All About Streaming Music Services

Started by Wakefield, July 02, 2015, 04:15:10 AM

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DavidW

Quote from: Madiel on April 16, 2024, 12:40:38 PMA lot of those posts weren't needed.

They weren't desired either! :laugh:

AnotherSpin

Quote from: DavidW on April 16, 2024, 01:42:03 PMThey weren't desired either! :laugh:

The inability to distinguish between the desirable and the needed is not as comical as it may seem at first glance. The never ending pursuit of the former is a source of suffering, the latter ensures survival.

DavidW

I've had severe issues with my streamer and after it completely ruined my attempt to listen to Weinberg's 2nd and 21st, I finally gave in and contacted Bluesound's CS.  I think they found a fix and I'm back in business. 

If it didn't work I think I would just take the friction of using my Macbook instead.  Streamers and streaming apps are just not as polished as other modern tech.

I think that I'm right in saying that most of us don't use dedicated streamers?

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: DavidW on May 17, 2024, 11:00:40 AMI've had severe issues with my streamer and after it completely ruined my attempt to listen to Weinberg's 2nd and 21st, I finally gave in and contacted Bluesound's CS.  I think they found a fix and I'm back in business. 

If it didn't work I think I would just take the friction of using my Macbook instead.  Streamers and streaming apps are just not as polished as other modern tech.

I think that I'm right in saying that most of us don't use dedicated streamers?
Are you subject to ads using a streaming service?

PD

Spotted Horses

Quote from: DavidW on May 17, 2024, 11:00:40 AMI've had severe issues with my streamer and after it completely ruined my attempt to listen to Weinberg's 2nd and 21st, I finally gave in and contacted Bluesound's CS.  I think they found a fix and I'm back in business. 

If it didn't work I think I would just take the friction of using my Macbook instead.  Streamers and streaming apps are just not as polished as other modern tech.

I think that I'm right in saying that most of us don't use dedicated streamers?

I use Apple Music on a Mac or iPhone, Bluetooth headphones or usb dac. When I had a stereo the dac might connect to my preamp. Now just a headphone amp.

Spotted Horses

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on May 17, 2024, 11:29:15 AMAre you subject to ads using a streaming service?

PD

Audio streaming, never. Amazon prime video streaming can have ads.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Spotted Horses on May 17, 2024, 12:04:10 PMAudio streaming, never. Amazon prime video streaming can have ads.
Are there noticeable gaps (spaces) between movements?

PD

Spotted Horses

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on May 17, 2024, 12:19:25 PMAre there noticeable gaps (spaces) between movements?

PD

No gaps. Once in a blue moon the player seems to get stuck and I have to close and re-open Apple Music to get it working again. And there is an odd problem that on a nearly obsolete version of MacOS Apple Music will refuse to stream a track over Bluetooth to AirPods Max. In that case I end up switching over to another non-obsolete Mac.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Spotted Horses on May 17, 2024, 01:03:51 PMNo gaps. Once in a blue moon the player seems to get stuck and I have to close and re-open Apple Music to get it working again. And there is an odd problem that on a nearly obsolete version of MacOS Apple Music will refuse to stream a track over Bluetooth to AirPods Max. In that case I end up switching over to another non-obsolete Mac.
Ah, the joys of computers aging.  :(

PD

Madiel

Quote from: DavidW on May 17, 2024, 11:00:40 AMI think that I'm right in saying that most of us don't use dedicated streamers?

No I do everything on my iPhone. Either I'm listening on the phone itself (earphones) or I'm sending the signal to my mini hifi system.

The fact that the hifi could handle both streaming and CDs was a key reason I bought it. I was rather surprised such things were so uncommon.
Every single post on the forum is unnecessary. Including the ones that are interesting or useful.

Spotted Horses

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on May 17, 2024, 01:15:43 PMAh, the joys of computers aging.  :(

PD

It's 9 years old, running Monterey. It has one more year of support left (before Monterey support ends and it stops getting security and misc updates). The issue with the AirPods Max is that for full functionality you have to have an iPhone or a Mac with apple silicon, and I suspect that has something to do with the occasional quirks involving Apple Streaming to the AirPods.

It is rather annoying that the support is ending after ~10 years while the hardware is still working beautifully. I could continue to use it, but am reluctant to do anything important on a computer that is not getting security updates.

Bachtoven

#591
Quote from: DavidW on May 17, 2024, 11:00:40 AMI think that I'm right in saying that most of us don't use dedicated streamers?
I do—a Roon Nucleus Plus. I'll never go back to a laptop—too many problems with both a Windows and Mac device. I'm not wild about being able to use only their software and its cost (It's free for another year), but I like it very much.

DavidW

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on May 17, 2024, 11:29:15 AMAre you subject to ads using a streaming service?

PD

No I pay for it.  You're thinking of free spotify or YT.

DavidW

Oh it worked btw.  CS had a process for me to clear the cache from my router.  I listened to the following back to back with no interruption:



NumberSix

I have not used TIDAL Music for years. They showed me a special: $2 for 60 days trial new membership, so I thought I would give it a go.

After about 30 minutes, I find it's clunkier to use than either Spotify or Apple (my two main current services). It also doesn't seem to have as many playlists on hand to sample an artist or a genre. (Spotify and Apple have an Essentials/"this is____" playlists for most artists, which is a nice easy way to pull all their singles and EPs together.)

Re classical: They have the same issue as Amazon Music, where a lot of the metadata is poor. I am not talking about granular data, either. I mean that if an album has multiple recordings with the same name by different composers - two violin concertos, for instance - it does not indicate who the composer is on each track. This issue seems to be common to certain labels, especially Sony-connected ones. (DG is very good about labeling their files).

Apple and Spotify work around this issue, with Apple Classical being the best app for it.

Sound quality is not an issue for me on any of them - I almost never go Lossless since I am frequently on bluetooth - so what would be the benefit of changing long-term? I guess TIDAL probably pay more to artists?

NumberSix

I have an annual paid sub to Presto, and it's a nice streaming service. But I don't always like being locked into JUST classical and jazz. And their queue system is poor - well, really nonexistent beyond the album you're playing. And the search function is finicky. But in the end, they're probably the best option for getting money into the hands of artists, and they do have booklets available for a lot of albums.

DavidW

Right now, I've been using two different services. I use Spotify at work and Idagio on my stereo. At work, I had to restart Qobuz over and over due to bugs. Spotify just works. But I find it easier and more convenient on my stereo to use Idagio.

ShineyMcShineShine

#597
Quote from: NumberSix on August 31, 2024, 09:06:56 AMwhere a lot of the metadata is poor. I am not talking about granular data, either. I mean that if an album has multiple recordings with the same name by different composers - two violin concertos, for instance - it does not indicate who the composer is on each track.
I've run into this problem on Qobuz as well. It's ridiculous that labels still haven't fixed these problems.

NumberSix

Quote from: ShineyMcShineShine on August 31, 2024, 12:57:25 PMI've run into this problem on Qobuz as well. It's ridiculous that labels still haven't fixed these problems.

What it's done is frequently send me looking for a different recording, usually from a different label. I guess they didn't want my pennies. Or yours.

NumberSix

#599
I am getting more comfortable with TIDAL. The interface is cleaner than Spotify's, and it's not as sluggish as Apple's software.

The metadata is still a major issue for classical, which is not Tidal's fault. I am learning to work around it. It just means that some labels, like DG and Decca, get more attention. And others, like a lot of Sony multi-work albums, don't get the attention they would otherwise deserve because their file names suck.