Deezer

[What Hi-Fi?]

Is 360 Reality Audio enough to make Deezer a better choice than Spotify and Tidal?

Deezer : Read more

 

[Jingles]

In a word or two 'Maybe Not'..

I agree with the article.

Have been using Deezer Hifi grade account for some years, prior to Tidal entering the market and chose this when Sonos were offering Hi-fi dealers 'Deezer Hi-fi quality' account deals. Sadly, the price has been jacked up without any real value add. Anyhow, a mix of use between my Sonos zone player through my 2ch system and AKG reference headphones direct from the Deezer app. Reasonably happy with the FLAC files, but occasionally getting some very gritty digital content.

Recently purchased a set of Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones so thought I would give the Deezer 360 Reality Audio a try given the Sony / Deezer 360 integration which in the set up synced and installed very seamlessly.

Performance ? Completely underwhelmed with the result of 360 reality. Sure spatial soundscapes for meditation, chill vibes kind of push the walls out and offer great placement of sounds, however comparison's with the stereo mix reveal a distinct lack of punch, depth and authenticity of the original mix.

I've heard plenty of decent SACD multi channel and Dolby Atmos mixes with excellent punch, but 360 seems limp.

I really do hope Deezer get sorted with MQA, otherwise I may consider moving to Tidal.

 

[Henri]

Totally different view, I think because of different circumstances perhaps.

Have just signed signed for the 30 day HI Fi version trial - 5 days in so far and it's fantastic.

Being in Australia the only other streaming service we have available with more than mp3 quality is Tidal - I tried them for 90 days but I found their hi res and MQR sound to be lacking guts: while it came across across clear and clean with some air it was anemic somehow and drained of life and poor bass. Tried it for a few months on different devices including my home system - Deezer wins by a long shot in sound quality stakes on all fronts.

Tidal also kept shoving at me styles of music that I never, ever listen too - minus points for that also - hell even Spotify has accurate algorithms working for them.

Yes, Deezer's interface can do with some refining, and I've no interest in 360 at all as I seldom ever use headphones for serious listening. Tidal has great bio info and interface but because of the sound quality and algorithm issue ( the price in Aus is the same for both Tidal & Deezer) I go for Deezer.

Now I really don't know why Tidal sounds crap on my home system, phone and 2 tablets streaming but it does - it also drops out. I have tested both through:
- Home system - Samsung laptop (ethernet, not wi fi) via Deezer app out through audioquest cable to NAD DAC, (NAD drivers on ASIO by-pass the windows DAC) to Emotiva pre via XLR, to Emotiva x 2, 100w power amps, through Kimber 8PR to Goldenear Triton 1 towers (or the same gear but via one of the tablets below streaming from wi fi).
- Wi fi to iPad mini to Bose QC 35s or Focal Stellias
- Wi fi to Samsung Galaxy S6 via Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt to the same cans as above
- Wi fi to Oppo R7 via the Dragonfly to same cans above or streamed via Bluetooth to car system

Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised with Deezer - will keep, we don't have the choices you guys seem to have.

Still hoping that both Amazon Hi Fi and Qobuz shows up down here - would be curious to try. In Australia one has to fake an account with HD Tracks to even buy and download hi-res (or have a US address and c/card - they sniff the vpn, as do Qobuz, and all the others). Here there are no, real legitimate ways to purchase hi-res downloads from a company that has a broad selection. What is available to you in the UK, US and Europe is severely curtailed here in Aus due to rights and licensing issues and possible general disinterest on the part of the distributors. Sure, one can find torrents but, really...don't they want our money?

 

[petergabriel]

I stick to Deezer hifi. Sounds great and I like the UI. I do hope they will lower the price though. And I do hope they will stay far away from MQA, which imho is a hoax. And then What Hifi always seems to forget to take the artists into account. Deezer, like Apple Music, pays a lot more per 1000 songs than Spotify. Very important to me.

Revolutionizing Streaming: Deezer's Artist-Centric Payment System

Discover the four pillars of Deezer's ACPS and how this innovative approach aims to prioritize real artists and user engagement.

www.deezer.com

 

[Henri]

Indeed, a very good point about Deezer.
Qobuz have landed in Australia and I've signed up but as their catalogue (at present anyway) is much smaller than that of Deezer I won't be completely jumping ship.
On topic - I still have had no use whatsoever for the Deezer 360 thing...

 

[moder]

Feels like I've tried them all by this point (except for Amazon HD which isn't available where I live), and to my ears Qobuz sounds the best when listening on a PC with an external DAC. Although Tidal also supports "exclusive mode" I think Qobuz does it better. Deezers lack of "exclusive mode" makes it sound on par with Spotify actually, at least to me. What it boils down to for me is the question of how often I actually sit down and listen to music through wired headphones versus listening via bluetooth from my phone. And via bluetooth I can't hear any difference at all in audio quality, no matter what service I use

 

[petergabriel]

Feels like I've tried them all by this point (except for Amazon HD which isn't available where I live), and to my ears Qobuz sounds the best when listening on a PC with an external DAC. Although Tidal also supports "exclusive mode" I think Qobuz does it better. Deezers lack of "exclusive mode" makes it sound on par with Spotify actually, at least to me. What it boils down to for me is the question of how often I actually sit down and listen to music through wired headphones versus listening via bluetooth from my phone. And via bluetooth I can't hear any difference at all in audio quality, no matter what service I use

What is exclusive mode and what does it do to the sound quality? I believe my Deezer hifi is lossles, without it being exclusive(?), am I wrong?

 

[moder]

Tidal explains exclusive mode like this:
"This setting grants TIDAL exclusive use of the audio device eliminating interference. With this enabled, TIDAL has exclusive use of your DAC and will automatically change the frequency based on the song selection"

So although Deezer is indeed lossless, it lacks this feature in the desktop application. Which affects the audio quality, at least to my ears.

 

[petergabriel]

Tidal explains exclusive mode like this:
"This setting grants TIDAL exclusive use of the audio device eliminating interference. With this enabled, TIDAL has exclusive use of your DAC and will automatically change the frequency based on the song selection"

So although Deezer is indeed lossless, it lacks this feature in the desktop application. Which affects the audio quality, at least to my ears.

Ah, okay, I connect my DAC directly to my iPad that only run Deezer. Works splendid.

 

[petergabriel]

..."stripped-back" is exactly why I like Deezer. Spotify imho is bloated and ugly.

 

[Mr_mac]

Luckily the Logitech LMS plug-in happily picks up the Deezer hi-Fi FLAC files since 8.1.

So this means I can happily enjoy Deezer hi-fi on my Logitech transporter as part of my hi-fi. It’s not just limited to my ios devices as it was when reviewed.

got to say the quality seems to be excellent. Once I get my full dac repaired I may compare CD, local flac from cd via LMS and the Deezer flac version and see how they compare.

so anyone running daphile, Vortexbox or other Logitech Media Server setup as part of their hi-Fi can access the flac in Deezer by installing Deezer plugin in LMS and logging in to mysqueezebox.com in LMS settings then adding their Deezer login details in the mysqueezebox website in the Deezer app section.

it appears flow still picks up 320 it if you go into any album directly it streams the hi-Fi flac files