Yeah that’s why I stopped with local files about 5 year ago. I can’t see me ever not subscribing to a music streaming service going forward.
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Ah well, every generation is convinced that the music from their adolescense is the best music ever made.
Vera lynn was a much better artist than Bob Dylan 
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I don’t want to part with my local collection. It is still growing. At the same time, the availability of millions of tracks online is great. That combination is also the beauty of Roon.
PS (Local music is also very useful with internet disruptions 
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Yes indeed ! Bring it on!
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Now Apple will get in the game. A win win for the consumer.
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I don’t doubt you’re right about Ms. Lynn. Would you like to argue that the music of the Backstreet Boys is superior to that of Mr. Dylan, or are you satisfied that record sales are not a reliable indicator of musical talent?
Can’t ignore Spotify much longer.
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This could be the beginning of consolidation in the streaming market. Potential huge hit to Qobuz and Tidal - one or the other (or both) may go away at some point. I get that it’s not his res, but it might be good enough for a lot of people.
Spotify to date has not been interested in a tie-up with Roon, under Roon’s terms for tight integration. I hope there is some reconsideration at some point… it would not be good for Roon’s apparently “streaming first” strategy to get hamstrung by a lack of viable streaming partners.
What does Roon look like if Qobuz and Tidal get bought by Apple and Amazon, or if they close doors?
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I’ll probably give this a try. My streamer is Stack Audio Link II, which has RopieeeXL and can already accept Spotify Connect. I think lossless with that library is better than Qobuz with the limited library. Add in the playlists and recommendations.
I can try for a month and see how sound quality compares to Qobuz thru roon. I doubt Spotify will get integrated into roon since they’ve said no in the past and they take pride in their software interface. Maybe it will push Amazon to integrate, since their software is terrible.
Uh oh for Tidal, Qobuz and Deezer.
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Yeah some of the smaller players may start to feel a pinch soon.
(post deleted by author)
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The need to support power users is infinitely more relevant with the news of spotify hifi coming later this year. Bye bye tidal and qobuz. Streaming services are temporary but local files are forever. @brian while still enhancing the recommendation engine please double-down on power features for local files (tags, promoting the user’s opinion, etc).
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Roon labs needs to find a way to integrate streaming services that is unwilling/unable to provide the full database drops Roon requires today. If streaming is the future for Roon this is a necessary development.
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Maybe a little less aggression and a little more focus on the topic? Blaming the “shambles” of the world on Billie Eilish is an unusual (and rather inaccurate) take on the geo-political situation.
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I think this is both important and interesting news, because for possibly the first time a Hi-Fi manufacturer/dealer will be able to offer customers a turnkey high quality streaming solution using Spotify Connect.
- cd quality streaming at a great price (Assuming USD 10-30 pcm) with no additional hardware or software licensing required e.g. UPnP, Roon
- a great streaming catalog
- a consistently good app experience
- family friendly subscription model
- online and offline listening
- complete freedom to enjoy the music on a great system in the living/listening room, a smart speaker, in the car, or on a phone.
I think this will appeal to a very broad cross section of the market whether they are looking at a high end smart speaker, the fantastic KEF LS50 Wireless II or a wonderfully high-end system from dCS.
Many of us here might want more, like support for legacy content, hi-res, multi-room, sophisticated DSP, better metadata etc… and that’s ok because Roon is great and not going anywhere soon.
Selfishly; I’m a Roon lifetime subscriber, a concern I have is that this move from Spotify will put more pressure on what appears to be a slightly fragile Tidal. For me, integrating a streaming library with my own is a critical part of why I use Roon. I don’t see Spotify or Apple Music coming to Roon any time soon, almost certainly never. I have an Apple Music subscription to fill in Tidal’s gaps and having previously subscribed to Qobuz I know it’s catalog is too small for me. So I feel a bit nervous.
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Well, as a singer and a dancer she is definitely more talented than Mozart… 
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Spotify just announced a HIFI tier for later this year
I’m sitting on the pragmatic side of the fence here, personally. Spotify HiFi is only going to be a great thing.
What’s one thing that separates audiophiles and other people? Exposure. We’ve all been exposed through some avenue to the heightened experience a good HiFi ecosystem, from source to ears, can bring. We all experience that to different degrees.
Now, I started to get into music in a big way when the whole Napster/Limewire/Kazaa thing happened. When streaming came on board, it was not a quantum leap for those who grew up with downloading mp3 files on a 56kbps internet connection, hoping the person hosting the file named the track correctly. If I’m downloading No Scrubs by TLC, I don’t want Rick Astley when I get back home from school, dammit 
Streaming has worked because it took how many people were accessing audio and made it easier/more convenient. And that’s evolved.
Somebody posted the subscription numbers earlier. Spotify is overwhelmingly the market leader, as one would expect - they did a LOT right in terms of user experience. I’m going to liken this whole situation to the best thing that ever happened to headphones - Beats. Beats made it acceptable for the normal person on the street to even consider paying $300+ on headphones. Sure, there was a market beforehand, but it was tiny. When Beats became THE thing in headphones, it increased exposure to that price point. But some people who were then exposed to that price point naturally want different, or want more - they just didn’t realise that it was an option. I see the same happening here. A proportion of those 155m Spotify subscribers will go for Spotify HiFi. A proportion of those people will just stop there. That’s fine, they may look to continue the audio journey later. Another set of those subscribers will look for other ways to get ‘better’ or move to an alternative - move to TIDAL, Qobuz, Deezer - a win for those guys. Some subscribers will stay with Spotify and maybe look to upgrade their equipment because it means they will get the most out of their new service tier. Some will move AND do that. All wins for the world of HiFi. All because of exposure.
It’s another step to making quality sources a norm. It’s a big baby step. Baby step to us, maybe, but a big step for those who aren’t musicphiles yet.
And let’s not forget - there is a shedload of great sounding 16bit/44.1kHz masters, plenty of engineers know what they’re doing with it.
EDIT: Had to edit, ‘musicphiles’ autocorrected to ‘music-holes’ 
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Lol, I remember those days! Hours of downloading ruined by someone picking up the phone to make a phone call. And the sound of those modems when signing onto AOL… I still hear it in my nightmares 