Audiophile streaming

Anytime I've had a bad sounding Tidal album it's show it as less than 16/44.1 so I've been happy with their transparency. Saying that I can count on one hand the number of albums I've picked that they only in less than redbook quality.

 

For those that use Roon with Tidal...are you able to have it visually look like iTunes (basically a database listing of songs by album by artist with different information columns)? I am not a fan of just seeing the album cover and then going into it to see the songs...I like the itunes format (don't judge me!lol) so looking for a way to display the Tidal albums I want to 'save' that has a database view.

 

I've been a Tidal subscriber since before the JayZ acquisition. When I first encountered UMG watermarking, I thought there was something wrong with my computer or DAC. It never occurred to me that a record label would intentionally degrade their content to "protect" it.

But now the cat is out of the bag. UMG watermarking infects most of the classical content on Tidal (DG, Decca, et.al.). As a poster pointed out upthread, once you hear it, it's agonizingly unlistenable.

Skeptical? I was too. Try track one of this album. It's on Capitol (another UMG imprint). I've heard that song more times than I can count since it came out. I can hear the watermark on mid-fi gear easily.

If you're thinking about streaming Tidal and you're thinking it will be a great way to listen to classical, think twice.

 

Have you seen and heard Qobuz? I'm sticking with them. A simple interface and Hi Res streaming and downloads.

 

It's supposed to be here in the U.S. with both streaming and downloads. I wonder what Apple is going to do about it. Finally offer lossless? Buy the web-supplier like they did with Pono?

 

The problem with Qobuz or any other streaming service for that matter is... if the label is watermarking albums, they're watermarked in all streaming services.

 

Technically, Amazon is 256k VBR.

 

Tidal here. Tried Spotify and Pandora, and the quality just isn't there. Plus, Tidal does MQA (if that's your cup of tea and you have the right DAC).

 

I've been paying special attention to some music on Tidal and found several albums which were just unlistenable.
For example:
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But, after I talked about this issue with a friend that uses Tidal too, he started finding it in albums I didn't think sounded watermarked. For example, the latest Beethoven cycle directed by Chailly:
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Do you appreciate any watermarking in this track?
Thanks.
This is really frustrating and it's making me consider abandoning Tidal (and streaming in general).

 

The Schiff album would appear obviously watermarked, but I'll have to wait until I can listen to them on my system in the quiet of my home.

I've continued to try Tidal and think about streaming. I've enjoyed the ability to discover and try out all kinds of music. The question however emerges, what happens when I find an album that I love, like the Festetics Haydn cycle? Will a day come when as a result of a financial or legal dispute it disappears from the catalogue and I lose the ability to listen to it at all? This isn't a question that would vex casual listeners, but for someone who has an authentic passion for music, streaming seems to me a pact with the devil, the loss of all independence and a descent into complete serfdom.

I'd absolutely continue to collect and enjoy CDs if it were not for the worry that catalogue titles would go out of print and become difficult to find.

 

Tidal is OK, but it has the same failing as all the streaming services do, namely they have the latest versions supplied by record companies so most often they only have the most recent, most horrifically compressed version of albums.

As alluded to by some others, I would look upon streaming as a great way to decide which CDs or LPs I wanted to purchase.

I feel the same about movies on Amazon or iTunes; I use them to decide whether to pick up the Blu-ray.

 

That's already happened to me. All of a sudden, some album or artist disappears from the streaming catalogue. And some albums will go out of print. In some cases, these will be available on streaming. It's the case of the Takacs Quartet version of Bartok's string quartets.
My interest in streaming services isn't just to browse lots of different music in order to buy afterwards. I really don't have all the room in my apartment to store as much music as I listen to.

 

Who guarantees though that the Bartók Takács cycle or any other album will be available for you on a permanent basis? If you bought it on CD, it's yours for your lifetime. The prospect of music disappearing from the catalogue is terrifying. With physical media at least there is the prospect of obtaining used copies. Music is very important for me to rent it and be at the mercy of an overlord.

 

When I was using Amazon Music I found that music would disappear when I tried to play it. That was enough and I dropped Amazon Music.

 

I agree, I've been using Tidal for a month: sounds good, but not even close to what you get with physical media, in my opinion.
On top of that, if the service is discontinued you'll find yourself having spent a lot of money and with no music you own.

 

Were you using Amazon Prime Music or Amazon Music Unlimited? Prime Music is included with Prime membership and contains a fraction of what Amazon Music Unlimited has. Prime also rotates music in and out of their service. Unlimited is closer to Spotify Premium and Apple Music in terms of both selection and music not disappearing often.

 

I see your point and for a time I shared this opinion too.
But I don't pay a subscription to Tidal for ownership, but for a service that gives me the chance of listening to lots of albums without having to actually buy them. Then, if I feel like it, I can buy those records I feel I may go back to often.
It's kind of like paying for a beer: I use it, I don't think it's a waste of money because I don't keep it.
Regarding sound quality (and of course leaving that watermarking thing aside), my experience with the hifi quality in Tidal is the same as with playing a CD (with SACD and vinyl is a different matter, but they don't pretend to offer that anyway). If you have a decent dac or network player, Tidal delivers.

 

My new phone decodes MQA natively (LG V30), so I decided to try Tidal hifi with the 30 day trial. I must say, I'm pretty impressed with the MQA files I've listened to so far. Nice soundstage and decent air around the instruments with my Sennheiser cans.

 

I thought the app for smartphone didn't even offer the master versions of albums, so the mqa wasn't streamed.

 

They updated it a little while back, now it does

 

Yes, I see your point

 

There's always the digital download / digital file option.

I know that's not always an instantaneous option for all albums, but you can also do the buy CD / rip CD / toss the jewel box option as a workaround to minimize space.

 

What does MQA streaming do that "ordinary" lossless streaming doesn't do?

@SirMarc Is the headphone jack on the V30 accessible with different cables? The jack on my Pixel doesn't work well with my Cardas iLink cable.

 

Keeps you from copying it.

 

That can't be it. Consumers seem excited about it but I can't figure out why.