# Pandora One



## Hammer1 (Jan 30, 2011)

Sometimes when driving to work I will listen to Pandora. I have it set for the higher quality stream but it still is lacking in SQ. I see that if you upgrade to the Pandora One you are able to get a even higher bit rate so my question is is it worth the money to upgrade.


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Amazon prime music sounds better you should try it.


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## maggie-g (Aug 20, 2014)

"If you buy iTunes or Amazon MP3 files you're getting dynamically compressed, lossy compressed music. Congratulations, you're getting the worst of both forms of compression!"

What's the difference: Dynamic vs. lossy audio compression? - CNET


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## Hammer1 (Jan 30, 2011)

Don't buy anything from I tunes. But sometimes I don't feel like messing with CDs and will listen to pandora so I am just wondering if the paid version sounds any better than the free version


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## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

Hammer1 said:


> Don't buy anything from I tunes. But sometimes I don't feel like messing with CDs and will listen to pandora so I am just wondering if the paid version sounds any better than the free version


I had Pandora One for about a year. I did not renew it.:thumbsdown:


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

maggie-g said:


> "If you buy iTunes or Amazon MP3 files you're getting dynamically compressed, lossy compressed music. Congratulations, you're getting the worst of both forms of compression!"
> 
> What's the difference: Dynamic vs. lossy audio compression? - CNET


Maggie who said anything about buying?


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Hammer1 said:


> Don't buy anything from I tunes. But sometimes I don't feel like messing with CDs and will listen to pandora so I am just wondering if the paid version sounds any better than the free version


I think it does, for $4 a month try it. If you have amazon prime than you can use amazon music for free, stream directly or save it in amazon cloud and stream from there.


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## UNFORGIVEN (Sep 25, 2010)

iTunes radio is connected to iTunes so the selection of music is GREAT.
I forget the numbers but it streams at at higher bit rate than pandora radio and in my opinion i've noticed a difference. 

Itunes radio is free to all apple users... just go to music and on the far left tab is says radio


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## cmac06 (Aug 22, 2014)

Try Spotify, they do up to 320kbps. I think Pandora One can be set to max of 192kbps. Like Victor said, try the monthly subscription to see if you like it. I personally don't like to be told what I have to listen to, so Spotify was a better fit. If you're streaming though, I would want to keep the bandwidth down unless you have one of those unlimited data plans.


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

I have Spotify Premium and I love the fact that I can create play list of the exact songs I want to listen to, and the option to download selected play list for offline listening.


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

big positive moment for pandora one is no commercials.


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## Hammer1 (Jan 30, 2011)

I am not worried about bandwidth. I have unlimited data with AT&T so I will give spotify a try


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

Also, I have sprint and I got 6 months free, so you might want to double check with att to see if they are offering any promo.


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## cmac06 (Aug 22, 2014)

Exactly, I honestly don't see how Spotify is making any money. They have outrageous promotions with just about every company on the planet, and they allow stacking. So enjoy on their dime for a while. 

I wish I would've kept my unlimited data plan.


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

cmac06 said:


> Exactly, I honestly don't see how Spotify is making any money. They have outrageous promotions with just about every company on the planet, and they allow stacking. So enjoy on their dime for a while.
> 
> I wish I would've kept my unlimited data plan.


If you have the room. You can download your play list over wifi to get around the data issue.


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## Hammer1 (Jan 30, 2011)

I have had unlimited data for years I am grandfathered in so as long as I don't change my plan I will have unlimited data with AT&T. I would go over on a 2 gig plan with pandora one in a month just driving back and forth to work each day


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## WestCo (Aug 19, 2012)

Hammer1 said:


> Sometimes when driving to work I will listen to Pandora. I have it set for the higher quality stream but it still is lacking in SQ. I see that if you upgrade to the Pandora One you are able to get a even higher bit rate so my question is is it worth the money to upgrade.


If you have a good DAC in the deck or a pure i20, Pandora one (high bitrate) can sound pretty nice, it'll never be cd or flac quality. Problem is most decks now are more of an indash computer than a hi-fi audio source.

I have been told that spotify has better streaming quality. 

It's all compressed, so you are going to loose clarity especially on the top end... Such is life. I buy cd's off amazon; rip em and make mix cd's; of course if I ever switch to a source with usb support then that would be nice; provided it has optical output to my processor. 

I actually like the SQ of FM (with a good tuner) over digital streaming. But it also depends on FM range and the mood I am in.


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## WestCo (Aug 19, 2012)

I could also mention adding a tube preamp helped my compressed media, the low order distortion helps the top end out a lot.

Victor_inox sells some that are easily integrated into a car system. I know when I was sending my pure i20 into my panasonic bottlehead things became a lot more enjoyable to listen to.

Should also add there's no way to "uncompress audio" but you can change the waveform to make you want to listen to it.


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## cmac06 (Aug 22, 2014)

WestCo said:


> I could also mention adding a tube preamp helped my compressed media, the low order distortion helps the top end out a lot.
> 
> Victor_inox sells some that are easily integrated into a car system. I know when I was sending my pure i20 into my panasonic bottlehead things became a lot more enjoyable to listen to.


I need a two channel one for the office now... That preamp has me spoiled.


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

cmac06 said:


> I need a two channel one for the office now... That preamp has me spoiled.


returned customers 20% discount  I have them ready.


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## WestCo (Aug 19, 2012)

cmac06 said:


> I need a two channel one for the office now... That preamp has me spoiled.



Intend to use one of them on my home setup as well 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

WestCo said:


> Intend to use one of them on my home setup as well
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have 8ch integrated in my HT setup now. Let me know Joe when you ready I`ll cut you a deal.


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## glfrancis2 (Nov 15, 2014)

The price of admission for Pandora is worth it. I use it frequently and I can hear the difference in the higher "quality" sound. I also enjoy discovering new artists that get played on stations that I pick. Good to have a backup to play specific music, but the set it and forget it of Pandora is often what I use.


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