Who has tried "TIDAL" vs other streaming applications?


Hello, I'm new to Audiogon, this is my first posting into Forums.

I enjoy streaming audio from my PC and have been using Spotify for a number of years now (college student discount to premium $5 a month). I just recently stumbled upon a App called TIDAL, that streams Lossless 16/44.1FLAC with their "HI-FI" subscription (Student $10 a month). Since I can queue up Spotify and Tidal at the same time, I was able to do an A/B and used Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. I noticed that TIDAL indeed sounds better to me but am convinced none of my family members could tell a difference. I then did an A/B with TIDAL and the actual Brothers in Arms CD, to my surprise TIDAL sounded scary close, if not just as good as the CD! This is hard for me to believe, I think I'm just trying to justify the extra cost of TIDAL on a crazy tight student budget, maybe its a placebo effect? I need to drop one of the services, but which one? I would appreciate your thoughts please... Thank you!
My system:
PC = Gaming Rig I built myself, using dedicated high quality audio card.
Krell KAV 400xi integrated
Sonus Faber Electa's with Sunfire HRS Sub
Cambridge AZUR 840C CDP/DAC
Luxman T117 Tuner
Sony SCD - C2000ES SACD Player
Kimber Silver Streak throughout  


grm

Showing 20 responses by grm

Thanks to all of you for the welcome to Audiogon and the great feedback - so fast! Based on the responses, I guess that its not the placebo effect, I have bounced back and forth between Spotify and TIDAL today and its clear to me TIDAL is the winner! I will be cancelling my Spotify subscription. What I also like about TIDAL are the great music videos, tons of them and the quality is great as well! 
Hello again,
To answer the question regarding how my PC is connected to my system, I'm using a 280 Glass Fiber TOSLINK cable running at 96khz according to my CDP/DAC. Though the CDP/DAC displays 96khz (the highest TOSLINK can go I think) it says my bit depth is =<20bit, so I'm not sure what the bit depth is exactly, and the App for my card allows you to select either 44.1, 48, and 96khz max for the output but no selection for how many Bits. I tried using a COAX SPDIF interface, but ended up with a real nasty Hum (bad ground loop) so that was fixed with the TOSLINK. Lastly, can somebody explain to me a bit more on what Roon is? I'll have to Google it?
Just watched 32min Roon demo on YT, way cool! Its unfortunate that you can't do a one time download of the App, rather its another annual subscription, another $120 a year - too deep for my pockets at this time. I loved the way it integrated with TIDAL, maybe someday!
Hello,

After spending a week or so having a great time with TIDAL, it turned out to be an easy decision to let go of Spotify. First and formost, the TIDAL SQ is by far better to "my" ears compared to Spotify. As a result, I am having such a great time discovering all types of music and entertaining videos in HIFI/HD. Thanks to all for contributing, it helped further reinforce an already easy decision for me to make!
Hello,
Perhaps someone can clarify my understanding of TIDAL "HIFI" playback, especially if you desire to integrate it with something like Roon for example.

When I signed up with the TIDAL premium HIFI subscription, I am almost positive it said that only Chrome supported HIFI, so I did not bother downloading the TIDAL app or any other app such as the many discussed in this forum. When I launch TIDAL through Chrome, the upper left hand corner of the home page shows my user name and "TIDAL HIFI" directly below it. Also, in settings, under streaming, it shows I'm listening to HIFI and gives me the options to lower the quality to HI or Low, of course I keep it on the HIFI setting.

I hope my question made sense - thanks! 
Hello,
Still really having a great time with TIDAL vs other streaming apps I have tried, it just sounds great with so much new music to discover! However, I have found TIDAL to be a bit "buggy" and maybe someone can help? First, when TIDAL posts an update, half of the time I need to uninstall and reinstall Chrome because I would loose HiFi leaving me with just the high and low settings. Second, I checked to see if I had any critical OS updates (I keep this on manual check) and I had about a dozen updates, after the updates I now have an error when I launch Chrome that it "couldn't load plugin". I checked my Chrome settings and everything seems as it should. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know the solution? This problem only causes videos to not play, otherwise no audio problems. Thanks in advance for your help! 
Hi,
I would like to chime in one more time about the SQ of TIDAL.

I still have, but will soon drop, my subscription to Spotify Premium and keep TIDAL. Why? Because after having TIDAL for some time now,  I queued up the album by "OMI Me 4U", both on Spotify and TIDAL and performed an A/B, Tidal crushed Spotify hands down in terms of SQ! I can only guess for members that do not notice a substantial improvement with TIDAL vs Spotify, that there may be something amiss in their systems? I really don't know.

