I use Spotify currently purely on my Muso. I have no real interest to incorporate streaming into my main system.
If they give a free trial and it’s not too expensive to upgrade I might do it.
I currently pay £10 per month for premium. Also depends how superior it will sound on a Muso if at all.
For what it’s worth I was surprised how much better my QB2 sounds when fed a higher quality stream. I wasn’t expecting it to make a significant difference, but it does.
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I actually don’t doubt that. Spotify Connect sounds better through my 555 than Atom (compared to both sounding excellent fed from my core)
I like John Darko’s channel. Some interesting stuff on there, especially his musical taste. Worth checking out some of his podcasts as well if you’re into that sort of stuff.
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agree completely - my Muso2 definitely sounds better (more real) with Qobuz hi-res compared to their cd quality streams
I will stick to Tidal. And Spotify family on the side for the kids, for Rammstein, Mumford&Sons and some obscure Dutch music 
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And of course it is higher in practice when looking only on high-quality music and disregarding the millions of useless crap albums that nobody listens to and that will never have a hi-res release
Thanks for that info Chris. That’s very interesting to know.
I have Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify. I’ll keep all three.
Why?
I use Spotify for music discovery - there is none better. I’ve got playlist after playlist of music on there - and there are many MANY tracks that aren’t available on the others. I use an app to convert Spotify playlists to Tidal (for the SQ boost of lossless) and this demonstrates just how many tracks aren’t available on Tidal (or Qobuz) - I’ve got a “Crazy Covers” playlist for example which has 2300 interesting, fun, weird and (sometimes) great Cover versions - the conversation app tells me 20% of those aren’t available on Tidal. Bummer. So the prospect of being able to play those lossless is very exciting.
I use it in the car and it’ll be nice to ha e better sound than 320kb in there - I KNEW there was a reason I bought that large capacity iPhone!
I’ll keep Tidal and Qobuz for hi res - I love the “Studio Master” quality - and Spotify won’t get there. Yet. When they do start offering Hi Res (when they release “Spotify Audiophile” in 2023 
) then I’ll have more of a question.
The lack of Roon integration of Spotify is a worry - and I don’t see that coming - so maybe the future is Spotify connect…but then I’ve got a HUGE library of my own music, how to access that in that world. Dunno yet. Maybe Spotify will buy Roon - perfectly possible - and strategically sensible.
I think a major factor for me is that I can search Qobuz and store favourites from within the Naim app. For all its flaws, it does make the selection and storing process more seamless. Spotify only gives you a generic icon when you decide to store a playlist, for example. I don’t have Roon and probably won’t bother but Spotify won’t be integrated into that either. I do find the artist information and musical history more lacking than I’d like, or I haven’t sussed out how to use it properly yet.
Do higher resolutions sound better enough to notice in the confines of a car and inevitable system and sound limitations?
Tidal definitely sounds better.
I have a Range Rover with the Meridian Super Dooper Surround Thing - and that definitely benefits from having a better feed. It’s really obvious.
My Wife has a Porsche with the Bose setup (we stopped short of ticking the Burmester box!) and that also benefits - but to a lesser extent.
Interesting - and that makes sense.
I NEVER use the Naim App. Life is too short!
Hi all.
Had the following arrive in my inbox yesterday (hope I’ve linked the web version correctly & hope I don’t ’start something’ if I have). If what is said is true: what’s going on re ‘high res’???
http://secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/566i-2d7xmz--tqemy-ddqpo206
You probably have ‘started something’. The only thing I’ll add is that I did his audio challenge and gave up when I couldn’t reliably tell any difference between his CD quality and Hi-res tracks.
That is an interesting article.
I have Norah Jones at cd quality and at 192/24 from Qobuz. I think the 192/24 sounds different. It is just my buyers bias? I am open to the suggestion and am interested in anyone else’s comparative listening experiences.
For a freebie it’s better than you think. It takes a little getting used to, but as a member of the beta testers, I can tell you it’s gone up in my estimation the more I’ve used it.
I think I detect more “air” in recordings, provided they have been recorded and mastered well enough and I perceive an ease to their presentation, without having lost dynamics. Strangely perhaps, I find the jazz recordings of the late 50’s and early 60’s benefit from this.
Just checking some of the statements in that article. Amazon quality? I have a standard amazon music subscription. I download at the highest ‘standard’ qual, no HD sub. It is MP3 and is definitely not the same qual as cd. I’ve just listened to a couple of tracks and there is a noticeable difference. Does an HD subscription give a non mp3 download?
Back to the cd vs 192/24 on NJ. I agree with the sense of ‘air’. I’d describe it as like driving through the Austrian or Swiss Alps. There is a clarity and quality to the air there, like no other place in Europe, possibly the world. You can see the details on a building or tree many miles away, not just the shape of the building. It’s the same with the 192/24 vs CD but perhaps not quite as obvious. There is a clarity though that is not there on the CD.
I would stay monthly with qobuz, trial spotify when it arrives, and keep the one you prefer. Sign up for a year of Qobuz then, if that’s your choice.
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