Spotify vs. Apple Music via USB Connection with B&O

[justerik]

Hi there friends!

Anyone up for an experiment? I am a Spotify user but recently tried Apple Music in the F150. (Note: I use a wired USB connection for charging/handoff consistency)

I swear there is a huge difference in the "spacial" quality of the music where Apple Music is far more dynamic or spacial aware. Both services are set to their highest quality settings and while I am not sure if the F150 is doing lossless decoding, I am pretty sure Apple Music is in someway more rich than Spotify.

Would anyone be willing to test this? Here is the process:

1. You need both a Spotify and Apple Music subscription.
2. Go to both Spotify and Apple Music on your device and set the streaming quality to highest.
3. Connect your device to the truck via a USB cable.
4. Pick a song that has great dynamic sound range. This might be anything from a Rush song to the one I used for my test, "Unholy" by Sam Smith.
5. Play the first minute of the song on Spotify first.
6. Then play the first minute of the same song on Apple Music.
7. Take note of any spacial differences in the distribution of the sound.
8. Report back here and let me know if I am crazy or if the difference is real.

Thanks in advance and I hope the weather is trending warmer where ever you are. (Unless you're in LA then you can just go outside and tell us what 80F feels like in December.)

Cheers,

Erik

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[Fordphanatic]

I don't have an iPhone. I use Amazon music and have to say it truly sounds like shit on the B&O system. If I listen to the FM radio in high definition it sounds amazing!! I have tried all the settings to highest quality highest definition for XM radio and Amazon music and it sounds like shit. It sucks because my last truck had a custom system that sounded amazing. With this truck I was really hoping the B&O system would be better. Don't want to tear the interior of my new truck apart.....not yet?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

The F150 does not have the B&O but my 20 Ranger did. On that one with wired carplay to Sync 3 there was no discernable difference in audio quality between Spotify (highest quality setting and minor app EQ adjustments) and Apple Music. I got fed up with Pandora after having a grandfathered subscription for years and had tried all the others out for a month each before settling on Spotify more for the ease of use compared to Apple Music app. Amazon sounded great but uses a TON of data. So much so that AT&T started throttling the truck's unlimited cell data connection. Still use Spotify on the F150 with wireless Carplay and upgraded speakers and have no complaints at all. I had been using wired Carplay but got tired of the connection issues with Sync 4 it seems to have vs wireless.

 

[kb2755]

I switched from Spotify to Apple Music last year after comparing the services back to back on Powerbeats Pro and AirPods Pro. The quality difference is unbelievable. Not to mention I have a few Dolby Atmos enabled devices in the house that take full advantage of what Apple Music has to offer.

I haven’t tried a wired connection in the truck, I exclusively use wireless CarPlay, but I imagine you’re correct in the differences you’re noticing based on what I observed.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I switched from Spotify to Apple Music last year after comparing the services back to back on Powerbeats Pro and AirPods Pro. The quality difference is unbelievable. Not to mention I have a few Dolby Atmos enabled devices in the house that take full advantage of what Apple Music has to offer.

I haven’t tried a wired connection in the truck, I exclusively use wireless CarPlay, but I imagine you’re correct in the differences you’re noticing based on what I observed.

Wireless Carplay and wireless headphones use different connection methods. Wireless Carplay on Sync4 uses Wifi to transmit audio and Bluetooth for most other data transfers. This allows for far greater bandwidth and higher audio quality than with Bluetooth audio. While not lossless it's pretty darn close to it. To me it's virtually identical to wired Carplay in overall audio quality.

Headphones like the Airpods Pro connect via Bluetooth, (support for BT v5.3 is on the latest release). Depending on the version of iPods you have they could have the H2 chip in them which has better noise cancellation and improved clarity than previous models. This would be the reason for the improved audio quality you have seen.

 

[kb2755]

Wireless Carplay and wireless headphones use different connection methods. Wireless Carplay on Sync4 uses Wifi to transmit audio and Bluetooth for most other data transfers. This allows for far greater bandwidth and higher audio quality than with Bluetooth audio. While not lossless it's pretty darn close to it. To me it's virtually identical to wired Carplay in overall audio quality.