For me, and "MY" ears, TIDAL has proven to me that this is the streaming App to keep. For those that do not hear any substantial difference, stick with the less costly Spotify Premium.

Hey, life is good, no worries!
Hello devilboy,
I am running TIDAL in HIFI mode exclusively. I am not sure what Audirvana is, but I am running TIDAL through Chrome on my PC.

Thanks for the question! By the way, what is "Audirvana?
Hi, listening to Eric Harry on TIDAL HIFI right now, excellent suggestion! I think there are many diamonds-in -the-rough in TIDAL, and am sure there are many more!

Thank you hgeifman!
Since being armed with TIDAL, I no longer find myself purchasing CD's or going to the library in search of new music. If TIDAL manages to stick around, and/or other lossless streaming services become available, the demise of the CD may one day be a reality. I mean really, non of my college friends purchase any CD's. It's all earbuds and streaming with their cell phones. And for them, SQ is less of a factor than content.
Hi,
Have had TIDAL for about five months now, dropped my Spotify subscription, stopped purchasing CD's and have never looked back! I think TIDAL is fantastic and they are constantly adding new artists and expanding on their features. The SQ is crazy good compared to the likes of Spotify, for example, and equals CD quality IMO. As far as who owns it, I don't care, I just hope it survives!
OOPS!

An exception, SACD - nothing sounds better! I will continue to purchase SACD's from my favorite artists if they are available.
Hi, hgeifman.
Great recording, "Exactly Like This" by Doug MacLeod, I think it demonstrates how great Tidal can sound! Just like with CD's or SACD's, there are great recordings and some not so great. I believe TIDAL seems true to the quality of the recording. That's one of the many fun things with TIDAL, finding some really fantastic recordings and so many to choose from!

P.S. it's Doug MacLeod and not MacLeon for those who choose to queue up this album and have a listen, it's great!
Hi,
Is it my imagination or is TIDAL applying some EQ to their playback? I have recently noticed more bass and an ever so lightly rolled off top end. Maybe its just my imagination or the type of music I'm listening to?

Anyone else out there who has been listening to TIDAL for some time notice this? Maybe its just the way new releases are mastered in the recording studio? Perhaps new releases are being mastered for cell phones and ear buds..
Hi,
Where did TIDAL "Masters" go? I'm running the desktop app and I think after a TIDAL update I can no longer find it? When I check my settings, HIFI/Masters is selected and my HIFI does light-up while streaming.

Thanks for your help!
Hi,
Thanks for the help. I still can not find the "Masters" selection anymore. Going through all of the TIDAL UI links on my PC it is not to be found. However, I remember the Eagles had a number of Master albums, so I did a search and found them including the non-master HIFI versions of the same albums right next to eachother. It was kind of cool because I was able to A/B the Master albums compared to HIFI ones very simply, such as "The Long Run", and yes, the Master sounded slightly better! Not sure why as my PC to DAC does not support "MQA" or whatever it's called, but the masters sound better never the less. So, bottom line, even though on my UI I can't find the masters link, the music is still out there, no big deal.
jond,
Hi. My CDP/DAC is reporting 96. This is adjustable on my PC audio card through its app, I can set the sampling to 44.1, 48, or 96. I set it to 96 just guessing this would be the best way to go. Is there any reason to set it to either 44.1 or 48? I do know that once my CDP/DAC gets ahold of it, it upsamples again to 384/24. Thanks!
Wow!

Almost five years since this, my first post to Audiogon, hard to believe! Much has changed since then. I have graduated from College and found a career in alignment with my degree as a R&D Scientist working for an Automotive company. My audio system has changed slightly due to components failing, these included my Cambridge CDP and my Krell integrated. I was fortunate in that when I sent these components in for repair, the manufacturers said they were beyond hope and offered factory direct replacements at a deep discount. My CDP was replaced by a Cambridge Azure 851N streamer, and my integrated was replaced by a Krell Vanguard. I'm quite happy with both for now, but would like to update my streamer when funds permit.

Anyway, back to streaming. I still use Spotify because I am still on my Families plan and it is free to me. The Spotify User Interface and User Experience are the benchmark in my opinion that others are still trying to chase after. I have never had a problem finding anything on Spotify and for the sheer pleasure of finding different recordings to entertain yourself Spotify is top shelf. But the sound quality... Spotify takes a back seat to other streaming services such as Qobuz and Tidal, no competition. In the meantime I treat myself to a growing list of purchased and downloaded DSD recordings and they sound fantastic! When I have the resources to upgrade my streamer, I will give either Tidal or Qobuz a try again. I just really wish that Spotify would recognize there is a market out there for high rez streaming because if they offered it, I would be the first in line!!