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Tired of waiting for Spotify Hi-Fi to launch? If hi-res music streaming is what you want, there are some options available right now. Here are some alternatives you can try that provide the lossless audio the audiophile in you craves.
Spotify Hi-Fi was announced all the way back in 2021, and over three years later, the company's CEO still says it's "in early days." So, we're not exactly confident it's coming any time soon. Thankfully, you have choices.
1 Apple Music
Thanks to the Apple Lossless Audio Codec, Apple Music (starting at 10.99 per month) allows you to listen to your favorite tunes with lossless audio quality ranging from CD quality to hi-res audio. This is a frequency range from 44 kHz to 192 kHz. Furthermore, it provides an immersive listening experience with Dolby Atmos spatial audio support, which makes you feel like the music is coming from all around you with a surround sound effect.
Both Spotify and Apple Music feature over 100 million songs. However, you can add more songs to your Apple Music Library from your iTunes library. These can be songs you've purchased, uploaded, or ripped.
If you're an Apple fan, Apple Music fits well within your ecosystem, since it works well with devices like iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, and HomePod. You can easily control music through Siri voice commands, which is especially useful if you're using CarPlay. And if you have an Apple One subscription, Apple Music is already part of the bundle.
2 Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon Music Unlimited (starting at $10.99 per month) is another streaming service with more than 100 million songs to enjoy. Many of them offer lossless audio. You have the HD and Ultra HD streaming options, which offer CD-quality audio and above.
That means your average bit rate will be between 850 kbps and 3,730 kbps, which is great fidelity for audiophiles. This makes your music listening sessions more immersive, especially when coupled with Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio spatial audio.
If you are a Prime Member, you get a discount on Amazon Music Unlimited as part of the subscription. Furthermore, it has seamless integration with Alexa-enabled devices, allowing you to control playback with voice commands.
3 Tidal
When it comes to music, Tidal (starting at 10.99 per month) is well-known for its exclusive content, such as early album releases, live-streamed concerts, and even music videos. You will find over 110 million tracks and 650,000 music videos on this music streaming platform. And you can enjoy it with lossless audio, high-res FLAC, and spatial audio.
Tidal also has one of the best ways to introduce you to new artists. It uses an algorithm that makes suggestions based on your listening patterns, helping you create personalized playlists that align with your tastes. You can even discover more music through curated playlists created by your favorite artists.
4 Deezer
Deezer ($9.00 per month or $107.99 per year) shares many features with Spotify. These include an extensive catalog of music, podcasts, and radio shows, a dynamic music discovery feature (called Flow) for generating endless and personalized playlists, and global reach (sometimes in regions where Spotify isn't supported). Also, many of the songs on Deezer have lyrics for epic sing-alongs.
One major area where Deezer outshines over Spotify is in providing HiFi audio quality. Also, it has a bright and colorful interface that can make the music listening experience more uplifting and enjoyable when compared to Spotify's dark theme.
5 QoBuz
You can download music for offline listening on both Spotify and QoBuz (starting at $10.83). However, the latter allows you to also purchase these high-resolution tracks so you can build a personal library of lossless audio. You can enjoy these tracks in the long term without worrying that you will be cut off from them when your subscription ends.
Qubuz also allows you to dive deeper into the music you enjoy with original editorial content that will appeal to the music enthusiast in you. This includes album reviews, biographies, interviews, and in-depth articles on the history of your favorite groups. This enhances the listening experience by providing more musical insights and can present opportunities to discover new artists.
Keep in mind that to fully appreciate the lossless audio formats, you will need some good-quality headsets or speakers. You will be able to hear the intricacies this way, especially when it comes to spatial audio. And they will come in handy if and when Spotify Hi-Fi launches.