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Spotify.. Who's using it?

5K views 40 replies 16 participants last post by  evan237 
#1 ·
Spotify is going to be a f/w update to Denon network AVR's in a few months.


Who's using it? Do you like it?


Is it really worth $10/month for the premium service required?
 
#2 ·
I think so. I've tried them all and prefer Spotify for their huge library and quality streaming. Slacker is my favorite for radio play due to the fine tuning allowed in discovering new music, but quality is lacking. Between the two I'm content.


Thanks for the heads up on Denon update! I use Squeezebox Touch now but will welcome it onboard my 4311.
 
#4 ·
I agree with Nethawk. The quality of Spotify seems to be better than some of the other streaming services. The ipad app just came out not long ago and it is pretty sweet. I have an appleTV so I stream it from my ipad/iphone. I also like that you can download songs to the device so you can listen to them even if you don't have an internet connection. For me, it's definitely worth the 10 a month.
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdsmoothie /forum/post/22028497


^^

Spotify will be firmware upgraded to the new Denon AVR (1913/"CI" models) and Marantz (1603/X007) models only.

Once upon a time I always looked forward to your posts.



Thanks for the update,
indeed!
 
#6 ·
I started out with Rhapsody and now use Spotify. In general, I can never seeing myself going back.


Up to 320 streams now, so qualitys fantastic for 95+% of the stuff I listen to. A library that's extremely difficult to argue with. Yes, it doesn't have everything, but it has a LOAD and 99% of what most are looking for.


My new hope is that the ipad and iphone apps will eventually allow you to mesh your personal library with the spotify database to fill in all the blanks with the popular artists they don't have and some b-sides, but Id bet that will come, eventually.


As soon as you can get over the hump of "not owning anything" you will live a happier life, trust me.


We've gone 60 years without owning television programming and that seems to work.


And btw: I do all of my "spotifying" at home with my iphone/ipad through an apple tv connected to my Denon 4311. I don't know how well they (ipad/iphone) stream directly to AVR's through the app, but this way I can put my apple tv/spotify audio in the "background" of sporting events and video games by switching an inputs "audio in" to the toslink of the appletv. clever bastard, am I. lol.


James
 
#7 ·
So only in the 1913 and above 2012 Denons. No biggie as I could use my HTPC for it or the android app I think.


I'm not a fan of $10 a month for it. I can buy an entire CD every month at that rate and still have a few bucks left over at the end of the year. I'd go $5 a month though. It seems to be yet another subscription service to remove money from my account every month but that's just me, I guess.
 
#8 ·
^^


Yes, but for $10 a month you have about 15 million choices. That's a lot of CD's!


It really depends on priority. If music is big in your house (not to mention mobile capabilities via smartphone) then $10 is a drop in the bucket. How much do we pay for cable/satellite/netflix/hulu+?
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 /forum/post/22029115


So only in the 1913 and above 2012 Denons. No biggie as I could use my HTPC for it or the android app I think.


I'm not a fan of $10 a month for it. I can buy an entire CD every month at that rate and still have a few bucks left over at the end of the year. I'd go $5 a month though. It seems to be yet another subscription service to remove money from my account every month but that's just me, I guess.

The 10 a month had me wary to try it out but I figured I would give it a shot and it was worth it for me. I listen to a lot of music. Also when I got the new iPad I saved $100 by getting the 32GB instead of the 64GB because I knew I didn't have to worry about putting my huge itunes library on my iPad. So for me the 10 a month works itself out.
 
#10 ·
the $10 you pay a month for 15 million songs is a joke so long as you use it.


Again, you simply need to become detached from the idea that you "own" anything which seems to be a huge leap for some. No one's going to break into your house and steal your existing CD's or itunes collection, lol.


Simply pay your $10 a month. Spotify doesn't seem to be going anywhere and you can be guaranteed there are other options if they do.


Again, for a serious, eclectic, music-lover it's all but a no-brainer, AFAIC.


James
 
#12 ·
Also look into the free version of MOG. Decent interface, 320kbps, 15 million songs, and I like how you're able to listen to entire albums (not sure if the others do this, but I don't think Pandora allows you).
 
#14 ·
Unlimited for free with ads on a pc or $5/mo with no adds. Just might have to give that a whirl. Having an HTPC comes through again.


Add android for another $5/mo. Off topic but, can this stream Bluetooth to the Pioneer unit in my truck I wonder?


HMM??
 
#15 ·
Since I only listen to MOG occasionally at work I haven't looked into streaming or the paid version, only the free one. Most albums play fine, although I've found a few that only work with an upgraded account.
 
#16 ·
I have rhapsody now...ok...supposedly have a larger selection than spotify. Don't expect the majors like the Beetles etc to be available. On rhapsody you can also download their songs to a mobile device...haven't tried that yet. Spotify is growing each day and I like their interface better than rhapsody on the PC. Iphone app for rhapsody is better than spotify...give and take. I will either cancel Rhapsody and go with spotify in the near future or stay...
 
#17 ·
I tried a whole bunch of streaming services when I was looking to jump from the paid version of Pandora (because Pandora streams at only 128kbps on all non-computer devices, including AVRs with built-in Pandora services, and that's for paid accounts).


