CD Quality Music Streaming

For those of us who aspire to HiFi standards and have spent more money than we would like to admit to our significant others on that shiny bit of kit in the living room, streaming MP3 quality music seems a giant leap backwards. Sidestepping the arguments over whether vinyl discs or CDs are better music sources for true audiophiles, the CD has been the go to music source of choice for the vast majority of us. But physical CD sales have been in decline for the past decade as mobile music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have come to dominate the recorded music market.

  The Rise and Fall of the Compact Disc

One option was to download CD quality files but as figures from the US record industry association, the RIAA demonstrate, the popularity of digital downloads has declined consistently over the past four years with a 25% decline in 2017.

  US music revenues continue to grow in 2017

Fortunately, we now have a choice of streamers who offer a premium CD Quality streaming service ranging from DEEZER and Tidal with a huge number of tracks over a wide range of musical genres to specialists like Idagio and Primephonic with their carefully curated classical music catalogues. Spotify is even rumoured to be introducing a premium CD quality service later in 2018.

  Spotify goes public

What file formats do CD Quality Music Streamers use

CD Quality Music streaming uses FLAC (Free Lossless Audio CODEC) which is a lossless audio file format which delivers 16-bit audio at 44.1kHz the same standard used in physical CDs. FLAC is a non-proprietary compressed audio format similar to MP3 but lossless and has become the de facto standard for CD Quality music streaming. The compression method used reduces the file size without changing the original quality delivering a bitrate over 4 times higher than MP3s.

How to listen to CD Quality Music Streaming

Fortunately, you will probably have most of the kit you need to access CD quality music streaming already. And if your existing HiFi is not capable of direct streaming then input add-ons to interface some type of connected device and output add-ons such as DACs (Digital to Analogue Converter) are available in a range of prices.

A good internet connection is essential for streaming and whilst WiFi works perfectly well in most cases, a wired connection would be preferable especially if your household has a number of users and streams video as well.

Computers – browsers, web players and desktop apps

Most modern browsers will support CD quality music streaming but many of the streamers offer dedicated web players and desktop apps which enhance the streaming experience by providing additional features such as specialist search, playlists, cover art, biographies and music discovery.

Listening can be via the computer’s in-built speakers, add-on computer speakers, headphones or you can connect the digital output from your computer to your HiFi using a DAC.

Music Players

Music players or servers are software applications that play downloaded files, internet radio and music streams. Free music players include foobar2000 and VLC both of which are available in PC, Mac and Linux versions and are ‘one-click’ installs. Squeezebox from Logitech is another free media server with a thriving enthusiast following which has plugins for almost every service and device type but does require a little more configuration.

HiFi

As digital music has started to become the norm, many HiFi devices now have streaming ‘built-in’ only requiring the user to attach to their home internet for music streaming, internet radio and playing downloaded files. Streamers have partnered with a number of manufacturers such as Bose, Samsung, LG, Bang & Olufsen and other household names to produce dedicated interfaces with advanced features. Streams can be selected using dedicated handsets or via apps on mobile devices.

Digital inputs are increasingly becoming standard even for modestly priced HiFi equipment. For older equipment without a digital input, a DAC can be used to extend the useful life of your investment.

  Onkyo to support DEEZER HiFi via free firmware update

Mobile – iOS and Android

Most CD quality music streamers have iOs and Android apps to listen to streams. Using a mobile device with a pair of high quality headphones can provide exceptional audio quality as well as the ability to experience binaural recordings. Mobile controller apps are also available allowing a single source of control for all your music devices.

Smart watches and wearables have been added to the list of mobile devices that be used for music streaming. Apple Watch, Android Wear and Fitbit are amongst some of these items that can be used.

  DEEZER brings Flow to Fitbit devices

DEEZER offer an Xbox One app which enables CD Quality music streaming without interrupting your game.

  Deezer launches Unlimited Music for Xbox One

Devices – Sonos, WiFi speakers, TVs etc

Multi-room audio from manufacturers like Sonos have become popular as listeners want the facility to hear their favourite music or programmes anywhere in the house. More sophisticated versions allow individual programme streams to different rooms. Other connected devices like WiFi speakers and Amazon Kindles are supported.

More modern TVs have dedicated apps either built-in or downloadable to permit music streaming and for those with older or simpler TVs Fire Amazon Fire sticks and Google Chromecast dongles can be used to upgrade their TVs.

  Samsung brings Deezer’s lossless streaming to its wireless speakers

  DEEZER releases new Android TV app

In Car

In Car Streaming is likely to grow as more new vehicles become connected. Bespoke integrations in BMW and Mini brands, Android Auto and Car Play apps or Bluetooth and cable connections to mobile devices can provide CD Quality music streaming while you are on the move.

Smart Speakers

Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers are directly supported by DEEZER but users of Apple HomePod can only use their devices as ‘dumb’ speakers via AirPlay.

 How to stream CD Quality lossless FLAC on Google Home

  Are Smart Speakers the future of streaming

Comparison of CD Quality Music Streaming Services

Best CD Quality Music Streaming

In HiRes Audio Online’s streaming reviews Tidal and DEEZER came out join top with Qobuz coming a close third. But it has to be remembered that Tidal and Qobuz offer HiRes streaming whereas DEEZER doesn’t. If CD Quality music streaming is all you need and HiRes ambitions aren’t likely in the near future then DEEZER comes out on top, followed by Tidal and then Qobuz. Idagio and Primephonic as specialist classical music streamers don’t come close to offering the range of content, features and music discovery that our top 3 have.

Best CD Quality Music Streaming service for features

DEEZER and Qobuz are the class leaders in this section each with a 4.5-star rating. If you had to choose there are very few devices that DEEZER doesn’t support and more are being added all the time.  With Tidal coming in a close third (4-star), the question to ask is – Does it support my devices? All three support mainstream desktop, mobile and HiFi equipment.

When it comes to Idagio and Primephonic then your choice of device becomes critical with Idagio having the edge over Primephonic supporting Android, iOS and desktop and Primephonic only supporting iOS. Neither of them have dedicated HiFi equipment support such as Sonos.

Best CD Quality Music Streaming service for content

Tidal and DEEZER tie for first place (both 5-star) and Qobuz coming in a close third with a mere 40 million tracks (4-star). The two specialist streamers Idagio and Primephonic are more likely to appeal to the dedicated classical music enthusiast but the mainstream streamers have extensive catalogues of the more popular classical releases. Idagio has the edge over Primephonic with 1.5-star and 1-star ratings respectively.

Best CD Quality Music Streaming specialist service

Primephonic is currently undergoing a replatforming exercise, has limited device support but in common with Idagio has good music discovery features for users who want to compare recordings of a particular composer or investigate the recordings of a particular artist, orchestra or conductor. Idagio has support for more devices and is slightly more feature rich but both streamers have usability issues which make a wholehearted recommendation difficult to make.

Best CD Quality Music Streaming service for value

All three of our top streamers offer their basic CD Quality music streaming service at £19.99/month with varying discounts for annual/family and student subscriptions and so there is little to choose between them. DEEZER has been actively marketing its service with its HiFi partners and purchasers of Samsung smart speakers can get a 6-month free subscription to DEEZER HiFi.

  Samsung brings Deezer’s lossless streaming to its wireless speakers

… and finally

All of the CD Quality Music streamers offer free trials which gives you the opportunity to ‘try before you buy’.