I did a little research and Deezer has 36 million tracks in high fidelity, 16-bit FLAC quality sound (1,411kbps at 16-bit, 44.1kHz). The lossless option may only be available to Sonos customers. It may not reach the quality of Tidal which I subscribe to, but the quality should be very good.

Here's an interesting link by tidal that demonstrates what is missing in lower quality recordings:

tidal.com/us/video/lossless-explained

And if you want to test your ear, this site let's you hear 3 different versions of three songs: a lossless version at 1,411 kbps, a “premium” version at 320 kbps, and standard version at 160 kbps -

www.theverge.com/2017/4/5/15168340/lossl...-spotify-hi-fi-tidal

fred

As far as I can tell, Deezer Elite (only available from SONOS), and Tidal offer similar streaming quality, I.E. 16 bit FLAC (no Hi/res). Reviews I have read suggest they are the same SQ, so it becomes more a matter of music libraries available and/or streaming set ups used. I
I have SONOS installed as my streaming source, so, Deezer Elite fits my set up.

I haven't gotten into streaming yet other than Pandora when I'm working on the laptop - what's Deezer/Sonos or Tidal like for classical? That is 75-80% of our listening and we have over 800 CDs and around 4,000 LPs,

Rackon wrote: I haven't gotten into streaming yet other than Pandora when I'm working on the laptop - what's Deezer/Sonos or Tidal like for classical? That is 75-80% of our listening and we have over 800 CDs and around 4,000 LPs,

Hi, Rackon

Good question! I’d venture that you’re more of an expert on classical music libraries. You have an amazing collection already!

My experience with searching the Deezer library is that their classical selections are as vast as their pop, rock, etc. collection. I have found whatever I’ve searched for re classical, and with options on labels, orchestra, etc. I just love discovering something I want to hear, finding it in Deezer, and playing it in minutes. Instant gratification!

Happy listening

Rick

Thanks Rick. I've considered the connect mod, but Devialet is about to release a new streamer board for the expert pro line that might allow me to confidently remove the Sonos Connect from my system, need to see how that works out first. Plus the streamer board is a free upgrade.

Thanks again.

Rackon wrote: I haven't gotten into streaming yet other than Pandora when I'm working on the laptop - what's Deezer/Sonos or Tidal like for classical? That is 75-80% of our listening and we have over 800 CDs and around 4,000 LPs,

Hi Rackon,

I'm glad to see there's another classical music lover out there, and you definitely have me beat on quantity.

I can only testify to Tidal for streaming. I haven't extensively searched their catalog, but the other day I looked for a relatively new (classical) recording that was reviewed in the latest issue of Stereophile....and it was there! It was great to be able to sample before buying a CD.

Here's the downside to Tidal and classical. As you know, many classical recordings of relatively modern music have track changes while the music is still playing. Rite of Spring is a great example. Unfortunately, Tidal does not stream gaplessly, at least in my Oppo 105. There's an interruption in the music at every track number change while the system does whatever it needs to do before starting the next track. This is no big deal for pop, jazz, blues, or just about any other genre where the tracks contain complete songs. But for classical it is very annoying, and I don't generally use Tidal for classical because of that. I use it mainly for other genres.

Tidal does offer a free month to try, and you can give it a spin and cancel if you don't like it.

Charlie