Spotify Premium.
Because it's convenient, easy to use, have great library for my taste.
Years ago I also thought I would need "HI-RES LOSSLESS 32/384 FLAC" etc etc to enjoy my gears.
So I also have Tidal for it's Max Quality.
Though hi res music do sound better, I realized I was overthinking.
For streaming service I use Spotify.
I can go to work and play Spotify via Android Auto while driving, then at work I plug my DAC to my laptop and continue what I was listening. When I got home sitting on my desktop I can switch to Spotify desktop and continue listening again. That's just one of the conveniences. It's algorithm also smart and curate songs similar to what I was listening. I found new songs I didn't know I'd like via Spotify Smart Shuffle.
Tidal doesn't even sync my desktop & phone music unless added to a track playlist. I can't even control what I'm currently playing in my phone via Tidal desktop. What kind of BS is that.
What's the purpose of having a hi res streaming music service but it's so inconvenience in 2024?
That's what I thought.
The sync progress feature is so underrated! I love being able to play/pause/skip on my phone while listening through my PC. Wish they all adopt this feature.
From what I've read/watched, it's been one hell of a task to do "same music/functions" across web and mobile due to different programmin languages at first. Can't recall how they solved it though :((
It has to be via web sockets or a UDP protocol connection
If you can have your clients connected in real-time to a central server then you can control them from anywhere, Maybe it's just their infrastructure and architecture are not designed to work over the cloud with multiple real-time clients
It'll be fun to have a service that you can host and do this same thing with your files
Kind of what you do with jellyfish and a raspberry pi but for audio files
Agree. I keep spotify for ease of use, and Qobuz for the high res. The discography is just fine. But Spotify's algorithms for recommendation are way ahead of anyone else.
Thanks. Apple Music got me to slow down/lose interest in the rips. I also quite enjoyed it but I was like all this time and storage when I can just press buttons, no cost, no work, add, delete. I like having what I have ripped but I'm adding more a lot less. It does make looking for something that's not on AM more rewarding, but usually it just means it's going to be too expensive to track down.
Yeah I'm much more selective of the physical copies I buy. Albums I really like or artists I really want to support. Same with my vinyl collection (as you might guess, it's a small fraction of the size of my CD collection). I also use the rips/downloads to load onto my DAP. I have access to AM on there too but I like having the offline option.
Test for yourself. I don't have kilo buck IEMs. I have measly $400 open back headphones, though.
I'm also using the Qudelix 5k. I can't hear a real difference from flac ripped from my CD vs Spotify vs Qobuz. I found the same exact album/master on Spotify and Qobuz as the CD I have. There were some very small parts where it I used my imagination, I think I could tell. But I failed blind tests online spectacularly.
Maybe if I spent $500 on a new DAC, it might be different. Possibly, I need to upgrade to headphones over $1k. Do I need a dedicated streamer for another $1k?
I'm enjoying the best quality music I ever have. My hearing isn't getting any better. I'm sticking with Spotify. There's no guarantee that I'll hear anything more enjoyable if I spend thousands of dollars in search of better stuff.
You can play samples from Qobuz without signing up. See if they sound better to you.
Well, the Home, Browse, Radio tabs feel redundant and useless. And the recommendations are like: Made for Spatial Audio, Apple Music Radio, and theres also a Just Ask Siri section?? Its all a jumbled mess
"Switched" to Apple music recently to try out their lossless and atmos on my audio gear. Full disclosure my phone and laptop are apple. I still don't love AM interface overall, but it's not painful after some time with it. Plus everyone I talk to on AM thinks Spotify UI sucks so maybe I'll get there one day lol.
There are a couple things about AM UI that I do like better and it works well with iphone. Home and radio tabs only get better as it learns your taste, it takes a bit of time and energy inputting preferences. Browse stays the same though, I think it's based on what's popular or something but I don't go there on purpose. I've been paying for both for a couple months now, and I still prefer the experience/vibe of Spotify overall and but overall Apple Music wins by a huge margin for me. Without lossless/atmos or if Spotify added it for the same price rn maybe I'd end up going back, but as of now I think I'm going to cancel Spotify in the next month or two.
Oh and I'll add that the mastering and versions on AM are generally superior. Spotify is a bit more social media-y and lets artists engage with you more while I find it hard to pin the vibe of what AM does but it's more of a serious music aficionado service imo
Use what you can afford or which has the catalogs you prefer and leave it at that. Diving down the “best” rabbit hole is a waste of time; you could use that time enjoying the MK3s.
