Tidal

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Blacksabbath25

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Gonepostal said:
Apologies for piggy backing into your thread but wanted to know if Tidal works if you use air play from my iPad, or do you only benefit from the superior SQ if you use a wired connection, ie plugging my iPad into a USB port on my amp.
no need to Apologise

i am learning about Tidal myself and the last thing you want to do is pay for sound quality your not getting so better to ask the question
 

davedotco

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Just a few thoughts from someone who uses Spotify for virtually all my music listening.

I accept that the quality is sub-optimal, should Spotify ever release a 'full flac' version at a sensible cost I would get it, but for the moment I am reasonably content.

With my speakers set up in optimal position, I think I can hear slight improvements in terms of soundstage, instrument decay and possibly detail resolution when moving from Spotify to Tidal but the differences had to be listened for. With the speakers in their normal, everyday position these differences are not really noticeable.

What is very obvious though is the difference in quality between different recordings and even different versions of the same recording, even on Spotify, these differences are far more important than any difference in bit rate. Trolling through some old Stones songs recently, the difference in quality between original album recordings and the Hot Rocks compilation albums was obvious.

From time to time I find these differences in quality to be quite annoying, at some point I have to try a better streamer, maybe a Linn or a Unitiqute to see what happens, could be interesting.

Edit... Using Spotify Connect seems to be an advantage in several respects, no gapless issues for example and the ability to control the music from virtually any wi-fi device in our fruit based household. Wouldn't like to lose that.
 

Blacksabbath25

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I found that out myself last night when I was looking at the different led zeppelin albums there were the deluxe versions , standard versions , remastered versions so basically a choice of 5 different versions of the same album and I didn’t no that there were the deluxe versions available so learn something new there .
 

Blacksabbath25

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davedotco said:
Just a few thoughts from someone who uses Spotify for virtually all my music listening.

I accept that the quality is sub-optimal, should Spotify ever release a 'full flac' version at a sensible cost I would get it, but for the moment I am reasonably content.

With my speakers set up in optimal position, I think I can hear slight improvements in terms of soundstage, instrument decay and possibly detail resolution when moving from Spotify to Tidal but the differences had to be listened for. With the speakers in their normal, everyday position these differences are not really noticeable.

What is very obvious though is the difference in quality between different recordings and even different versions of the same recording, even on Spotify, these differences are far more important than any difference in bit rate. Trolling through some old Stones songs recently, the difference in quality between original album recordings and the Hot Rocks compilation albums was obvious.

From time to time I find these differences in quality to be quite annoying, at some point I have to try a better streamer, maybe a Linn or a Unitiqute to see what happens, could be interesting.

Edit... Using Spotify Connect seems to be an advantage in several respects, no gapless issues for example and the ability to control the music from virtually any wi-fi device in our fruit based household. Wouldn't like to lose that.
the gap less bit bothers me a specially when listening to a live album which you get a 2-3 second gap between tracks
 

davedotco

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Blacksabbath25 said:
I found that out myself last night when I was looking at the different led zeppelin albums there were the deluxe versions , standard versions , remastered versions so basically a choice of 5 different versions of the same album and I didn’t no that there were the deluxe versions available so learn something new there .

Do not be persuaded by the descriptions on these different versions, original versions are often better than deluxe and remastered versions, you just have to try them out. A simple, no cost way of getting improved sound quality.
 

Blacksabbath25

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davedotco said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
I found that out myself last night when I was looking at the different led zeppelin albums there were the deluxe versions , standard versions , remastered versions so basically a choice of 5 different versions of the same album and I didn’t no that there were the deluxe versions available so learn something new there .

Do not be persuaded by the descriptions on these different versions, original versions are often better than deluxe and remastered versions, you just have to try them out. A simple, no cost way of getting improved sound quality.
I thing I’ve noticed about my self as I am getting older is I really appreciated the old classic rock bands more then I did when I was younger it seemed I never had the time to sit there and probably to listen to the bands abilities probably and more so with unplugged live concerts .

i am finding myself listening to the slower music more then when I was mad and young
 

Blacksabbath25

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Mark Rose-Smith said:
If any of my friends tell me Spotify is rubbish..Sq wise..I quickly grab my phone and put on Nils Lofgren's..Keith don't go from the live album....it soon keeps them pretty quite for a wee while.lol.such a damn fine recording,it sounds good on anything.

And that is the issue..you can have all the resolution in the world but if the original recording is a duffer then you might as well listen to it through a old alba midi system.
old alba midi hifi *smile* state of art lol
 
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QuestForThe13thNote

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Mark Rose-Smith said:
If any of my friends tell me Spotify is rubbish..Sq wise..I quickly grab my phone and put on Nils Lofgren's..Keith don't go from the live album....it soon keeps them pretty quite for a wee while.lol.such a damn fine recording,it sounds good on anything.

And that is the issue..you can have all the resolution in the world but if the original recording is a duffer then you might as well listen to it through a old alba midi system.

That’s a good point and I’ve got a few mp3s that sound fantastic, but I think the issue with tidal v Spotify and Apple Music, is that Tidal Recordings on the whole are better on kit that’s going to highlight it. That was my experience of running Apple Music on sonos whilst running tidal on my cyrus (with the sonos routed into my cyrus streamer digital inputs)
 

Leeps

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davedotco said:
With my speakers set up in optimal position, I think I can hear slight improvements in terms of soundstage, instrument decay and possibly detail resolution when moving from Spotify to Tidal but the differences had to be listened for. With the speakers in their normal, everyday position these differences are not really noticeable.

