Spotify kills integration for some older hi-fi and AV kit

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Are you a Spotify subscriber and owner of hi-fi or AV kit of a certain vintage with built-in Spotify? You could be affected.

Last year Spotify announced that several older generation hi-fi and AV products would lose Spotify Connect integration due to an update to its backend platform. It appears (as reported by The Verge) the time has come.

The news means owners of affected products will no longer be able to stream Spotify’s catalogue directly from their product without the use of a smartphone.

Those products span a number of years-old networked systems, speakers and stereo and AV receivers from the likes of Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Yamaha, B&O, Pioneer and Philips.

Products include the B&O BeoSound 5 (which we reviewed way back in 2009) as well as the Denon AVR-X4000, Marantz M-CR610 and Yamaha RX-V675 – all 2013 models. The full list – of around 100 models, most of which are at least a few years old – can be found here.

Understandably, those losing features that have been part and parcel of their product’s specs are not happy, taking to Spotify’s Community forum to express their plight.

Spotify has told The Verge that “in some cases, manufacturers can update their firmware to be compatible with the new platform”, and we’ve contacted several of the above manufacturers to find out which products that relates to.

Yamaha has confirmed it will provide an update for the following models: RX-V475, RX-V575, RX-V675, RX-V775, RX-A730, RX-A830, RX-A1030, RX-A2030, RX-A3030, RX-S600, CX-A5000, HTR-4066, HTR-5066, HTR-6066, HTR-7066, RX-V1075, RX-V2075, RX-V3075, RX-V500D, TSR-6750, RX-V477, RX-V577, RX-V677, RX-V777, RX-A740, RX-A840, RX-A1040, RX-A2040, RX-A3040, HTR-4067, HTR-5067, HTR-6067, RX-V1077, RX-V2077, RX-V3077, TSR-5770, R-N500, CD-N301, R-N301, CRX-N560 and CRX-N560D.

(The update for the RX-V475 and RX-V575 can be found here, for example.)

Denon's RCD-N8, DRA-N5, AVR-X1000, AVR-X2000, AVR-X3000 and AVR-X4000 can now recieve an update granting them Spotify Connect, while its AVR-1913, AVR-2113, AVR-2313 and AVR-4520 are due the update in March 2018.

Similarly, the Marantz M-CR510, M-CR610, NA-11S1, NR1504, NR1604, SR5008, SR6008 and SR7008 can be updated now, with the AV7701, AV8801, NR1603, SR5007, SR6007 and SR7007 scheduled for March 2018.

We are still awaiting news on the affected Onkyo and Pioneer products, and will update this story accordingly.

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Becky Roberts
Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.