How To Get The Best Sound From Pandora & Rhapsody?

MOG and google play both use 320kbps

Google play also has free tracks all the time. Even if you don't subscribe to google play it's nice to go there just to get the free tracks every now and then.

i agree it doesn't make sense to buy a lot of money on expensive gear to listen to pandora or rhapsody--their audio quality just isn't good, esp. as compared to mog or spotify. what surprises me is that pandora, despite its poor sound and very limited library, is still the big player in the streaming space--i expected itunes radio to blow them away, but it hasn't seem to catch on. i'd guess that pandora has done a good job of marketing/branding and esp. with getting into cars. what is still can't understand is how they'll ever make money

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You buy a high end system to play back a high resolution source. I seriously doubt anyone would buy a high-end system just to listen to Pandora, Rhapsody, MOG or Spotify. A lot of people with high-end systems already in place do listen to them though. For those that do, I'm sure that they'd like to get the best sound they could when they do listen .... which is how this thread started.
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Great responses, Mitch4t.

If all of us had waited until we could afford a system that would pass
muster with some of the people on this forum we would never have
listened to music at all.

In 1957 my "reference" system was a Sylvania transistor
radio tuned to late-night AM stations from the Texas/Mexico border.
I've been happy to hear new music from any possible source ever since.

Sure, I want to hear the music I love at the highest possible resolution
but, just as in romance, the process of discovery is sometimes the best
part.

I guess my ears are $hit. I am very happy w the SQ from Pandora 1, streamed to my MW Transporter. Also sounds great on my desktop using HRT II+ and NHT M00/S00 active speakers. My bad! Will have to try Mog and Spotify also, but