Spotify Spotify "Supremium"

They first announced it at CES 2017, then again three years ago, only to renege both times.

The question is not whether they have "done the math", or if there is anything in it for them relative to their commanding market share position. The question is why would any company announce something as "coming soon" not once but twice in 5 years, only to renege on that each time? Thats stupid arrogant corporate behavior, suggesting they think they are untouchable and unassailable.
From what they were saying Apple and Amazon spoil the release of their hifi because there were no price increase. Spotify planing to release hifi with price hike. I wish Apple and Amazon release their loseless after Spotify release theirs.
 
Lossless would be nice, but honestly, do we need it? Yes, I like the thought of having my music delivered untouched, but what we get today is already basically transparent. Most of those who claim they can tell the difference between lossy and lossless usually cannot if it is blind tested. No one who is past 30 years old OR listens in an untreated room OR listens midfield / farfield not at least using premium studio monitors should ever worry. You are fine with what you get. I have stopped wanting something "better" that actually isn't really better.
 
Heretic!
Burn, witch, burn!

Which means I now have to listen to this, in all its 44.1/16 glory.
Screenshot_20240207-191325_TIDAL.jpg
 
Lossless would be nice, but honestly, do we need it? Yes, I like the thought of having my music delivered untouched, but what we get today is already basically transparent. Most of those who claim they can tell the difference between lossy and lossless usually cannot if it is blind tested. No one who is past 30 years old OR listens in an untreated room OR listens midfield / farfield not at least using premium studio monitors should ever worry. You are fine with what you get. I have stopped wanting something "better" that actually isn't really better.
The difference manifests between Tidal and Spotify as a slight improvement in the high end with tidal, it's nice but I don't think it'd convince the masses listening on their phone (that probably won't notice) that hifi is worth it. Especially given the average member of the public only seems interested in bass.
 
Lossless would be nice, but honestly, do we need it? Yes, I like the thought of having my music delivered untouched, but what we get today is already basically transparent. Most of those who claim they can tell the difference between lossy and lossless usually cannot if it is blind tested. No one who is past 30 years old OR listens in an untreated room OR listens midfield / farfield not at least using premium studio monitors should ever worry. You are fine with what you get. I have stopped wanting something "better" that actually isn't really better.
I still feel entitled to rant about Spotify announcing this offer over and over again, but not deliver in the end. :)

@Smartplug is probably right in assuming that Apple and Amazon spoiled Spotify's original business plan, asking for a noticeably higher price for "Hi-Fi" (or whatever their were planning to call it. Still, they would have had quite some time for releasing it after their original announcement ...

Naturally, I don't have the resources to perform controlled double blind ABX tests in my home. I can and do listen to Radio Paradise through airable or vTuner (lossy quality at around 320 kbps, as far as I know) and to the RP lossless FLAC stream, alternatively. The former for convenience reasons (my Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 allows me to directly access airable/vTuner stations from my hardware remote), the latter for comparison. All I can say is that listening to the FLAC stream sounds more pleasant to me, especially when listening over a longer period of time. Not a scientific test, for sure. But it makes me want Spotify to finally put their money's (or rather my money 🤑) where their mouth is. 😁
 
Nothing wrong with wanting something better. All I'm saying is: Don't let it spoil things for you. We already get ALMOST premium quality from Spotify, whether it is lossless or not. However 99% of music available today is produced so badly that we shouldn't care about the difference between lossless and lossy.
 
The difference manifests between Tidal and Spotify as a slight improvement in the high end with tidal, it's nice but I don't think it'd convince the masses listening on their phone (that probably won't notice) that hifi is worth it. Especially given the average member of the public only seems interested in bass.
There’s a lot of variables, their gear if someone just using earpiece it would be hard to tell difference. Then your hearing how well can hear high and low. Aging is another factor. For all of audiophiles, we value loseless. Apple offer high resolution loseless but the problem their airplay will only do acc or cd quality. It’s pointless having high resolution loseless.
 
Nothing wrong with wanting something better. All I'm saying is: Don't let it spoil things for you. We already get ALMOST premium quality from Spotify, whether it is lossless or not. However 99% of music available today is produced so badly that we shouldn't care about the difference between lossless and lossy.
For those who wish to listen to great recordings it doesn't matter how much crap is out there and what people who couldn't care less about their sound quality but just about convenience can and cannot hear a difference think is enough. Spotify is for those people.
 
For those who wish to listen to great recordings it doesn't matter how much crap is out there and what people who couldn't care less about their sound quality but just about convenience can and cannot hear a difference think is enough. Spotify is for those people.
But is there a difference? Who says there is not? What products they are using? Is it a placebo effect..says who?
I think there is a difference but for what i am hearing Spotify isnt making money at the time so i don,t see them invest in losless ?
 
But when you compare a H265 codec on video..you can make the file much smaller. Lets say for a movie like Casino. And the codecs get better and better. But can you say its the same as the original Blu ray( 98 GB)? I think you cant. Can you see the difference even more on a high end screen? I think you can.
But how about music then. Everytime you will hear people say you cant hear the difference between high quality and spotify. Says who?..can you trust them. ? Even with high end systems you can,t hear any difference? So much information today but what is the truth...
It all has to do with money too..spofify has to invest more and from what i,m hearing the aren,t making any profits again. So they won,t invest in it i think.

