For years there has been a big debate in the music streaming world, and now one Apple user has shared their own mind-blowing experience using AirPods Max 2 headphones with both Apple Music and Spotify.
While there has been a resurgence of people buying music physically in the last decade, the vast majority of listening occurs on subscription-based streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, and even YouTube Music.
These give you access to more music than you could ever wish to listen to – although a growing number of artists have removed their catalogs out of protest in recent years – and it's often a matter of personal preference as to which one you end up subscribing to.
Spotify is undoubtedly the most popular, especially with the popularity of sharing your year-end Wrapped roundup on social media, but there has been an increase of people looking to make the switch in recent years due to concerns about the quality of the sound.
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How much of this is actually a factor remains unclear – especially after Spotify finally got the option for lossless audio playback last September – although one user on Reddit has made an argument for switching over to Apple's platform.
Sharing their post on the r/Airpodsmax subreddit, u/Optimal_Lychee_1366 explained: "I've had the new AirPods Max 2 for about a week now, and I finally have to admit it: If you are using these with Spotify or YouTube Music, you are essentially driving a Ferrari in a school zone.
"I did a side-by-side comparison today between Apple Music (Lossless/Atmos) and YouTube Music (Very High), and the difference isn't just noticeable, it's massive."
While their comparison between Apple Music and YouTube Music is more relevant right now than a comparison to Spotify due to the latter lacking lossless playback, the key difference is actually within a feature that's unique to the former.
As many of the comments point out, the track they listened to on Apple Music featured Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio, which doesn't just alter the sound but features a completely different mix to the stereo recording on Spotify or YouTube Music.
This aims to provide a feeling as if the music is surrounding you as opposed to just coming from the headphones you're wearing, akin to a live performance or the experience you might have using open back headphones.
Apple Music isn't the only service with Dolby Atmos support – as both Tidal and Amazon Music Unlimited offer it too – but it offers a big difference when comparing tracks to something like Spotify.
What's more, Dolby Atmos is automatically enabled when you're using any headphones from Apple or Beats – including the AirPods Max 2 that the poster uses – with many of these specifically tuned to offer the best listening experience with Spatial Audio.