Spotify to offer lossless streaming service

[shibashis]

no fiber/clocks/external PSU/upside down hanging etc.

disjointed sounds of sax/drums claiming new age sound - spiritual/iconic yada - yada - and what-not)

I knew that my post would resonate with most. This is precisely what I was referring to. I am tired of things being thrust at my face, most of the time which do not make any sense to me anyways.

 

[bornfi]

When things get overwhelming, having a discipline in place helps. If too much of content is an issue, there is a concept of library. Spend some time and build your library and when you sit for next listening session, ensure that you don't search again and instead go to the library, choose your favorite album and play.

As for quality of content, yes, the delivery via internet is contaminated and we will have to wash it clean to listen to which is inherent to any segment of anything we consume.

We are fortunate to live in a generation where these kind of streaming services are available otherwise I remember the time when I would travel to Kolkata from Jamshedpur just to pick up some CDs not knowing if all songs in the album were good enough for listening.

I consider streaming as a blessing not a challenge.

 

[suku_patel_22]

As I mentioned earlier, some tracks are available in 24 bit; that's what Spotify indicates, but the quality is poor. The same track on Qubuz sounds full and rich. In my opinion, Spotify released an update to their software that claimed it was playing in 24 or 16 bits, but in truth, it remained at 320k.

It plays FLAC as shown in Marantz

 

[suku_patel_22]

Hi-Res Max (Apple, Tidal, Qobuz):24-bit}/192 kHz (Lossless)

• Data Size: Approx. 400 - 500 MB for a 10-minute song.
• Requires an external DAC and wired connection.

Apple's Sweet Spot: 24-bit}/48 kHz (Lossless)

• Data Size: Approx. 100 - 120 MB for a 10-minute song.
• The best quality you can typically get without an external DAC.

Spotify Lossless: $24\text{-bit}/44.1 \text{ kHz}$ (Lossless)

• Data Size: Approx. 100 - 110 MB for a 10-minute song.
• This is better than CD quality due to the 24-bit depth, now rolling out to Premium users.

CD Quality (Base Lossless): 16bit/44.1 kHz

• Data Size: Approx. 50 - 65 MB for a 10-minute song.
• All $24-bit tiers are technically Superior to this due to 24-bit depth.

High-Quality Lossy (Spotify Premium, etc.): $320 kbps (Lossy MP3/AAC/Ogg)

• Data Size: Approx. 25 - 30 MB for a 10-minute song.
• Massively smaller than lossless, and most people cannot distinguish this from CD quality in a blind test.

The file size jump from 320 kbps to 192 kHz is huge (over 16 times the data!) with little audible benefit for many. Spotify's 24-bit/44.1 kHz or Apple's 24-bit/48 kHz is an excellent, more data-friendly lossless option that requires less specialized gear than the 192 kHz tiers.

Source: Gemini

 

[bhooshaniyer]

so you guys belive that magically a library of 100 million mp3 songs magically transformed to high resolution?

 

[hifimaddy]

It plays FLAC as shown in Marantz

I have tested various devices, both wired and wireless, and while they claim to provide lossless audio, the reality is different. The sound quality is noticeably lacking, and it’s clear that it isn’t truly lossless. Although some newer tracks may sound better, the majority of Spotify's library—about 85 percent—still does not meet lossless standards.

so you guys belive that magically a library of 100 million mp3 songs magically transformed to high resolution?

exactly

 

[sidvee]

When things get overwhelming, having a discipline in place helps. If too much of content is an issue, there is a concept of library. Spend some time and build your library and when you sit for next listening session, ensure that you don't search again and instead go to the library, choose your favorite album and play.

As for quality of content, yes, the delivery via internet is contaminated and we will have to wash it clean to listen to which is inherent to any segment of anything we consume.

In qobuz, there a favourties section, one can populate it with their favourites, nothing new been there for 4 years. It is not too much content that is an issue, it is crap content for which there is no pdf file or info. One has to do a wiki search or google which consumes valuable listening time.
Secondly I disagree that once a streaming file is contaminated at the source with noise etc., it can be cleaned up at the point of consumption with questionable devices. Theses devices will only prevent further contamination at the source, which should be done anyway. To each his own.
I still listen to qobuz studio plan for about $150 a year, doesn't mean I am overjoyed with it.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Analogous]

More and more, with each passing day I am rethinking my priorities in audio.

The 'listening experience' is eroding in value, lost in the choice of a thousand tracks at your fingertips where you, the poor soul after hard day's work want to listen to just 3 and rejuvenate yourself. It happened a while back with the myriad of streaming services for visual content, you keep scrolling, and after 15 minutes just give up, bemused and tired. With just 3 channels on TV, we were content, did not have the scope of complaining there is nothing to watch.
Piracy is booming again, people have caught up or are catching up to the myth of endless choices and opulence. It was great, fantastic, to take out a DVD and dedicate the coming 2 hours to an experience. An experience where you wished to learn, challenge your thought process, and most importantly, you enjoyed what you intended to enjoy perhaps since yesterday or weeks before. The 'intent' of enjoying one's time had meaning, we watched pirated copies of films we could not afford during our college days, a new horizon was discovered when you could watch movies from different lands and in outlandish languages. Today it all feels like an exercise in futility.
God knows I know now and feel to the core how less is always more.

