Streaming Services Reviewed!

[KaminKevCrew]

I thought I would do a little write up on the different music streaming services that I use. Right now, I use 3; Tidal, Spotify, and Google Play Music All Access (Can they shorten that name, please?). I like all of them for different reasons, but hopefully this will help people to make a more educated decision about them. Unfortunately, I haven’t used Apple Music before, so I can’t comment on that.

 

So, originally, I was just using Spotify, but recently it hasn’t been working 100% properly on my phone, so I thought I would give the other two another try, since I hadn’t used either in a couple of years. My issue with Spotify on my phone is a personal one, I believe, as I haven’t been able to find anyone else with the same issue, so for the purposes of this little write up, I’m willing to ignore them.

 

I’m going to break this up into parts based on each player. I’m going to cover UI, reliability, quality of playlists, quality of radio, and miscellaneous things that I do or don’t like.

 

Spotify:

UI:

The Spotify UI is very good on both the PC and mobile devices. It’s simple, and the search function isn’t very intrusive (the same can’t be said for Tidal). I personally enjoy dark themes, as I like to listen to music in the evenings with light low or off, so it is less fatiguing to look at. The black, dark grey, and green color scheme might not be to some people’s tastes, but I like it.

Reliability:

Spotify is generally reliable. I have had the occasional issue where it will decide that I’m not connected to the internet when, in fact, I am. That’s kind of a minor issue though, as closing and opening the app will generally fix it. (Sometimes it’s caused by Android trying to hang onto a wi-fi signal when it should have switched over to cellular) Spotify also loads songs quite quickly, which I appreciate.

Quality of Playlists:

Most of my listening these days (and that of my friends) is done through playlists. I rarely listen to a full album these days, as there are almost invariably songs that I don’t like all that much. Playlists fix that issue. Now, with the advent of streaming, there are other people that work hard on playlists which they upload to the service for others to listen to. Spotify has a huge lead in this, although that is partially because Spotify has a huge user base. Spotify playlists are generally the best that I’ve found, whether they’re made by Spotify or by the users on Spotify, they are excellent.

Quality of Radio:

This is where I have consistently been disappointed by Spotify for a very long time. The radio generally doesn’t do a very good job of finding songs that match the same theme as the original, and the radio also tends to repeat songs. I believe this is due to the algorithm selecting 25 or so songs, and only playing those unless you leave feedback with the thumbs up or down. I dislike this approach because I tend to just listen, rather than constantly leaving feedback on each song.

Other Miscellaneous Stuff:

Whether or not you believe in improved audio quality beyond 320 mbps mp3, Spotify uses Ogg Vorbis, which helps keep the audio quality up, even with lower bit rate music, which is a huge plus if you have limited bandwidth (I don’t, so I always listen to  full quality, even on my phone, since I have unlimited data.)

 

Tidal:

UI:

The Tidal UI can be a bit confusing. It’s hard to navigate sometimes, and if you’re on the now playing page, they show “recommendations” based on the song you’re listening to, but it’s confusing because they don’t clearly show that the recommendations are not a part of the album/playlist that you’re listening to.

Reliability:

I haven’t had any issues with the Desktop app, but the mobile app could use some help in this department. I’ve had it crash on me on several occasions, for no discernable reason. I’ve also run into issues whenever I switch from wi-fi to cellular, where it will return a needless error code. It can be annoying for general listening.

Quality of Playlists:

Not very good, generally. That’s about all I have to say about it. They pale in comparison to Spotify, and they’re the worst of the three, in my experience. Also, there is next to nothing created by the community. They’re almost all “By Tidal”.

Quality of Radio:

Marginally better than Spotify, which isn’t saying much. As far as I can tell, it will continue playing new music indefinitely though, which is a plus. Haven’t used it much. Oh, but you can’t make radio stations based on whole albums or playlists, which you can do with Spotify.

