BY96 Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 We have been using SiriusXM and Apple Music (using the Airplay option) with Control4. I really prefer SiriusXM, but my wife loves her playlists (especially around the holidays) and given the lack of full integration between Apple and C4, I am thinking of subscribing to a new music service that allows unlimited access to music to create playlists for my wife. I see that Amazon Music is $9/month, which is fine, but I wanted to see everyone's opinions about the options C4 offers for full integration. I will keep SiriusXM for a more "radio" experience, but which service does everyone recommend for creating your own playlists? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Pandora Premium works nicely within Control4, that's what I personally use. So do Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music and others. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 2 minutes ago, chopedogg88 said: Pandora Premium works nicely within Control4, that's what I personally use. So do Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music and others. I have been researching Amazon Music and Tidal. Regarding Pandora Premium, can you create your own playlists and it will only play the songs on your list? My understanding is that Pandora will play whatever it thinks you like based on your prior likes, but I could be way off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Yes its a premium music service just like all of the others where you can listen to any song you want at any time, create playlists, etc. What you're talking about is the free Pandora. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 4 minutes ago, chopedogg88 said: Yes its a premium music service just like all of the others where you can listen to any song you want at any time, create playlists, etc. What you're talking about is the free Pandora. Thanks! That makes sense. Any reason you chose it over Tidal, Amazon, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 As a follow-up question, does the Core3 decode MQA? I can only find information about the EA controllers. (I am trying to decide if the extra $$$ for Tidal is worth it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 yes the CORE series controllers have better audio processing capabilities than the EA series. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 11 minutes ago, chopedogg88 said: yes the CORE series controllers have better audio processing capabilities than the EA series. Good. I just can't find any information online about MQA and the Core series. Everything is older about the EAs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjh Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 15 hours ago, BY96 said: which service does everyone recommend for creating your own playlists? Thanks!! I’ve used Amz music and Tidal and Spotify. Our preference is for Tidal as it has the tightest integration for programming. Aka I want a certain playlist when I turn the outside on…my kids want to choose a playlist from custom buttons in the touchpad… Tidal gives the most options and is most flexible imho. Haven’t used Pandora Prem so can’t compare to that. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerT Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 We primarily use Qobuz. Very large catalog, and lots of 24/192 tracks. Despite all of the fun gear, my ears just don't agree with MQA (Tidal). YMMV. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 I’ve used Amz music and Tidal and Spotify. Our preference is for Tidal as it has the tightest integration for programming. Aka I want a certain playlist when I turn the outside on…my kids want to choose a playlist from custom buttons in the touchpad… Tidal gives the most options and is most flexible imho. Haven’t used Pandora Prem so can’t compare to that. I joined Tidal last night for a 60 day trial. So far, I am very impressed. There are a lot more MQA songs than I ever expected. I also love being able to favorite the playlist to the room. Now, I am sure other services do that as well, just not sure which ones. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk SpencerT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 We primarily use Qobuz. Very large catalog, and lots of 24/192 tracks. Despite all of the fun gear, my ears just don't agree with MQA (Tidal). YMMV. So many different options! I haven’t researched Qobuz yet but will add it to my list to look at. I did see there are people who don’t care for MQA. I haven’t used Tidal enough to have an opinion yet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerT Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 1 hour ago, BY96 said: So many different options! I haven’t researched Qobuz yet but will add it to my list to look at. I did see there are people who don’t care for MQA. I haven’t used Tidal enough to have an opinion yet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I'm certainly not knocking MQA. Let your ears decide, it's just a personal preference. Lots of people love it and I do still have a Tidal subscription, just don't use it very often. I don't think you could go wrong with either. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 I'm certainly not knocking MQA. Let your ears decide, it's just a personal preference. Lots of people love it and I do still have a Tidal subscription, just don't use it very often. I don't think you could go wrong with either. The only criticism of QoBuz I could find is the catalogue in the US is lacking compared to other services. Was surprised that a few songs I have on Apple Music weren’t available on Tidal, so I worry if QoBuz is even smaller. But sounds like you have found the catalogue sufficient. The price is much better than Tidal. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk SpencerT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerT Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 I'd say as a whole, tidal and qobuz certainly won't have as big of a catalog as Spotify (or maybe even Amazon). But we've run into issues where tracks become not available on Spotify as well. So who knows. We sync playlists between services using soundiiz. It will occasionally "miss" when the track actually does exist in the service. For the stuff I can't find on qobuz, we have local playlists on bluesound with a mix of flac served off my nas, qobuz and occasionally tidal (if it's missing from qobuz and I haven't purchased it yet). Not perfect, but we are very playlist heavy and it has served us well. