioli]

On 23/08/2020 at 10:55 AM, pjohn said:

I have an Arcam Doc which accepts an i phone or ipad via lightning connection.

It has its own Dac but has RCA , digital and coaxial out. I use the coaxial out to the better DAC in my CD player to play Spotify Premium and am pleased with the results. Given that Spotify premium is 320 KBPS i'm not sure that upgrading to another DAC would yield any better results.

I had the same question for long. But when upgraded the DAC from Bluesound Node 2 (that is not bad at all) to the Chord Qute, I was very surprised with the step up on quality, especially about stage, instrument positioning and details, even for low resolution streaming. Of course that depend on the rest of the system too (Speakers, room, amplifier). It is not good for the wallet, but everything seams to be more "analog" like with good DACs.

 

[pjohn]

Thanks for reply Luciano , i will now consider some different DAC's given the opportunity.

[pjohn]

I’ve recently discovered that my Mac book Pro has digital out via the head phone Jack. Using a 3.5 to toslink cable I now go from laptop to DAC in my CD player . I find the sound superior to the phone doc set up I had run previously.

[Steffen]

45 minutes ago, pjohn said:

I’ve recently discovered that my Mac book Pro has digital out via the head phone Jack. Using a 3.5 to toslink cable I now go from laptop to DAC in my CD player . I find the sound superior to the phone doc set up I had run previously.

Hold on to that Macbook Pro, they’re not making those anymore. The last model with Toslink was the 2015 one.

 

That said, I consider USB audio with a modern DAC superior to Toslink.