Other Miscellaneous Stuff:

Tidal is the only option here that supports Hifi streaming, so if you’re into that, Tidal is the way to go. I can’t say that I can hear a difference between this and high quality Spotify, but I would like to think I can, haha!

Tidal does music videos, which is cool. It’s fun to watch videos in high bitrate HD video.

 

Google Play Music all Access:

UI:

The UI is very good here. Nothing to complain about.

Reliability:

Google is the best in the bunch at handling transitions between wi-fi and cellular, and I’ve never had it crash. Full points here.

Quality of Playlists:

Halfway between Tidal and Spotify. They’re alright, but not amazing.

Quality of Radio:

My personal standard for excellent radio algorithms is Pandora, and Google absolutely nailed this one. The radio meanders along its own course, but never forgets the core inspiration from the first song. I use Google Play Music all the time on the road because of this. Any time I’m walking between classes, I’m using this one exclusively.

Other Miscellaneous Stuff:

Google Play Music also does music videos, albeit through YouTube. It’s still a good feature, and it’s integrated decently. It’s not as good as Tidal though, since you must switch apps on mobile devices, which can get tiresome.

Google has a Seller’s license for their music (since they also sell music) so some masters are better than their streamed counterparts (or so I’ve heard. I have no personal evidence to back this claim up, so take it with a grain of salt.) I’m not sure what kind of license Tidal has, but I would assume that since they market their hi-fi streaming so much, their masters aren’t going to be bad.

 

Conclusion:

Well, I use all three of these players for different things, and I plan to continue using – and paying for – all three indefinitely.

I use Spotify when I just want to chill out and listen to a playlist, without paying too much attention to the music.

I use Tidal when I want to closely listen to the music, or when I want to watch music videos. I think Tidal does that very well. I also like that Tidal can take exclusive use of my DAC/amp, so I don’t have to deal with Windows messing with my audio.

I use Google Play Music when I’m on the go. Any time I’m listening to music on my phone, it’s through Google. They have the best “set it and forget it” setup with their radio, so that’s what I use. Youtube Red being bundled with All Access doesn’t hurt either, since I get ad free Youtube, and I don’t have to pay $10 more for that. If anyone has anything they’d like clarified, or comments/concerns, feel free to comment!

P.S. You may have noticed, I didn't really comment on Audio Quality! That's because I can't really tell the difference. Maybe I don't listen close enough or whatever, but I listen to music for my enjoyment. Some people swear by hi-fi music, others are fine with mp3. I'm not here to judge. I listen to everything on the highest quality allowed in settings, and I've been happy with all three in that regard so far. I don't think it's really a point that people should worry about for the most part.

[Aytex]

no soundcloud 

[KaminKevCrew]

Just now, Aytex said:

no soundcloud 

If I used it, I would comment, but I don't really use it. Sorry!

 

(Also, since most of the music on there isn't mastered particularly well, it doesn't sound very good on my headphones, which is why I don't use it much.)

[johnt]

Amazon Musicccccc

[KaminKevCrew]

Just now, JohnT said:

Amazon Musicccccc

another one that I have access to, since I have prime, but I don't use that either... Maybe in the next week or so I'll try those two out!

[johnt]

7 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

another one that I have access to, since I have prime, but I don't use that either... Maybe in the next week or so I'll try those two out!

Well no matter what they all offer way better sound quality over YouTube. I used to not be able to tell that YouTube had pretty bad sound quality. And then the LS50's walked into my life and revealed the truth. I'm sure my dac and amp are also uncovering some of it. 

[KaminKevCrew]

25 minutes ago, JohnT said:

Well no matter what they all offer way better sound quality over YouTube. I used to not be able to tell that YouTube had pretty bad sound quality. And then the LS50's walked into my life and revealed the truth. I'm sure my dac and amp are also uncovering some of it. 

Yeah, I need to get my hands on some speakers still! Maybe I'll wait until January and go all in with some LS50s. I know I love the way they sound, so they wouldn't be a bad pair of speakers for me to go for.