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 9 minutes ago, SpencerT said: I'd say as a whole, tidal and qobuz certainly won't have as big of a catalog as Spotify (or maybe even Amazon). But we've run into issues where tracks become not available on Spotify as well. So who knows. We sync playlists between services using soundiiz. It will occasionally "miss" when the track actually does exist in the service. For the stuff I can't find on qobuz, we have local playlists on bluesound with a mix of flac served off my nas, qobuz and occasionally tidal (if it's missing from qobuz and I haven't purchased it yet). Not perfect, but we are very playlist heavy and it has served us well. With QoBuz, can you favorite your playlists to the C4 Room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerT Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Just now, BY96 said: With QoBuz, can you favorite your playlists to the C4 Room? Yes, we do this from both bluesound and the native c4 driver. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 My initial review was that Tidal had the best quality music available, but from reading reviews comparing the two it seems that QoBuz is on-par for quality depending on people's idiosyncratic views of MQA. For the price difference, I am thinking QoBuz is my better choice. I need to research it some more. I can get the QoBuz family plan with Hi Res audio (but not the Sublime plan, which seems pointless for me) for less than the single highest-end plan of Tidal. I really don't mind $20 for Tidal, but hate the idea of $30 for the family MQA plan. SpencerT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 Well, I found three downsides for QoBuz for me. First, it does not include Dolby Atmos, which I have been using with Apple Music on my Apple TV. But since I get Apple Music for free from Verizon, I could continue to use it for spatial audio. Second, QoBuz doesn't have an Apple TV app at all, and I don't care for streaming from my phone. But I will primarily use QoBuz over my whole house system, using C4, not the ATV. Lastly, QoBuz, at least compared to Tidal, doesn't do the recommendation thing very well. I was already seeing great recommendations for my with Tidal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 I guess I can dominate this thread since I started it, but I am wanting some input on another option. If I just go ahead and pay the $30 family plan for Tidal, since it is meeting most of my needs, would Tidal's "channel" options be a good alternative to SiriusXM, which I have been paying a ton for years? Does Tidal have good "channel" options? If so, I can save a lot of money canceling SiriusXM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstafford388 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 So Tidal doesn't have "channels" but they do several things I think would accomplish what you're hoping for. You can search for genres and in there you'll find albums, new music, playlists created by Tidal, playlists created by others, etc. They also post personalized mixes for you that incorporate some songs you've listened to and other songs that would be similar. If you run through a playlist either you've created or a public one, once that playlist is over it automatically kicks into kind of a pandora mode where it continues on with a mix of artists/songs similar to what you were listening to. I've been relatively pleased with it for a long time now as using the mixes and continuing to listen after the end of a playlist puts some new music in there to the point where I rarely feel like it's gotten stale. Add in good integration and I'm pretty happy. BY96 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BY96 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 21 minutes ago, mstafford388 said: So Tidal doesn't have "channels" but they do several things I think would accomplish what you're hoping for. You can search for genres and in there you'll find albums, new music, playlists created by Tidal, playlists created by others, etc. They also post personalized mixes for you that incorporate some songs you've listened to and other songs that would be similar. If you run through a playlist either you've created or a public one, once that playlist is over it automatically kicks into kind of a pandora mode where it continues on with a mix of artists/songs similar to what you were listening to. I've been relatively pleased with it for a long time now as using the mixes and continuing to listen after the end of a playlist puts some new music in there to the point where I rarely feel like it's gotten stale. Add in good integration and I'm pretty happy. Thank you. Yes, my research confirmed what you are saying. But honestly, I think the personalized approach of Tidal may actually be better than the "channels" on SiriusXM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekohn00 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 18 hours ago, chopedogg88 said: Yes its a premium music service just like all of the others where you can listen to any song you want at any time, create playlists, etc. What you're talking about is the free Pandora. I never knew..... Thanks, now I have something to play with this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekohn00 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 17 hours ago, chopedogg88 said: yes the CORE series controllers have better audio processing capabilities than the EA series. Not doubting your knowledge, but the spec sheets don't list MQA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekohn00 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 4 hours ago, SpencerT said: I'm certainly not knocking MQA. Let your ears decide, it's just a personal preference. Lots of people love it and I do still have a Tidal subscription, just don't use it very often. I don't think you could go wrong with either. Personally think the limiting factor is the DAC in the core or EA. Having high-resolution audio going through a cheaper DAC degrades the sound. I personally added bluesound for most of the streaming music as well as the whole home audio, there's a significant difference. PS....even Sirius and Pandora are better sounding, and they are far from high-res Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.