# The Best Streaming Service For Classical



## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

In thinking about this topic, I began to realize that, for one reason or another, I have become acquainted with several streaming services. I usually listen to Classical Music, but when I do listen to something else, I have found that suing a streaming service totally fills my needs, and I haven't bought any non Classical now for years. For Classical, however, it's a different kettle of fish. Most services are pop oriented (as they should be, because it's the vast majority of the market) and tend to treat Classical as an after thought.
Streaming has been around long enough now that we can get past the "Holy cow, look how many albums they have" stage. I also don't want this thread to turn into one of those streaming vs Physical Media discussions. I personally prefer Physical Media but have explored streaming for a variety of reasons.
My observations will reflect only the services with which I have acquired some familiarity and I will be interested in sharing observations about those services and others that I don't know.
So here goes, my personal experience with a few services, in no particular order:
1) Amazon
I used to have Amazon Prime and when they launched their streamer it was a freebie for a few months. The catalog is somewhat limited compared to others. Sound quality was mp3 and relatively poor mp3 at that. The search function wasn't to bad for classical--if you've ever searched for a cD on Amazon you know what to expect.
2) Spotify I have used (and paid for) Spotify the most over the past two years. The sound quality is excellent ogg vorbis, better than mp3 but not up to CD Quality but very close. The catalog is vast. My biggest gripe is the search engine, which is designed for pop. If you know exactly what you want to hear, and enter it appropriately, you can find it, but it makes it difficult to browse for unfamiliar recordings. And I really dislike the whole Social Networking part of it--I don't care what my Niece's playlists are--and the tracks are almost invariably out of order
3) Apple-I don't remember doing it, but apparently I ordered a 3 month trial. The sound quality is good, not as good as Spotify but not far off. The catalog is vast and easier to search--anyone who has ever done an iTunes download knows how to operate it. I wish I knew how to make the tracks play in order instead of random scrabble
4) Google--again, I did a free 1 week trial. Limited catalog, dim sounding compared to all the others here
5) Tidal the first of the CD Quality or better streamers, and the earliest adopter of the MQA system, which may or may not be important going forward, and the service that reputedly pays the Artists a living wage. I got a free 1 month membership when I purchased my Blue Sound Vault 2. I was very predisposed to like it, but alas, it's awful for Classical. I've been told the catalog is vast, but good luck finding anything. The indexing may have been done by a chimpanzee. Good sound, but no MQA offerings were yet available
6) Classics Online--this service streams at CD Quality or High Rez 24/96. The main player are Naxos, BIS, and Sony/RCA. All the independents such as Chandos or Hyperion are here, but there is one significant omission, and that is the Universal Music Group (Phillips, DG,Decca,Mercury). The sound is outstanding and the search engine is wonderful. I have had some dropouts that seem to come from their server.
My solution has been to combine Apple and Classicas Online. The total cost is around $20/month, much less than I spend on CDs 

Any comments would be appreciated
3) Apple-


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I use the streaming service from the Naxos - well satisfied.


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## Scopitone (Nov 22, 2015)

@Triplets - excellent overview. 

I have done a lot of similar testing for the various services (apple, spotify, google, tidal, microsoft groove). They all work great for rock and pop and jazz. But classical is a little more complex. 

In the end, I settled on Spotify for my classical listening. (I use google play for my other genres.) I find Spotify does the best job of metadata, which makes the searches work best for me. And their playlist system, including folders, is very convenient. 

I have not tried the Classics Online service for two reasons:

1. The missing UMG labels, which I use all the time. 
2. No android mobile apps. I listen heavily on my phone and tablet. No app, no subscription.


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## jailhouse (Sep 2, 2016)

Spotify is fantastic for classical music. It's very well organized imo. and 320 kbps is good enough for me with my sennheiser 598.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Isn't there a similar thread already ?


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Pugg said:


> Isn't there a similar thread already ?


There is one that generally compares streaming vs physical media, but this one attempts to compare streaming services to each other, and just for classical


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Triplets said:


> There is one that generally compares streaming vs physical media, but this one attempts to compare streaming services to each other, and just for classical


 I saw it later, deleting seem so childish, so sorry .


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

Nice write-up.

*Tidal* - I like its user interface (web player + app) and the sound quality is very good, although I haven't tried the HiFi version. But I've found that the sound quality is not actually that impressive for classical. Any non-classical has superb quality though - I think it's really intended for hip hop / r&b. The search tool and categorising for classical, could be better as well.

