"I would think that ” how it sounds” is the prime factor here" Yes, you think that wouldn't you? With everything else in this hobby that pretty much holds true...but not with MQA.
Just signed up for the $4/4 months trial. Streaming HIFI via iPhone/HEOS app to my Denon DNP-800ne. I've been an Apple Music subscriber for a few years, and generally like the service, but thought I'd give Tidal a try. My setup is not MQA-compatible, but I like what I'm hearing so far. In any case, I'm looking forward to checking it out this weekend.
L No, his albums are there but look closer. You will not find all the songs from each album especially the HITS! If you really want to listen to Thomas Dolby Qobuz or Spotify definitely have the full albums and maybe some of the other services have them too but not Tidal.
Since signing on to Tidal I’ve been able to add some of my “lost titles” to my library. I was happy to find one title “Colors of the Day the best of Judy Collins”. I had the gold disc but it cracked at the spindle hole. I’m also finding lots of stuff I’d forgotten about.
I had Tidal and Qobuz both for a year going direct from my Mac Mini into my Lampazator Dac, no need for Roon or other such services and i found the SQ from Qubuz to be better than Tidal. While both sound good i found that the resolution, sound staging, texture, meat on the bones and realism to be better with Qobuz much like comparing records to CD`s.
Interesting, I wish I could check what all the Qobuz is about but I’m in Canada. Maybe they will expand here in the future.
They want to. The American CEO is Canadian and has said how much he wants Qobuz to be in Canada but they don’t currently have the investment money to do so yet. But it is on their minds.
I cancelled my Tidal trial subscription. Quality was excellent - no complaints there - but the lack of integration with my current Apple Music Library (without yet another subscription such as Roon) and the odd way it dealt with Airplay, etc. + I did not like the interface and how difficult it is to block artists or genres. $4 for 4 months was well worth the risk but I'm going back to Apple Music for my streaming for now.
Agreed, me too. Honestly, Tidal and streaming has been the best money I've spent since 1970 when I started fooling around with music and quality audio. A two year very happy Tidal user.
You might look at Audirvana. It's not a subscription, just a one time license. I use it with Qobuz and it organizes sources and collections—Tidal, NAS, whatever.
I signed up for Tidal HiFi over the weekend. First month free. Streaming from my Mac Air to Cambridge CXA80 integrated amp. Using USB to amp it sounds really good. Excellent. I'm finding most every jazz album I want and putting them in my Collection. Joe Pass's Virtuoso was amazing! Some albums sound a bit subpar - Art Blakey's Moanin' I was not impressed with. Tidal is super easy to use. No complaints so far.
Which copy of Moanin’ ? I liked the MQA. I usually check tracks back to back with multiples on Tidal and more often then not I hear substantial differences.
Really I hate subscription models. Their real purpose seems to me to deprive us of any ownership rights. The good thing about subscription is it means the market is awash with unwanted CDs. I have an expanding CD empire for which I am paying pennies for perpetual ownership. This fits with my overall theme - I picked up my $10k retail amps for about $400 with some almost unbelievable bargain hunting. I also picked up for next to nothing an old iPod Classic for music on the move. Sounds fantastic. Spotify I use to listen to albums I'm not sure about, and will then pick up the CD/record if I like the sound. I have tried Tidal and Qobuz. I was not impressed with either at home, but I did use Tidal in a store demo once and was very impressed. I have downloaded some HD audio from Qobuz and HD Tracks. I must confess some of these really do give vinyl a run for its money. I have downloaded a few albums Qobuz, which I have burned to a DVD-A (with some help from this forum). Sounds sublime. Really for the cost of Qobuz I can pick up maybe 10 CDs per month which I then own forever. I don't mind taking a punt on the wild and the wonderful at those prices.
I wouldn't bet on it. Saw a post on the Roon forums today from a guy who asked Qobuz head office if Canada was on the road map, and was told there are no plans to open up in Canada.
One thing about Tidal, and any streaming service, is the master still matters. And check sometimes Tidal will have multiple masterings of the same album you may find one that sounds better.
Ownership costs more. You can goto sites like HD Tracks and download and own the download for sometimes $15, sometimes $28. Depends. But for a $19 subscription I can listen to as much as I want. I still prefer owning CD's and vinyl albums. For my $19 Tidal subscription it's like I am trying out albums before buying them. If I dig the music I can then look for CD on Amazon or Discogs, or look for vinyl album on eBay or Discogs. I can also play the Tidal albums whenever I travel and have my Mac.
Got both Tidal and Spotify. Tidal is obviously preferable when it comes to sound quality, just wish they'd do something about their GUI which leaves a lot to offer... Also not sure how they can get so many singles under the "album" category, albums under "compilations" and vice versa, given that all streaming platforms get the same info from the digital distributor. Spotify beats them in these respects unfortunately, but after transferring my playlists to Tidal I'm hoping it won't be as much of a nuisance. I have been using Spotify since the start. I find myself often using it to try albums out before potentially buying the record, along with playlists for casual listening. It remains to be seen how I will be using Tidal since I signed up fairly recently.
