Official TIDAL HIFI Streaming Issues Thread

[oneartist]

I'm using BubbleUPnp for Tidal HiFi through JRiver MC22  as renderer to Oppo 105 DAC via usb. I have 7.1 Magnepan speakers. The front speakers are 3.6's. with a custom built Odyssey amp. DLNA is set in JRiver and Audio is set to Oppo ASIO.  I also have a new Asus ZENBOOK Pro UX501VW-XS74T laptop with TIDAL loaded with no dropouts. Comparing the sound between the two systems is very subtle. The same song going directly from the laptop to Oppo is a little bass heavy.  Bubble through JRiver has a slightly cleaner sound, without the heavier bass. They both sound great. I've been comparing music from the Masters collection of TIDAL. If you have had military service, TIDAL offers a military discount.

[oneartist]

I see what you mean, the groupings are scattered. At least the numbers are in order. I'm just starting with TIDAL and I'm just enjoying the music for now. It would be nice if we could store our playlist into an alphabetic index or some other logical order. I contacted Oppo and they said that they were considering  incorporating the MQA Tidal Masters into the new 205 player. I'm still using my 105 as the main preamp for my Magnepan speakers. I play the Masters using JRiver as a renderer and Oppo 105 as a player via a long usb.

 

[oneartist]

You probably have already checked here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201177

 

[oneartist]

I just streamed Chris Standring's Groovalicious through my PSA DirectStream DAC w/BridgeII and it is displayed as 24bit 44.1K. The kbps is not displayed on the DAC. I have the above mentioned pauses if I play Tidal through my laptop, but not when I use BridgeII.

[oneartist]

Ted, the designer of the PSA DirectStream DAC w/Bridge II says the bit rate of 24 is noticeably better than 16 bit.

[oneartist]

I moved this subject over to the PS Audio forum to get more input.

[oneartist]

Is anyone seeing anything higher than 97 kbps with Tidal streaming?

[oneartist]

 My problem was a bad modem. The new modem downloads at 67Mbps and my MConnect Control settings for Tidal have changed dramatically. Masters files are 24 bit, 192K and 1750 kbps. When I was on a search for better hardware to stream MQA I selected PS Audio DirectStream DAC w/Bridge II. You can buy PSA hardware for about 33% off from HighPerformanceStereo.com. You won't be disappointed. For my big Magnepan speakers I got two M700 mono amps, again for about 33% off. I wish you could hear. 

[oneartist]

I do encourage checking your modems and networks. If your online speed test are not what they should be, something is wrong.

[oneartist]

This is from the display on MconnectControl Tidal via iPad: MQA 192 k, 24 bit, 1671 kbps Coldplay Trouble. MConnect Control is the software of choice for Bridge II. One odd thing is that while I had a modem issue, even at 96 kbps through my DirectStream DAC there were no drop outs or other common problems. I have Tidal on my laptop and the long pauses and stops happen  as described here, but not with DS.  

[oneartist]

Paul McGowan of PS Audio said he would not allow any MQA processing to happen in the prestine atmosphere of the DirectStream DAC.  Bridge II is an insert card that goes into a slot of the DirectStream box and that is where MQA is unfolded. MConnect Control is tied into the firmware of Bridge II. But, Paul says that work is being done by PSA engineers to create proprietary hardware in Bridge III that will not only process MQA but also become a music server on it's own. It will happen by the end of the year.

[oneartist]

5 hours ago, rodrigaj said:

 

 

Imagine creating a control point player that does not allow you to select tracks to add to a queue. That's the Tidal experience using mConnect.

As you are playing tracks you can click on the three dots on the right side and make several custom playlist. I arrange them how I want to listen. Then just hit the play button at the top of each list. It acts a little like a queue. The sound is great and it will work until Bridge III.

 

I tried getting  MQA  to work  using BubbleUPnp with JRiver as dlna renderer through usb to Oppo 205. It worked now and then. Then Oppo 205 became Roon approved but still no final unfold. I looked at the under $500 MQA options but still limited unfolding. All the problems and delays disappeared after I took the PSA plunge. I'm not sure if the other high end options can be had for 33% off, but PSA  can be at HighPerformanceStereo.

[oneartist]

Tidal is flawless through my PSA Bridge II. I use Cat 6a cable from a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router.

[oneartist]

Yes. I tried all the cheap routes to get Tidal to work - BubbleUpnp with JRiver dlna from laptop to oppo 205 via usb. This would work sometimes but with stops and pauses and limited unfolding. I looked at sub $500 hardware for MQA folding but these had limitations and sub par DAC's. I finally took the plunge and got PSA DirectStream DAC w/Bridge II. Bridge II has MConnect Control built into the firmware. PSA is developing Bridge III which will have their own proprietary MQA processing as well as a music server. MConnect Control is stable with no glitches but it is not pretty and few enjoy using it. PSA will not allow any MQA processing to be done inside the pristine DirectStream DAC.  Bridge is an insert card that slides into the DirectStream box and contains MQA processing. 

[oneartist]

It may be a similar problem I had. My old Charter Modem was flawed and I got a new one. My download speed increased but my router had to be reconfigured before the improvement got to my equipment.