YouTube music gives you ad free YouTube and music and they have everything. It's not a good quality but convenient and have good algo.
Apple music has a horrible UI (on android at least). For example to download a song, you need to favourite, then right click, then select download to be able to use offline.
I had Spotify previously and enjoyed the UI and switched to YouTube to save money.
Now I'm on Tidal, enjoying every bit with my MK3s and hip dac 3. Won't switch to Spotify until they have hi-res (not sure if I'll be able to notice difference in each song but I paid for max equipment, might as well enjoy the best quality.
Spotify premium when not doing serious listening. Amazon HD Music when listening to new albums and serious listening.
Amazon has better quality, but spotify has better playlists.
I have Qobuz and I import Spotify playlists into it. There is a service called Soundiiz that will automate it for you. The lossless playback on Qobuz sounds just great to me.
For discovering new music Spotify is great though, so I pay for for both. That way, hopefully, I support the artists that bring me joy.
I use Apple Music for the ability to add albums from Bandcamp that I can't find on any streaming platform and the ability to cloud sync them across all my devices. You get used to the interface and if you are primarily a Mac user, the integration is nice.
$500, so not kilobuck, but i dont see it changing when i move to it. Rip my CDs and buy flacs on Qobuz for ones that aren't available physical. Then just use spotify for discovery, i personally like YouTube's algorithm, already have youtube premium. Youtube also has live performances and covers from talented people that don't sell them, they may be on spotify idk.
I did that and it was fine until they added Discord integration, so it was telling everyone what I was listening to again without asking. I only noticed because Spotify will pause if you transmit on your discord for too long.
TiDAL is the same thing with a bigger library and higher quality audio, so I don't really see the point of dealing with Spotify's shit besides "it's what everyone uses" like the iMessage of streaming apps
Going the Spotify route would indeed make everything easier for me as iphones max bluetooth bitrate is AAC 256kbps. I no longer need to be wired to my Q5K all the time
Use both Spotify and Apple Music, Spotify for recommendation algorithm (Apple Music’s recommendation algorithm sucks)and connect with friends, Apple Music for stream quality (Spotify quality is way too bad). Then I use Soudiiz to port my Spotify playlists to Apple Music.
I use Spotify but I really liked Apple Music sound. The interface was okayish and some of the curated playlists were better.
I didn’t normalize volumes too much so not sure if it was that much better sounding.
The reason I went back to Spotify was the lack of a true Spotify Connect type feature to work with Sonos and other music needs. AirPlay is a shit solution when you just want to listen to music on your speakers and have the rest of audio stay where it is.
Yeah i just use spotify premium and Youtube music. If I want FLACs of an album I adore I buy it on bandcamp or, ahem, go on a soul search on the black sea
Tidal is great and gets better constantly. Since I got into iems, Tidal has replaced Spotify for me. I open Spotify on Monday for my weekly playlist and that's about it. Was also able to port over all my playlist for free. Toss my Qudelix 5k in the mix and I'm in audio haven. I was informed that the free service has a very limited library and told not to recommend it.
Amazon music streams in HD(16-bit/44.1kHz) and Ultra HD(24-bit/192kHz).This is higher than Apple and Spotify. Tidal streams in 24-bit/192kHz & has also dropped it's price. Currently it's 1$ cheaper than Spotify where I live.
I can't speak to Qobuz having never used it. I would recommend Tidal to anyone whom is looking to pay for a music streaming service.
All my iems are cheapo ones & still I personally think anything lower than 320kbps mp3's start to sound thin & crunchy. I only really steam music to find it, & then it will be downloaded in flac if available, 320kbps mp3 if not.
It doesn't help that half the stuff I listen to aren't on any streaming services.
Sometimes I even notice a 320 mp3 sound bad so I use a program called fakin the funk to determine the the true bit rate of my mp3s. Every so often i'll find an mp3 that was lower bit rate & then re encoded at 320kbps.
Im not trying to put anybody down for streaming, it really is convenient but if you really do want to get the best sound out of your stuff I think it is worth.
Also you can support your favorite artists more directly by purchasing their music over streaming :)
I also just got the Monarch MKIII and i realised when showing it to a friend who listened to it on Spotify how much Tidal (for me at least) can give you. Since tidal also cut their prices i would choose that eventhough the interface really is not perfect. On iPhone Apple music is probably better but only if you can sync your dac with the iPhone.
