Best music streaming service please

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YvonneW

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#310658 10-Nov-2023 09:42

My husband has asked for a music streaming subscription for Christmas. What is the best one to get? He wants to build his own playlists, listen to audiobooks maybe, download music to be listened to offline, not sure what else. Thank you.

I know nothing :-)

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#3157935 10-Nov-2023 10:10

Is cost a factor?

You could possibly do a trial of the main ones and see what you think fits best.

Spotify (1-month free trial)
https://www.spotify.com/nz/premium/

Tidal (30-day free trial)
Offer | TIDAL

YouTube Music (1-month free trial)
https://music.youtube.com/music_premium

Apple Music (up to three months free)
Shazam

YvonneW

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#3157937 10-Nov-2023 10:12

I don't mind if it's not the cheapest but I don't like wasting my money.

I know nothing :-)

Wakrak

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#3157940 10-Nov-2023 10:14

YvonneW:

I don't mind if it's not the cheapest but I don't like wasting my money.

Just updated my original comment with some links.

Rushmere

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#3157946 10-Nov-2023 10:40

I've had subscriptions with Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music over the years.

YouTube had the big advantage of including ad-free access to YouTube videos, but I wasn't personally fond of the user interface for music.

I'm currently using Apple Music, and I like it a lot.

I personally prefer Apple Music because I'm fully in the Apple ecosystem, and everything works seamlessly together. If we weren't fully an Apple household, I would probably use Spotify.

It would also be worth checking out your broadband and/or mobile supplier to see if they offer a discount on streaming service, e.g. Spark offers a discount on Spotify. Apple Music can also work out better value with an Apple One subscription if you already use other Apple iCloud services.

richms

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#3157948 10-Nov-2023 10:47

I use tidal, because its supported in the tesla and doesn't sound like crap.

Spotify is bad sounding, and has got worse recently - they seem to be trying to see how low they can wind the bitrate down, whereas all other services are either lossless by default or have a lossless tier you can go for.

I have used Amazon music, and still do as it has an ok windows app, and as expected works well on the amazon fire TV's

Youtube music seems a little better but the lack of a real desktop application makes it not really usable there, its just a web app so cant do exclusive access to the soundcard and is reliant on windows mixer to choose which one it goes out which doesn't seem to stick. Still not lossless tho.

Really they are monthly services so not the kind of thing that you need to commit to, so just try one and move on if its not right.

Richard rich.ms

Duffuss

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#3157989 10-Nov-2023 12:17

This is what "audiophiles" seem to prefer

https://www.qobuz.com/nz-en/discover

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MikeAqua

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#3157995 10-Nov-2023 12:33

Does YouTube music sound any better than music videos on YouTube?

Mike

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#3158033 10-Nov-2023 13:54

I pay for the hi resolution subscriptions for Apple Music and Tidal, gives me the best of both worlds with different albums sometimes of the same artist on each service, they are not generally the same in terms of offerings. you just need to read up on the pros and cons of each online, depending on what gear your using to stream and play on. If you go for Tidal, make sure you sign up direct on their website and not via Apple apps which costs $10 a month more for some odd reason.

huckster

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#3158035 10-Nov-2023 14:02

I had Spotify - couldn't fault it.

I went to YouTube music 'cos we ended getting a family plan etc.

It's ok, but the interface sucks compared to Spotify - specifically I have to take care how I start a playlist because it really, really, REALLY wants to randomise the list.

freitasm

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#3158046 10-Nov-2023 14:22

Qobuz has great HD sound but doesn't work with Amazon Echo (if that's your thing). If you have a phone and headphones that support HD / LDAC then you get great sound.

Amazon Music is great, works on smartphones and computers, integrates well with Amazon Echo devices and has a higher sound quality than Spotify.

Then there's Spotify, which works with Amazon Echo devices but has a lower sound resolution.

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#3158091 10-Nov-2023 16:21

MikeAqua:

Does YouTube music sound any better than music videos on YouTube?

You can pick audio only. Sometimes the volume goes up which suggests to me that it’s a different audio track to what the video one is. I always select audio only if doing background play. If playing on TV I can also select audio only on YouTube application but not sure if that is only a premium function.

I’m probably not the best judge of what is better audio quality subjectively, think Apple Music may sound a bit better but with all the other things get with YouTube premium find it way better value.

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Chills

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#3158508 12-Nov-2023 10:45

My 2 go-to services and Spotify for accessibility and usability and Soundcloud for smaller artists and to change up the music I'm listening to. I've also used Apple Music which has the benefit of having some podcasts that Spotify doesn't.

richms

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#3158532 12-Nov-2023 11:35

MikeAqua:
Does YouTube music sound any better than music videos on YouTube?

Yes but it's still not proper gapless playback and they do the thing where they will playback from a different album if it's cheaper for them. My 2 tests are playing Sirius into eye in the sky and it picks eye in the sky off some 80s collection album instead even tho I chose to play the eye in the sky album.

Second test is the start of danger days by my chemical romance -there is a significant variance in the normalization applied to track 1 and 2. If the player is crap it will use the track levels so you get a massive volume shift as the track changes. Again YouTube music fails there on the web/desktop/xbox app but does ok in the Android one.

Richard rich.ms

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#3158978 13-Nov-2023 12:20

If you arent a fussy Audiophile then Spotify is probably your best go to. In my opinion it has the best GUI,features and Music selection. So bang for buck it does extremely well. Apple music comes close,especially if you sit in the Apple eco system. Lossless as well so sounds better as well with the right gear. If you are an audiophile type person then perhaps Qobuz or Tidal. Hi Res music to your hearts content but a little pricey. I currently subscribe to Spotify and Apple Music so i can get the best of both worlds. Gotta love the Apple Music "Karaoke" option if you feel like doing a bit of that over Xmas.

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afe66

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#3158983 13-Nov-2023 12:26

I went Spotify back in the day as it had nice integration with my Sonos setup and haven't had a reason to change.
I have paid account.

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