Home Streaming Audio Software The Reader Question – Which streaming service is the best?

The Reader Question – Which streaming service is the best?

0
The Reader Question – Which streaming service is the best?

Q and A!

Contents

What is an online audio streaming service?

An online audio streaming service is a service that streams music. You can access millions of tracks via a subscription – often from around 10 euros per month.

Is Spotify the best?

Good is a relative term. Spotify is a very popular service with one of the largest libraries. The streaming quality is good, but not the best there is to get. Spotify streams at 320 kbps Ogg Vorbis. That’s a lossy compression method.

What is the difference between lossless and lossy compression?

Lossless compression means that compression is done (packed, made smaller), but not at the expense of the quality of the original. The FLAC container is an example of a format that compresses without loss. Lossy compression really throws data away. So there is a loss compared to the original. Mp3 and Ogg Vorbis are examples of lossy formats.

What’s MQA?

MQA is a music format in which the chain is controlled. So the chain from studio to listener is controlled and guaranteed. MQA works like an origami. The file is ‘folded’, making it smaller. The receiving side must be able to ‘unfold’ it again. That happens in the streamer and in the dac. So there are two folding moments when full quality is desired. MQA works with FLAC and is backwards compatible.

What is high-res audio?

High Res audio is a ‘format’ that brings better quality than CD. This concerns in particular the dynamics / noise floor (bits) and sampling rate (resolution / detail). CD is 16 bit (dynamics) and 44.1 kHz (samplingrate: resolution / detail). High Res audio often starts at 24 bit / 48 kHz, but goes much higher than that. 24 bit / 96 kHz is no exception. Basically, DSD (1 bit / 2.8 mHz, 5.6 Mhz, 11.2 mHz) is also High Res.