Spotify premium V's Tidal hifi

[Guest jakeyb77]

I still have an issue with Spotify using it through Chromecast Audio and from the Google machine it seems a lot of CCA users had the same. If you play a playlist it's fine. If you try and change tracks etc it freezes the things and you have to disconnect and connect again. Looks like Spotify have a workaround to give you a new "test" account and if that works which most say it does then they transfer all your data etc to the new account. Just FYI. Will do this soon and report back if it works.

[a.dent]

Did you actually check if you were getting that speed?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Yes. This is just now but was a little higher earlier.

 

 

 

  Edited April 7, 2016 by a.dent

[Happy]

I also got a few hiccups but nothing serious and I suspect it was more of the Airport Express hiccups. Was staying home all day yesterday and my Tidal was fine.

[SteveC]

OK so there's something weird going on isn't there? I couldn't even get MP3s to stream smoothly through Tidal.

 

I have a Telstra ADSL2 internet connection with 13Mbps download speed. No problems with Spotify, Netflix HD and iTunes movies download almost in real time.

 

Maybe Telstra is punishing Tidal for some reason.

 

 

That download speed should be fine. I'm on cable and get similar speeds.

 

Have you tried Tidal through a browser or your phone/tablet away from ickstream/Linux etc? Just trying to eliminate possible issues.

[Guest Sime]

I only steam 3.5mbps tops, and that's enough for tidal hifi.

[Happy]

mmmm steamed bitrate.....soy sauce please

[Kaynin]

Ok, so a week ago I signed up to Tidal to trial it for a month.  As I'm already familiar with streaming services, this is more than enough time.  My thoughts are as follows -

 

• Tidal sounds fantastic, no doubt there whatsoever;
• Tidal's library is definitely more limited than Spotify;
• Tidal's user interface is more clunky than Spotify, but not what I'd call an issue.

 

So, I found the connection with Tidal to be good about 80% of the time.  I certainly don't have any speed issues at home (Speedtest done at 10:56 AM today) -

 

 

 

These connection issues, when they occur, are incredibly frustrating and make it unusable, in my opinion.  I've never had connection issues with Spotify in two or so years.

 

I've found that using Tidal for a week is more than enough for me to know that it's not a service that suits my needs.  The SQ of Spotify through my system is excellent and a pleasure to listen to.  I keep my CD quality files on a SSD and put them on for critical listening.  Simply, Tidal doesn't have a library extensive enough to stop me from buying CD's, so therefore I can't rely on it as my sole source of lossless music.  This is what it would have to do to justify the extra cost, in my opinion.  Add to this the other issues I mentioned and it's a pretty easy decision at the end of the day.  I certainly hope Tidal stays around because my criteria may change in the future...

 

Anyway, the free month has served me well by reconfirming that Spotify ticks all of the boxes that I need and expect.

 

[adamg]

Ditto

I've given Tidal 3 chances over time since it was launched and just when you think it's come good it falls back into its buffering ways.

I stop payment rather than cancelling so I retain the albums I've saved.

This is in the hope Tidal resolve the issues experienced by many regardless of internet speed, DNS settings, etc.

A remote app like Spotify has would also be a worthwhile investment. It's apparently on the cards but who nows when

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 8, 2016 by adamg

[Garry Field]

There is a guy called Archimago, who did a study using mp3, comparing to lossless, offering blind samples to willing testers

http://archimago.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/high-bitrate-mp3-internet-blind-test_3422.html

definitely worth a read.. !!

if you cant be bothered reading, he found that out of 151 respondents, in his blind trial, more people liked the mp3 versions, and the more expensive their gear, the more likely they preferred the lossy version !! (of course, not every respondent responded the same)

according to this study, it is very possible that Spotify sounds better than Tidal for a lot of people... (price not in the equation)

me, sometimes I prefer Spotify premium, usually find my lossless ripped files sound better.. (I have not yet subscribed to Tidal, but intend to one day...)

I reckon that the story isn't simple, and that a lot of factors must matter more than the format, and that thinking lossless is simply better, just isn't right every time...

am listening to "Swing is Here" on Spotify, and it sounds good... !! (one of these days, I'll trial Tidal)

I have to agree as I've always used Spotify on vintage amps/speakers with the squeezebox and it always sounded great

Now that I've upgraded to more expensive amp and speakers it seems they are more sensitive to crappy recordings and mp3's.