[johnt]

1 hour ago, KaminKevCrew said:

Yeah, I need to get my hands on some speakers still! Maybe I'll wait until January and go all in with some LS50s. I know I love the way they sound, so they wouldn't be a bad pair of speakers for me to go for.

Dude go used. People who buy products like this TREASURE them. High end audio maniacs keep their stuff clean as a whistle. Although sort of rare to find LS50's on CL, you can score them for around $1,000. Pretty decent saving.

[KaminKevCrew]

8 hours ago, JohnT said:

Dude go used. People who buy products like this TREASURE them. High end audio maniacs keep their stuff clean as a whistle. Although sort of rare to find LS50's on CL, you can score them for around $1,000. Pretty decent saving.

Yeah, that's true. But have you seen the blue ones that are up on KEF's website now? They look amazing!!!

 

I know how well people take care of high end sound systems, haha, but that's the way of things. People who pay a lot of money for their stuff tend to take good care of it...

[johnt]

On 11/4/2016 at 6:07 AM, KaminKevCrew said:

Yeah, that's true. But have you seen the blue ones that are up on KEF's website now? They look amazing!!!

The limited edition models look pretty good. Sometimes I wish they had a classic black/white version, but I'm sure they spent a million dollars in research and rejected the idea after seeing the concept.

 

Anyhow. Did you hear about active versions? Didn't SOMEONE mention he was looking for active speakers?

[KaminKevCrew]

1 hour ago, JohnT said:

The limited edition models look pretty good. Sometimes I wish they had a classic black/white version, but I'm sure they spent a million dollars in research and rejected the idea after seeing the concept.

 

Anyhow. Did you hear about active versions? Didn't SOMEONE mention he was looking for active speakers?

Yeah, but they're also wireless (unless they have some active only?) and I don't like wireless stuff, particularly for audio.

 

Looks like I'm getting an Emotive Stealth DC-1 instead of a Jotunheim, but I'm totally okay with that, as I think the Emotiva will work better for my uses (and it'll be way cheaper to boot.)

[johnt]

11 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

Yeah, but they're also wireless (unless they have some active only?) and I don't like wireless stuff, particularly for audio.

 

Looks like I'm getting an Emotive Stealth DC-1 instead of a Jotunheim, but I'm totally okay with that, as I think the Emotiva will work better for my uses (and it'll be way cheaper to boot.)

Yes they have some wireless capabilities, but I think LS50's active s come with standard inputs too. It would be crazy if it didn't. Who are they designing it for otherwise? Apple users  Which is funny because I can't get AirPlay to work on any of my receivers that support it. Mind boggling.

 

DC-1  my jelly is showing, bro. I like that it has analog inputs, but I don't like how they got rid of the trigger input and output. It's annoying how they go back and forth. I have the XDA-2 which I guess is the older model now. But I use a USB to 3.5mm trigger cable, so my DAC turns on and off automatically with my PC, and then the DAC triggers my amp. 

[KaminKevCrew]

31 minutes ago, JohnT said:

Yes they have some wireless capabilities, but I think LS50's active s come with standard inputs too. It would be crazy if it didn't. Who are they designing it for otherwise? Apple users  Which is funny because I can't get AirPlay to work on any of my receivers that support it. Mind boggling.

 

DC-1  my jelly is showing, bro. I like that it has analog inputs, but I don't like how they got rid of the trigger input and output. It's annoying how they go back and forth. I have the XDA-2 which I guess is the older model now. But I use a USB to 3.5mm trigger cable, so my DAC turns on and off automatically with my PC, and then the DAC triggers my amp. 

Now that would be awesome to have. I personally don't mind though, especially since I'm at college right now. I'm living in a dorm, so power consumption is not really something that I worry about. I'll likely just leave it on all the time. Ah well.

 

That's also part of the reason that I don't want to get the KEF LS series. That would be really expensive if someone came over and broke them...