If you are seriously passionate about the audio quality of your music, then streaming services may not be your go-to. But you can actually get some pretty high-quality sound from a few of the services on the market-there is quite a bit of variety to consider based on the platform you are using and whether or not you pay.
While we’re not going to delve too much into the technical aspects of audio formats here, you will encounter three main levels of audio quality in the different streaming services: the former are lossy, compressed formats such as AAC and MP3 encoded at bit rates up to 320 kbps (the higher the better. ).
If you upgrade to better sound and lossless formats, the measurements differ: CD-quality audio is encoded with a bit depth of 16-bit to a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz (the equivalent of 1,411 kbps), and studio-quality audio is encoded at 24-bit up to 192 kHz (the equivalent of 9,216 kbps).
Going through those layers of audio is like upgrading to a better camera to improve photo quality and take higherresolution images – much more detail and information is saved as the quality of the tracks increases.
Qobuz
Qobuz prides itself on the quality of the music it streams. The plans go all the way to studio quality – that’s FLAC format encoded at 24-bit and up to 192 kHz – and the plan costs $ 15 a month (less if you pay for a year at a time). Desktop and mobile apps are available, as well as a web player.
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The recently announced partnership between Qobuz and Sonos gives audiophiles another option to choose from. Qobuz is the first service to offer a 24-bit lossless format through Sonos systems, so if those are the speakers you have set up at home (or are considering buying) then Qobuz is a suitable high-end.audio partner resolution.
Tides
Audio quality has been a selling point Tides from the very beginning, and if you pay for the premium $ 20 /monthly subscription you get music of 16-bit and 44.1 kHz quality. A selection of albums are also available in master quality – that’s 24-bit and up to 192 kHz – but you get that as part of the Tidal HiFi plan. The standard $ 10 /month premium package gives your music up to 320 kbps in quality.
Tidal also works with a range of speaker manufacturers to ensure high-quality playback away from your apps and mobile devices: Bluesound, Denon, Naim, Cambridge Audio, and Astell & Kern are some of the many companies that have signed up. However, the streaming to speakers (including Sonos) trumps at 16-bit instead of 24-bit.
Amazon Music
Amazon offers a somewhat mind-boggling array of music streaming packages, from free and bundled with Prime to high fidelity – and the latter is Amazon Music HDIt matches Tidal by offering its entire catalog on 16-bit / 44.1 kHz and a smaller subsection of music on 24-bit / 192 kHz, and will cost you $ 13 a month if you already subscribe to Prime and $ 15 a month if you’re not.
This 24-bit music is not only played on your mobile devices and desktops, but is also supported by a limited number of speakers and associated equipment.notably the Echo Studio, the Echo Link, and the Echo Amp. As long as you’re willing to go all-in on the Amazon ecosystem, you can stream high-resolution music all over the house.
Deezer
Among the many reasons to sign up Deezer is the Deezer HiFi Plan, which lets you play your music in 16-bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC quality for $ 15 a month. Stick to the $ 10 per month plan and you’ll get up to 320kbps in terms of streaming quality, and if you’re a non-paying user on the Deezer platform you’re limited to 128kbps.
If you opt for the premium HiFi plan, you can enjoy that sound quality on all platforms and devices where Deezer is supported (and the list is a long one, which extends from consoles to the web player). There is no 24-bit subscription available yet, but 16-bit works almost everywhere.
Spotify
If you pay $ 10 a month and use the dedicated Spotify desktop or mobile apps instead of the web player, you can get up to 320 kbps. H.in the settings for the app on your platform from choice and look for the audio quality section to make sure you’re always getting the best possible quality. ILeave these settings on Vending machine, Spotify adjusts the bit rate according to your internet connection. For free users, that rate is a maximum of 160 kbps.
Better sound quality is coming, well. Later this year, Spotify starts Spotify HiFi for an as yet undisclosed additional fee, guaranteeing you “lossless CD quality audio” whether you’re listening on a device or through a Spotify Connect speaker setup. Once it starts properly, we’ll bring you all the details
Apple Music
Apple does not publicly disclose the bit rate at which its songs will be streamed over the Apple Music platform, although the general consensus is that it ‘s AAC 256 kbps based on prompts such as the files available for purchase from iTunes. For now it is one size fits all option; there is no free level.
Apple has always made a fuss about its interest in audio playback since it began offering digital downloads at the turn of the millennium, and that makes us think that something equivalent to Spotify HiFi isn’t going to be far off. It has been offering lossless downloads for sale for years, but no streams so far.
Youtube music
Youtube music matches Apple Music in the choice of 256 kbps AAC streaming quality, unless you are not currently subscribed to the premium service, in which case you will be reduced to 128 kbps AAC.
There are no desktop apps with YouTube Music, but you can specify a streaming quality in the mobile and web apps. The options are similar to Spotify’s. Open the settings screen on your device, and under the playback and audio quality menus you can set the quality for streaming over Wi-Fi, streaming over mobile networks, and for songs downloaded to your device.