I've been trying out Tital with the same songs as Spotify and it sounds so much better

All in lossless and flac files......Tital fan for sure

Edited April 9, 2016 by gzman71

[Guest Sime]

Ditto

I stop payment rather than cancelling so I retain the albums I've saved.

So you want to protest their poor service by stealing from them?

[adamg]

So you want to protest their poor service by stealing from them?

@@Sime I don't have any interest in stealing anything. By stopping payment you retain your account and album titles, but not the ability to play them. I've put in some effort in building up my Tidal library and don't want loose the titles if I can avoid it.

Do you really think Tidal would allow access to the music without up to date payment?

[illbarto]

I had to ditch Tidal simply for the constant buffering issues which made it totally unlistenable which is a shame because I thought the sq was far better than spotify

[Guest Sime]

@@Sime I don't have any interest in stealing anything. By stopping payment you retain your account and album titles, but not the ability to play them. I've put in some effort in building up my Tidal library and don't want loose the titles if I can avoid it.

Do you really think Tidal would allow access to the music without up to date payment?

Ahh ok, my apologies, I didn't think hard enough about it. I just thought your downloaded stuff would disappear if you canceled an account.

Sorry mate, it makes sense now.

[adamg]

Ahh ok, my apologies, I didn't think hard enough about it. I just thought your downloaded stuff would disappear if you canceled an account.

Sorry mate, it makes sense now.

No problem

I'm sure offline material would become inaccessible too as soon as your payment lapsed.

Edited April 10, 2016 by adamg

[MarcusHix]

Haven't heard Spotify or Tidal.....but Qobuz wins hands down Best kept secret in town!

[Happy]

Haven't heard Spotify or Tidal.....but Qobuz wins hands down Best kept secret in town!

Qobuz buffered like a fukkin idiot at my place.

[MarcusHix]

Need a good connection.....smooth sailing from this venue!

[Happy]

Need a good connection.....smooth sailing from this venue!

See thats the issue here. Tidal works smooth where I am, but not at some peoples. Qobuz works smooth at yours but not mine.

[a.dent]

Well knock me down with a feather.

 

Tidal is working perfectly today.

 

Why can't it be consistent?

[Guest thathifiguy]

Well knock me down with a feather.

Tidal is working perfectly today.

Why can't it be consistent?

Probably because all the kids are back at school today from Easter holidays.

[darth vader]

Not being very computer savvy, the Tidal interface is just plain annoying.

 

Had my free Tidal trial, about a week left. I wont be renewing. I just cant justify the price difference, and the buffering is like pulling teeth. Dosnt happen always, but enough to be annoying. Its kind of like a record that skips but not in the same place. I wouldn't live with scratched vinyl, cant see Tidal being any better.

 

My choice is made, back to Spotify...or maybe trial a few others first.

 

@@adamg maybe you can use soundiiz to move your album playlists to another service

 

soundiiz.com

[adamg]

Thanks for the tip @@darth vader but I think the soundiiz only works with playlists and not saved / favourite albums. Could be wrong but website only mentions playlists.

 

Previously I've saved the same albums in Spotify as well when using Tidal to keep Spotify as a sort of master list. 

[keiran]

I've generally found Tidal to be a very good service. 

 

We have an ok connection, and it does buffer occasionally but corrects if you start the song again.  

 

The awful buffering troubles of last year seem to be over for us.  

 

I tested vs Spotify when it first came out and thought the sound on Tidal was quite a bit better for both stereo listening and Iphone.  The sound quality on Tidal varies track to track, and I find that if a track sounds sub-optimal, if you pull out the CD it will often have a better quality sound, as you would expect.  

[Happy]

 if you pull out the CD it will often have a better quality sound, as you would expect.  

 

Was this through the same DAC?

[keiran]

Was this through the same DAC?

 

Yes it was, played through Oppo 105D.  I played some Jackson Browne (Late for the Sky) and some Dylan (Blood on the Tracks) and both were much smoother on CD.