Is it a proven fact that apple music sound quality is better than spotifys?

@hansvm - I completely agree. I have a very nice set of Westone Quad driver headphones and can definitely hear the difference. I subscribe to Spotify so I only use their highest bitrate and all tested were downloaded. Direct comparison on several styles of music shows Apple's AAC @ 256 provides a better listening experience than Spotify's OOG at 320. There were a couple of songs that were pretty close, but most others were apparent to me. I also find Apple music to be much louder on my iPhone 6+ than Spotify which is actually nice since I can crank it up when needed without distortion.

I will need to stick with Spotify for a while though since my house is set up with the Sonos wireless system and they will not have Apple Music support for a few months.

Neither of these even come close to "CD quality". A CD is 1411 kbps. Apple music is 256 kbps. Spotify is 320 kbps. So as you can see, a CD has way more information and resolution than either of these services. Tidal claims to stream at 1411 kbps, but unlike a great high end CD player, you're going to be stuck using the DAC (digital audio convertor) that is inside of your smart phone which is horrible and makes the entire point of streaming at full CD quality pointless because you'll never hear the benefits.

Anyone looking for the best possible sound is going to have to buy the actual CD. Arguing over whether or not Apple is better than Spotify is like arguing which crumb is going to fill you up more. The answer... they both sound horrible compared to a real CD. They're both inadequate by comparison.

Yes (as Louis Armstrong said) if it sounds good, it is good!

If you're able to tell the difference, it will depend a lot on your hardware. Couldn't tell much difference before getting an Oppo HA-2, now is very noticeable. Sorry Spotify, Apple Music sounds better, more open and way less compressed. Never tried Tidal.

It will also depend a lot on specific music you hear. Sound sculptures on Amon Tobin's ISAM or the fat warm bass on Daft Punk's RAM will make differences clearer than, for instance, heavily distorted Ministry tracks (sure, the difference will still be there).

Bitrates are a bit like processor clock rates, are not directly comparable. Comparing CD bitrate with AAC, for instance, is utter nonsense.

You can adjust the music quality in spotify settings:

Normal is 90 kbits/s

High is 160 kbits/s

Extreme is 320 kbits/s (available via monthly paid subscription)

Apple Music is set to 256 kbits/s

But..

Spotify uses the ogg vorbis format with variable bitrate and apple use the AAC format. Many say the 256 AAC is better than the 320 ogg vobis, but each have different advantages .. You need to google the two formats and see which is best for your own needs.

There are lots of things and it depends how you listen to your music. Both are 'lossy' format and I think AAC only supports stereo, whereas I believe that ogg vorbis will play in surround sound.

But for everyday use, both will deliver CD quality, as intended by the recording artist.

If you are playing your music on apple devices only, then I guess apples' AAC is best suited. For most people there will be no discernable difference.

Spotify sounds louder when set at the same iphone volume. And I noticed a slight bass distortion in apple music when the iphone is at 100% volume (regardless to the car speaker volume). Bit Rate is important but there are other factors to consider, like the personalisation of the EQ options.

Funny you say spotify was louder. On my 6+ Apple is much louder. I also found it to have a better overall sound. My spotify songs are all at the highest bit rate.

I have noticed that if you use the Facebook app the sound in Spotify and the Music app is lower than usually. I have to close the Facebook app to get a louder sound.

Hello,

I just did some comparission between apple music and spotify (extreme quality) streamed to an apple tv and connected to a onkyo tx-sr608 receiver with magnat 607 speakers (direct mode). (not the highest HiFi, but the one that fits my pocket 😉)

I can confirm (also my husband who was also listening) that apple music gives a more full sound as spotify which lacks some 'body' , something I hated spotify from the beginning, which was improved over the years, but still not au par.

Song to try e.g. is "I Like" from "The Divine Comedy" quality is way better as on spotify, also norah jones etc, are fuller as on spotify

I Am on the opposite side here. I want to love apple music so much but the sound to me feels choked. No where near the old mog or beats. I use tidal for its lossless I can't stand that Tidal has no music discovery but the sound is the best. 2nd is spotify@320. 3rd rhapsody @320. 4th Apple music. Spotify 320 is so much fuller sounding and details are clearly easier to pick up vs Apple music. I'm bummed. I love the Apple app and its design. I thought they were going to do lossless and just run over the competition. I can barely listen to it and maybe a notch better than pandoras compressed choked sound

Funny, i posted a topic sort of about this the other day. I find the quality complete sh*t. I use Google Play for my listening, and Google Play sounds a lot louder and better quality. Any idea why that might be? Using Bluetooth headphones, i will listen to the same some on both apps (i have subscription to both services) and Play is much louder and sounds way better, and i have it at the lowest bit rate for LTE streaming to save on bandwidth. I can't figure out what the issue is.

I Agree with you I use Tidal because Apple Music just sounds terrible in comparison I have a oppo ha-2 DAC and Apple Music just sounds horrific. 256 AAC is NOT CD quality guys lol only one service does that not as it sounds on a CD and that's Tidal. Until Apple steps there sound quality up its truly hard for me to listen to it, it is literally a notch above Pandora and far below Tidals quality, tidal just has way more focus on new music and better content also keeping It real. But hey to each there own. I never knew how badly Apple Music sounded until I head tidal and used tidal then I was sold.

Yup, I agree with the TIDAL guys. It's the best quality sound. I am looking forward to the day that Apple makes the jump to lossless. You'd think they would have by now. Or Spotify, for that matter. Spotify has THE best artist and song discovery. It also has great charts, top played, and trending lists.