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Thread: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    @Jim

    Everything I read suggests audio quality has improved significantly since Echo 1, so I doubt it's a fair comparison. That said, Echo 3 may be much better than it was, but reviews suggest the Sonos has a clear edge. Which, at double the price, it should.

    I guess what I'm looking for audio that's good enough, but this is not an audiophile project. One useful (to me) Echo feature is the "drop in" feature to a Dot in the kitchen. So I'm trying to get a good feature list because, ultimately, that's what's driving this, while maintaining as good an audio quality as possible without sacrificing features that I might actually use.
    A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by ik9000 View Post
    I just want something I can use to distribute my music around the house. We tried Echo but it kept dropping out and it just got too frustrating. So now I'm trying to find something that will run off a central drive and pipe the music to other devices. Not sure if that gives you an alternate route to consider?
    That's phase 2, ik.

    I want to transfer my CD collection, and even LPs, to digital files for storage on PC/NAS, unless I can get the less common 60s/70s albums I have. unless they're in the streaming service content .... hence looking at "Unlimited" or Spotify, etc.

    Alternate route? No. But an additional layer? Oh, yes.
    A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen999 View Post
    @Jim

    Everything I read suggests audio quality has improved significantly since Echo 1, so I doubt it's a fair comparison. That said, Echo 3 may be much better than it was, but reviews suggest the Sonos has a clear edge. Which, at double the price, it should.

    I guess what I'm looking for audio that's good enough, but this is not an audiophile project. One useful (to me) Echo feature is the "drop in" feature to a Dot in the kitchen. So I'm trying to get a good feature list because, ultimately, that's what's driving this, while maintaining as good an audio quality as possible without sacrificing features that I might actually use.
    That's a positive, at least.

    Given that it's so subjective, and you're interested in some Amazon-specific features, I'd be tempted to order both the Echo Studio (since it's a fairer comparison to the Sonos) and the Echo 3 and test both in the actual room you want to use them in.

    Once you've decided which is best, you can return the other through CRA. I think trying to predict whether you'll value the improved quality highly enough is impossible.

    What I would suggest doing as well is signing up for the 30 day trial of Music HD https://www.amazon.co.uk/music/unlimited/hd - you might well drop to Music Unlimited afterwards to make it cheaper, but it makes for a fairer test of the comparative quality of the devices.

    As you've said, for pure audio the Sonos would have the edge, but as soon as you're talking about features like drop in, it becomes much less relevant.

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by ik9000 View Post
    I just want something I can use to distribute my music around the house. We tried Echo but it kept dropping out and it just got too frustrating. So now I'm trying to find something that will run off a central drive and pipe the music to other devices. Not sure if that gives you an alternate route to consider?
    FWIW I'm using Squeezebox for that and it's fantastic - although probably a conversation for another thread or we'll derail this one!

    The kit is still relatively expensive (second hand only), and it's obviously not as web-enabled as a 2020 device would be, but for the pure simplicity of streaming FLAC / MP3 from a server / NAS to self-contained streaming boxes, I love it.

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    In my experience Spotify has the best sound quality

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Y'know, I love this forum. Whatever you ask, there's always people like those in this thread prepared to offer not only advice and opinion, but to give their time to explain it.So thank you, all of you. I'm learning a lot. And it is tremedously helpful.

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by filmeeboy View Post
    Y'know, I love this forum. Whatever you ask, there's always people like those in this thread prepared to offer not only advice and opinion, but to give their time to explain it.So thank you, all of you. I'm learning a lot. And it is tremedously helpful.
    Y'know, quoting someone else's post, in the same thread no less, without showing it as a quote, is not a Good start to forum membership.

    Doing it to a dead thread is even less good. It makes it look very much like spam.

    And doing it to someone that spent about 15 years as a site admin on this very site is seriously pushing your luck.

    Quote Originally Posted by My post from post 16 above
    Y'know, I love this forum. Whatever you ask, there's always people like those in this thread prepared to offer not only advice and opinion, but to give their time to explain it.

    So thank you, all of you. I'm learning a lot. And it is tremedously helpful
    Last edited by Saracen999; 02-03-2021 at 11:54 PM. Reason: Tpyo
    A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Bit of thread necro but for those interested in renting their music at a higher definition some useful news today. Apple Music are bringing lossless music and Dolby Atmos support in for no extra charge. In response Amazon Music are doing likewise.

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    How does that compare to Spotify?
    I've moved to the family pack so that the offspring can have their own playlists etc..

