New tidal

[gasolin]

Tidal has changed alot in there latest update, do you like it?

 

[nopiano]

My trial was over a while back, but recently I read it was delaying payment of royalties so seemed to be on shaky ground.

https://www.whathifi.com/news/tidal-investigates-data-breach-denies-manipulating-streaming-figures

They have a good reputation for sq, and if we aren’t careful, the smaller players will all get gobbled up by the Google/Apple/Amazon giants.

What’s new in the update?

 

[gasolin]

Interface

 

[Paulq]

It has. I haven't yet discovered how you can filter Tidal Masters albums out of the 'What's New' section like you used to be able to.

 

[BigH]

My trial is over so I don't know how it has changed. A few things I did not like about it, such as their choice of music and emails, I'm not into rap and never will be, yes the sound quality is better than the free service on Spotify and Deezer, I have not tried their high quality ones yet.

I would be useful to tell us what has changed. I consider Tidal to be a very shaky company, I certainly would not buy any shares in them. This is one reason why I have not fully committed to services such as Tidal.

 

[Sliced Bread]

My trial is over so I don't know how it has changed. A few things I did not like about it, such as their choice of music and emails, I'm not into rap and never will be, yes the sound quality is better than the free service on Spotify and Deezer, I have not tried their high quality ones yet.

I would be useful to tell us what has changed. I consider Tidal to be a very shaky company, I certainly would not buy any shares in them. This is one reason why I have not fully committed to services such as Tidal.

Yes all quite worrying

With Tidal out of the way there would be even less incentive for the bigger players to adopt higher bit rates.

It would be a huge shame if it fails as I think that just leaves qobuz and deezer but I think they have smaller libraries.

 

[insider9]

What changes have there been? I'm hardly ever using Tidal Android app as it's integrated into Roon. Anything worth knowing?

 

[BigH]

My trial is over so I don't know how it has changed. A few things I did not like about it, such as their choice of music and emails, I'm not into rap and never will be, yes the sound quality is better than the free service on Spotify and Deezer, I have not tried their high quality ones yet.

I would be useful to tell us what has changed. I consider Tidal to be a very shaky company, I certainly would not buy any shares in them. This is one reason why I have not fully committed to services such as Tidal.

Yes all quite worrying

With Tidal out of the way there would be even less incentive for the bigger players to adopt higher bit rates.

It would be a huge shame if it fails as I think that just leaves qobuz and deezer but I think they have smaller libraries.

Deezer has a large library, was much more than Tidal although Tidal may be closer now. Spotify were meant to be doing cd quality streaming not sure if it's available yet. Quobuz when I last looked did have a small library. Problem is none of these services are making any money, a few have gone already. I think the likes of Spotify and Tidal will probably be bought out by the likes of Google, Apple, Sony, Amazon or maybe Netflix.

 

[Strictly Stereo]

I like the new look. I have not dug deep enough to pick up on any major usability issues or enhancements yet.

 

[gasolin]

Does it look sharper?

 

[insider9]

I rarely use Android app and never use the Windows one. Which one is being discussed here?

 

[Strictly Stereo]

Does it look sharper?

Less sharp. More curvy.

 

[Strictly Stereo]

I rarely use Android app and never use the Windows one. Which one is being discussed here?

The macOS and iOS versions have both been updated in the last few days. I am not sure about any other platforms.

 

[insider9]

I rarely use Android app and never use the Windows one. Which one is being discussed here?

The macOS and iOS versions have both been updated in the last few days. I am not sure about any other platforms.

Thank you.

 

[woodbino]

It's half the price of Tidal, and has a much bigger music collection.

Okay, that was a loaded question, because I know the answer that you will all give...

 

[gasolin]

It's half the price of Tidal, and has a much bigger music collection.

Okay, that was a loaded question, because I know the answer that you will all give...

Here i go

Sound quality

 

[davedotco]

It's half the price of Tidal, and has a much bigger music collection.

Okay, that was a loaded question, because I know the answer that you will all give...

Here i go

Sound quality

When trying the two services side by side, I found it very difficult to tell lossless Tidal from Spotify premium. This was when comparing specific tracks, (same recording/version) level matched, from good recordings.

That said, I have started to notice a slight lack of quality on spotify that does not appear to be recording related, this leads to a slightly 'fatiguing' sound and does not appear to be consistent track to track.