*Apple Music* - feels a bit clunky as part of iTunes. The sound quality is generally fine, if nothing special. But the search and listing for classical is quite good, and it does a good job of splitting composer and artist(s). It seems to also have the longest free trial at 3 months. I rented it recently for a month since it's the only one which has the entire Philip Glass back catalogue. 

*Spotify* - probably the safest bet and generally good in all areas. Sound quality is stellar. Web player and app are easy to use, and the search function for classical hasn't been a problem for me. The obvious plus is the free version which isn't available on the others.

The one that hasn't been mentioned (and I haven't tried it) is *Qobuz*, which is supposed to be classical-friendly and offers Hi-Res sound quality for streaming and downloading ...


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I didn't mention Quobuz because I hadn't tried it. I did read a comment that it's interface works well if you are fluent in French, and Quobuz also had a near death experience recently, which makes me a bit leary about paying for a subscription.
I did not realize that ClassicsOnline does not have an Android App. I presume they will remedy that but it definitely is a factor for people to consider and thanks for pointing it out.
It seems like Spotify is easier for others to navigate than I found it to be. I found it aggravating to use if I wanted to browse multiple versions of a work. If others don't have that issue then Spotify might be the best choice, in terms of sound, depth of catalog, and price


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## Scopitone (Nov 22, 2015)

I check ClassicsOnline every month or so to see if they have an android app. But so far not yet - just iOS.


One thing I recently discovered on Spotify is how to zoom the screen on the desktop app. (it's just in the View menu at the top, but it never occurred to me to check)

That sure makes a difference when comparing 1950's Wagner Bayreuth recordings, for example, which all have the same artwork style and many of the same participants. Sometimes the only way to tell which is which is to read the date on the albumart. Making everything bigger for a moment made all the difference.


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## Brian Rin (Apr 18, 2015)

I only stream and have tried most of these. 

Apple: What I use now. Probably the best coverage of all major/minor labels. Streaming across multiple devices and library management are not as good as Spotify. If you have multiple Apple devices, this would be the best bet.

Spotify: I personally like its UI the most and it supports the most number of devices. Similar catalog, but some smaller labels are missing. It does have a lot of the old Chandos albums that Apple is missing, so I just use the free version to stream them.

Google: Worst UI and search function, plus spotty coverage of smaller labels. You can upload your own library pretty seamlessly, though.

Groove: Terrible organization and weirdly missing albums. Not recommended. 

Amazon: Maybe its's because it's new, but it has the most number of newer releases from BIS, Chandos, Naxos, etc. 

Organization and search function are not ideal for any of them, but they still get the job done. And generally speaking, catalog are on par across all streaming platforms. What matters more for catalog size is where you live and whether a particular label does streaming at all (I'm looking at you ECM and Hyperion). SQ-wise, all are pretty much equal. Unless someone says they blind-tested among services, I wouldn't trust any claim about SQ differences.


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

This is another one of those important technical threads that flies off into the space of the internet and taps people on the shoulder. People will find it, they will find it. And many of them will be grateful.


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## Scopitone (Nov 22, 2015)

Another thing I appreciate about Spotify is the ability to control the bit rate -- you have 3 options for streaming and downloading. So if you don't need to use 320k, you can go a little smaller. (96k, 160k) Saves space on a phone or bandwidth.

Tidal has this option as well. But they only have 96k or 320k (and lossless, of course, if you pay an extra $10 a month) - there is no option between 96 and 320.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Are there any particular reasons why the Naxos Music Library isn't considered a viable option for streaming services?


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Tidal for several reasons:

It integrates with my streaming hardware (Squeezebox and Auralic)

CD Quality sound

I listen to all kinds of music

Yes, the search engine sucks, but so did Spotify and MOG (later Beats later Apple music) in my experience. (Maybe Apple has improved it.) Searching for recordings of a particular work is definitely hit or miss, but if I search by performer my success rate improves considerably.


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## Scopitone (Nov 22, 2015)

Bulldog said:


> Are there any particular reasons why the Naxos Music Library isn't considered a viable option for streaming services?


I wasn't familiar with it. It looks decent.

But it doesn't have a mobile option that I can see, which for me is a dealbreaker because of the way I listen to most of my music.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Scopitone said:


> I wasn't familiar with it. It looks decent.
> 
> But it doesn't have a mobile option that I can see, which for me is a dealbreaker because of the way I listen to most of my music.


