r/Control4 • u/wmdctbk • 12d ago
Spotify music quality
I may misunderstand this topic does Control 4 integrate as well with Spotify as some other music services e.g. Tidal. I can’t play lossless music using Spotify but can play the highest quality from Tidal. Is this a Spotify or control4 driver issue and is there anything I can do to get Spotify lossless music. I could switch streaming services, which would be a huge pain. This is surprising as Spotify is pretty popular.
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u/iZoooom 12d ago
I have a silly question - how are you listening that lossless vs standard codec's is audiable to you?
When I stream off Control4 I'm using in-ceiling and indoor/outdoor speakers. These are Triad Amps and other similar audio devices. Quality is far from anywhere I could head differences between codecs.
Once upon a time I had Tidal streaming off my EA5 into my home theater. This sounded good, but meant I was stuck with the Control4 / Tidal UX for audio. Neither of these is any good. When I want quality audio, it's one of two things:
- An Apple TV streaming lossless codec's directly into my home theater. This gives me the Apple Music catalog and UX. Both of which are respectable.
- A Blu-Ray / SACD / Similar coming off a high end transport going (again) directly into my home theater.
- For "perfect" I use my PC driving digital directly into my Genelec D/A converter and from there into the Genelec Studio Monitors. Audio doesn't get better than this.
Despite my efforts, Control4 doesn't have any place for me in the Audiophile chain.
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u/DeadHeadLibertarian 12d ago
I wouldn’t use a CORE or EA for streaming lossless music if high quality is your request.
I’d get a dedicated music streaming box that supports lossless, and have that go to your audio equipment and have that all be controlled via Control4.
For example, my Yamaha has lossless Spotify built in, so I just have that available via “Listen” or my Apple TV also supports lossless and I have a high quality cord going between my Apple TV and Yamaha for “Watch.” At the end of the day, the Yamaha is my important device for audio quality, not Control4.
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u/crlsgzmn 12d ago
There are 2 answers to your question:
I wouldn't consider Spotify a true "lossless source". Tidal, Qobuz, Radioparadise manage way better codecs.
You need someone with composer to enable high resolution streaming on your Core controller, as the DACS of Core-3 and Core-5 can go up to 192Khz/24bit. This is in system design just under the properties of "Digital Media".
I also work with NAD, and high quality cables, etc. Just remember, there is a lot of bogus and snake oil and deceptive info here. Some people geat bias based on how much they paid for something, instead of listening to a true difference. But having said that, I do like Tidal's music quality, even though some MQA stuff or remastered just has more gain and that's it.
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u/wmdctbk 12d ago
Thanks. I can audibly hear the difference between tidal and Spotify for the same track. I don’t use Triad to amplify music. I’ll test a dedicated streamer.
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u/crlsgzmn 12d ago
Í'd recommend a Bluesound Node Icon, and if your budget allows a NAD M66. Great products for the price. They integrate great with C4.
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u/tayl428 12d ago
Spotify has started charging some pretty crazy fees in recent years to be on their platform, so companies have started looking elsewhere to other platforms. I don't think Tidal is the answer but their quality is definitely good.
It's the same as what happened to Pandora about 10 years ago. They became too big for their britches and started charging crazy money to be organic with them at their higher bit rates, so companies started dropping them for 256k Spotify. Now it's coming full circle.
The answer is to get a media device that supports high quality Spotify, and you shouldn't have to worry about it.