For me, there is no contest: I find MOG to be the best, by a good margin.


MOG streams virtually all content at 320kbps (very few are at 256kbps), while Spotify streams at mostly 160kbps. The difference is clearly audible on anything beyond computer speakers.


The MOG catalog seemed to me to be a bit better than Spotify's, too. For instance, when I compared them, MOG had a much larger Pink Floyd album collection



Since I've started using MOG, I have found myself almost never going back to my NAS-stored collection of losslessly ripped CDs -- the quality of the MOG stream is that good.


We pay $10 per month mostly so my wife can play it on the computer at work, but if you get mobile only account, it's $5 per month. At home, I stream MOG from my iPad to my HTPC (which is hooked up to my non-networked AVR) through AirPlay.


If your AVR is AirPlay capable, you can stream to it directly from any iOS device.
 
#18 ·
You can stream either free or paid services from your smartphone via bluetooth to car stereo, this shouldn't be an issue.


Spotify has variable bitrate. Free account is 96kb/s, mobile is 96-160, paid accounts from desktop is 320kb/s, but not every song is capable of this. Paid subscribers never drop below 160kb/s unless you set it to low quality on your mobile app.


I used MOG as well, I dropped it because I am mostly interested in discovering music and listening to music I don't hear everyday. It's not quite set up that way. In addition, the interface is not as friendly as others. On mobile devices the MOG stream is only 64kb/s, there is an optional setting from mobile apps to switch to 320kb/s, but only on wifi. If you have a good wifi connection the quality is very good. Mog's service is the same price as Spotify.


By the way, Pandora stream is 192kb/s for paid subscribers, but this depends on the device you're streaming to.


I do NOT use MOG or any others over my lossless collection. No way, no how.
 
#19 ·
Spotify now has "extreme" 320 streams avail on iphone and ipad. they sound great and stream hiccup free on most ATT 3G/"4G" networks I roam on.


James
 
#20 ·
I have both Mog and Spotify which I access through Sonos hooked up to my Integra dhc 80.2. I'm a music nut and don't mind paying for both services. If I had to choose one, it would be Mog.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nethawk /forum/post/22030288


...

Spotify has variable bitrate. Free account is 96kb/s, mobile is 96-160, paid accounts from desktop is 320kb/s, but not every song is capable of this. Paid subscribers never drop below 160kb/s unless you set it to low quality on your mobile app.

Spotify has a relatively minor portion of their catalog encoded to 320kbps. The vast majority of content is at 160kbps and for me it was nowhere near enough.


On the other hand, very few of MOG's catalog is encoded at 256kbps. The vast majority of their content is at 320kbps. That's why I said there is no contest.


This of course may change in the future, as Spotify encodes more of their content to 320kbps.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nethawk /forum/post/22030288


On mobile devices the MOG stream is only 64kb/s, there is an optional setting from mobile apps to switch to 320kb/s, but only on wifi. If you have a good wifi connection the quality is very good. Mog's service is the same price as Spotify.

On mobiles, MOG will stream 320kbps both on WiFi and on 4G (so most new phones and tablets can stream 320kbps on a celular connection, as well on WiFi).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nethawk /forum/post/22030288


By the way, Pandora stream is 192kb/s for paid subscribers, but this depends on the device you're streaming to.

Unfortunately, ALL standalone devices are limited to 128kbps with Pandora, even with paid accounts. That's why I started looking for other options.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nethawk /forum/post/22030288


I do NOT use MOG or any others over my lossless collection. No way, no how.

Heh, I actually ran a couple of informal tests and the quality difference for the identical album between a 320kbps MOG stream and my lossless rip is close enough for me. I would not swear in court that I can reliably tell the difference....
 
#22 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan1 /forum/post/22030693


Spotify has a relatively minor portion of their catalog encoded to 320kbps. The vast majority of content is at 160kbps and for me it was nowhere near enough.


On the other hand, very few of MOG's catalog is encoded at 256kbps. The vast majority of their content is at 320kbps. That's why I said there is no contest.


This of course may change in the future, as Spotify encodes more of their content to 320kbps.




On mobiles, MOG will stream 320kbps both on WiFi and on 4G (so most new phones and tablets can stream 320kbps on a celular connection, as well on WiFi).




Unfortunately, ALL standalone devices are limited to 128kbps with Pandora, even with paid accounts. That's why I started looking for other options.




Heh, I actually ran a couple of informal tests and the quality difference for the identical album between a 320kbps MOG stream and my lossless rip is close enough for me. I would not swear in court that I can reliably tell the difference....

Probably not but you just know you're missing something..



Great info. Glad I asked. It looks like MOG for me!
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdsmoothie /forum/post/22028497


^^

Spotify will be firmware upgraded to the new Denon AVR (1913/"CI" models) and Marantz (1603/X007) models only.

When you say '1913/"CI"' do you mean only the XX13CI's?
 
#25 ·
Mog as well and on Sonos at least you can mix and match Mog with your local content and it works fabulously.


Tried Rhapsody briefly and it was ok but didn't work as well for me.
 
#26 ·
You mean to say you can mix and match streamed content off the internet with content on your PC in a single playlist using Sonos? How cool is that? I wonder if it can be done with just using your PC library?
 
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