While a sound quality bump is welcome, Spotify just doesn't sound as good as almost any other service in my subjective comparisons. So as it is, my expectations are low when I use Spotify.
Today I updated my P1 to the latest firmware and played around with Spotify for half an hour.
To me it sounds pretty decent, just using the free version right now. I did switch back to Tidal right after, played the same songs, and it was better for sure.
Spotify sounds pretty good, and the total Spotify experience wins hands down for me.
Spotify’s free plan streams at 128kbps AAC on the web and up to around 160kbps on desktop, mobile, and tablet. WithToday I updated my P1 to the latest firmware and played around with Spotify APK for half an hour.
To me it sounds pretty decent, just using the free version right now. I did switch back to Tidal right after, played the same songs, and it was better for sure.
Peter, is the free version the one you updated, or the Premium?
I have not tried Spotify on my P1 before, so I have nothing to compare it to unfortunately.
Not sure why you are quoting me from a post I made almost 2 1/2 years ago?Spotify’s free plan streams at 128kbps AAC on the web and up to around 160kbps on desktop, mobile, and tablet. With
Spotify Premium, those rates increase to 256kbps AAC and up to approximately 320kbps AAC, depending on the platform.
Tidal, on the other hand, offers up to around 160kbps AAC for free users. But if you subscribe, the HiFi tier streams in lossless FLAC at up to 1411kbps, and the HiFi Plus tier can reach an impressive ~9216kbps using high-res audio formats.
Given these differences, directly comparing Spotify with Tidal isn’t the best way to judge Spotify’s sound quality—it’s more relevant to compare different Spotify setups or use cases.
Would you like this in a more concise or more technical version?