Headphones like the Airpods Pro connect via Bluetooth, (support for BT v5.3 is on the latest release). Depending on the version of iPods you have they could have the H2 chip in them which has better noise cancellation and improved clarity than previous models. This would be the reason for the improved audio quality you have seen.

Let me clarify, since I’m not trying to convolute the conversation with wired vs Bluetooth or lossless vs aac. In a straight up comparison of platforms on consistent hardware:
Spotify vs Apple Music on Powerbeats pro: significant quality improvement in Apple Music.
Spotify vs Apple Music on AirPods Pro: significant quality improvement in Apple Music.

 

[justerik]

I’ve done this test quite often in my 22 Platinum with the Unleashed system.

EXCELLENT! Thank you for the report. I'll check out that tune.

 

[wayne b]

A few questions about the comparison:
-is the engine running ?
-both apps have equalizer settings, should they be off or flat or...?

I use both and outside of the actual audio quality in engine off/windows up carefully listening mindeset, I have an issue where the audio breaks up when transitions/animations happen in Carplay (eg - using Waze an alert pops up with Apple Music playing in the background). It's very short break up, but if you care about audio quality, it's very annoying.

(I'm in LA and can confirm people are in shorts/flip flops)

 

[justerik]

A few questions about the comparison:
-is the engine running ?
-both apps have equalizer settings, should they be off or flat or...?

I use both and outside of the actual audio quality in engine off/windows up carefully listening mindeset, I have an issue where the audio breaks up when transitions/animations happen in Carplay (eg - using Waze an alert pops up with Apple Music playing in the background). It's very short break up, but if you care about audio quality, it's very annoying.

(I'm in LA and can confirm people are in shorts/flip flops)

Engine off for the test. Equalizers set to flat for the test. Please send warmth.

 

[Graygoose2021]

If you pay for Spotify, or a tiered playlist provider, the better the quality indeed. Lossless is one of the better ones.

I used the top tier Spotify, USB, never Bluetooth

 

[Tosh]

The difference is real. Apple Music (especially the lossless content) is far superior.

I dropped Spotify - now I use either Apple Music, or FLAC files from a USB drive

 

[Porpoise Hork]

If you pay for Spotify, or a tiered playlist provider, the better the quality indeed. Lossless is one of the better ones.

I used the top tier Spotify, USB, never Bluetooth

Spotify lists it as AAC 256kbit/s for premium and 320kbit/s on highest setting

Apple Music is Default Audio Quality 256 kbp/s or 24-bit/192 kHz, lossless depending on how you have it set/connected.

For most of us the difference is imperceptible, where picky audiophiles will likely be able to tell.

 

[m_bt54]

I’ve also done A/B testing between Apple Music and Spotify, and agree that Spotify just doesn’t sound as good as Apple Music. I haven’t considered Tidal or, Amazon music, because their libraries just don’t have enough of what I listen to.

There are also a few added benefits with Apple Music for iPhone users, such as CarPlay just working better and Airplay in the house if you have compatible speakers or an Apple TV. The Apple Music app on Roku, and Apple TV is also a nice added benefit, and I find it more user-friendly, then the Spotify app on similar platforms.

 

[Tosh]

Spotify lists it as AAC 256kbit/s for premium and 320kbit/s on highest setting

Apple Music is Default Audio Quality 256 kbp/s or 24-bit/192 kHz, lossless depending on how you have it set/connected.

For most of us the difference is imperceptible, where picky audiophiles will likely be able to tell.

color me picky ;-}

It's worth mentioning that old recordings that have not been remastered sound very much (though not exactly) the same @ 320 kb/s as 1400 kb/s.

The big reason Apple Music became dominant in the streaming market is because a large portion of their catalog has been remastered for HiFi (see how old I am?)

 

[justerik]

Thank you all for the great comments; good education about audio in this thread.

To those who feel Apple Music is worth it, I think I am in your camp as well. Spotify has great discovery and Apple Music has the quality.

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