Kaynin Posted March 29, 2016 Posted March 29, 2016 ^ Interesting. Not exactly their fault it seems. Honestly, I would have thought it would be easy to identify who owns rights, obviously it isn't...hopefully it can be sorted out and doesn't slow the growth of Spotify's catalogue.
Happy Posted March 29, 2016 Posted March 29, 2016 @@Kaynin have you compared Tidal HiFi against Tidal High or Normal?
Kaynin Posted March 29, 2016 Posted March 29, 2016 @@Kaynin have you compared Tidal HiFi against Tidal High or Normal? No, just hifi at this stage. To be honest, I'm set up for Spotify (and so is the wife) so I'm more resistant to change, especially with a new user interface. Although, it could sound better to me, so over the next 3 weeks I'll give it a go a few times. I hadn't really thought about doing that...
legselevens Posted March 29, 2016 Posted March 29, 2016 I didn't say there wasn't a difference. I said it was difficult to hear a SQ difference. They sound a little different to me but only a little and I can't say Tidal is significantly or even noticeably better. I'll just say I'm happy with the SQ of both. How about that? Neither are as good as CD rips though. And anyway, as is often said, "everything makes a difference". As for Tidal glitches, well that's why I've decided not to renew Tidal. Me too. I ditched Tidal the other day. I persisted for a year but got tired of the inconsistent buffering even though my connection speed is more than adequate and has no problems with other services like Youtube or movies. 1
SteveC Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 For those that are trialing Tidal, if you can spare the time and have a computer hooked up, I would trial Roon at the same time. It is all about user experience and for some reason I think Tidal is more stable through Roon. I have Roon playing to my Squeezebox Touch and it just works. But having your library presented to you in this way is really unique. I would say a tablet would be the best controller but you can do it on a PC. Forget the reviews and awards, just give it a try if you can as I think it is a product that you need to touch and experience. A lot of the reviews get all caught up in the whole technical core/player/remote structure and can get confusing. For trial purposes you can install the whole thing on one PC. Tidal on it's own on an ipad is bland by comparison and I don't blame people for going to Spotify/Sonos etc as they have the better software but when you stick Roon in the mix everything changes. If you use streaming for mostly mobile applications away from your main system then Roon can't help you. 1
Kaynin Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Has anyone else noticed that Tidal comes in at a higher gain than Spotify? A couple of dB I'd suggest. I haven't checked it with an app yet, but it's very obvious. Just needs to be taken into account to accurately compare the two... Edited March 30, 2016 by Kaynin 1
Guest Sime Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 And tidal through a Bluesound product is divine.
blybo Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Has anyone else noticed that Tidal comes in at a higher gain than Spotify? A couple of dB I'd suggest. I haven't checked it with an app yet, but it's very obvious. Just needs to be taken into account to accurately compare the two... Okay. This clouds the water a tad. I remember listening to the Naim DSD demo at Audiotrends last year where they played the same song twice in a very nice, quiet, treated room, once at redbook and then some form of DSD. The DSD version was significantly louder but I was struggling to hear any other difference, they both sounded great to me. I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few thought the DSD was better purely because of playback volume. My ditching of Tidal was only because of the glitches... and because more often than I'd like, my searches were found on Spotify but not Tidal. That may have changed. Like many here, streaming services are a way to find new music for me, or for background playlists. It's not for critical listening in my household so the cheaper service will be fine. 1
Kaynin Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Yep, having to adjust volume now is going to be a pain. Also, I'll now have to re-visit some tracks to see if the improvement in SQ has been due solely to the increased volume. The other thing to be mindful of is the same album but a different mastered version. The streaming services can provide a couple of versions of the same album, so I need to pay attention to that because some versions are specified differently between the two services. Where I can, I avoid remastered versions, they tend to be brighter and more clinical - generally speaking. So far have found Tidal doesn't have some music that Spotify has, but generally seems to have a very good library at the very least. Haven't really gone off mainstream yet, so will see how that goes. Edited March 30, 2016 by Kaynin
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Can you browse the Spotify and Tidal libraries to see what they have before buying?
