Streaming Services and Premium HiFi ‐ What is Available and Why does it Matter?
Digital streaming of entertainment, whether it be to our living rooms, our phones, or our vehicles, seems now almost ubiquitous. From television series, films, podcasts and music, there are a plethora of services available that offer almost all and every format to their customers, with each provider now competing to have the best exclusives.
The result for the consumer has been better access to a broader range of entertainment as well as an ongoing improvement in streamable file quality. However, at least for film and television series, apart from the different features that each provider has secured for that month, there is not much contrast between services in terms of digital quality. But, for music streaming services, this aspect remains quite marked and has resulted in somewhat of a hierarchy forming between providers.
While it is true that this difference is becoming less and less pronounced as services invest more time in audio quality, alongside building their music libraries, it is a point that is worth stressing, especially when considering the number of providers out there and the importance of pairing the right audio input with your premium HiFi. Therefore, Node has compiled a short intro into the world of music streaming, what services they provide and why assessing what is available forms an important part of your high‐end audio experience.
So, what is a streaming service? Essentially it is a digital platform which allows you to experience content in “real-time”, i.e., immediately as it is delivered over the internet rather than after it has completely downloaded. It is often accessed via a subscription fee, with special content and unfettered, “no ads” access available as part of different price packages. For example, some of the largest names in the music streaming industry are Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Deezer and Tidal, but they each offer their own unique, premium, and paid for content.
Of these services, Spotify (in the UK) is the most popular, largely because of its large music library and the sophistication of its algorithm, which intuitively suggests tracks, artists, and playlists that the user may like, gleaned from their previous listening habits. Yet Spotify’s audio quality is beaten by some of the other services out there, notably Tidal.
Like the former, Tidal also suggests fresh new music (albeit it has access to less tracks than Spotify), but the real difference is its ability to provide lossless compression. Unlike other services, this feature means the original digital sound file remains intact as it is streamed, rather than being compressed which results in loss of quality. Indeed, with streaming speeds of 1411kilobits a second (as part of the “Tidal HiFi” package), Tidal hits around 4.4 times the bitrate of the highest Standard Definition available on some other services. And even this is beaten by the “Tidal Masters” package, which uses MQA technology (Master Quality Authenticated) to essentially replicate the sound file as it was produced in the studio, achieving bitrates of up to 9216kbps.
Therefore, Node recommends using the highest quality streaming service available with the HYLIXA loudspeakers. Sonically, Node’s speakers are so resolving and transparent, that the qualitative difference is like that between SD and HD television ‐ while the former is perfectly adequate, the latter offers a noticeable improvement to your enjoyment. It of course comes with a price, but if you have already invested in the hardware, then it makes sense to pair it with audio of the highest resolution.
Worth mentioning is that other services are catching up. Deezer HiFi and Amazon Music HD are offering CD quality right now and the much-anticipated Spotify HiFi coming later this year, there’s never been a better time to jump into the world of high-quality streaming.