Fair point. The time I noticed the difference in quality most was listening to Hanz Zimmer's Interstellar. I'd been listening on Tidal to the standard album. There was an extended version on Spotify which wasn't on Tidal at the time (It is now). I'd got used to the quality I'd been listening to on Tidal for around an hour. Then I switched to Spotify. The soundstage suddenly shrank and the treble was less airy, somehow duller. Not much difference in outright terms, but the emotional impact of the music was somehow blunted.

For more beat oriented stuff like some of Stevie Wonder's uptempo tracks or Jamiroquai, the difference was less noticeable. But for me, the jump in quality is worth it, especially as my speakers show off finer low level detail and airiness about a recording very well.

I don't subscribe to Amazon, Netflix or similar, so to me, £20 per month for what the service offers me is still really good value. I appreciate if you subscribe to multiple services the monthly cost can get out of hand.
 
If any of my friends tell me Spotify is rubbish..Sq wise..I quickly grab my phone and put on Nils Lofgren's..Keith don't go from the live album via Spotify connect ....it soon keeps them pretty quite for a wee while.lol.such a damn fine recording,it sounds good on anything.

And that is the issue..you can have all the resolution in the world but if the original recording is a duffer then you might as well listen to it through a old alba midi system.
 

Macspur

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Mark Rose-Smith said:
If any of my friends tell me Spotify is rubbish..Sq wise..I quickly grab my phone and put on Nils Lofgren's..Keith don't go from the live album via Spotify connect ....it soon keeps them pretty quite for a wee while.lol.such a damn fine recording,it sounds good on anything.

And that is the issue..you can have all the resolution in the world but if the original recording is a duffer then you might as well listen to it through a old alba midi system.

Plus 1 brilliant track and with my Spotify via Sonos Connect via M DAC+ it sounds phenomenal!

Another track is the live version of Big Love by Fleetwood Mac... stunning! At a tenner a month, I think Spotify is an absolute bargain, lng may it continue.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com
 

drummerman

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Macspur said:
Mark Rose-Smith said:
If any of my friends tell me Spotify is rubbish..Sq wise..I quickly grab my phone and put on Nils Lofgren's..Keith don't go from the live album via Spotify connect ....it soon keeps them pretty quite for a wee while.lol.such a damn fine recording,it sounds good on anything.

And that is the issue..you can have all the resolution in the world but if the original recording is a duffer then you might as well listen to it through a old alba midi system.

Plus 1 brilliant track and with my Spotify via Sonos Connect via M DAC+ it sounds phenomenal!

Another track is the live version of Big Love by Fleetwood Mac... stunning! At a tenner a month, I think Spotify is an absolute bargain, lng may it continue.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

Ah Lofgren's ... 'Keith ...' a perennial Hifi Show Demo favorite.

Probably because it will always sound reasonable no matter what (at best great). Heard it too many times but impressive on the first few occasions.
 

davedotco

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If you want to impress someone, play a track that everyone knows, Take 5 by Dave Brubeck, preferably the original Coumbia stereo release, its on Spotify.

If you want to be really cool, try and find the mono version, different mix and musically more interesting.
 

davedotco

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Mark Rose-Smith said:
My friends aren't of great intellectual taste.lol...keep it simples.

Come on, everyone has heard Take 5, seriously good recording.

In a good system the soundstage is holographic, possibly as good as I have heard.
 

radiorog

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drummerman said:
Macspur said:
Mark Rose-Smith said:
If any of my friends tell me Spotify is rubbish..Sq wise..I quickly grab my phone and put on Nils Lofgren's..Keith don't go from the live album via Spotify connect ....it soon keeps them pretty quite for a wee while.lol.such a damn fine recording,it sounds good on anything.

And that is the issue..you can have all the resolution in the world but if the original recording is a duffer then you might as well listen to it through a old alba midi system.

Plus 1 brilliant track and with my Spotify via Sonos Connect via M DAC+ it sounds phenomenal!

Another track is the live version of Big Love by Fleetwood Mac... stunning!  At a tenner a month, I think Spotify is an absolute bargain, lng may it continue.

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com

Ah Lofgren's ... 'Keith ...'  a perennial Hifi Show Demo favorite.

Probably because it will always sound reasonable no matter what (at best great). Heard it too many times but impressive on the first few occasions.

 
Earlier in the year I auditioned dyns xeos and the track the shop used was Keith don't go. On my last audition of the ATCs I had to ask for anything but Nils lofgren. That track really does sound good on absolutely anything.
 
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QuestForThe13thNote

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davedotco said:
Mark Rose-Smith said:
My friends aren't of great intellectual taste.lol...keep it simples.

Come on, everyone has heard Take 5, seriously good recording.

In a good system the soundstage is holographic, possibly as good as I have heard.

ive never heard Brubeck, but will check it out.....
 

Blacksabbath25

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I have listened to a lot of blues music today and the guitar and drums in this album I was listening to sounded really good and then I found a led zeppelin album that I’ve never heard before and the album is called CODA by led zeppelin the track is Bonzo Montrex track 7 .

the drumming from John bonham is very good and sounds really good on my setup
 

Pedro

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davedotco said:
Mark Rose-Smith said:
My friends aren't of great intellectual taste.lol...keep it simples.

Come on, everyone has heard Take 5, seriously good recording.

In a good system the soundstage is holographic, possibly as good as I have heard.

Excellent recommendation.

We should bump the jazzland thread created by Vladimir btw :)
 

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