Pandora again, and now Spotify too...

We are streaming Qobuz on our decent system and have been streaming Pandora and Spotify on it until recently.  Of course we also stream all three from our iPhones via bluetooth in the cars and on portable speakers.  We have premium subscriptions to all three and have each set to its max resolution as supported by the equipment.  We hear and appreciate the superior sound quality of Qobuz on our system.  We also hear the lower resolution of Pandora.  We do not love the lower resolution, but we love Pandora because of the quality of its artist/genre "extrapolating" algorithm.  We have not tried the features in Qobuz or Spotify which claim a similar function, and will do so based on the good suggestions in this thread.

So far I can say that we are not impressed with the Spotify feature "recommendations for you" or some such that appends new tracks to a playlist we have created, tracks which to us often miss the point.

In the first step I will be trying the suggestion by @thecarpathian .

I received the Lightning to USB Type-A adapter, and am waiting to receive tomorrow two supposedly good cables, one USB Type-A to Type-B, and the other actually a direct Lightning to USB Type-B, which if it works would skip the adapter.  Something (or everything) will get returned if not needed or doesn't work...

The RME DAC has a USB 2.0 Type-B port.  I'm hoping that so long as I have only one live input at a time (coax or USB) it will not get messed up.  Had not had to futz with its streaming settings to get it to play via coax.  Skimming through the manual it looks like it can get quite involved...

To be continued.

One more... got in parallel the following reply from Bluesound:  "All Bluesound players support Pandora, and will play their content in their highest quality from Pandora’s servers."  FWIW, not sure how it actually looks like, asking them a follow-up question...

They do support Spotify Connect and Qobuz Connect.

Another data point.

Received all the bits and tested @thecarpathian ’s USB idea of iPhone->DAC.
It works.  The direct Lightning to USB Type B cable works fine (so no need for the camera adapter and USB-to-USB cable):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXSNF79B?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Need more time to compare and comment on the sound quality vs the Mano.  But as @thecarpathian suggested this is a test and a stopgap, not a permanent solution even if we find the sound quality good enough, for several reasons:
1. The wired connection means we cannot control playback from our listening area.
2. Volume control is not available on the iPhone in wired playback in either Pandora or Spotify, and needs to be done on the RME, which adds another user interface twist, esp. for my wife.  (We do not adjust the preamps volumes, except in infrequent turntable play, for a reason that belongs in another thread.)
3. The required source switch on the RME between the Mano and the iPhone and the very different gains between them mean that they cannot be switched between easily in casual use.  A new streamer will be needed...

Worthwhile exercise though!

With the iPhone wired connection, you should be able to use another device running the Spotify app to remotely control playback and volume via Spotify Connect. This is one of Spotify’s most valuable strengths.

For volume to work, you would need to disable volume control on the RME and you would be utilizing software volume control through the Spotify application. Not optimum, but it works. It can also be a little dangerous with Spotify’s slider control.