[beanbaguk]

I've been a long-time Spotify user. In fact, I was one of the original Alpha testers of the Spotify platform way back in 2007 when there were only a handful of Scandinavian albums and the client was only available through a Windows client. Since then, I've only used Spotify albeit for one short moment when I tried out the original 3-month Apple Music trial about 2 years ago.

In short, I thought it was terrible from a UI point of view. Clunky, awkward to use and all in all a pain in the arse.

However, I came across an article explaining the differences between the two platforms and most notably, the author focused on sound quality. Spotify streams in 320kbps MP3 audio format, whereas Apple music streams in 256kbps AAC format. Those who know about digital music will know that MP3 is far inferior to AAC so in-line with the authors view that Apple Music sounded better, I decided to drop £9.99 to Apple and give it another go.

The interface is definitely better. Apple have made big strides on this, but it's still clunky, however I can find what I want now.

The biggest issue is I can't search for Apple Music on my NBT iDrive, whereas I can on Spotify. This means setting up my music before I drive which is not always the ideal solution. It's still very usable and what's nice is the ability to change tracks using my steering controls! (Not possible with Spotify). So you lose one feature and gain another...

However, onto quality.

Short of the long; The author was right. Apple Music sounds far better than Spotify which is disheartening. Songs feel more details and have a depth that Spotify simply lacks. I'm pretty certain this is definitely down to the audio encoding.

The new detail and tones bring out my BimmerTech / BSW upgrade to a new level and the new Ghosts have a brilliantly tight "punch" to bass tones and detail. Nothing overboard, yet more than capable of handling whatever is thrown at them....at whatever volume.

Switching back to Spotify and I feel the same music is somewhat....lost.

It still sounds good, but I'm just missing that presence that brings the music alive, and all in all it just sounds quite flat. Moreover, when I start hitting punchy bass tones, while the Ghosts can handle it, they sound a lot more strained and no-way near as detailed.

So my conclusion is the same as the author I read.

Spotify wins hands down in terms of UI. Their navigation and overall app feel is way better than Apple Music, but if you actually enjoy your music and can deal with the clunky (but very much improved) interface, Apple Music is your choice.

I now need to decide if I will make that leap of faith into Apple's camp.

It would also be great to hear what other users think and know which platforms you all use with your feedback.

[enjoythemusic]

If you want sound quality, am sure you know TIDAL and a small handful of others offer CD quality and better audio streaming. Apple's encoding/decoding (per se) is good and keep in mind Apple asks recording labels for 24-bit/96kHz files (or some such). So Apple could benefit by starting with a higher res file than Spotify. Sadly, Apple seems not not offer higher quality music streams (re: TIDAL, etc) at this time.

[beanbaguk]

Tidal isn't really an option for me. I have limits with my mobile data package. Believe it or not but I tend to gulp down about 25GB per month and with a 30GB limit, lossless music will destroy my allowance!!

So far, I'm going to stick with Apple Music for a couple of months....

[enjoythemusic]

Makes sense data-wise. What i do to help keep data down while enjoying Hi-Res Music is to have a 1TB Samsung SSD hooked to the arm rest USB port loaded with lossless music.

Of course 10 years from now we'll probably be looking back at today and laughing about data restrictions.

[devil84]

wow i just subscribed to tidal free for a month. makes a massive difference!

[enjoythemusic]

That's great Devil84! Yea, so many people grew up on mp3 they have no idea of the better sound quality of 1980's CDs, let alone the new Hi-Res Music / Hi-Res Audio stuff reaching music lovers recently. Still kinda (sadly) laugh about mp3, was great during 56kbs Internet in the 1990's (yes only 56 kbs Internet modem speed, not 1000x faster Mbs like we pretty much all have today). Not sure why mp3 held on for so long when CD was a decade+ before mp3 and CD is higher quality sound, and now with Hi-Res stuff being much better than 1980's CDs...

Check out www.streamthestudio.news

Anywho, glad you're enjoying TIDAL. There are other services as well offering CD or better steaming, yet TIDAL has lots of pop, jazz, and other good stuff too of course. Apple/Beats Music's Jimmy Iovine kinda recently said no one is asking for Hi-Res, wonder if they're stalling for their own proprietary format or ??? Hopefully Apple will soon announce going Hi-Res and offer it in parallel with their current 256kbs aac. Apple has the Hi-Res digital music files for many years so they could have been offering better sound quality before the many others who are already streaming in better than 320kbs mp3... and Apple Music's 256kbs aac.

As always.... enjoy the music

[devil84]

yeah I can't believe it. I was thinking of upgrading my hifi audio but today I stream the tidal into my car and what a massive difference. previously used spotify. so much louder and clearer. seems like i put a new amp in.

is hi-res music even better than lossless audio then?

what audio set up you have in your car?

[enjoythemusic]

Stream The Studio website www.streamthestudio.news has lots of good info, plus of course you can search Google for:

Hi-Res Music (recordings/albums/music)

Hi-Res Audio (audio equipment, portable music players, headphones, etc).


