Spotify is one of the most popular services for storing your music and streaming it to your devices. It’s easy to use and has high-quality audio. But there are a lot of factors to take into consideration when choosing the right service for you. Here are some of them.
Apple Music
Apple Music and Spotify both have a lot to offer to listeners. But which service should you go with?
Spotify has been in business for more than a decade and has around 180 million paying subscribers. They offer a range of plans to fit your needs.
One of the most impressive features is the ability to listen to lossless audio. Lossless audio allows you to hear music in the exact way the artist or producer intended it to sound. It’s also a great feature for casual listeners.
For a more premium experience, you can choose the Platinum plan, which comes with the Headphone Tuner and Audio Insights. This plan also comes with a free ad-supported podcast.
While it’s not yet available in all territories, Apple Music has confirmed that they will offer a lossless audio tier. At launch, thousands of tracks will be available. Then, in February 2021, the service will unveil the HiFi tier, which offers CD quality audio.
On top of that, the company is putting some serious energy into expansion. As of February 2022, Apple Music is available in 168 countries. Meanwhile, Spotify is currently available in 184 countries. Moreover, Spotify’s downloadable app is compatible with a variety of devices.
Regardless of the difference in technology, both services have been designed with similar aesthetics. Both apps include large images and a tile-like layout. And, they both support Siri.
Tidal
While there are many similarities between the two services, there are also some big differences. Spotify is a more social music service, while Tidal offers better audio quality. But which is the best?
Spotify is the world’s most popular streaming service. It offers free ad-supported access to millions of songs. And it’s easy to use. You can browse songs based on genres, radio features, moods and activities. Plus, Spotify offers an affordable paid plan.
Spotify also has a feature called Wrapped, which helps you understand your listening habits. You can learn how many times you’ve listened to specific tracks and artists. Also, you can share your favorite tracks with friends. Likewise, Tidal features an audio search function, similar to Shazam.
Although both services offer similar sound quality, the Tidal service is much more affordable. This makes it a better choice for families or military members.
Tidal also has a feature called ‘Car Thing’, which allows you to listen to your music on a touch-screen device. However, it does not have as many social features as Spotify.
Unlike other music streaming services, Spotify has an impressive podcast library. There are over three million titles. Some of the biggest names include Neil Young, Ginger Thompson, and Joni Mitchell. Fortunately, it has exclusive rights to many of them.
In addition to its podcasts, Spotify has a wide selection of other content filters. If you like a particular artist, you can see if other users are listening to them.
Qobuz
Qobuz is a high-res streaming service that offers audiophiles the opportunity to listen to their favorite music at lossless quality. Its library of over 70 million tracks is on par with those of other services like Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music.
Qobuz’s streaming service offers a wide variety of musical genres. You can choose from the latest releases or classic albums. The Qobuz interface is well-designed and makes it easy to find songs by genre or artist.
Qobuz features an exclusive editorial content called Panorama. This section features exclusive articles and playlists on artists and songwriters. You can also check out in-depth articles on subjects such as jazz, grunge, and bossa nova.
The Qobuz app is available for Android and iOS. In the android app, you can choose from several genres to find your favorite music. During registration, you’ll be asked to select the music genres you prefer.
Unlike most streaming services, Qobuz does not offer podcasts or audiobooks. However, it offers discounts for families. Streaming services can often crash due to excessive use.
For those who want to stream music at the highest possible resolution, Qobuz is the only option. The streaming service also offers lossless audio downloads.
You can set a queue of songs to play at a specific time or on demand. Also, Qobuz provides recommendations based on the Hi-Res songs you listen to most. If you’re new to Qobuz, you can sign up for a free trial.
Studio Premier
If you’re an audiophile, you probably already know that there are some music subscription services out there that offer higher-quality audio. Generally speaking, these services offer lossless or near-lossless streaming, and they allow you to download tracks in different formats.
While Spotify has yet to offer hi-res audio, it has announced plans to enter the high-definition audio streaming market in the next few years. However, it hasn’t given an exact launch date.
Some music subscription platforms, like Qobuz, have positioned themselves as being the best choice for streaming high-resolution audio. The service combines high-quality audio streaming with CD quality albums. And Qobuz has a huge library of music. Nevertheless, there are some things to consider before signing up for a subscription.
First, Qobuz offers a unique feature, which allows you to choose which file format you want. You can select from a wide variety of options, including FLAC and ALAC.
Second, Qobuz is fully integrated with Sonos. This makes it an ideal choice for audiophiles who use Sonos speakers.
Third, Qobuz supports a range of other hi-fi equipment. For example, the company recently added support for GoogleCast-enabled products.
Lastly, Qobuz offers a surprisingly vast number of hi-res downloads. These include music, CDs, and vinyl records. Users can also buy discounted high-res tracks.
All in all, Qobuz is a great choice for hi-res streaming and downloading. But it has some notable shortcomings.
Studio Sublime
Qobuz offers a number of unique features. It’s one of the oldest players in the streaming game, and offers a plethora of music and nonmusic content to keep you occupied for hours on end. For instance, you can subscribe to a service that will deliver high-quality audio to your Android phone.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the company has a number of different tiers of service. You can choose from a free tier that delivers a small selection of quality music to a premium offering that provides access to an extensive hi-res collection. There are also options for you to download and re-download songs from your library in high-res formats.
As you’ll see, the most expensive plan costs over $200 per year, but Qobuz is not the only one that offers it. Among the other contenders is Apple Music. Interestingly enough, Spotify’s offerings are not all that dissimilar. Aside from the obvious streaming and download options, it also offers a curated discovery service called Discover Weekly that provides you with a smorgasbord of music to choose from.
While Qobuz isn’t the cheapest, you can save yourself a few bucks with a Sublime+ subscription that offers a whopping 30 to 60 percent off of the downloadable catalogue. That’s a hefty discount, but Qobuz’s hi-res music offerings are worth it, especially if you’re the kind of person who likes to listen to your music on the go.
VOX Cloud Music Player
Vox is a music player that offers an array of features. It’s one of the most popular apps for iOS and Mac. With its built-in SoundCloud player, it offers access to a wide range of online radio stations. In addition, it gives users the ability to sync their likes, playback notifications, and stream statistics from SoundCloud.
The VOX Music Player is a top-rated free app that supports a wide variety of music formats. There’s also a Premium version, which offers more advanced audio settings. You can even get an equalizer, a 10-band EQ, and the ability to listen to high-res audio on your iPhone.
The app works with all major audio file types and is a great option for people who want to listen to high-res audio. While it’s free to try, you’ll need a paid subscription to enjoy all the features.
VOX has a lot of potential. But it still lacks some basic essentials. For example, it doesn’t have an exclusive mode and there is no support for auto sample rate switching.
One of the biggest issues with Vox is the absence of clear communication from the company. This may be due to the fact that it’s a relatively new company. Nevertheless, the developer team has been working to integrate Qobuz. That way, VOX users can keep all their tracks in the cloud.
Despite this, Vox is a good option for those who want to listen to high-res music without compression. Additionally, the app is compatible with SONOS and Sonos.