Thanks for the feedback. I just listen to NML in my music room; not interested in mobile considerations.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

NML is decent, it's worth checking with your public library to see if you can get it for free. I can


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## Dalron (Oct 28, 2016)

I have been trialing iTunes, Google Play and Spotify over the past couple of months and at this point Spotify seems to suit my needs the best. The main drawback with that service is that you can't buy albums (if I'm not interested enough in the album to pay the price of a record or CD but would still like to 'own' it, the prices at GP or iTunes are good value).

I was interested to see from posts above streaming services that I didn't know about and will now look at.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Triplets said:


> 2) Spotify I have used (and paid for) Spotify the most over the past two years. The sound quality is excellent ogg vorbis, better than mp3 but not up to CD Quality but very close. The catalog is vast. My biggest gripe is the search engine, which is designed for pop. If you know exactly what you want to hear, and enter it appropriately, you can find it, but it makes it difficult to browse for unfamiliar recordings. And I really dislike the whole Social Networking part of it--I don't care what my Niece's playlists are--and the tracks are almost invariably out of order


Does it matter that Spotify makes it difficult to browse unfamiliar recordings? For instance, if you want to find baroque composers like Vivaldi wouldn't you be better off using a Google search rather that any conceivable music streaming service? I haven't even noticed the Social Networking feature, couldn't you just avoid that part of the menu? How can the tracks be out of order? If you use the album view than they are in exactly the same order as the album. During a general search they may appear out of order, but with one click you can get into album view. Or do you mean they go out of order when you play? If so, you need to turn off "shuffle", which is only useful for popsters wanting to hear their playlists in a random order. Have you tried the "Discover weekly" feature, that's a nice way to discover new material based on your current interests.

Can you really tell the difference between Spotify Premium and CD? I sometimes think I can, but I'm not sure I'd pass a double blind test. (And one can never be sure until you do it...)

Not having UMG is a *really* significant omission. They certainly are on Spotify, maybe I'll try a month on Spotify, and then a month on Tidal, then a month playing my frozen CD collection - best of all worlds, and keeps the costs down...


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## jailhouse (Sep 2, 2016)

yeah i never actually look for recordings on spotify. I google search "best recordings of mahler 7" or whatever, compare on google, then find on spotify. Takes 2 seconds


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

I have Spotify and it's fantastic for classical. I agree with the search being a bit wonky, some albums I can only find if I view the singles section.


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2016)

I don't think you can't go wrong with Spotify, for the price and the way it integrates with everything easily. It streams to my sound system! And you can download to iPhones. Plus, the price is good. Occasionally do buy a CD to encourage the artists.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Another Spotify search tip: if you can't find a piece by a particular performer assume that the orchestra is the performer (e.g., "Berlin Beethoven" might get you Karajan's version of his symphonies if "Karajan Beethoven" doesn't.)


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## Medtnaculus (May 13, 2015)

I think using Spotify along with Last.fm is the best method to discover composers and explore new music. Granted googling the best recordings is usually what I do when I want a definite answer, but in terms of selection Spotify can't be beat. Last.fm is amazing at recommending new artists, and then through Spotify's selection you really can never run out of new music to listen to.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Mal said:


> Another Spotify search tip: if you can't find a piece by a particular performer assume that the orchestra is the performer (e.g., "Berlin Beethoven" might get you Karajan's version of his symphonies if "Karajan Beethoven" doesn't.)


True for Tidal as well.


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## LesCyclopes (Sep 16, 2016)

> 3) Apple-... I wish I knew how to make the tracks play in order instead of random scrabble


You make a Playlist with the songs you like and then it plays them in order.

(Unless you have inadvertently clicked on "Shuffle all", in which case it will indeed continue to play "random scrabble"  )


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## Jerry (Oct 17, 2016)

I've been streaming classical for the past 20 months or so, it's my preferred method of listening by a long way.

I started off with Tidal for its high rez, but found it a bit glitchy and slow to respond.
I lived with that for several months just assuming that was how streamers were meant to be! - but then a friend suggested trying Spotify. I was very dubious about the sound quality / rez aspect but dutifully tried it.
I found that the sound quality on my pretty decent audio system was just fine. Yes, it does sound a bit different to Tidal but I had to do careful side by side comparisons to determine that. I'm not sure I would even call it better, just different.
And Spotify is generally very fast and responsive, and next to zero performance glitches (e.g. hanging).

