Jump to content
IGNORED

pandora one and internet streaming?


Recommended Posts

Anyone upgrade to Pandora One? It gets you the desktop app and a higher streaming rate (192 kilobits/sec). It's not much money ($36/year), but any opinions welcome. More generally, how does 192 kilobits/sec compare to CD's ripped to your computer? Do any internet radio stations stream CD quality or high res material? It would seem this is possible through a broadband connection as Apple, Netflix and others stream HD video content?

 

Jim

 

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

As you mentioned, it's not expensive, you get better quality, no ads, and IMHO, get to support a company making a great product.

 

How does the sound compare?

 

Well, it's not really a fair comparison for me, as I rip everything to lossless. And it doesn't sound as good as that.

 

But it's perfectly listenable, doesn't induce listening fatigue, and is the highest bitrate internet radio stream I've ever heard of. It seems to be about as good as the radio stations I can get over cable tv.

 

Just like terrestrial radio, I don't listen to Pandora expecting the highest quality sound, anyway. I listen to it for variety and interesting programming. And for that, it's great.

 

MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way

Link to comment

I upgraded to Pandora One a few months ago. I probably listen once per week. The difference in sound quality versus the free version is really significant. I personally found the free version just barely listenable. Pandora One is not up to par with loseless files, but as someone else said, it is very listenable. I also listen to Pandora One when I travel. My iTunes library is one my iMac at home. Pandora One is a nice option for listening and most hotels have decent high speed connections these days.

 

I think that the biggest benefit is that I listen to new music (new in terms of not in my library as opposed to just released). It is really easy to get in a rut where you listen to the same things all of the time. Pandora One has helped me find some new things that I really like. It is well worth the price just for this alone. A few other things I have like about Pandora One include the desktop app which is quite nice, but with a few unclear things in the interface. I also think that the engine for determining what to play is more sophisticated than the iTunes genius function. The draw back here is that when you just start using it, the algo seems very sensitive to the first few things you give a thumbs up to. It took a little while for the variety to build again.

 

PS. First post here. Have been reading for a while and thought I should offer feedback on this since I recently considered the same thing. Take care.

 

Oyen MiniPro via Firewire -> Macbook Pro (Amarra 2.3.2, Audirvana Plus) -> Wireworld Starlight USB -> Wavelength Proton -> Stax SRM323S -> Stax 007 Mk1

Link to comment
  • 4 months later...

To All:

 

Saw the posts regarding a superior sound on the upgrade of pandora which made me wonder about the differences between Pandora and say Slacker. Any ideas? I used to have sat rad and thought the fidelity was terrible. I got tired of it and didn't like supporting those ridiculous contracts to celebs who were not worth it. Like many here I create my own library through lossless ripping but have had a basic pandora account since its inception.

 

Link to comment

MOG.com 320 kps streaming, 7 million tracks and growing. Pandora's channels suck compared to Slacker. Pandora may have better sound quality but, the Slacker channels are great, created by humans not software and cover just about every genre.

 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...