I curate lists on IMDB and then hunt for one of the items on the list, meticulous searches yield that the content is not available even though all the big tech giants promise it is. Then I sigh and turn off the TV, an younger me would have cursed few choices words, now me has lost that energy.

Audio is going the same way, I dread the fact that it is there already. Can not give up on music, the generation to which I belong, grew up sharing content on CDs and DVDs and accumulated vast libraries. Yes, all of them pirated. You did not have much money after books and movies and cigarettes in college, so you relied on generous seniors and a shared library.
In later days like everyone else, I bought physical media, CDs to be precise. I want my library, my own library and not someone else at the other side of the world who's listening taste is similar to mine. I am putting my flag down, I claim my library as my own.

I am going to invest in a good NAS system, have my library as my own, stream in lossless or even in crap quality, my choice. I will be happier with a library of 500 rather than be lost and be another in 55 million.

Spotify lossless, lets hope that it will be fantastic. I have upgraded to Platinum, will keep the subscription to discover new music but I am going to stop relying on streaming content for my enjoyment.

Interesting view point @shibashis
You have highlighted a conundrum that is common in our life today- we are spoilt for choices.
Our lives today are full of choices, many are overwhelming. I was recently faced with such an experience trying to decide which toothbrush to buy (I counted 23 different models!). The list is long, specially in urban settings (food, TV content, vehicles, books, internet content etc, etc)

I agree, deciding what music/which song or album to play when the desire to listen to music is challenging but this choice can make or break a listening session. However if you have a fairly large collection of stored music (on HDD or CDs or Vinyl, or tape) the problem doesn’t go away, it just get limited to the extent and size of your collection.

The quantity of new music being produced is also larger than ever before in history and separating the good from the ordinary or bad is tedious.

I believe this is why most streaming services offer ways to choose what we want to listen by offering options like mood, genre, their curated playlists, create our own playlists and if we choose “discover” new music.

I found that if I found a new song that I liked, the option of “ play more like this” brings up more music and songs that I liked.

What I am trying to say is that there are ways to use streaming services that make this choice making easier. We just need to find ones that work for us.

If you can not be bothered with all this there is another option- Radio streaming services. Some even offer Hi Res streams (Radio Paradise is one of my favourites)

Finally I believe every CD and Vinyl diehard I have met seem to have the streaming option open in their systems

I did ask the god of internet (AI) and this is what I got:

The "conundrum of deciding what music to play" is a common experience stemming from the paradox of choice and the deep connection between music and our moods, identity, and experiences. [1, 2]
People generally use various strategies to resolve this:
Factors Influencing the Decision

• Current Mood and Desired Mood Alteration: People often choose music to match or change their emotional state. Upbeat pop for a morning commute or classical music for focus are common examples.
• Activity/Environment: The setting often dictates the music; a workout calls for intense music, while relaxing at night calls for something calmer.
• Personal Identity and Taste: Musical preferences are deeply tied to personality and life experiences. Choosing music can be an expression of who you are or the artist's vision you admire.
• Variety and Discovery:
  Many use algorithms on streaming services like Spotify or Pandora to find new artists and genres, or actively seek out new music from recommendations or music sites
• Nostalgia and Connection: Sometimes a song is chosen because it resonates with a past memory or simply "moves" the listener at that moment, without any specific logic. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Practical Methods for Deciding

• The Rotation Method: One suggested method involves maintaining a small, manageable list of artists (e.g., 15) and listening through their full catalogs in rotation, moving the artist to the bottom of the list when an album is completed.
• The Milestone Method: This involves playing music spontaneously based on an artist's birthday or the anniversary of an album release, often prompted by music news outlets.
• Curated Playlists: Creating different playlists for specific moods, activities, or genres helps narrow down the vast number of options.
• Random Play/Shuffle: Simply putting an entire music library on shuffle can provide variety and eliminate the pressure of making a choice.
• Audience/Social Context: When playing music for others (e.g., at a party or even a concert), the audience's preferences and reactions play a significant role in song selection.
• Artist/Album Specific Approach: Choosing a favorite artist you haven't listened to in a while can be a quick fix for indecision. [2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8]

Ultimately, for many, the decision is a fluid, intuitive process driven by emotion rather than strict criteria. [3]

AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://neurosciencenews.com/music-taste-neuroscience-25588/
[2]

https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/uw5nwk/how_do_you_decide_what_to_listen_to

[3] https://www.quora.com/What-factors-would-a-song-have-to-decide-putting-it-on-your-personal-playlist
[4] https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-decide-what-genre-of-music-to-listen-to
[5] https://www.quora.com/What-criteria-do-you-use-to-decide-whether-you-like-a-song-or-not
[6]

[7] https://www.quora.com/How-do-musicians-decide-what-songs-to-play-at-concerts
[8] https://indieconnect.com/choosing-the-right-songs/

 

[Nero9]

so you guys belive that magically a library of 100 million mp3 songs magically transformed to high resolution?