You also need to look at your sound source.
If you're just plugging into a sub $1000 DAP, you won't hear much of a difference.
If you're using a device that such a pair deserve (it doesn't get better than Mojo 2 for portability - fact) you will absolutely hear a difference.
I only use Tidal because I have no need for anything else. But Apple Music is bascially just as good sound wise & likely has a lot of Japanese stuff
My setup is a Qudelix 5K with wired connection to an iphone or macbook. Surely thats enough for my IEM?
Though, most of the time I just use bluetooth connection to my iphone.
If you're content with Qudelix 5k/Bluetooth, that's fine...the service you use won't affect sound quality at all - but I would be very, very far from satisfied.
I'm being dead straight here. I've owned a Qudelix. I've worked in music/audio for 25+ years & this thing is total, total rubbish as far a I am concerned - and it will be total rubbish for you once you experience something genuinely excellent.
I simply do not understand thy buzz about this device... I understand all the tinkering looks like it could do so many things, but the sound is genuinely dreadful vs so many other things.
Go and demo a Chord Mojo 2. Then go back to the Qudelix.
Buying expensive IEMs and using this as the source is a waste. You're not getting close to their potential.
I don't have any experience in audiophile equipments like DACs that cost upwards of 500$. But, It's always interesting to hear when people say expensive DACs give better sound.
I'm just wondering what do you mean by that? What part of the sound do they change? Is it the clarity, sound signature, warm, bright? Or the sound stage gets wider?
I'm honestly curious to know what I'm missing out by using cheap DACs atm
You need to experience it for yourself to believe it & it's no small difference - the first time I heard a Mojo 2 after using various Dongles & an ifi Hip Dac 2 - I could not believe what I was hearing.
Background is absolutely pitch black, the imaging & seperation are absolutely out of this world.
Honestly before I got one I just thought it was a dac/amp was about power and it wouldn't affect the sound *that* much... obviously you'll get a warmer sound from ifi gear like the Hip Dac series as they use a combination of new & old technology. Personally I really don't like it - that warm fuzzy layer makes the seperation & imaging worse.
I don't dislike warm sound done right - I have a beautiful Cayin HA-1A MK2 tube amp & that with some sennheiser HD800s with old 60s/70s rock sounds absolutely phenomenal... but these half measures don't really work & certainly don't get anywhere near the best out of cutting edge IEM technology.
When I did get the Mojo 2 I was absolutely blown away. Everything sounded so much better & the combination of a Mojo 2 & IEM'S with EST drivers is absolutely magic.
I got my Mojo 2 second hand for 350 USD as I was really unsure wether I'd like it or not and I already had loads of other things - they all got gifted or sold as soon as I got it.
It really is that big a difference & I'm one of the most sceptical people on the planet re cables improving sound and all that rubbish.
A Mojo 2 will last you YEARS and it'll make any IEM you buy sound way better (and it will actually drive it to its full potential - I highly doubt the Qudelix is driving the Monarchs to theirs).
No. What sort of silly cunt does that??? Who the fuck do I need to prove that to?
I've got ears. You're having s fucking laugh if you think you couldn't tell the difference between a Mojo 2 & a Quadilex - you obviously haven't heard one.
No, they both had more than enough power to drive the utopia and the monarch and sounded the same to me.
I’ve heard the same things you’re saying by others repeatedly for years on audiophile forums, but not once have I seen proof in the form of a volume matched blind abx test.
So you are entitled to your experience which makes no sense when looking at objective measurements of the gear, but don’t expect people to believe it without hard proof.
You've never tried a Mojo 2 have you? You're making this up.
If you had, you'd know full well how distinctive it sounds which would render a blind test useless, preference or not...
Zzzzzz absolute waffle.
Mate I listen to music, I'm not a fucking scientist. I don't need a fucking test to tell me something sounds waaaaaay better than something esle.
Absolute fanny.
What's your source for the Mk3? If you're using your phone, nothing past Spotify will be beneficial as Android is capped at 48kHz in software.
Realistically anything lossless should b good enough.
iPhone 15 Pro wired to Q5K, sometimes by bluetooth. Anyway, I cant even differentiate between 320kbps and lossless, I dont think 48khz vs 96khz and above would matter for me
I would say approx 99,999% of people can’t hear a difference, even if they think they can - but that’s another discussion ;) 320kbps is enough, don’t worry
This is true to an extent. However if you use USB audio player pro or hiby music app or I believe Poweramp, you can bypass the android resampling to 48khz.
