Tag Archives: Spotify Connect

Spotify Lossless Audio is Still A Thing… Three Years Down The Road

It looks like Spotify’s road to lossless audio is long and full of hurdles. It’s been about three years since the streaming giant first announced it would be adding lossless audio to its offerings, but we’ve yet to see it materialise. However, Spotify does seem to like to tease us with leaks and “updates” to its apps.

Spotify Reet Unsplash
Photo by Reet Talreja on Unsplash

In the latest leaks that have surfaced thanks to Reddit user OhItsTom, we finally get a glimpse of some of the features and app interfaces for “Lossless” on Spotify. The screenshots of the desktop app show that Spotify might be considering ditching the “HiFi” branding and sticking to “Lossless”. It also gives us a glimpse of the quality that Spotify is gunning for with Lossless and it’s an impressive 2117kbps. That said, it looks like a majority of the offerings will be 24-bit audio FLAC files. The interface also indicates that audio files could be as large as 15.9MB a minute. That’s a HUGE file! A typical song would be between 65MB to 80MB which isn’t too bad considering ripping lossless tracks from a CD can sometimes go larger than that.

Spotify HiFi leak jpg

In addition to this, it looks like Spotify will be including a whole bunch on introductory screens for Lossless when it finally launches. It does suggest using Spotify Connect over Bluetooth for a better listening experience for lossless. It will also come with a compatibility checker for Spotify Lossless that will let you know if your device can support Lossless audio.

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These screenshots are the latest in leaks that have been teasing the upcoming release of Spotify’s Lossless Audio support. However, it comes after more rumours pointed to Spotify introducing a brand new tier – Supremium – to its offerings. The Supremium tier would set you back USD$20 a month. This is about USD$5 more than the Premium tier which is priced at USD$16.99. There is also no indication if this tier would be supported in the Family plan. Currently, Spotify Premium is priced at RM15.90 a month in Malaysia while the Family Plan is priced at RM24.90 a month.

Ruark Takes A Step into High-Resolution Digital Audio with the Ruark R410

Ruark is one of the biggest names when it comes to premium audio experiences. The England-based audio company has built a name for itself with its classically inspired and timeless audio products. They’ve delivered everything from bookshelf speakers with the MR1 to the aesthetic R3 to full audio speakers within a table with the R7. Now, the company is introducing a whole new lineup of speakers that build upon its successful foundations. The new Ruark R410, the first in the 100 series, brings Ruark’s offerings into the realm of high-resolution digital audio with support for Qualcomm’s aptX HD and HDMI eARC.

Updated Aesthetics with Classic Touches & Modern Finishes

The hero of the 100 series is the new R410 speaker. Still keeping with Ruark‘s signature classical wooden design, the R410 brings Ruark’s design a decade into the future with inspiration taken from the late 1970s. The speaker is uniquely designed with horizontal wooden grilles accented by the soft brown tones of the mesh and the metallic silver of the legs.

Ruark Audio R410 24

The whole body is made of sustainably sourced wood. This wood mimics the appearance of hardwood and delivers the qualities that allow for Ruark’s signature sound. To achieve the deep wooden texture and finish, the wood is treated and dyed to the intended colour. The R410 is also designed to blend seamlessly into any space.

Nestled in the face of the Ruark R410 is a small touch screen which shows you what’s playing and enables you limited controls. The R410 is also built to produce the best audio quality you can get. Ruark proudly boasts that its new audio products come after 3 years of research and refinement.

The R410 comes with a brand new “RotoDial” control system. The RotoDial has been a signature feature of Ruark’s audio offerings since its conception. The new RotoDial features an updated design which retains the signature Ruark touches and tactility. In addition to the one embedded in the top of the speaker itself, the R410 comes with a remote RotoDial which connects to the speaker via Bluetooth.

Still Built for Sound

Ruark has spent time optimising the design and build of the R410 for the best audio quality. The R410 comes with optimised reflex enclosures that allow it to throw crisp sounds with warm tones and full body over large distances. It comes with Ruark’s NS+ drivers which empower deep bases and natural mids. The custom 20mm tweeters bring added detail to the already full sound.

The Ruark R410 also comes with new-generation digital amplifiers. This allows it better efficiency and output with ultralow distortion. A two-channel amplifier assembly is mounted directly onto the rear of each bass mid-unit for shorter signal paths and to prevent signal degradation.

The new R410 system supports all new-generation streaming connections including Chromecast, Apple AirPlay 2, Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect.

Pricing & Availability

The Ruark R410 will be available at the end of Q4 2023 at specialised stores. It will be priced at MYR8,899.

R410 Features at a Glance (provided by Ruark Audio)

Streaming Support(High resolution music file support up to 24-bit 192kH)
Spotify Connect
Tidal Connect
Apple AirPlay 2
Chromecast built-in
Broadcast SupportDAB/DAB+/FM & Internet radio 
ConnectivityaptX HD Bluetooth connectivity
HDMI with eARC 
TOSLINK digital input (24-bit 192kHz)
UPnP™ media server compatible 
RIAA phono input 
DimensionsH133 x W560 x D290mm 
9.5kg
NavigationHigh-resolution 4in colour TFT 
AmplifiersFully Active 120W RMS Digital Class D amplifier 
2 x 20mm silk dome tweeters
2 x 100mm long throw NS+ bass mid units 
Dual bass reflex enclosures 
PeripheralsRechargeable RotoDial Bluetooth remote included.