Spotify choice.

[chebby]

What is the range and choice of content like on Spotify outside of the usual rock/pop/metal/dance genres?

How are jazz and classical enthusiasts getting along with it for instance?

 

[bluedroog]

In my experience pretty well, although I tend to be more of a toe dipper in those genres as apposed to fully fledge aficionado. Are you thinking as a secondary source for discovery or a as serious primary source? If the latter consider Qobuz over Spotify, it doesn’t have quite the library of Spotify yet but does seem very good for classical and jazz (it feels a bit more grown up that Spotify) and sounds a lot better in my opinion, it is more expensive so really depends on your needs.

You can give it a free trial and check the extensiveness of the library for yourself, actually Spotfity has n ad supported free version at a lower bit rate I believe too which still has the same library so perhaps just give both a trial to see if they have what you want.

 

[CJ1045]

What HiFi this month has a low down on all the music providers and compares both quality and choice - it is pretty comprehensive. Spotify comes out best on choice of music.

CJ

 

[John Duncan]

Useful article here:

http://www.spotifyclassical.com/2011/07/how-to-search-for-classical-music-on.html

I'm not a real fan of either genre, but when I've been looking for stuff I;ve usually found what I was looking for. I guess finding specific recordings is the hardest thing, if that matters to you, but I know they have the entire Naxos catalogue which is a good place to start.

 

[matt49]

What is the range and choice of content like on Spotify outside of the usual rock/pop/metal/dance genres?

How are jazz and classical enthusiasts getting along with it for instance?

I find its range of classical music very good indeed.

 

[CJSF]

Chebby, I listen to a wide variety of music, going back to the 1940's up to modern stuff, I like to dip into the nostalgia of my formative years. Recently been listening to 'the Sixteen', Jeff Beck, Katie Melua, loads of county artists, currently playing Melody Gardot.

I pay my 'fiver per month', not needing iphone type connection and get great service to my PC IMHO. Sound quality is excellent, although I have not sampled other offerings.

CJSF

 

[richardw42]

The ability to browse by Genre would be good.

 

[richardw42]

Oh, I see you can in the app, just not Sonos spotify which is what I mostly use.

 

[matt49]

Oh, I see you can in the app, just not Sonos spotify which is what I mostly use.

Yes, the search function in the app is more powerful and flexible than the search function in Sonos. And the latter's relatively crude search function is a bit of an annoyance with classical music, since you can only search by artist/album/track, and there's no multi-field search. Which in turn means that searches for classical CDs tend to produce lots of results to wade through.

Matt

 

[BigH]

Why not do a free trial, jazz is very good, classical not so good.

 

[Sorreltiger]

I am absolutely delighted with Spotify for classical and jazz. There are multiple versions of classical works, which usually seem to include Gramophone/CD Review/Penguin Guide recommended recordings. I can also listen to groups like the Tallis Scholars and Stile Antico.

As far as jazz is concerned, Spotify is excellent for most of the mainstream stuff - this weekend, I've been listening to the latest Kyle Eastwood album (excellent). It's only when you branch off into small label UK recordings that you come unstuck, but those bands probably deserve your money for the actual CD.

 

[philipjohnwright]

Chebby

Altho now mainly a Qobuz user I was a Spotify user for quite some time (I still have the £5 a month service as 'backup').

Spotify is good for jazz - my main genre if I have one. Certainly better than Qobuz.

On classical I find Qobuz extremely good. For example I recently wanted to find the best version of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, Qobuz gave me so many options, old and recent, it wasn't true. I never found Spotify quite this good on classical. Qobuz also has a classical-only subscription if that's all you're interested in, although I suspect that's not the case with you.

As others have said, try Spotify for a month. Even if you pay for it it's only a tenner. I for one wouldn't be without a streaming service now, it covers about 80% of my listening (some of it of the 'sit-down-and-concentrate' type ie SQ isn't a barrier). And I reckon I've saved the subscription through ensuring I only buy CDs I like (no more 'darn it, I thought-it-was-going-to-be-good moments'!)

 

[chebby]

I have signed up for the 30 day trial (Premium).

Set 'Extreme' as sound quality on iPhone and iPad apps (320K). Seems ok. I have been playing some British Light Classics and some early Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke and have been listening to some radio drama. (Although that is a bit patchy and I think I have a much bigger collection than Spotify!)

Finding my way around it ok. (Switched off all that stupid sharing / social networking ### too.)

Luckily I still had my original login from years ago and managed to dodge the awfulness that is Facebook.

Right now I am exploring odd-ball American tracks like 'Martian Hop' and 'Monster Mash' and 'They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Haa!'

("Ooh, Ee, Ooh Ah Ah, Ting, Tang, Walla Walla Bing Bang ... ")

 

[Leeps]

I love Spotify for its jazz availability and suggested artists based on those I already know. I'm particularly into Latin jazz, bossa nova, fado and funk and I've discovered some lovely new music of late in those genres.

Some recommends...

Blue Note Trip (series of compilcations - I've given vol 2 and vol 8 good listens so far and have used quite a few tracks in my playlists from those).

Thievery Corporation presents: Sounds from the Verve Hifi

Introducing Christian Scott

Rosalia de Souza - D'Improviso

Funk - The Platinum Collection

Quantic Soul Orchestra - Pushin' On

Edu Lobo - Sergio Mendes presents Lobo

I've discovered some great stuff using the Radio feature too, based on tracks I already like.

Although I like classical music, I feel that genre is more demanding of bit rate. Most of the jazz I mention above sounds superb at 320kbps (some of the Christian Scott tracks for example), but classical less so. I've recently ordered a couple of Bluray Audio discs (for the first time) of Rachmaninov and Copland, so it'll be interesting to see how they sound in practice, although I'd be the first to admit that my system won't be as revealing as systems owned by other forum members.

