If you’re a music lover, you’re probably already aware of Spotify’s high resolution audio option. The service offers high quality sound at a reasonable price, and it’s one of the reasons many people choose to upgrade to its Premium version. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing between Spotify’s high-res and lossless audio options.
Lossless vs high-resolution audio
Lossless vs high-res audio is a debate that rages in the audiophile community. Although both are well-known, it’s not clear whether lossless audio will be a standard feature on Spotify.
Lossless is an audio compression technique used to reduce file size without losing important bits. The file reverts to its original state when the listener uncompresses it. It works well in limited storage space because it can remove some data.
High-resolution audio, on the other hand, is defined as the quality of an audio track beyond the 16-bit/44.1 kHz CD standard. This includes bit depths of 24 and 48 kHz and sample rates of 192 kHz.
While these features aren’t available yet on Spotify, the company has announced an upgrade tier, HiFi, which streams songs in a higher-resolution format. Despite the lack of information about the exact technical details, it’s safe to say that the new tier will compete with other streaming services in the lossless space.
Lossless streaming is catching on in the music industry, and more streaming platforms are offering higher-resolution audio tiers. Some of the new entrants to the market include Amazon Music Unlimited and Qobuz.
If you want to hear music in its full glory, consider lossless. Not only is it better for the environment, it’s also a lot less expensive than you might think. You can subscribe to both of these services for as little as a few dollars a month. And you don’t have to buy expensive headphones or digital-to-analog converters.
There’s no word on how many songs will be available in the new tier, or when it’s scheduled to launch. But if you’re looking for high-res music, you might be happy to know that Qobuz and Amazon Music Unlimited both offer millions of songs.
Even if you don’t care for high-resolution audio, you should still check out Amazon Music Unlimited, which offers lossless music in addition to their standard catalog. For a small monthly fee, you’ll have access to a huge library. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy bit perfect audio thanks to their support for MQA technology.
Tidal and Qobuz offer better sound quality than Spotify Premium
One of the most popular music streaming services is Spotify. But while the service is very user-friendly, it doesn’t always offer the highest quality audio. In this article, we’ll compare two of its competitors, Tidal and Qobuz, to help you choose the right service for your needs.
Both services have an impressive catalog of music. However, Qobuz has more high-res tracks. It also offers an exclusive editorial content that features exclusive music and writing on renowned artists and songwriters.
While Spotify offers more plans, it does not have a lossless hi-fi tier. That means that it isn’t as good as Tidal or Qobuz.
On the other hand, Tidal has a more comprehensive library. There are over 70 million tracks to choose from, including a wide range of genres. Plus, there are more than 200,000 music videos to watch.
The Tidal app is simple to use. You can browse the extensive list of albums or create a playlist of your favorite songs. Users can also use the explore page to listen to random songs. Also, the behind the lyrics feature allows you to hear stories about the artist.
Both apps offer three sound quality settings: Standard, HiFi and Master. You can change the quality from the Now Playing screen in the desktop version. Unlike Spotify, Tidal uses MQA for its master quality sound.
While both services have an excellent catalog of high-res music, Tidal’s catalog is not as expansive as Spotify’s. Moreover, it lacks audiobooks and podcasts. Despite this, it is better than Spotify in terms of sound quality.
With the introduction of the HiFi Plus tier, Tidal’s sound quality is even better. For this tier, users can opt for HiFi (1,411 kbps) or Masters (9,216 kbps) audio quality.
While both Tidal and Qobuz offer better sound than Spotify Premium, it’s important to understand the differences between these services. If you are looking for more control over your music, Tidal is the service for you. This music streaming app offers a wide variety of unique features, such as contributor mixes, behind the lyrics, radio stations, and live concerts.
Gapless playback and crossfade
Gapless playback is a new feature that was introduced by Apple Music in the year 2020. This feature allows users to seamlessly skip from track to track without interruption. However, this feature is not available on iOS.
Gapless playback is an important feature that allows users to hear an album as it was intended. For example, if an artist releases an album of classical music, a gapless feature will allow listeners to hear the entire album with no gaps between tracks.
The crossfade is a similar feature that helps users transition from one song to the next. Crossfade is a useful feature for playlists. However, it can be annoying if you’re listening to a continuous song. You might want to turn it off.
Another nifty trick is the automix. This function automatically loops and blends songs to smooth the transitions. If you are interested in using this feature, you can choose to make it a global or local setting. Alternatively, you can configure the settings on your desktop to change the settings.
Similarly, there are some other features to be found on different music streaming platforms. Some of these include the sleep timer, which ensures that the music won’t play all night. Likewise, the automix, which is a nifty function that loops and blends tracks to smooth the transitions.
Nevertheless, the best option is to simply fix the gapless problem before spreading. This is especially important if you are listening to albums with gapless playback. That is, if the album has been properly encoded in a format that supports gapless playback.
Aside from the gapless and the automix, there are also other features to be found. For instance, the sleep timer is a great way to prevent your favorite songs from playing all night. It is also an effective tool for preventing the audio from causing your ears to ache.
While there are many features to be found on Apple Music, this service definitely comes with its share of shortcomings. However, these issues are minor compared to the sheer size of the library.
Resetting sound settings
The Spotify app has a few sound settings to adjust the quality of your music. In addition, it has an equalizer that can help you tweak the sounds you’re listening to. However, if you’re experiencing issues with the app’s sound, you may need to reset its settings.
You can find the sound setting in the Control Panel. Usually, a device reset will include shutting down and powering on the device. If the device is not detected, you’ll need to press all four keys on the keyboard until the computer restarts.
The Spotify desktop version has a feature to make all songs play at the same volume. This is known to cause issues with certain USB devices.
For Windows, you can use the Sound tab of the Control Panel to adjust the volume of your Windows 10 computer. The Spotify app is also known to have an issue with auto-volume adjustments. There is an option to turn this off in the Communications tab. Similarly, if you use the Cortana feature in Windows 7, you can disable it as well.
Spotify has several presets for different musical genres. However, these are only helpful for people who listen to one genre. If you’re listening to multiple genres, you’ll want to manually change the presets. You can do this by going to Settings and selecting the equalizer setting.
Spotify has five audio quality options. These range from Normal to Very High. Depending on your connection, the app will choose the best quality for you. Regardless of what you select, it’s recommended that you adjust the sliders in the equalizer to improve the quality of the music you’re listening to.
Spotify also has a Treble Booster option, which increases the volume of high-frequency sounds. It’s important to note that this feature is not available on all iOS devices.
There are a few ways to reset the sound settings for Spotify. However, you’ll need to play around with each one to figure out which is the best option for you. Luckily, you can fine-tune each frequency to match your headphones.
