Is there a difference in sound quality when streaming TIDAL Vs CD player

Larry , great question . But unfortunately you have many variables to contend with . You will benefit the most from trying various combinations on YOUR SYSTEM . At my home,  I have an Oppo 105, a Schiit Yiggy , a Musical Fidelity’s transport . For source I have a Windows based laptop, Apple TV, Direct TV DVR. I’ve used Single Ended RCA, Digital Coax , USB to USB (B), balanced digital . Most of the inter connects are decent quality , eg ; Cardas Clear , Morrow , Anti Cables and Analysis Plus . My taste prefers the Schiit DAC over the Oppo . CD’s on the Musical Fidelity’s transport and DVD’s on the Oppo . Streaming is substantially better from the computer than the Apple or the Cable box . I had a home theater setup, but came to dislike it and currently run 2.0 ( Stereo ) with low power , or 2.2 ( Stereo with 2 subs ) in a higher power setup . I use the same sources for both , but split the system at the pre and have tone control on the system with the subs . I would suggest you obtain some decent used cables and experiment. Then when your satisfied with your combo , go to a higher level of cables in the brand/style you prefer . Also save the cables you acquired , as you will undoubtably be in this situation again . One of the things I did was to cultivate a friendship with a couple Agoners in order to loan cables and tubes . Also my opinion is that Anti Cables are neutral and require little break in , making them a pleasant experience. And Grannyring makes good cables at a reasonable price ( message him ). Cheers , Mike B. 

I am going to address the Tidal v CD issue. I play my CDs and stream TIDAL on a Cocktail Audio X35. The X35 is a "Swiss army knife" device and one wouldn’t assume that it is as high a quality device as it truly is. Since I stream Tidal and play CDs on the same device the circuitry and ESS Sabre³² Reference DAC are the same and there are no interconnects in-between to effect sound quality and timber; I would pronounce my comparison to be about as true an A-B comparison as one can achieve. The rest of my system is also high quality. The X35 is connected to my Indy Labs Aragon 8008 with Synergistic Research Resolution Reference ICs and the amp feeds a pair of Maggie 3.7i and a Definitive S4000 powered sub. My system nearly doubles the cost threshold of 10K another contributor mentioned. The bottom line is to my ears the sound of Tidal streaming HiFi v playing the same album on CD is nearly indistinguishable. Tidal streaming in MQA is IMHO also difficult to distinguish except on stellar albums.

The different formats are only as good as the hardware you render it on. The very best SACD/CD transport as a digital source is better than anything else. Anything less than that can go either way.

“Tidal HiFi is superb for playing from cars, mobiles, and up to 2000$ fixed gear”

This is the most absurd opinion I ever read anywhere on these forums. The difference in sound quality varies due to the original master used for a CD or Tidal streaming and playback hardware.

Majority of the content available on Tidal HiFi is of CD quality or better. I won’t comment on MQA due to various controversies surrounding the process.

I am now listening to Qobuz and their content in 24/192kHz or 24/96kHz is definitely sounds better than MQA, IMO.

I’ve managed to trim down my CD’s and SACD’s collection to now 250 (from 900) that apparently source from superior master than what’s currently available on Tidal or Qobuz.

Cd on a good player/dac Audio Research Ref9 or fed to PS Audio Direct Stream dac- redbook sounds as good or better in most cases. My 2 cents