Should I Get Apple Music Or Spotify Premium?

'Spotify Premium' or anything for what?Spotify and other streaming services compress the music so much that you only hear about 25% at the most of what the musical artist put down originally in the recording studio.'Pono' put out by Neil Young gives you exactly what was recorded in the studio. Even your CD's sound better on a Pono player. I believe that the music industry is trying to quash Pono. That is because they do not want studio recording quality recordings of their artists out there anywhere.All I can say is what the consumer of music wants, they get. Obviously, quality music is not on top of most listener's list. When I tested the difference of recordings on my daughter and her friends, they basically said "yeah, it sounds a whole lot better but I would not pay extra for it."Brain damage and indoctrination I blame for this. It is in the music industry's best interest to shell out the poorest product for the best money possible.I've lost all faith in the music industry. Crap music and crap formats for a start.The only solace is that vinyl is making a major comeback. So much better than Spotify, Apple or anything out there that compresses the music they sell immensely.I know the music labels depend on ignorance. The more a consumer does not know and has never heard, the better it is for the bottom line. CD's are horrible and streaming in terms of quality is so much worse.Not an opinion, pure fact

1. Which is better, Amazon Music or Apple Music?

It really depends on your taste in musicIf you are more into international music and are the among the first ones to listen to album when a new album drops then hands down Apple Music is best since some of exclusive albums come out on Apple music. Relatively speaking. It would make more sense to use Apple music of you are an iOS user since everything is well integrated with Siri. Since Siri commands work only on Apple music and none other streaming services. Apple music is relatively expensive.On the other hand Amazon music is what receives new music a little later expect 1-2 hours on new rap albums and none of exclusive albums. Mind you I am talking here about international music. Interface maybe a con to some but that depends on personal preference. It is also quite cheap considering you also get access to Amazon's Prime TV Shows some of which are exclusive to Amazon Prime only. Also since Amazon music is expanding it has started to get some exclusive releases and new releases faster than Apple music. But you know typical Apple.In India pricing for Apple music is Rs.60 month or $1/month (for students) and Rs.120 or $2/month (for individual) For one year it is Rs.720 or $12But check out amazon's pricing Rs.500 or $8.33 for one year with prime membership and benefits such as one-day delivery form amazon marketplace, prime video and of course amazon music.But these prices vary from country to country. But here in India Amazon music is hands down the best.

2. Free trial subscription on Apple Music, still billed for purchases

Assuming you mean Apple Music, that is a streaming service. You can stream songs for free. Buying the song is completely separate and you will be billed for that. So instead of buying the song, just play it in Apple Music. apple. com/en-us/ht204939.

3. How can I play Apple Music on my Amazon Echo?

Yes. They recently added this skill

4. What's the difference between iTunes Match and Apple Music?

The difference is DRM (Apple music) vs DRM-Free music (iTunes Match)

5. 7 reasons to buy a hi-fi system (and not a wireless speaker)