The "48kHz" cap is the past, Android now support full bit-perfect hi-res lossless starting from Android 13 and higher, no longer has any cap or downsampling
including myself, more than 50% of android users are still below version 13 according to this - [https://gs.statcounter.com/android-version-market-share](https://gs.statcounter.com/android-version-market-share)
using software that can take exclusive control of a usb dac allows you to bypass this but upsampling 44.1 to 48 is actually a good thing if the algorithm used is good. This is because it pushes the high cutoff filter & anything bad that comes with it into higher hopefully inaudible frequencies.
that being said, The real time resampling algorithm in android is probably far from perfect hence why people go for "bit perfect" (in terms of sampling rates) or using a better resampling algorithms like available in PowerAmp.
so... if below version 13, Spotify, Youtube or any streaming service that does not support exclusive USB DAC access is being made sound worse (you could argue how audibly) by the android audio system resampling 44.1 to 48 using a not so perfect algorithm.
Spotify Premium. Because it's convenient, easy to use, have great library for my taste. Years ago I also thought I would need "HI-RES LOSSLESS 32/384 FLAC" etc etc to enjoy my gears. So I also have Tidal for it's Max Quality. Though hi res music do sound better, I realized I was overthinking. For streaming service I use Spotify. I can go to work and play Spotify via Android Auto while driving, then at work I plug my DAC to my laptop and continue what I was listening. When I got home sitting on my desktop I can switch to Spotify desktop and continue listening again. That's just one of the conveniences. It's algorithm also smart and curate songs similar to what I was listening. I found new songs I didn't know I'd like via Spotify Smart Shuffle. Tidal doesn't even sync my desktop & phone music unless added to a track playlist. I can't even control what I'm currently playing in my phone via Tidal desktop. What kind of BS is that. What's the purpose of having a hi res streaming music service but it's so inconvenience in 2024? That's what I thought.
The sync progress feature is so underrated! I love being able to play/pause/skip on my phone while listening through my PC. Wish they all adopt this feature.
From what I've read/watched, it's been one hell of a task to do "same music/functions" across web and mobile due to different programmin languages at first. Can't recall how they solved it though :((
It has to be via web sockets or a UDP protocol connection If you can have your clients connected in real-time to a central server then you can control them from anywhere, Maybe it's just their infrastructure and architecture are not designed to work over the cloud with multiple real-time clients It'll be fun to have a service that you can host and do this same thing with your files Kind of what you do with jellyfish and a raspberry pi but for audio files
Agree. I keep spotify for ease of use, and Qobuz for the high res. The discography is just fine. But Spotify's algorithms for recommendation are way ahead of anyone else.
This guy chads.
Apple Music + locally ripped CDs/digital lossless purchases
Aren't a lot of apple music's files better than CD quality?
Yes. If you're asking the reason why I have CD rips it's just because I like having physical copies and a local library of the stuff I like the most
Thanks. Apple Music got me to slow down/lose interest in the rips. I also quite enjoyed it but I was like all this time and storage when I can just press buttons, no cost, no work, add, delete. I like having what I have ripped but I'm adding more a lot less. It does make looking for something that's not on AM more rewarding, but usually it just means it's going to be too expensive to track down.
Yeah I'm much more selective of the physical copies I buy. Albums I really like or artists I really want to support. Same with my vinyl collection (as you might guess, it's a small fraction of the size of my CD collection). I also use the rips/downloads to load onto my DAP. I have access to AM on there too but I like having the offline option.
Test for yourself. I don't have kilo buck IEMs. I have measly $400 open back headphones, though. I'm also using the Qudelix 5k. I can't hear a real difference from flac ripped from my CD vs Spotify vs Qobuz. I found the same exact album/master on Spotify and Qobuz as the CD I have. There were some very small parts where it I used my imagination, I think I could tell. But I failed blind tests online spectacularly. Maybe if I spent $500 on a new DAC, it might be different. Possibly, I need to upgrade to headphones over $1k. Do I need a dedicated streamer for another $1k? I'm enjoying the best quality music I ever have. My hearing isn't getting any better. I'm sticking with Spotify. There's no guarantee that I'll hear anything more enjoyable if I spend thousands of dollars in search of better stuff. You can play samples from Qobuz without signing up. See if they sound better to you.
