Music Options

[AidenL]

Hi all,

So, we are an Apple household and have used Apple music for years. 

I'm going to upgrade my HC800 to a Core 3, and thinking perhaps I should look at music options. We have a Russound 6 channel amp for distributing audio, and are happy enough to have the same stream playing all round the house. 

So, currently, when a call comes in, using Shairbridge with Apple Music, an incoming call knocks off the music and so on as we know. 

I'm not a massive fan of Tidal, I just don't seem to get decent recommendation for music from it. I have Spotify Connect set up also, in various rooms, so could try it.

Basically my question is, if Apple Music is my default, is Spotify Connect option 2? I can browse for music on it, or add playlists which can be selected by Control 4, is that correct? And once the music is selected, the app can be closed, I can take or make calls on my phone, or can even leave the building and the stream will continue?

In that case, considering Spotify connect provides all that, what does Tidal or Deezer add? Browsing for music within the C4 app? Would that essentially be the gain with those two services?

 

Thanks in advance. 

[cnicholson]

I believe Spotify Connect is "casting" and not "streaming," meaning that you should be able to turn off your phone after starting a session and music will still play since your phone is only used for control and the media itself is not going through your phone.

Another thought:  We also mostly use Apple Music, and our typical use case is to use iPhone to control a "Music App" session on Apple TV.   Might be a better solution if you don't mind having a TV on and your TV audio is backhauled to matrix.  You could also set things up with a spare Apple TV to feed audio directly to matrix so a TV would not need to be on.

I think what Tidal gets you, as you mentioned, is integrated song selection which may be easier for guests / non-tech people to use.  The integration is really good.

[msgreenf]

30 minutes ago, cnicholson said:

eve Spotify Connect is "casting" and not "streaming," meaning that you should be able to turn off your phone after starting a session and music will still play since your phone is only used for control and the media itself is not going through your phone.

correct

[AidenL]

So Spotify seems to be a good halfway house then it seems.

[ChzBurger]

If you don't mind a single stream playing then add a Sonos Port. It will work well with Apple Music and Spotify. C4 UI will import favorites/playlists. The Sonos app is great for browsing music.

[AidenL]

36 minutes ago, ChzBurger said:

If you don't mind a single stream playing then add a Sonos Port. It will work well with Apple Music and Spotify. C4 UI will import favorites/playlists. The Sonos app is great for browsing music.

So could I cast or handover the stream to it? Is it a better option than Spotify Connect?

[cnicholson]

40 minutes ago, AidenL said:

So could I cast or handover the stream to it? Is it a better option than Spotify Connect?

I also have a Sonos box.  Like your C4 controller, it would be the stream "receiver" and you would control with Sonos app on your phone (or start playlists / favorites via C4 app or remotes).   An advantage of Sonos is that it can deal with multiple streaming services in one box (like C4, but it talks natively to Apple Music whereas C4 does not).

But the use case metaphor is more like "Phone is remote control" versus "I am playing music on my phone and now want to play it on my speakers."  So you'd be browsing on your phone in the *Sonos* app and NOT in the Apple Music App.  If that makes sense.   Many ways to skin the cat.

To be clear, like with Spotify Connect, music is not going through your phone at all.

A lot of what goes into "what's best for you" comes down to what you're used to.
 

[zaphod]

I like the Spotify connect solution because I like to use the Spotify UI to find and start my music.  I FAR prefer the Spotify UI to the Tidal UI within the C4 app.  The thing that is a pain is if you want to join other zones into the music session then you have to start the C4 app and use it to add the other zones so you are needing to use two apps on your phone.  But you can also start Spotify playback from wholly within the C4 world.  For example, I can press a button in my bedroom that starts playback of my Spotify Daily Mix 1 in my Master Bedroom and ensuite.

I use the Spotify app in my car and on my phone on my train ride while commuting to work.  I can start playback in my car and then pick it back up when I get home on my ceiling speakers.  This is particularly convenient for podcasts.

And speaking of podcasts, I don't think Tidal has podcasts.  Not sure about the other "native" C4 music playback options.  That may not matter to you.