We like hi-fi. You might have gathered that. What that really means is that we love music and we really want it to sound as good as it possibly can. That's where having a decent hi-fi system comes into play. We now write about all manner of products that play music. Indeed, where once stereo speakers, an amplifier and a CD player or turntable was a prerequisite for a music system, now you can do it all (and more) with a single wireless speaker. And many of them are very good, not to mention far more convenient and affordable than any traditional system. But... it's not quite the same, is it? There are still many reasons why a stereo system makes so much more sense. Please, allow us to elaborate. Let's kick things off with an easy one. You like music, right? So why not hear it sounding as good as it should? 99 times out of 100, that will mean a traditional separates system. The sum of the parts will almost always deliver better - and better-value - sound than a similarly priced wireless speaker can muster. Each box is a master of its trade, rather than a jack of all trades, the latter always requiring a compromise somewhere. From stereo separation to stereo imaging, Class D amplifiers to the limits of smaller boxes, the technical reasons are myriad but the end result is the same: when it comes to sound quality, a stereo system is very hard for a one-box wireless speaker to beat. 2. It will always work As we write, it just so happens that Spotify is down. (We did not arrange that, it's just a coincidence, honest.) In recent weeks, UK consumers were hit by an all-day outage affecting Virgin Wi-Fi, one of the biggest internet providers in the country. If you are listening to music on a wireless speaker, there's a fair chance you are out of luck in these circumstances. And who knows, maybe one day your carefully curated music library will disappear? (Some of us still remember the mess when iTunes merged with Apple Music.) Yes, you can play music stored locally, and yes Bluetooth does not require wi-fi, but a wireless speaker will ultimately leave most people, most of the time, at the mercy of The Cloud. Other than unforgiving other halves and the odd scratch, there's very little to stop you ever playing a music collection made of CDs, vinyl or even downloads... 3. You get the best of both worlds ...but of course a traditional hi-fi system no longer has to mean thumbing through a dusty record collection to find the next thing to play (though we do like doing that). The hi-fi world has been in the 21st century nearly as long everyone else, which means you can now add a state-of-the-art music streamer to your amp and speakers and have a whole world of digital music at your fingertips, reaping the sonic benefits of your system as well having the convenience of Spotify or Tidal. You can plug your hi-fi into a multi-room wireless system from the likes of Audio Pro, Sonos or Bluesound for whole-home cleverness, or take advantage of the fact an increasing number of hi-fi brands have built their latest streamers to support multi-room music. On the flip side, you definitely can not play a 12-inch record on a wireless speaker. Trust us, we are experts. 4. There's often an upgrade path This brings us to yet another (OK, it's only four so far...) reason why a system still can not be beaten - the ability to upgrade over time. Fed up with your speakers? Simply buy a new pair and slot them into your system. Feel like adding a turntable? Go for it. A separates system allows you to upgrade components over time, as and when you are able (financially or otherwise), as well as adding new features with new products. Conversely, wireless speakers are, perhaps counterintuitively, more inclined to go 'out of date' quicker than a pair of passive speakers. Voice control, room correction, new software - all this tech can be great, but it can also leave your once shiny new purchase looking sad and a bit 'version one'. Just ask Sonos customers. 5. It's more than just a box This idea of upgrading and fine-tuning your system brings us neatly on to our next point: a hi-fi system is a living, breathing, beautiful thing... figuratively speaking, anyway. But trust us when we say you will feel a real connection to a system of components you have chosen, plugged together, positioned, perfected and sat back and enjoyed. And while plonking a wireless speaker in the corner of the room and then fiddling with your phone for ten minutes can be satisfyingly convenient, it is not conducive to feeling at one with your system and your music collection. It's much like the argument for physical media over digital. We love streaming music, but it's not the same. Think of a hi-fi system as the homemade sourdough to your Sainsbury's sandwich loaf. 6. It can be artisanal, local produce Speaking of sourdough, another reason you are likely to feel a closer connection to your hi-fi system is the level of craftsmanship that has gone into the products, many of which will be made by actual human hands in your home country. Plenty of our favourite hi-fi products really are, from winding magnet coils to fitting drivers, even if (hopefully) you can not tell. There's a lot to be said for economies of scale, and some very lovely and really rather popular things come out of huge factories in China, but admiring the skill that goes into something made with human tender, love and care is hard to beat. And we should enjoy it while it lasts. Take a look inside ATC HQ to get a good idea. As mentioned earlier, a hi-fi system does not have to mean physical media but often does support CDs and vinyl (and digital downloads). And, whether we like it or not, as things stand, if you want to support artists and bands making the music you love, buying physical media is a better way of doing it than streaming. They get more money, almost no matter how you slice it. And if you are thinking of starting, or kick-starting, your vinyl collection, you will want more than a wireless speaker (we think we mentioned that already). There is still a lot to be said for a hi-fi system, we hope you agree. But as we touched on at the start, what a hi-fi system actually is has become increasingly blurred. In many ways that has been a good thing, democratising good quality audio and offering more people the opportunity to enjoy their music in more ways and in more places. Convenience sure does make things easier. And with the likes of the KEF LSX and Linn Series 3, it's already becoming trickier than ever to make the case for separate components when the performance from these complete compact systems is so impressive. As we said in our opener, "99 times out of 100"... But with many of us spending extra time at home right now, more and more people valuing a physical connection with music in this digital age, and everyone always eager to hear the music they love at its best, we think it's as good a time as any to build and enjoy a brilliant, versatile and state-of-the-art hi-fi system. Happy listening. How to build the perfect hi-fi system 3 of the best turntable, amplifier and speaker systems 9 hi-fi tricks you might not believe affect sound quality (but they do)