Just to make sure, I had Tidal Hi-rez and Spotify Premium running in parallel for 4 months.
To my own considerable surprise I found I used Spotify Premium almost exclusively, so I just let the Tidal subscription lapse, and I haven't regretted that at all.

I recently tried Qobuz but wasn't impressed by the paucity of its classical catalogue. Worse than Tidal and a lot worse than Spotify.

So it's Spotify Premium for me.

And I quite enjoy the vagaries of its search engine. Yes, sometimes music is hard to find, but I also often come across unintended items that look interesting and pop them onto my playlist with a single mouseclick for later investigation.

And the artist and musician linkages are wonderful ways of finding new music.
... playing Elgar string quartet on Spotify last night.
... click on the ensemble's name (or the soloist, conductor, orchestra) and you get presented with every other recording available by them by any composer.
... click on the composer's name and you get everything else in the catalogue by them.
That's a great way to find new music. 

And there's a great way to compare different performances of the same work.
-- it's dead easy to skip from one recording to another mid-movement and remarkably accurate for synching them together with a bit of practise!


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Mal said:


> Does it matter that Spotify makes it difficult to browse unfamiliar recordings? For instance, if you want to find baroque composers like Vivaldi wouldn't you be better off using a Google search rather that any conceivable music streaming service? I haven't even noticed the Social Networking feature, couldn't you just avoid that part of the menu? How can the tracks be out of order? If you use the album view than they are in exactly the same order as the album. During a general search they may appear out of order, but with one click you can get into album view. Or do you mean they go out of order when you play? If so, you need to turn off "shuffle", which is only useful for popsters wanting to hear their playlists in a random order. Have you tried the "Discover weekly" feature, that's a nice way to discover new material based on your current interests.
> 
> Can you really tell the difference between Spotify Premium and CD? I sometimes think I can, but I'm not sure I'd pass a double blind test. (And one can never be sure until you do it...)
> 
> Not having UMG is a *really* significant omission. They certainly are on Spotify, maybe I'll try a month on Spotify, and then a month on Tidal, then a month playing my frozen CD collection - best of all worlds, and keeps the costs down...


I agree, none of your objections are deal breakers. I used Spotify for about 2 years as my only streaming service and was generally pleased but I am happier with my current setup. 
You are correct in that one can search for albums in another program such as Google and then enter it into Spotify. I find that clunky and unsatisfactory, but if it isn't an issue for others, then it's irrelevant. The tracks almost always have to be reordered; in a 
Four movement work they may come in as II, I, IV, I,III. Frequently some movements are left out altogether, requiring another search. And this is without shuffle being turned on. And no, I find the ads on the free Spotify intolerable
I agree the UMG omission is significant which is why I use two services. I really enjoy the superb sonic and ease of use of Classics Online, and use Apple for UMG (and could just as easily use Spotify here). It means paying for two services, but streaming saves me money because now I purchase less


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Triplets said:


> Four movement work they may come in as II, I, IV, I,III...


Yes, but you can simply click on the entry in the "Album" column, for one of these tracks, and the tracks appear in the Album view in order. For example, if you search for "chopin piano concerto" you get the following:

https://play.spotify.com/search/chopin piano concerto

Note, Martha Argerich's II appears at the top, then her I, and her III is lost somewhere in the list! BUT click on "Chopin Piano Concertos 1 & 2" in the Album column, and there you see the album with all the tracks in order:

https://play.spotify.com/album/14TdcHlWqeO5tOG9TGr1eh

I vaguely remember it not being as easy as this, maybe you are remembering the old system...


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## Medtnaculus (May 13, 2015)

Just now lastfm introduced me to rawsthornes piano concertos, tochs symphonies, gerhard's works, and the early works of carter. Using it with spotify is the ultimate resource for music.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

I've been paying for Spotify for a couple years and have no complaints. I see no reason to try anything else, since I'm already paying a monthly subscription fee and Tidal would be another $20 a month. As far as I can tell their selection is comparable, for classical and other genres. The search in Spotify can be a bit weird for classical, but you find ways to work around it.

I also pay for IMSLP out of a sense of obligation, and it turns out that comes with full access to the Naxos streaming library. I haven't really explored it, but most of it seems to be on Spotify.


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