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Pandora

108.185.129.12
Posted on April 6, 2021 at 15:07:25
2-ears
Audiophile

Posts: 240
Location: Orange County, CA
Joined: January 19, 2003
 A recent posting attracted ridicule but not much of a constructive response. Not to be put off, I thought I'd ask my question one more time. The Pandora Music Genome Project allows the user to create radio stations from among your favorite artists/genres and then shuffle the stations to produce a variety of musical offerings. Given that I have a satisfactorily large cataloged CD collection for critical music listening, Pandora is my "go to" for general background music. For reasons that I cannot comprehend, Pandora's streaming quality has remained in another generation. Surely, if upgrading their streaming quality were easy and inexpensive to implement, they would have done it. (I'll assume that to be true.) Maybe someone with more knowledge and understanding than I can explain.

 

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RE: Pandora, posted on April 6, 2021 at 15:57:10
Sondek
Audiophile

Posts: 9632
Location: Fort Worth
Joined: May 17, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 Yeah, it would be nice if they could up their bit rate.

Wifey really likes Pandora. So I bought her an upgrade that gets her a better bit steam. It's not the highest they offer, but one step up from free. Played from her Win10 machine utilizing aptX via Bluetooth to the big rig, it sounds okay. Not great, but not objectionable at all. Seems like that service upgrade is ~$5 a month. It's been a couple of years, maybe time to see what current offers are.

 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 6, 2021 at 20:29:14
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2003
 I play Pandora exclusively because of their algorithmic shuffle selections.

Only problem I have is despite having the max number of stations (for non-subscribers which I think is 15-20), I hear the same 50-75 songs over and over again. Yes I'm sure it's based on songs I skip over, those I allow to play through, and the big one: those I click 'like' on.

But then again I guess I shouldn't even complain since it's free.

Now if Pandora could convince me by signing up their selection would expand significantly, I'd subscribe in a heartbeat.









 

Has she tried Tidal? nt, posted on April 7, 2021 at 06:04:04
tinear
Audiophile

Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
 d

 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 7, 2021 at 08:22:20
swfarrar
Audiophile

Posts: 180
Location: Austin, TX
Joined: June 1, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 7, 2012
 I suspect there is a business reason they have not offered a higher bit rate. Clearly, there is a huge audience out there for whom the existing stream and its cost are completely satisfactory. People who do want a higher bit rate have plenty of other options. Pandora likely calculated that the additional complexity and/or cost can't be justified by audience growth. It's a business model that works well for other companies like Macdonalds.

 

RE: Has she tried Tidal? nt, posted on April 7, 2021 at 09:50:43
Sondek
Audiophile

Posts: 9632
Location: Fort Worth
Joined: May 17, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 No she hasn't. Since Pandora was her idea, it could be an uphill battle to try and get her to switch. I'll see if I can't plant a seed.

Her Pandora level is bitrate up to 192k for $5. Tidal is 320k for double the price. The Tidal economics are not exactly compelling on the bitrate front. Maybe Tidal has a deeper catalog? She's pretty happy with the selections with Pandora.

I'll mention the Tidal option to her and see if she'll consider it.



 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 7, 2021 at 13:38:33
2-ears
Audiophile

Posts: 240
Location: Orange County, CA
Joined: January 19, 2003
 For $5/mo you don't have any commercial interruptions, and as far as I can tell there's no limitation on the number of stations. What's more, you get the better streaming quality -- limited to 192kbs. What they do, they do well. I know nothing about the technical effort and cost of running a streaming service. I was hoping someone could enlighten me with an easy to understand answer that explains why Pandora has decided to limit itself.

 

Pandora is now connected with Sirius XM, posted on April 7, 2021 at 19:16:11
Audio Snob
Audiophile

Posts: 462
Joined: April 5, 2000
 I have SiriusXM who is now connected with Pandora and using the Pandora algorithm to create listening prefernces/channels on the online version of SiriusXM using the Pandora name.

I get the impression that SiriusXm may have purchased Pandora, but I really haven't paid much attention to any of the particulars.

 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 7, 2021 at 23:26:19
Jonesy
Audiophile

Posts: 3157
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Joined: September 1, 2005
Contributor
  Since: March 1, 2018
 Isn't the Premium service $9.99/month?

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 8, 2021 at 06:24:18
Sondek
Audiophile

Posts: 9632
Location: Fort Worth
Joined: May 17, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 Three levels. Free. $5/mo. And $10/mo.

It looks like both pay plans are limited to 192k. The $10 plan gets you, among other things, more search access without having to listen to a commercial.

 

The bitrate for Pandora Premium is by FAR the lowest. The, posted on April 8, 2021 at 07:14:36
tinear
Audiophile

Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
 number of available music has been found by reviewers to be far below the competition. The only thing Pandora has is that algorithm--- and it gets repetitive very quickly.

Tidal and Qobuz have true hi-res. I bet she'll never look back (listen back?) after a trial (free).

 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 8, 2021 at 07:41:29
Jonesy
Audiophile

Posts: 3157
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Joined: September 1, 2005
Contributor
  Since: March 1, 2018
 Ah, OK.

Now I'm getting (like 2-ears) curious about how internet radio and streaming work. Technology, licensing, royalties and all.

I see lots of interesting comments in this thread and took a look at his original post in Digital Drive.

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

Yes SiriusXM purchased Pandora, posted on April 8, 2021 at 16:53:05
Audio Snob
Audiophile

Posts: 462
Joined: April 5, 2000
 I looked it up. Yes SiriusXM purchased Pandora. I suspect if you subscribe to SiriusXM you would have access online to Pandora or something very Pandora like.

 

RE: Pandora, posted on April 8, 2021 at 19:21:30
MaggiesAndCats
Audiophile

Posts: 697
Joined: August 31, 2009
Contributor
  Since: July 16, 2010
 I use Pandora Plus. It doesn't cost that much on a yearly basis and I really like having infinite skips and no ads. I've also used the free Amazon Music that I get with Amazon Prime, which isn't that much different than Pandora. I recently signed up for a free 4 month trial of Amazon Music Unlimited, which has a much better selection. I am also trying their HD Music free for a month, which I really like so far.

Regards,

Steve

 

Done!, posted on April 9, 2021 at 16:00:35
2-ears
Audiophile

Posts: 240
Location: Orange County, CA
Joined: January 19, 2003
 That says it all. As a 2-bit (I couldn't resist) satellite car radio station, SiriusXM will benefit by adding Pandora to its channel lineup. Take it or leave it, Pandora will continue to be what it is and nothing more. Oh well!

 

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