Within the 435i are Focal separates and a powered Bazooka 8" sub slightly modded. The sub is easy to add/remove as space is needed within the rear of the car. Also used Dynamat on the inner door panels. Didn't really do much else yet; been a bit lazy, sorry. Previously did have an IASCA level sound quality car with Nakamichi and/or Class A custom solid-state amps, JBL Professional drivers, Nakamichi electronic crossover, Alpine head unit (yes, THAT Alpine CD player if you're an old-school car audio guy)... Was an IASCA SQ judge with my friend Bill Burton back in the day. And yeah, am trying to resist 'spamming out' a site i'm kinda the Creative Director of. It's easy to find, my username and add that magical .com

Am glad you're enjoying the music. So many people only have really heard mp3 or aac, and it was good for it's time just as DVD for video guys was good. Yet today we have Hi-Res Audio/Music and Blu-ray / 4k. Would you go back to only DVD once you have seen a great movie in 4k HDR? Sadly, audio guys have not done a good just at letting peeps know about Hi-Res Audio/Music

As always, in the end what really matters is that you...
Enjoy the Music

PS: Don't sweat it and get caught up in the term "lossless", it could mean anything from CD sound quality 16-bit/44.1kHz as when you rip a CD to a digital file. Lossless could also be used when talking about a Hi-Res 24-bit/192kHz digital audio file (or an emerging format called MQA, but let's keep this simple). So yeah, the term lossless is a broad term but at least it usually is CD sound quality as a minimum, which is better than 320kbs mp3 or 256kbs aac.

Apologies, i'm a geek so if you ask a geek a question....

[louischristopher]

There are might be multiple differences when Spotify vs Apple Music, but as for me, I love to choice Spotify Music for it provides 320Kbps in OGG files format. Though it is not so common, I can still use TuneFab Spotify Music Converter to get my Spotify convert to the common MP3 file format.

[SecretAsianMan]

I'm a little late to this thread, but a few things to note:

1. Remember that especially when it comes to audio, we feeble humans are incredibly susceptible to placebo effect. Our ears, frankly, kind of suck.
2. Spotify does not use MP3, they use Ogg Vorbis which is more comparable to AAC.
3. Bitrate is as big a factor as codec. A higher bitrate with a worse codec may very well sound better qualitatively and measure better quantitatively (higher PSNR or similar measure) than a lower bitrate with a better codec.

I would be a little surprised if you could actually tell apart 256kbps AAC vs 320kbps Ogg in a double blind test. If they do truly sound very different, there's probably more going on than codec and bitrate here. I would double check how you're pairing your device to your car and ensure you're connecting with the same BT profiles with both apps.

[bad karma]

Are you sure your Spotify app is actually set to stream/download music at 320kbps? That is not the default. The default settings for the app are "Normal" quality, which they define as 96kbps. You have to actually go into the app settings and explicitly state you want to use "Extreme" quality.

Using Extreme quality on Spotify via either Bluetooth from my Note 8 or USB from my 6S (which I keep in the glove box solely for Spotify) on a stock HK system, I am quite content with the quality. If there is anything lacking I feel it is the fault of the HK system and not the bitrate/format of the audio.

[IllLojik]

I'd have to agree with the OP. I have both Spotify Premium and Apple Music. Even with songs downloaded at the highest bitrate on Spotify, Apple music just sounds richer. My best guess is that Apple music songs are "louder" when set at the exact same volume, giving it the perceived effect of being richer.
Or as mentioned above, it could be the encoding.

[dalimartin]

Relatively speaking, I prefer to use Apple music. I really like the sound quality, and I use other players to play Apple music. The difference is that I am not using iTunes but DRmare to convert Apple music to MP3, because iTunes will reduce the sound quality.

[silver.f30]

I prefer Spotify, but recently switched to Apple Music purely for the iDrive integration and ability to go beyond just moving back/forward 1 song. Have not been able to hit cancel on my spotify membership yet. Any suggestions for moving over playlists?

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

I subscribe to both Spotify and Apple Music. As much of an audiophile as I am, I haven't ever compared the two for SQ. I mostly use Spotify, because the LOXONE Music Server in my home supports the service, as well as my BMW F30, and my DJ software of choice (djPro). I do think Apple Music has slightly-better playlists, but it's my secondary music service.

BTW my Spotify username is glennQNYC just like here. Public playlists are available if you care.

Another variable at play is Apple does (or at least did last time I mastered something) have a mastering algorithm specific to iTunes. You can read a little about it here:

https://images.apple.com/itunes/mast...for_itunes.pdf

[Wlee2060]

Originally Posted by dalimartin

Relatively speaking, I prefer to use Apple music. I really like the sound quality, and I use other players to play Apple music. The difference is that I am not using iTunes but DRmare to convert Apple music to MP3, because iTunes will reduce the sound quality.

Agree with you. This tip is really useful!

[Galuhxy]

I noticed when I use apple music in my car that sometimes it'll make crackling sounds and I can't stand it. I only have this problem with apple music, spotify, youtube music work fine.

Does anyone else have this problem?
I have 15' 428i harmon kardon

[Fade_The_Public]

Tidal

[nitsuj17]

Originally Posted by Galuhxy

I noticed when I use apple music in my car that sometimes it'll make crackling sounds and I can't stand it. I only have this problem with apple music, spotify, youtube music work fine.

Does anyone else have this problem?
I have 15' 428i harmon kardon

i never noticed it when using apple music over bt in idrive. not an issue with carplay mmi either. but i have hifi not hk

Originally Posted by Fade_The_Public

Tidal

yes, but if you have either a limited data plan or (like me) unlimited that gets slowed down after 25gb that would be tough. i commute an hour each way to work and typically burn through my 25gb almost entirely on music each month. with tidal it would probably be in 2 weeks