Spotify free vs Premium vs Gaana free vs paid streamed vs downloaded vs Tidal

[Love4sound]

I am using the free version of Spotify on my shield and it’s doing a good job. But Spotify advertises that premium is 3 times better in clarity. Is it true or just a gimmick? Can some one who tested both confirm?

 

[Pardeep Bansal]

I have tried both... , can't say it's three times better but premium is definitely way better than free version
Somehow I feel apple music quality is better than Spotify

 

[Love4sound]

I have tried both... , can't say it's three times better but premium is definitely way better than free version
Somehow I feel apple music quality is better than Spotify

Oh ok. I used to use air play but now it’s not connecting with my denon avr don’t know what the issue is. Bluetooth lot of distortion. In shield I can play directly and it sounds decent

 

[Pardeep Bansal]

Oh ok. I used to use air play but now it’s not connecting with my denon avr don’t know what the issue is. Bluetooth lot of distortion. In shield I can play directly and it sounds decent

Ok..you mean playing Spotify free version through shield... have you tried apple music? I think both Spotify premium and Apple music subscription charges are almost same

 

[Love4sound]

Ok..you mean playing Spotify free version through shield... have you tried apple music? I think both Spotify premium and Apple music subscription charges are almost same

For now i have installed Spotify in shield will check if I can install Apple Music as well

 

[skdas]

I use Spotify premium through Sotm squeezelite LMS , its excellent sounding.

 

[ttarasu]

Spotify advertises that premium is 3 times better in clarity.

It’s better than free version but not three times.Am happy with premium.
IMHO to me Spotify is better than Apple Music.

 

[Love4sound]

Ok ty for your inputs. Guess I will have to try Spotify premium as Apple Music isn’t available on play store using shield

 

[ajuvignesh]

I am using the free version on my shield and it’s doing a good job. But Spotify advertises that premium is 3 times better in clarity. Is it true or just a gimmick? Can some one who tested both confirm?

I think Spotify offers free trail for a month. Since you have a fantastic setup at home, why don't you try and update us about the sound quality?

 

[Love4sound]

I think Spotify offers free trail for a month. Since you have a fantastic setup at home, why don't you try and update us about the sound quality?

Sure was thinking the same. Just wen I was planning to test premium I am facing a power cut
Edit:
I listened to some songs in premium for some time noticed marginal improvements but then again I am the worst person to give feed back for music listening, while the world prefers listening to music in stereo mode I listen only in 5.1.2 with dts neural x and don’t like listening in stereo

 

[shibashis]

I have tried both... , can't say it's three times better but premium is definitely way better than free version
Somehow I feel apple music quality is better than Spotify

I am not the only one then to have observed the same. I have found Apple Music to be of better quality mostly, perhaps not night and day difference but still perceptible in most tracks. Not an absolute verdict by any means but my personal opinion.
Nothing compares to Tidal though.

 

[Imtiyaz Ahmad]

I listen to both Gana and Spotify.By comparing i feel better sound quality when using gana streaming.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

I am not the only one then to have observed the same. I have found Apple Music to be of better quality mostly, perhaps not night and day difference but still perceptible in most tracks. Not an absolute verdict by any means but my personal opinion.
Nothing compares to Tidal though.

+1 for tidal hifi

 

[Imtiyaz Ahmad]

Tidal is too expensive when compared to Spotify or Gana .I have used the trial period of Tidal and the sound quality was superb in comparison to Spotify and Gana.

 

[MaSh]

I use paid version of Gaana quite satisfied with it. Quality may not be the absolute best, but overall ease of usage makes it a winner for me. The sound quality with paid version is better than when free.

On my last 2500km drive, I downloaded around 1000+ songs with auto playlist sync. Never had a dull or silent moment during the entire drive. Infact the quality is best when downloaded and listened.

MaSh

 

[Kumar101]

Nothing compares to Tidal though.

Tidal is pushing MQA which is a DRM Trojan Horse. More info here:

MQA is Bad For Music. Here's Why.

The lauded new music streaming format is not all that it seems. I'd like to explain why it's damaging for music.

www.linn.co.uk

 

[Ashenden]

I use paid version of Gaana quite satisfied with it. Quality may not be the absolute best, but overall ease of usage makes it a winner for me. The sound quality with paid version is better than when free.

On my last 2500km drive, I downloaded around 1000+ songs with auto playlist sync. Never had a dull or silent moment during the entire drive. Infact the quality is best when downloaded and listened.

MaSh

That's true, gaana streams at 128kbps and downloads at 320kbps. Also I notice that they have very good masters of some old albums like Masoom, Lekin, Saagar, Libaas etc, Ironically the Lekin version on Gaana+ is better than the WAV version on saregama

 

[shibashis]

Tidal is pushing MQA which is a DRM Trojan Horse. More info here:

MQA is Bad For Music. Here's Why.

The lauded new music streaming format is not all that it seems. I'd like to explain why it's damaging for music.

www.linn.co.uk

If one chooses to 'listen' to their music and not just fret about the numbers and specifications of the equipment then this MQA issue is a non-starter in its current state. I do not have MQA 'certified' hardware and have no intention to get any, yes it can be a problem if there is a monopoly and it is made a mandatory standard. If it goes that way then the threat is real but the chatter about DRM has always been there ever since people learned to share content over the www but we survived.

 

[Kumar101]

If one chooses to 'listen' to their music and not just fret about the numbers and specifications of the equipment then this MQA issue is a non-starter in its current state. I do not have MQA 'certified' hardware and have no intention to get any, yes it can be a problem if there is a monopoly and it is made a mandatory standard. If it goes that way then the threat is real but the chatter about DRM has always been there ever since people learned to share content over the www but we survived.

What Tidal offers is Hi-Fi quality which is limited to 44.1 kHz/16 bit. Anything higher than this i.e. 96 kHz/24 bit is only offered in MQA format.


Reading the Q/A on this page on Tidal's Site: https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000397069-TIDAL-MASTERS

It states :

How does MQA work within the TIDAL app?

The TIDAL app contains the MQA core decoder and performs the first unfold of an MQA file. For more information visit: https://www.mqa.co.uk/customer/how-it-works

So the final unfold has to be done by the MQA enabled device itself. So you do need MQA licensed device to play higher bit rates. This is clearly DRM and I personally will stay well clear anyone partnering with MQA for streaming.

 

[shibashis]

I have been using Tidal HiFi for a while now and have regularly played 24 bit 96KHz tracks, as far as I am aware my Marantz NA8005 does not have MQA capabilities but plays them just fine.
In the right track the difference is discernible, so to summarize I have not had any issues playing supposed DRM enforced music. More importantly at least till now I have not felt in anyway that I am being arm-twisted and made to pay over the top for a service that I did not ask for, the subscription fee we each pay for a Tidal Hifi family plan is in my opinion quite reasonable for the quality at offer.