Is there a benefit to Spotify Connect...
Discussion
...over and above just plugging my phone into the phono sockets on my AV amp?
I'm looking at replacing my current Yamaha AV amp, as it dates from before the days of HDMI, and I'm about to run out of HDMI ports on my TV, plus it's a bit of a pain having to sync pictures and sound manually when a device sends pictures straight to the TV via HDMI, but to the amp via optical.
One thing I've noticed is that quite a few of them have Spotify Connect. I use Spotify, and currently just connect my phone into the phono sockets on the front of my AV amp.
Other than the fact that the setup would be a bit tidier without the cable, and wouldn't drain my phone battery as fast (although this isn't really an issue with my Xperia Z2, as I tend to have a good 45% or more battery left at bedtime anyway), are there any benefits to having Spotify Connect? Does it store tracks locally, rather than on the phone? Does it provide higher sound quality?
I can't figure out whether it's worthwhile, or whether it's just removing a wire, which I'm not overly fussed about?
I'm looking at replacing my current Yamaha AV amp, as it dates from before the days of HDMI, and I'm about to run out of HDMI ports on my TV, plus it's a bit of a pain having to sync pictures and sound manually when a device sends pictures straight to the TV via HDMI, but to the amp via optical.
One thing I've noticed is that quite a few of them have Spotify Connect. I use Spotify, and currently just connect my phone into the phono sockets on the front of my AV amp.
Other than the fact that the setup would be a bit tidier without the cable, and wouldn't drain my phone battery as fast (although this isn't really an issue with my Xperia Z2, as I tend to have a good 45% or more battery left at bedtime anyway), are there any benefits to having Spotify Connect? Does it store tracks locally, rather than on the phone? Does it provide higher sound quality?
I can't figure out whether it's worthwhile, or whether it's just removing a wire, which I'm not overly fussed about?
Yes. It means you can control the music playing out of your device from your smartphone/tablet/computer.
It means you don't have to go over to the device to make changes to what is playing etc. If buying a new AV amp surely you would get one with as much functionality as possible?
Re the optical issue... Have you looked to see if your TV has a passthrough for digital audio? Depending on your TV you might be able to get it to switch the audio automatically to a digital output.
I did this with my TV (although it's an analogue output and therefore uses the TV's DAC which is not ideal) it saves the faff of having to manually switch, which used to drive me up the wall.
It means you don't have to go over to the device to make changes to what is playing etc. If buying a new AV amp surely you would get one with as much functionality as possible?
Re the optical issue... Have you looked to see if your TV has a passthrough for digital audio? Depending on your TV you might be able to get it to switch the audio automatically to a digital output.
I did this with my TV (although it's an analogue output and therefore uses the TV's DAC which is not ideal) it saves the faff of having to manually switch, which used to drive me up the wall.
benz0 said:
Yes. It means you can control the music playing out of your device from your smartphone/tablet/computer.
It means you don't have to go over to the device to make changes to what is playing etc. If buying a new AV amp surely you would get one with as much functionality as possible?
Re the optical issue... Have you looked to see if your TV has a passthrough for digital audio? Depending on your TV you might be able to get it to switch the audio automatically to a digital output.
I did this with my TV (although it's an analogue output and therefore uses the TV's DAC which is not ideal) it saves the faff of having to manually switch, which used to drive me up the wall.
I've got everything set up with a Harmony One remote control so that when I switch from one source to another, it automatically changes the audio source, video source etc, etc...It means you don't have to go over to the device to make changes to what is playing etc. If buying a new AV amp surely you would get one with as much functionality as possible?
Re the optical issue... Have you looked to see if your TV has a passthrough for digital audio? Depending on your TV you might be able to get it to switch the audio automatically to a digital output.
I did this with my TV (although it's an analogue output and therefore uses the TV's DAC which is not ideal) it saves the faff of having to manually switch, which used to drive me up the wall.
I'll probably end up getting one with Spotify Connect anyway, if it doesn't cost anything more, but just wanted to check whether it did anything more than just get rid of the wire between my phone and my amp. I'm not overly bothered by the cable though, so wouldn't bother with it if it meant I had to pay more for the amp, or had to forego another more useful feature to get a Spotify enabled one in budget.
If I could use it to download songs onto the amp or attached storage at higher quality than on my phone so as to avoid filling the phone memory up, that would be worth having, but at the moment, it actually sounds like a bit of a step backwards. I can happily control things like the Amazon Prime and Netflix apps, along with all my devices, from that single Harmony remote, but that presumably wouldn't be the case with Spotify?
It seems that literally the only thing it does is remove the wire? Hardly worthwhile!
The amp is likely to have a better DAC and analogue output stage than your phone - so it should sound better.
If you listen to a lot of Spotify it's a no brainer if not much more money imho. Although I'm a lazy bugger and being able to select tracks without going over to my amp would be enough for me!
If you listen to a lot of Spotify it's a no brainer if not much more money imho. Although I'm a lazy bugger and being able to select tracks without going over to my amp would be enough for me!
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