[Waspune]

The only fly in the ointment is that Spotify premium is introduced for andriod app. The ios app doesn't have that option as of now but should launch soon.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by Waspune

The only fly in the ointment is that Spotify premium is introduced for andriod app. The ios app doesn't have that option as of now but should launch soon.

Its already there, But you need to sign up for the premium membership for IOS via spotify.com

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Everyone who is taking about the great quality of audio on Apple and Spotify and the likes, have you ever tried Tidal? Trust me you will stop using anything else. Standard HIFI files on Tidal are all Lossless, MQA is even higher quality if your have he right decoding software and hardware. After Tidal with a good DAC and AMP nothing else sounds good. Let Spotify get lossless stuff then maybe I will be interested. Till then I see not much of an advantage over the 100 INR Gaanas or the free Jio Saavns for Indian music.

I agree, signed for Tidal HiFi (US) through the round about route thanks to a cousin in the US. Their streaming sound quality on the same rock album (Toto) is equal to my FLACs. MQA - great on paper. But can we hear the difference between MQA and FLAC/lossless? Need to check it out But one needs a fast steady internet connection for this.

Comparison done on modest budget head-fi gear. Who needs to buy CDs when you have FLAC streaming?

But, if Spotify were to go HiFi I think Tidal would be in trouble. They (Tidal) are already on a shaky wicket according to several press reports.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by R2D2

I agree, signed for Tidal HiFi (US) through the round about route thanks to a cousin in the US. Their streaming sound quality on the same rock album (Toto) is equal to my FLACs. MQA - great on paper. But can we hear the difference between MQA and FLAC/lossless? Need to check it out But one needs a fast steady internet connection for this.

Comparison done on modest budget head-fi gear. Who needs to buy CDs when you have FLAC streaming?

But, if Spotify were to go HiFi I think Tidal would be in trouble. They (Tidal) are already on a shaky wicket according to several press reports.

What's great about Tidal is that you never need a VPN except during sign up. If you have gear that is resolving enough and have right decoders, MQA superiority can easily be discerned. Tidal works great out of our 4g connections, no special connection needed. Spotify is already testing lossless streaming for quite some time now so should start in the US and other big markets soon.

[naveenroy]

Good news. I love Spotify here. Have the yearly subscription. Damn, what awesome pricing in India. I pay more than 7000 bucks for that here.

Wonder how they arrive at these pricing? No, just genuinely curious.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

What's great about Tidal is that you never need a VPN except during sign up. If you have gear that is resolving enough and have right decoders, MQA superiority can easily be discerned. Tidal works great out of our 4g connections, no special connection needed. Spotify is already testing lossless streaming for quite some time now so should start in the US and other big markets soon.

Absolutely true. I've been playing music using the desktop apps from Tidal HiFi and Spotify set to high quality. Yep, the difference is audible. Presence, clarity, vocals are superior. Same track, same album played for 30-45 seconds at a stretch and the that very segment played on the other service. I read someplace that Tidal uses higher quality, possibly even remastered albums/tracks, for their premium services. I'm sold on Tidal within a few hours of having the account and application configured. And hope Spotify will introduce lossless someday.

About VPNS - these services need you to login via a VPN to sign up. After that you are free to use the service from wherever you have an internet connection.

[sups]

Originally Posted by R2D2

About VPNS - these services need you to login via a VPN to sign up. After that you are free to use the service from wherever you have an internet connection.

Tried to subscribe through VPN when in India. But could not succeed. It says that the service is not available in India. Any workaround?

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by sups

Tried to subscribe through VPN when in India. But could not succeed. It says that the service is not available in India. Any workaround?

Connect to a country via VPN where it's service is available.

[embee]

The following articles on Spotify that I came across on the website Quartz India which quotes that Spotify might be late to the party, but the Swedish music streaming app is trying really hard to make up for the lost time in India.

https://qz.com/india/1560249/spotify...aavn-in-india/

https://qz.com/india/1561175/spotify...aana-in-india/

[Waspune]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Its already there, But you need to sign up for the premium membership for IOS via spotify.com

Thanks. I upgraded to the premium membership with 1 free month.
1) So far liking the experience with a user friendly and smart UI.
2) The sound quality is the best one can expect after lossless forms.
3) The curations are pretty good after it asks you to select all the artists that you want to hear.
4) The songs collection is pretty good too. Some artists are missing because of some feud going on with Warner. But once you select an artist it will give you one of the widest collections.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by sups

Tried to subscribe through VPN when in India. But could not succeed. It says that the service is not available in India. Any workaround?

As Sparkled said, connect to a country where Tidal is available. List:
https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/a...e-re-Available

But remember 2 things:

a) You will be billed in that country's local currency
b) Prices differ from country to country

So IMO best point your VPN to a US server and access Tidal's US homepage to create an account.

[Paradiddle]

Finally! I have been using Spotify US account for 5 years now. I'll wait for 2-3 months before making the switch to an India account just to make sure it has everything I need.

I'm watching this thread closely.

[ampere]

I can point to a couple of things on the streaming apps. One probably for english genre, Spotify may be leagues ahead when compared to others. Not because of content but more because of the suggestion it throws at you.

But that does not mean rest are dead fully. The Hindi and regional language is a big piece of the business, where the rest hold. Not to mention the amazing deal of Amazon as a part of prime. That can easily get into ones drawing room and home theatres thanks to echo.

Definitely for personal listening and english, I would still prefer Spotify (in spite of my huge personal collection of metal) given the surprise the streaming app throws to me. For the rest the jury is still out there.

[nishsingh]

Originally Posted by GTO

For English / Western music, there is NOTHING that compares to Spotify.

Thanks for the recommendation. I bought the annual package for around RS 1200/-.

I remember spending close to RS 150/- every month during my teen days in the 90s. Of course, in addition to buying cassettes, a lot of time was also spent on carefully curating playlists and dubbing these songs. Life for music lovers has indeed become much simpler and cheaper now.

[civic-sense]

I get the following error while trying to sign up to tidal. I am using Thunder VPN connected to a US server. Anybody?