I have heard enthusiasts complain about the less than steller quality of some Spotify material, their suggested explanation is that there are some poor quality rips, perhaps lower bitrate than should be the case on the Premium level.

To my ears, on the kind of music I listen too, this is rarely an issue but occasionally I do hear tracks or albums that are quite poor, they can be older or modern recordings, no real correlation, and sound a bit coarse, suggesting that the bit rate might not be what it should be.

Next time I hear an obvious example, I'll flag it up on here.

 

[Paulq]

Anyone figured out how to apply the 'Masters' filter to new recordings yet? It was really useful in the 'old' version but seems to have disappeared.

 

[MajorFubar]

It's half the price of Tidal, and has a much bigger music collection.

Okay, that was a loaded question, because I know the answer that you will all give...

Here i go

Sound quality

Seriously don't waste your time. His modus operandi is to post a couple of loaded questions or statements every few years then sit back and watch the fur fly. Deep down he's becoming pretty sure this hifi malarky is nonsense and we're all delusional nutcases, so now and again when he’s walking past the cage he likes to poke a stick through the bars to see if we'll paw at it.

 

[woodbino]

Oh come on now, don't be a d##k, it's all a bit of fun. This is a hobby after all. It's full of debate and pis# taking. That's okay you know.

But yes, as a scientist I like to ike out bulls##t from fact. I was a hifi buff once, but then learnt it's mostly marketing rubbish created to steal your money.

And yes, some of you really are dellisional nutcases.

 

[insider9]

Oh come on now, don't be a d##k, it's all a bit of fun. This is a hobby after all. It's full of debate and pis# taking. That's okay you know.

But yes, as a scientist I like to ike out bulls##t from fact. I was a hifi buff once, but then learnt it's mostly marketing rubbish created to steal your money.

And yes, some of you really are dellisional nutcases.

You are a scientist?

 

[woodbino]

We all have day jobs right? I don't make a career out of being a whathifi forum troll!

Yes, I am a scientist. I'm sure many others on this forum are too.

 

[insider9]

Sure we all do. Your conclusions relating to amplifiers were most surprising for a scientist. That why I've asked.

However, I agree it should be fun and often it is taken too seriously.

 

[emcc_3]

I often suspected Prince's stuff on Spotify wasn't 320kbps, but more like 192kbps. Raspberry Beret was the one track that started my suspicion but once I noticed I started to feel the same about the rest of his stuff on their.

 

[woodbino]

I admit, my statement was a bit of a headline grabber, or clickbait as they say.

I only come to this conclusion from my own research and experience and only very recently actually. I am happy to be proved otherwise. I admit my methodology is not exactly water tight, but there is something to it and leans me to think this.

It was when I came to upgrade from my trusty and now 20 year old Cambridge audio amp setup that I delved into researching a new setup. I tested quite a number of amps and found very little difference in sound quality comparing amps from a mere £150 to those costing over a grand. Sure they sounded a bit different, but with a software equaliser these differences could be ablated. I came to the conclusion that the essential amplification part of the amp is essentially the same. The differences came from the preamplification.

I bought a really nice Cyrus 8 XPD at a bargain price, but could not tell the difference between that and my old amp. I then tried a cheap all in once 5.1 system - the type which plays DVDs and has an av amp built it - a Panasonic from Argos - and could not tell the difference.

I was quite gutted actually. It was like when my parents first broke to me that Santa does not really exist. Gutting really when I truly believed in the quality and engineering of these lauded and expensive manufacturers.

So I took to the internet to do some 'research' (I know, googling is not synonymous with reaserching) and read some interesting articles form audio engineers. I also had a look into the technical stats of these systems and even tried to find what components they actually use in their units. I found that most well built consumer units generally have very similar components, and although more expensive units often use 'higher quality' components, these are components that really add little to the performance of the unit. The heart of the units, and the things that make up 99.9% of the audio quality are the same. Sure you can put chunkier plugs with gold plating and use fancy heat sinks, but these really don't make any difference.

My gripe is really with magazines like whathifi which only perpetuate this brand snobbery and hierarchy. What I really want to see is proper blind testing and comparison of equipment between different price ranges. Instead the reviewers catagorise units in price brackets, giving us the best amps between £100 - £500, for example.

Why not just tell us the best sounding units irrespective of price?

I read auto express too as I'm a bit of a petrol head. Their reviews of car accessories disregard price when evaluating performance, and their reviewers give us their reccomendation based on performance. Very often, cheap products will be given the seal of approval over much more expensive products.