The same as all the movies streaming services..they will never supply files like 98 GB ( casino) with a VBR which can go to 100 Mbps..or more. It will never happen. Same on television broadcast..UHD costs money..more bitrate more data..more..more money.
 
But is there a difference? Who says there is not? What products they are using? Is it a placebo effect..says who?
I think there is a difference but for what i am hearing Spotify isnt making money at the time so i don,t see them invest in losless ?
There is a difference and it is quite large. I don't care whether Spotify will invest in lossless or not. I left after they obviously started dragging their feet about Spotify HiFi over two years ago now and never looked back. Qobuz will do for me.
 
There is a difference and it is quite large. I don't care whether Spotify will invest in lossless or not. I left after they obviously started dragging their feet about Spotify HiFi over two years ago now and never looked back. Qobuz will do for me.
I agree but lets take for instance Tidal..Here in the Netherlands i cant pay with ideal. I can with spotify. I dont have a credit card. From what im hearing you have to using Tidal. For most people having only the option with Tidal for the credit card they wont go for it. Convenience also how you can pay for the service is a factor i think.
I dont know how it works with Amazon HD i dont even know its available in the Netherlands. Then its important how the AI helps you finding new music and what they have to offer ..comparing it to the library of Spotify. The AI factor is important too i think..
 
But when you compare a H265 codec on video..you can make the file much smaller. Lets say for a movie like Casino. And the codecs get better and better. But can you say its the same as the original Blu ray( 98 GB)? I think you cant. Can you see the difference even more on a high end screen? I think you can.
But how about music then. Everytime you will hear people say you cant hear the difference between high quality and spotify. Says who?..can you trust them. ? Even with high end systems you can,t hear any difference? So much information today but what is the truth...
It all has to do with money too..spofify has to invest more and from what i,m hearing the aren,t making any profits again. So they won,t invest in it i think.

The same as all the movies streaming services..they will never supply files like 98 GB ( casino) with a VBR which can go to 100 Mbps..or more. It will never happen. Same on television broadcast..UHD costs money..more bitrate more data..more..more money.
I think the file size of streaming is correlated with the speed of the internet and the performance of the device. In other words, as these speeds and performance improve in the future, streaming is likely to become higher quality.😉
 
I agree but lets take for instance Tidal..Here in the Netherlands i cant pay with ideal. I can with spotify. I dont have a credit card. From what im hearing you have to using Tidal. For most people having only the option with Tidal for the credit card they wont go for it. Convenience also how you can pay for the service is a factor i think.
I dont know how it works with Amazon HD i dont even know its available in the Netherlands. Then its important how the AI helps you finding new music and what they have to offer ..comparing it to the library of Spotify. The AI factor is important too i think..
Ideal is listed as a payment method for Tidal and so is Paypal
 
The problem is ..most people have a decent UHD television. Scaling gets better..though a high end tv makes a difference.
But now on Audio..the costs in investing in good gear doesn,t have to be very very expensive..BUT..they wont take the time for choosing good quality product for decent money. The must people are on "decent" bleutooth headphones. They havent any clue how a better headphone can sound when you ad a better DAC of choose for wired headphones. I dont say bleutooth is bad but there are differences there to in what headphone youre using and the codecs available.
Thanks to Dali of Moondrop headphones my love for music came back..the details, intstruments separation. I did invest more and more in good dacs and everytime i was surprised. Have a Fioo and a Shanling dac..excellent thats how you want to hear more and more ..the love of listening for long times on audio came back in an instant.

I think moondrop is doing a good job here to make good headphones for little money. But the mayority havent ever heard from moondrop. They choose the well known brands.
Headphones is the one thing..a hifi set yet another. WIIM is doing a very good job here. A very good price and the convenience factor in combination with good working software is very important.
Headphones are a very personal thing when you have a family you cant enjoy the music with others..so different when wathing tv of video,s.

But what im saying must people arent aware what good hardware can make a huge difference in the audio experience. Installing a decent tv is simple..choosing a good hifi set is different. Again what WIIM are doing here is a very good thing ...that what can make the gap for most people to add some good speakers and you are ready to go. Thats the future of HIFI..good hardware, good working software..that combination is very important in my opinion.
Go on like this WIIM..support to you. And the support of WIIM is also a very good thing thats important to people.
 
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Since they've never actually been profitable with previous pricing plans and despite conquering the mass market, offering lossless would not be likely to make a profit either, but it would perhaps entice/attract some of the niche high-end subscribers currently using TIDAL or Qobuz, if not Amazon or Apple Music.

Spotify has 236 million subscribers, Qobuz has 200,000. Does Spotify care about that kind of market share? I suspect they do if they've twice in seven years announced lossless as coming soon, they even briefly beta tested it in spring 2017. But they also probably thought they could easily charge more for it, and that plan has been torpedoed by the heavies in the room. Why they would continue to say publicly that lossless will be offered when there doesn't appear to be any way to actually monetize it is a mystery. They would gain more respect if they announced those plans have been withdrawn.
 
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