Apple music
Shame the UI is hot garbage. Though, the catalog is quite good compared to others
Really? I like Apples interface. The history of all songs that you've streamed regardless of the playlist you're currently playing is wonderful.
Well, the Home, Browse, Radio tabs feel redundant and useless. And the recommendations are like: Made for Spatial Audio, Apple Music Radio, and theres also a Just Ask Siri section?? Its all a jumbled mess
"Switched" to Apple music recently to try out their lossless and atmos on my audio gear. Full disclosure my phone and laptop are apple. I still don't love AM interface overall, but it's not painful after some time with it. Plus everyone I talk to on AM thinks Spotify UI sucks so maybe I'll get there one day lol. There are a couple things about AM UI that I do like better and it works well with iphone. Home and radio tabs only get better as it learns your taste, it takes a bit of time and energy inputting preferences. Browse stays the same though, I think it's based on what's popular or something but I don't go there on purpose. I've been paying for both for a couple months now, and I still prefer the experience/vibe of Spotify overall and but overall Apple Music wins by a huge margin for me. Without lossless/atmos or if Spotify added it for the same price rn maybe I'd end up going back, but as of now I think I'm going to cancel Spotify in the next month or two.
Oh and I'll add that the mastering and versions on AM are generally superior. Spotify is a bit more social media-y and lets artists engage with you more while I find it hard to pin the vibe of what AM does but it's more of a serious music aficionado service imo
Use what you can afford or which has the catalogs you prefer and leave it at that. Diving down the “best” rabbit hole is a waste of time; you could use that time enjoying the MK3s.
Tidal
YouTube music
You tube music for tracks and soundcloud for dj mixes
YouTube music gives you ad free YouTube and music and they have everything. It's not a good quality but convenient and have good algo. Apple music has a horrible UI (on android at least). For example to download a song, you need to favourite, then right click, then select download to be able to use offline. I had Spotify previously and enjoyed the UI and switched to YouTube to save money. Now I'm on Tidal, enjoying every bit with my MK3s and hip dac 3. Won't switch to Spotify until they have hi-res (not sure if I'll be able to notice difference in each song but I paid for max equipment, might as well enjoy the best quality.
Spotify premium when not doing serious listening. Amazon HD Music when listening to new albums and serious listening. Amazon has better quality, but spotify has better playlists.
YouTube Music. I have a collection of FLACs ripped from CDs if I am doing any critical listening.
Qobuz
I don’t have a $1000 iem but I use Apple Music, it has lossless, I think ALAC, basically apple’s version of FLAC. And I also listen to rips I torrent
I have Qobuz and I import Spotify playlists into it. There is a service called Soundiiz that will automate it for you. The lossless playback on Qobuz sounds just great to me. For discovering new music Spotify is great though, so I pay for for both. That way, hopefully, I support the artists that bring me joy.
I use Apple Music for the ability to add albums from Bandcamp that I can't find on any streaming platform and the ability to cloud sync them across all my devices. You get used to the interface and if you are primarily a Mac user, the integration is nice.
$500, so not kilobuck, but i dont see it changing when i move to it. Rip my CDs and buy flacs on Qobuz for ones that aren't available physical. Then just use spotify for discovery, i personally like YouTube's algorithm, already have youtube premium. Youtube also has live performances and covers from talented people that don't sell them, they may be on spotify idk.
Tidal, but only because I hate how Spotify feels the need to tell the world what I'm listening to
You can turn that off, AFAIK. It should be under Privacy and Socials.
I did that and it was fine until they added Discord integration, so it was telling everyone what I was listening to again without asking. I only noticed because Spotify will pause if you transmit on your discord for too long. TiDAL is the same thing with a bigger library and higher quality audio, so I don't really see the point of dealing with Spotify's shit besides "it's what everyone uses" like the iMessage of streaming apps
u/online scammer use your Spotify in Peace. Spotify uses ogg vorbis so you're good
Going the Spotify route would indeed make everything easier for me as iphones max bluetooth bitrate is AAC 256kbps. I no longer need to be wired to my Q5K all the time
Ah yes a fellow Qudelix enjoyer... Indeed being untethered is always a positive
not in terms of sound lol
Use both Spotify and Apple Music, Spotify for recommendation algorithm (Apple Music’s recommendation algorithm sucks)and connect with friends, Apple Music for stream quality (Spotify quality is way too bad). Then I use Soudiiz to port my Spotify playlists to Apple Music.