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Think Spotify are already doing it : https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-02...-spotify-hifi/

    Also before getting lossless this is worth a look : https://thenextweb.com/news/before-y...ess-audio-test
    Jon

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Spotify is the greatest app, I have 0 regrets for paying on a mothly basis because I use it a lot and it has many functions that I adore - discover weekly, song radio, similar artists, playlists and many others

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen999 View Post
    Y'know, quoting someone else's post, in the same thread no less, without showing it as a quote, is not a Good start to forum membership.
    Doing it to a dead thread is even less good. It makes it look very much like spam.
    And doing it to someone that spent about 15 years as a site admin on this very site is seriously pushing your luck.
    Quote Originally Posted by [GSV]Trig View Post
    What is this, Saracen wants an Echo in his house...
    But he doesn't take too kindly to having an ^echo in his thread, it seems...
    _______________________________________________________________________
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Tyson
    like a chihuahua urinating on a towering inferno...

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Just for another option. I use Denon HEOS speakers (I have 1 HEOS 1 and 2x HEOS 5). On them, I use Tidal (Hifi membership) and Plex etc for my own music. I found the quality of the HEOS devices to be superior to Sono when I tested them side by side using the same service at the time. however, as always this is subjective. There are newer versions of HEOS and Sonos speakers now so things may have changed.

    But for anyone still interested in this, I have found the HEOS speakers to be rock solid if used with ethernet. Wifi was temperamental (although again this may have changed with new revisions), especially when streaming to multiple devices at the same time (my amp also has HEOS). Likewise, the HEOS app was updated last month and is much better now. Still a few bugs but fine.

    I also have an old squeezebox touch. But it is faulty and won't power on anymore
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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    The main reason I use Amazon is I have good old Alexa at home and in the car. I find it so much easier as well as my kind of music like the likes of Boston, Thin Lizzy and so forth easy to get hold of. The sound quality pumping or of my Bose speakers in the car and PC I find is ok.
    JABULANI NONKE

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen999 View Post
    Or maybe a Sonos, yeah.
    I tried a Sonos smart speaker, & actually wasn't all that taken with the audio quality. In the end though, I went with the Echo Studio, but mainly that was because it supports phone calls whereas the Sonos didn't (Amazon keeps that feature for its own devices, it seems).

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    Re: Spotify or Music Unlimited?

    Quote Originally Posted by MrJim View Post
    I tried a Sonos smart speaker, & actually wasn't all that taken with the audio quality. In the end though, I went with the Echo Studio, but mainly that was because it supports phone calls whereas the Sonos didn't (Amazon keeps that feature for its own devices, it seems).
    I ended up with a couple of Echo 3rd Gen (the globe-type ones, not the cylindrical) in a stereo pair. It's been a ....mixed ...experience. For the money, and when they work, the sound is pretty decent, and certainly up to what I wanted them for.

    But fabulous? Nope.

    Sometimes, I want serious listening. I tend to use either Sennheiser Momentum 3 phones (for cordless use) or my trusty decades-old Stax Electrostatics (cabled) for that. I'm currently re-doing the 'office' sound more as a Man-Cave, getting rid of all the stuff that was really work-related, and planning on a half-decent set of speakers in there. The problem is that, along with the rest of me, my ears are no longer 20-years old and just don't work like they used to. Accordingly, I have adjusted my definition of 'decent' (and you probably heard the relieved sigh from my bank account from there). The nervous gasp, however, was when I told my bank account about portable headphone DAC's. The account is currently looking a bit wild-eyed, 'cos it knows I have PC and camera plans too. Wait 'til it finds out about decent microphones, lights and a RodeCaster Pro. That'll pucker its sphincter, right proper.

    Back to the Echo's.

    I still don't quite know what's going on, though I have suspicions about Amazon and silent firmware updates. That stereo pair thing worked fine .... for months. Then, all of a sudden, when I told it to play radio stations (say, radio 4, or LBC), it would appear to work, pay for about 5 seconds, then drop the station (or at least, mute the sound). I tried everything I could think of but it seemed, for flippin' months, to refuse to work. TBH, I pretty much gave up in frustration and dug old the old Pure DAB/FM radio. Which was really annoying because the radio was one of the main reasons I got Echo's in the first place, the other being voice-command lighting control.

    Then today, on reading this, I thought "Haven't tried the radio on the Echo's recently". And beggar me, but it worked. Andhas been playing for about 15 miutes at thispoint, this is 14 mins and 55 seconds more than it's done for bleepin' months.

    Which makes me even mroe suspicious about silent irmwware updates. I have noticed, more than a few times, that the speakers just 'reboot' when not in use, often in the middle of the night. And if you're laying in bed at 3am, reading from a Kindle, and the Echo's both do their 'startup' light show, it's hard to miss.

    So, radio currently working. I wonder if it will when I stop play, then next time tell it to start?
    A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".

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