No i think they used some AI to convert

 

[sidvee]

The quantity of new music being produced is also larger than ever before in history and separating the good from the ordinary or bad is tedious.

This is the main grouse I have. Anyways I am not against streaming, I welcome it and to a certain extent it has expanded my listening horizon. I also have a system in place, if there are albums, in which I like majority of the songs, I purchase it and store it on my SSD. However they are very few a far in-between.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[shibashis]

This is the main grouse I have. Anyways I am not against streaming, I welcome it and to a certain extent it has expanded my listening horizon. I also have a system in place, if there are albums, in which I like majority of the songs, I purchase it and store it on my SSD. However they are very few a far in-between.
Cheers,
Sid

This is something I follow for books, read on your kindle, if you really love it then buy it. I used to follow the same practice for music back in the day, I shall be starting the ritual again.

 

[Analogous]

This man highlights the paradox of choices and the pleasures of rituals in music listening…

 

[gurujee]

They changed the price and quality of normal premium plan as well. I noticed this when I observed decrease in sound quality, then I found that my previous premium plan is now Premium Lite which is upto 160kbps stream now.

I subscribed to Premium Platinum to check the 'lossless' but found out that my IFI Zen Stream is not supported for lossless through Spotify Connect.

 

[Analogous]

They changed the price and quality of normal premium plan as well. I noticed this when I observed decrease in sound quality, then I found that my previous premium plan is now Premium Lite which is upto 160kbps stream now.

I subscribed to Premium Platinum to check the 'lossless' but found out that my IFI Zen Stream is not supported for lossless through Spotify Connect.

The quality of the regular stream has been reduced? Are you sure?

 

[gurujee]

The quality of the regular stream has been reduced? Are you sure?

yesterday before upgrading to Platinum, I have been shown that I was in Premium Lite which as per their website is 160kbps - not 320kbps. 320kbps is offered now in Premium Standard which is 199/- now.

 

[Nikhil]

I just started my Spotify Platinum subscription this weekend.

So far listening has been good and I have no problems with the sound quality. At first when I switched to Spotify lossless audio, there was a fair amount of dropouts for a few minutes. I realized that the software downloads a fair bit of data for the music queue. Lossless files are going to be a fair bit larger than 320 kbps files. It settled down after I let it completely sync all my library data. I just let the music play almost all evening and there has been no issue afterwards.

Spotify's strength is in it's algorithm where it excels in recommending songs based on your music taste. In comparison Qobuz has very good sound but their song recommendations algorithm is very poor. In no time I end up with music that is quite different from what I started off with. With Spotify I can play just one song (or a playlist) and it seamlessly takes over to recommend some similar music. I end up sometimes marveling at Spotify pulling up songs that I haven't heard in years.

Will have to see how Spotify lossless works but from what I heard last night - everything looks good so far.


.

 

[Analogous]

Spotify's strength is in it's algorithm where it excels in recommending songs based on your music taste

I think so too. In my experience it’s better than Qobuz and Apple Music

 

[Analogous]

Can we as a forum together write to the Spotify’s owner asking him to reconsider investing in technology that is harmful to human societies everywhere?

Spotify owner and CEO
Daniel Ekled a significant investment in the German defense technology company Helsing through his investment company, Prima Materia, in June 2025. This €600 million ($702 million) investment in Helsing, which develops AI-powered military software and drones, has sparked boycotts from various artists and users who are critical of the investment. Critics point to the perceived contradiction between this investment in military technology and the low royalties paid to artists on Spotify.

Massive Attack remove music from Spotify to protest against CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in AI military

The band cited a ‘moral and ethical burden’ placed on artists by revenue from their work ultimately funding lethal technologies

www.theguardian.com

Spotify faces boycott over CEO's $700m investment in AI military defence startup - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Check out this page via the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

www.business-humanrights.org

 

[Nikhil]

Can we as a forum together write to the Spotify’s owner asking him to reconsider investing in technology that is harmful to human societies everywhere?

Spotify owner and CEO
Daniel Ekled a significant investment in the German defense technology company Helsing through his investment company, Prima Materia, in June 2025. This €600 million ($702 million) investment in Helsing, which develops AI-powered military software and drones, has sparked boycotts from various artists and users who are critical of the investment. Critics point to the perceived contradiction between this investment in military technology and the low royalties paid to artists on Spotify.

Massive Attack remove music from Spotify to protest against CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in AI military

The band cited a ‘moral and ethical burden’ placed on artists by revenue from their work ultimately funding lethal technologies

www.theguardian.com

Spotify faces boycott over CEO's $700m investment in AI military defence startup - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Check out this page via the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

www.business-humanrights.org

Outside our scope as an audio forum. Forum members are free to discuss this in a separate thread to avoid taking this thread on a tangent.

.

 

[arunlouie]

BTW what is the quality that Spotify offers for old yearly plan account. My subscription shows as Premium Legacy, but no details on whats the bitrate or anything