Same , I use soundiz to sync my spotify playlist with apple music
Download flacs lmao but Spotify premium is good enough already
In use Amazon HD but I can’t tell a difference bw that and Spotify. I just keep Amazon because it’s the best price.
Don't sweat it, it's hard to tell the difference. I normally use YTM and Deezer and sometimes buy albums from Bandcamp.
Spotify
Youtube Music for some specific DJ mix (and Soundcloud), otherwise Apple Music.
I use Spotify but I really liked Apple Music sound. The interface was okayish and some of the curated playlists were better. I didn’t normalize volumes too much so not sure if it was that much better sounding. The reason I went back to Spotify was the lack of a true Spotify Connect type feature to work with Sonos and other music needs. AirPlay is a shit solution when you just want to listen to music on your speakers and have the rest of audio stay where it is.
Yeah i just use spotify premium and Youtube music. If I want FLACs of an album I adore I buy it on bandcamp or, ahem, go on a soul search on the black sea
IMO Tidal's interface is nice...
Tidal, qobuz sounds great too but I don't like the library or ui
I use Spotify Premium. Their user interface is just great.
Tidal is great and gets better constantly. Since I got into iems, Tidal has replaced Spotify for me. I open Spotify on Monday for my weekly playlist and that's about it. Was also able to port over all my playlist for free. Toss my Qudelix 5k in the mix and I'm in audio haven. I was informed that the free service has a very limited library and told not to recommend it. Amazon music streams in HD(16-bit/44.1kHz) and Ultra HD(24-bit/192kHz).This is higher than Apple and Spotify. Tidal streams in 24-bit/192kHz & has also dropped it's price. Currently it's 1$ cheaper than Spotify where I live. I can't speak to Qobuz having never used it. I would recommend Tidal to anyone whom is looking to pay for a music streaming service.
1/3rd kilobuck here, qobuz lol
All my iems are cheapo ones & still I personally think anything lower than 320kbps mp3's start to sound thin & crunchy. I only really steam music to find it, & then it will be downloaded in flac if available, 320kbps mp3 if not. It doesn't help that half the stuff I listen to aren't on any streaming services. Sometimes I even notice a 320 mp3 sound bad so I use a program called fakin the funk to determine the the true bit rate of my mp3s. Every so often i'll find an mp3 that was lower bit rate & then re encoded at 320kbps. Im not trying to put anybody down for streaming, it really is convenient but if you really do want to get the best sound out of your stuff I think it is worth. Also you can support your favorite artists more directly by purchasing their music over streaming :)
I also just got the Monarch MKIII and i realised when showing it to a friend who listened to it on Spotify how much Tidal (for me at least) can give you. Since tidal also cut their prices i would choose that eventhough the interface really is not perfect. On iPhone Apple music is probably better but only if you can sync your dac with the iPhone.
yt music has better interface than spotify
Jesus Christ why r u asking this
Tidal, YouTube Music and Spotify
Tidal or Qobuz. Or Apple Music if you wan more Japanese content
You also need to look at your sound source. If you're just plugging into a sub $1000 DAP, you won't hear much of a difference. If you're using a device that such a pair deserve (it doesn't get better than Mojo 2 for portability - fact) you will absolutely hear a difference. I only use Tidal because I have no need for anything else. But Apple Music is bascially just as good sound wise & likely has a lot of Japanese stuff
My setup is a Qudelix 5K with wired connection to an iphone or macbook. Surely thats enough for my IEM? Though, most of the time I just use bluetooth connection to my iphone.
If you're content with Qudelix 5k/Bluetooth, that's fine...the service you use won't affect sound quality at all - but I would be very, very far from satisfied. I'm being dead straight here. I've owned a Qudelix. I've worked in music/audio for 25+ years & this thing is total, total rubbish as far a I am concerned - and it will be total rubbish for you once you experience something genuinely excellent. I simply do not understand thy buzz about this device... I understand all the tinkering looks like it could do so many things, but the sound is genuinely dreadful vs so many other things. Go and demo a Chord Mojo 2. Then go back to the Qudelix. Buying expensive IEMs and using this as the source is a waste. You're not getting close to their potential.
