Are you impressed with Spotify's quality?

So active is superior to passive? 

I am getting a picture.

This is, partly, why I hate shop demos (well, that and the disgusting coffee).

Not only that, but I don't own any sandals, I don't own a special 'listening chair', I haven't measured out the perfect equilateral triangle betwixt speakers and ears, and I find it difficult to 'tap my toes' without moving my whole foot. (A 'PRaT'/flat-earth requirement for all serious listening apparently.)

My most 'serious' listening is when listening to an engrossing drama or drama series. (As demanding of equipment as any music if the recording is done well and - of course - demanding of attention because it's important to follow the plot and the dialogue/action.)

Listening to/hearing music is usually reserved for those times when I am reading and I don't like to be distracted by silence.

I have had Spotify Premium for about 7 months and think its brilliant.

I can read music articles from Mojo/Uncut etc....and listen to what I'm reading about.

If I am on Amazon looking thru Listmania I can listen to albums.

I used to punt a lot of money on cd's in the hope I would find something brilliant and now it is easier and cheaper as I don't buy the dross or maybe just enjoy a few tracks, I am listening to more'new' music than ever.

I also find the radio application is another great way of finding music, I must add I have only bought about 2 cd's this year as they were not on Spotify.

I am happy with the quality, I have not yet played on my main system but currently listening to it via dacmagic, Aplha 9 and cdm1nt's with no issue , source is from my laptop.
I am listening to John Fay who I had never heard of until yesterday.

I think it is slightly less than my cd quality but i'm listening to the music and just enjoying it, I think that's the idea.

ps nice to see CJ back

What he said!

Wow, all that good stuff and it's still killing the record industry.

I am listening to John Fay who I had never heard of until yesterday.   Is that John Fahey or Bill Fay......

Oops, yes Bill Fay, never heard of John either.

I agree with the demise of the record industry in my personal lack of purchases, an industry I worked in for nearly 20 years,I hear the artist royalties from Spotify are very poor and have also heard some labels are looking to revise the charges they have with Spotify.

I don't know wether that will be passed on to the consumer ,it at least is a legitimate business and I am not doing anything illegal so I can sleep easy.

Would I have heard Bill Fay without Spotify, nope.

I enjoy trying to beat spotify by finding tracks it doesn't have.

I enjoy it when I find stuff, or my friends find stuff I haven't heard and enjoy.

BUT for sitting back and listening to tracks I own I find Spotify becomes mildly unsatisfying over time compared to my lossless files.

Sorry for the slow response, but yes I have the high quality streaming  box ticked on spotify. 

As an example, Ive been listening on and off to Kate Bush's 50 Words for Snow on Spotify. nice album but not doing an awful lot for me. Had a feeling there was more to it though. Just ripped the CD to my NAS and am now listening to it in all it's glory. I was right to persevere, very atmospheric, a lovely album now I can hear the subtle detail that Spotify was masking. Which doesn't undermine it's value at all, not to me at least, but there is a difference 

As for the business model, did I hear that some record companies have taken shares (or options) in Spotify as part of the deal. Obviously this won't get fed back to the artists in the short term (if at all). I do hope this all gets fixed soon, as without artists supporting Spotify it won't ultimately survive. Either that or we'll all be paying £200 a ticket to see live performances. 

That sums up my opinion, Philip.  It's an excellent source for casual listening and for dipping your toes into new waters.  If you're sufficiently impressed with an album you can go and buy it on CD.  If you're not, then that's your money saved.

I really don't know what the answer is with regards to royalties and fees.  I listen to about a dozen new albums a month, and clearly the amount I'm paying to do so is not generating the same revenue as if I'd bought them on CD. 

I have personally not heard any streaming media sites through a variety of equipment that comes close to matching cd.

My two penny worth anyhow.

I buy depending on the artist. Bigger artists I simply add a Spotify playlist and will never buy the album,  whereas the indie stuff I listen to I often do. But then I still listen on Spotify too rather than to the CD version.

Both sound identical in the majority of cases anyway, so any little I can do

Four pages into this thread and I've just realised that I haven't added my two pence worth.

The 320kbps songs on Spotify Premium sound the same as lossless CD rips to me. The 160kbps songs are still fine to listen to but there is a difference in sound quality and they to lack a bit of sparkle.