Audiophile Spotify (try it)

http://fidelify.net/

"Fidelify uses Spotify Core to deliver streaming content directly to the soundcard, using either ASIO or WASAPI. This enables the user to easily avoid sampling conversion or mixing, ensuring a bit perfect stream.

Fidelify also supports convolution of the audio stream, to allow real time FIR filtering for active crossovers or room correction, and a VST plugin socket to apply third party DSP effects."

I got this installed on my laptop for sh*ts and giggles, but I was trying to get this installed on the desktop. For some reason it won't work, even with the ASIO drivers installed. I don't know why, but it installed on the laptop just fine.

Scouting around online, it seems to have made a difference to people. Thought you guys would be interested in this and please let us know if it actually works/sounds better.

 

So you subscribe to Spotify and Fidelity integrates within the Spotify GUI or does Fidelity have its own GUI?

 

Fidelify has its own GUI.

 

I'll give it a try on my PC, I mainly listen to Spotify on my iPhone or on my Macbook when travelling but I'll see how it sounds through my DAC.

Edit:
ASIO wouldn't work but WASAPI sounds ok so far, not sure if it's night and day but I'll give it some time.

 

Geez, no Mac version?

 

What snakeoil. "Bit perfect" output from compressed files?

 

I tried it and received this message from my Bitdefender Antivirus: "Bitdefender has blocked a process due to suspicious activity" .

 

It appears my Bitdefender was blocking a "JPlay driver setting". I forgot that I installed it a while back to try with JRiver media player but I never used it because of a warning from JRiver. I uninstalled JPlay and now there is no warning from Bitdefender. I'll give it a go now and see if it improves the sound from Spotify streaming.

 

So apparently the search function sucks. It just brings up songs when you type in an artist. No albums listed, etc. Is that happening for anyone else?

 

Was just about to come in here and post this. The thread title alone is an oxymoron.

 

After listening to familiar songs, I'm not hearing much improvement if any at all. Could just be placebo. Maybe better sounding cymbals, just not enough to really make a true judgment.

Also, I would like to remind users that once a song is streamed for the first time in Spotify it downloads it to a cache and further playing of the song is from this cache and not streamed. So, to conduct a true comparison I would recommend erasing the cache to compare the streaming qualities.

I do like that Fidelify displays the bit rate.

 

Would love to see one of these for google music, just to peep into the bitrate. But it does seem a little silly.

 

Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo.

 

Well, the best snakeoil is free snakeoil. I actually like this interface better and the program loads faster on my 5 year old Dell Optiplex so I'll probably use it unless it becomes buggy or they start charging for it.

 

Ok, I decided to try an experiment and find out once and for all if something is actually going on here. As I mentioned in a previous post I thought I might be hearing an improvement with the sound of cymbals, but not quite sure. Could be placebo. So, I used that as my reference. The harshness of the sound of a ride cymbal when streaming music always bothered me. This would improve as the bit rate increased. I subscribed to Spotify premium for the 320kbs streaming, as far as I know, the best rate available for streaming.

In the experiment, I opened "Fidelify" with "Fidelizer". I know this seems weird as well as comical, but it had some possible merits. Fidelizer is another free program that shuts down or slows down computer background systems. In theory, it claims to send more processing power to music reproduction. I've played around with it but have not used it much. As with Fidelify, I just could not tell if there was an improvement.

My findings are that I can indeed hear an improvement with the cymbals. They seem to have more "sizzle" and less harshness. I used recordings that I am very familiar with, leaning heavily on Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Live At Carnegie Hall". Not a big improvement but a noticeable improvement.

When I stream music from my PC, I'll probably continue using the Fidelify/Fidelizer combo.

 

I still haven't been able to get this to install on the desktop. The laptop I almost never use for streaming and I don't have a DAC for that either (just the desktop).

Was anyone else getting the same search options/results I did or was mine just weird?

 

The search function is indeed lacking. I searched for the album "Between The Buttons" and it displayed a random list of songs from a combination of the US and UK albums. I would rather create a playlist in Spotify and load the playlist to play in Fidelify.

I don't have a clue about your installation issues. Have you tried an earlier version?

 

No, I'll try the previous version next. Honestly, this program is a good idea (and appears to do its job) but the interface is so bad it kinda makes it moot. But that's a good idea as far as albums you listen to a lot (making a playlist). Did you notice any other differences besides the cymbals in your tests?

 

Nothing to knock your socks off, but the fidelizer/fidelify combo seems to have increased the sound stage a bit, more space between instruments. Nowhere near as what you would hear in a higher resolution, uncompressed recording. But I will gladly take any slight improvement of a 320 kbps playback especially with a free program. I really think the combination of the two programs works because I had difficulty hearing improvements when each was used alone.

The quality of the sound of cymbals is always a big thing with me. I can detect a low bit recording just by listening to the cymbals. This improvement as slight as it is, is certainly welcomed.

You're right, the logic behind this program is a good idea. This makes better sense than trying to enhance the recording with some sort of sound processing.

 

For those calling out "Snake Oil", you should really read up on the benefits of ASIO vs the Windows Mixer! And yes, of course you would want bit perfect streaming even if the source is slightly compressed. A little compression doesn't mean you can just as well add a bit more. In the digital domain you always want to keep the source material unaltered.