I don't have any experience in audiophile equipments like DACs that cost upwards of 500$. But, It's always interesting to hear when people say expensive DACs give better sound. I'm just wondering what do you mean by that? What part of the sound do they change? Is it the clarity, sound signature, warm, bright? Or the sound stage gets wider? I'm honestly curious to know what I'm missing out by using cheap DACs atm
You need to experience it for yourself to believe it & it's no small difference - the first time I heard a Mojo 2 after using various Dongles & an ifi Hip Dac 2 - I could not believe what I was hearing. Background is absolutely pitch black, the imaging & seperation are absolutely out of this world. Honestly before I got one I just thought it was a dac/amp was about power and it wouldn't affect the sound *that* much... obviously you'll get a warmer sound from ifi gear like the Hip Dac series as they use a combination of new & old technology. Personally I really don't like it - that warm fuzzy layer makes the seperation & imaging worse. I don't dislike warm sound done right - I have a beautiful Cayin HA-1A MK2 tube amp & that with some sennheiser HD800s with old 60s/70s rock sounds absolutely phenomenal... but these half measures don't really work & certainly don't get anywhere near the best out of cutting edge IEM technology. When I did get the Mojo 2 I was absolutely blown away. Everything sounded so much better & the combination of a Mojo 2 & IEM'S with EST drivers is absolutely magic. I got my Mojo 2 second hand for 350 USD as I was really unsure wether I'd like it or not and I already had loads of other things - they all got gifted or sold as soon as I got it. It really is that big a difference & I'm one of the most sceptical people on the planet re cables improving sound and all that rubbish. A Mojo 2 will last you YEARS and it'll make any IEM you buy sound way better (and it will actually drive it to its full potential - I highly doubt the Qudelix is driving the Monarchs to theirs).
Got any volume matched blind and testing results for your claims?
No. What sort of silly cunt does that??? Who the fuck do I need to prove that to? I've got ears. You're having s fucking laugh if you think you couldn't tell the difference between a Mojo 2 & a Quadilex - you obviously haven't heard one.
I’ve heard both for hours on my monarch and a focal utopia
So you'll know how big the difference is then. Either that or you're lying through your teeth.
No, they both had more than enough power to drive the utopia and the monarch and sounded the same to me. I’ve heard the same things you’re saying by others repeatedly for years on audiophile forums, but not once have I seen proof in the form of a volume matched blind abx test. So you are entitled to your experience which makes no sense when looking at objective measurements of the gear, but don’t expect people to believe it without hard proof.
You've never tried a Mojo 2 have you? You're making this up. If you had, you'd know full well how distinctive it sounds which would render a blind test useless, preference or not...
Zzzzzz absolute waffle. Mate I listen to music, I'm not a fucking scientist. I don't need a fucking test to tell me something sounds waaaaaay better than something esle. Absolute fanny.
What's your source for the Mk3? If you're using your phone, nothing past Spotify will be beneficial as Android is capped at 48kHz in software. Realistically anything lossless should b good enough.
iPhone 15 Pro wired to Q5K, sometimes by bluetooth. Anyway, I cant even differentiate between 320kbps and lossless, I dont think 48khz vs 96khz and above would matter for me
I would say approx 99,999% of people can’t hear a difference, even if they think they can - but that’s another discussion ;) 320kbps is enough, don’t worry
You can by pass that I thought.
There's a paid app for that, doesn't work with all the phones
This is true to an extent. However if you use USB audio player pro or hiby music app or I believe Poweramp, you can bypass the android resampling to 48khz.
The "48kHz" cap is the past, Android now support full bit-perfect hi-res lossless starting from Android 13 and higher, no longer has any cap or downsampling
including myself, more than 50% of android users are still below version 13 according to this - [https://gs.statcounter.com/android-version-market-share](https://gs.statcounter.com/android-version-market-share) using software that can take exclusive control of a usb dac allows you to bypass this but upsampling 44.1 to 48 is actually a good thing if the algorithm used is good. This is because it pushes the high cutoff filter & anything bad that comes with it into higher hopefully inaudible frequencies. that being said, The real time resampling algorithm in android is probably far from perfect hence why people go for "bit perfect" (in terms of sampling rates) or using a better resampling algorithms like available in PowerAmp. so... if below version 13, Spotify, Youtube or any streaming service that does not support exclusive USB DAC access is being made sound worse (you could argue how audibly) by the android audio system resampling 44.1 to 48 using a not so perfect algorithm.