Alfred Hayes Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Can you browse the Spotify and Tidal libraries to see what they have before buying? Yes with Spotify , no with Tidal unless you get the free trial
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Yes with Spotify , no with Tidal unless you get the free trial Thanks, I'm leaning more towards Spotify. Tidal seem to be very arrogant. When asked when they will be making Tidal compatible with Google Audiocast they have been giving the same cut and past answer fro 12 months. "At this time our product development team is working on providing more wireless streaming options for both iOS and Android devices" Edited March 30, 2016 by powerav
Guest Sime Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I wouldn't make it personal by calling them arrogant, the old Nose despite you face issue there They could be the rudest pricks on the planet, as long as their service worked
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I wouldn't make it personal by calling them arrogant, the old Nose despite you face issue there They could be the rudest pricks on the planet, as long as their service worked Yeah I understand but even when DAR was the moderator of this the Tidal boss came across very snobby and dismissive of the audiocast when everyone else was excited.
Odyssey Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Tidal HiFi sounded much better than Spotify Premium to me. I've used both.
Happy Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Tidal HiFi sounded much better than Spotify Premium to me. I've used both. Know what's Spotify Premium like against lower rate Tidal?
darth vader Posted March 30, 2016 Author Posted March 30, 2016 Had a look at Roon this evening. Seems its a free download, but you have to pay a subscription. So if Tidal works better with Roon, it seems theres an added ongoing cost to add to Tidals subscription fee. Roon does has a free 14 day trial. So far I hadn't experienced any dropouts with Tidal - until tonight. Its playing up a treat. I was watching a few music videos, trying out that part. So I went back to just playing music but its still dropping out If this is a regular feature of Tidal, I aint subscribing, no matter how marginally better it may be to Spotify.
Odyssey Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Know what's Spotify Premium like against lower rate Tidal? Unfortunately I did not test that when I had both Spotify Premium and Tidal Hifi. I did not test Spotify Premium with standard Tidal. I've since unsubscribed Spotify Premium. I listen mainly with Beyer T1 headphone and a tube amp by Feliks Audio. With this setup, Tidal HiFi is very satisfying sound wise. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the layout and Spotify has a better range of music. 1
Alfred Hayes Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 [quote name="powerav" post="1585834" timestamp="1459329560"When asked when they will be making Tidal compatible with Google Audiocast they have been giving the same cut and past answer fro 12 months. "At this time our product development team is working on providing more wireless streaming options for both iOS and Android devices" Spotify is not much better. X box one and Apple TV users have been waiting for a Spotify app for ages. There is a Spoty app for PlayStation. Also, how far into the video is the discussion about audiocast/ chromecast?
Steve M Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) I swear sometimes Spotify at 320kbps on the 'right' well recorded music sounds almost as good as anything else, Yes, maybe not as good as vinyl (my reference for everything that sounds right) and not as good as well sorted CD/SACD replay, but very close. Find and listen to Spotify, Tommaso Rava Quartet ~ La Dolce Vita (Italian Jazz) , Track # 6, 7 & 8 Bolero Adventura, il Positino and La Dolce Vita ...and judge for yourself. Cheers, Steve. Edited April 14, 2016 by Steve M 2
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Also, how far into the video is the discussion about audiocast/ chromecast? At the start just after they talk about the audioquest dac at about 10mins Edited March 30, 2016 by powerav 1
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I just signed up for 99 cent 3 month Spotify trial. Can't go wrong there. I would have tried Tidal as well if they had similar offer. I think I will use Spotify for phone audio and multi room Google Audiocast music and keep digital files for serious listening sessions. Gave Spotify a test with some pretty obscure music such as this Seven Steps To The Green Door and found it easily.
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I have changed my opinion of Tidal boss by watching this video they really do care about quality and are being held back from other sources such as bandwith issues etc. Just need patience. 1
powerav Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Spotify Extreme quality burns up your phone data....ha, must be good then.
robmid Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 I found Tidal to be clinical and dry, even a bit harsh compared to Spotify. Spotify Premium configured for 'extreme' to me ( on my LS50's) is smooth, finely detailed, exciting and very musical. Never harsh and very addictive leading to long listening sessions. I already have around 200 superbly recorded and musically fulfilling tracks in my favourites folder instead of the old audiophile demos. I'm old and get frustrated with tricky interfaces and found Spotify much simpler to navigate and I can even find most of my vinyl's on it. If technical specs matter and you enjoy listening to 'sound' go for Tidal but if you enjoy listening to involving music go for Spotify at half the price. 2
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