 

[DIB]

I had to re-set my password a couple of days ago as I'd forgotten what it was (again!), and I got a text from my son in Australia today moaning that he couldn't access OUR Spotify a/c. The cheek.

.

 

[chebby]

Well now, THIS wasn't supposed to happen! Yes, I am now listening to two Phil Manzanera albums that I had almost thirty years ago ...

I accidently came across 'Guitarissimo' when searchng for Peter White's 'City of Lights' and saw a long forgotten favourite track 'City Of Light' by Phil Manzanera and started listening to that instead.

Since I started this Spotify lark just this afternoon, there are now at least four CDs I want to buy. Is this supposed to be the idea? It's going to get very expensive at this rate!

Oh yeah, 320K sound quality from Spotify Premium isn't a patch on the 320K AAC VBR iTunes rips of my own CDs. (Both played from iThings via AirPlay.)

 

[John Duncan]

Oh yeah, 320K sound quality from Spotify Premium isn't a patch on the 320K AAC VBR iTunes rips of my own CDs. (Both played from iThings via AirPlay.)

Oh oh...

 

[chebby]

Oh yeah, 320K sound quality from Spotify Premium isn't a patch on the 320K AAC VBR iTunes rips of my own CDs. (Both played from iThings via AirPlay.)

Oh oh...

Indeed. I don't know for how long I will want to pay a tenner a month and sit there thinking how much nicer it would be to have my own CD rips. I was hoping for better.

 

[matt49]

Since I started this Spotify lark just this afternoon, there are now at least four CDs I want to buy. Is this supposed to be the idea? It's going to get very expensive at this rate!

Yep, that's exactly how it works. Try stuff on Spotify, then buy CDs. Expensive.

But think of it like this. What's better value: spending money on hi-fi kit or buying music?

Matt

 

[John Duncan]

Let the 209th Bitrate Games begin!

And may the 0s and 1s...etc

To be sure, I would make sure both the stream and sync bitrates are both set to Extreme (because you can manage them independently). Put the content in to a playlist that is marked as 'available offline', and let the content download so that you are removing the possibility of Spotify streaming/internet quality itself hamstringing SQ, then try again. If you still feel the same, then there's your answer.

 

[lpv]

Oh yeah, 320K sound quality from Spotify Premium isn't a patch on the 320K AAC VBR iTunes rips of my own CDs. (Both played from iThings via AirPlay.)

Oh oh...

Indeed. I don't know for how long I will want to pay a tenner a month and sit there thinking how much nicer it would be to have my own CD rips. I was hoping for better.

Spotify is 2 times better library wise than qobuz.. but spotify is 3 times worse than what I need.. and I'm into jazz, new electronic bits, contemporary composers, experimental as well as rare, hidden gems of the 60/70s rock, 80s soul..

Spotify's the best library of all streaming services, however never tried Deezer.. they have 30milion song library vs Spotify 20...

.. why not use free version of Spotify for preview and buy whatever you like? rip it, ebay... hmmm

Bandcamp - best imho for discovering new music of all kinds, flac and cheap.. quite often 'name your price' and albums you wont find elswhere

 

[chebby]

Let the 209th Bitrate Games begin! And may the 0s and 1s...etc To be sure, I would make sure both the stream and sync bitrates are both set to Extreme (because you can manage them independently). Put the content in to a playlist that is marked as 'available offline', and let the content download so that you are removing the possibility of Spotify streaming/internet quality itself hamstringing SQ, then try again. If you still feel the same, then there's your answer.

'Extreme' on both settings (before I even played anything).

20mbps Virgin Media cable connection to an Apple Extreme 802.11N base station that doesn't miss a beat even with HD iPlayer TV content via wi-fi, so I doubt it's an internet thing.

BBC iPlayer Radio sounds better (and that's only 128K AAC in most cases). So I don't think it's a bitrate issue either.

I'm no stranger to this issue. For instance, identical tracks from iTunes downloads (256K AAC) sound worse than 256K AAC VBR rips of the same tracks from my CDs. (Why I haven't bought an iTunes download in years.)

I don't have any dogma concerning these 'inconsistencies'. Back when Radio Paradise used to offer 320K MP3 it was always bettered by their 128K and 192K AAC broadcasts.

I take these things case by case and don't give a hoot for the theory if a lower bitrate sounds better than it should, or one identical bitrate AAC download sounds worse than a 256K AAC rip or something sounds better on BBC iPlayer through AirPlay than via the internet radio on my M-CR603, or via TuneIn Radio Pro.

 

[lpv]

what player do you use to play back your cd rips?

 

[chebby]

what player do you use to play back your cd rips?

Exactlly what I used with Spoitfy Premium...

iPad Mini / AirPlay / M-CR603

Anyhow, Spotify Premium is now cancelled (so I don't forget the end of the trial date and accidentally have to pay them).

A few more like-for-like track comparisons actually annoyed me with how bad Spotify 320K replay is.

As I mentioned earlier, even some BBC iPlayer Radio 128k and 96K AAC content sounds better. (Same iPad, same AirPlay, same Marantz). Lots better. (As in actually listenable!)

So it's not about bit rates.

It's not about my internet connection or wireless either. (It has no problems with 320K BBC Radio 3 or even streaming HD iPlayer TV content to my iPad with audio going via AirPlay to the system.)

 

[drummerman]

I find spotify excellent for jazz and am mostly very happy with the premium SQ of OggV.

Sure, my Flac rips (dbpoweramp - Musicbee) may sound marginally better but to have such a library of music in an easy to use format on my fingertips is fantastic.

£10 well spent imho.

regards