Official TIDAL HIFI Streaming Issues Thread

[Toolio]

Ditto, using VPN for Qubuz and Highresaudio.

 

After my initial signup, I've never had to use a VPN to listen to Quobuz. I have used it in Brazil, Canada and a number of other countries. Technically, my account is listed as being in France

[rkeesecker]

Glad to see that audio quality is back. I have done a lot of research on the veracity of the so-called "high quality" stream offerings of Spotify, Beats, Google Music, etc. I dropped Rhapsody because of the low quality stream and signed up for Spotify. Six months after using Spotify I dropped them because the quality of their "Extreme" stream is awful. Learned a lot recently about what these services are really providing, and it's not genuine. Enthusiastic to learn about Tidal and some other lossless services coming online now. So ... I took the "Are you ready for lossless?" test on the Tidal website. Used Bose headphones. Twice I miserably failed the test, getting only one of the five correct, each time the one was a different track. I truly could not tell the difference. That being the case, I am not going to pony up $20/month because of that experience, commentary around the Internet from true audio professionals, and what I am reading in this forum. Too many variables in streaming music, from bandwith hookups to software to hardware. Goodbye streaming. Hello public library CD section and occasional CD purchases from the likes of Amazon and other sources. Hope CDs don't disappear any time soon because the lossless streaming industry is much too unreliable. Will stick to ripping lossless from CDs instead of getting burned by a nacent lossless streaming industry.

[kennyb123]

Just a reminder: TIDAL launched less than two months ago in the US. At some point in the future it's likely these early glitches will be long forgotten.

 

Those of you who are quitting so quickly should just keep in mind that you are denying them revenue that they can use to improve their service. If you REALLY want to see them succeed, and you can afford it, why not just hang onto your subscription and give them at least a few more months to get things sorted out?

[rkeesecker]

Those of you who are quitting so quickly should just keep in mind that you are denying them revenue that they can use to improve their service. If you REALLY want to see them succeed, and you can afford it, why not just hang onto your subscription and give them at least a few more months to get things sorted out?

 

Kenny, an admirable thought, but naive. Please, I'm not trying to upset you - but consider this - I am making some charitable gifts at this time of year to deserving nonprofit organizations ... educational, social services, health. However, as much as I am impressed with Tidal's website and their approach, I am not about being charitable to a business. When the product is ready without a doubt, launch it. Researching this topic thoroughly on the Internet, learning from audio professionals posting their own research into lossless streaming, and being burned by other streaming services to which I have paid a monthly fee, will give pause to anyone. The quality of this kind of service must be undeniable and proven. My experience with Tidal's "Are you ready?" test and other "high quality" audio streaming companies tells me these services are not yet ready to offer a product which lives up to their hype. Their marketing and word-smithing are done very well, but as you suggest, I will pass them by for some time and let them "get things sorted out" at the expense of other subscribers. It won't be on my nickel. When they are for real, I'll pony up.

[rkeesecker]

Sorry, I shouldn't have used the word "naive." That doesn't help anything or anyone. My apologies to Kenny.

[Toolio]

Just a reminder: TIDAL launched less than two months ago in the US. At some point in the future it's likely these early glitches will be long forgotten.

 

Those of you who are quitting so quickly should just keep in mind that you are denying them revenue that they can use to improve their service. If you REALLY want to see them succeed, and you can afford it, why not just hang onto your subscription and give them at least a few more months to get things sorted out?

 

Sorry, I don't buy this argument. I'm not a provider of venture capital. I am a consumer of goods and services. i wonder how the former owners of the horríble Hyundai Pony feel about the fact that they made a contribution to the future of what eventually turned out to be a very good car manufacturer? Not so happy, I would assume. They threw their money away, just as Tidal subscribers will be doing if things continue along their current path. And let's not forget that Tidal is not new; it is Wimp rebranded for new markets. This is not a practice run. These people have been around for a while.

[wanta911]

I took up the 7 day trial 4 days ago.

 

I'm not here to trash Tidal, just give a factual account of my experience so far.....

 

I am still waiting for a reply to an email I sent them on day one that highlighted an issue I had during streaming and asking for opinion/help. I'm a patient guy so I'm not fretting too much yet, but I guess my opinion of the trial right now is based solely on waiting on this reply?

 

I guess I'm spoilt, being an owner of an Auralic Aries I have emailed Auralic many times with questions and initial issues - they always reply the same day.

[wanta911]

Update to above - I just got my reply so that's cool.

 

I also just tried it again on my Aries and it's a mess. Maybe my 13 to 15 Mbps download speed isn't going to cut it......

[Toolio]

Update to above - I just got my reply so that's cool.

 

I also just tried it again on my Aries and it's a mess. Maybe my 13 to 15 Mbps download speed isn't going to cut it......

 

Glad to hear you finally have access. In reality your internet speed should be more than sufficient. However, people with far higher speeds, including me, have had problems. This unreliability of Tidal streaming seems to be a major issue for some subscribers. Many of us who use Qobuz have no high-def streaming problems with that service at the same time we have experienced problems with Tidal. For this reason I cancelled my Tidal subscription and am happily back to my trouble-free Qobuz.

[kennyb123]

I am making some charitable gifts at this time of year to deserving nonprofit organizations ... educational, social services, health.

 

That's why I included the phrase "if you can afford it". If it's a zero-sum game and the $20 TIDAL fee would be deny a charitable organization, then most definitively you should skip paying TIDAL.

 

It won't be on my nickel. When they are for real, I'll pony up.

 

I respect your opinion. I'd usually be in agreement. There is a difference in this case: There is now exactly ONE service that streams CD-quality in the US. Just one. If TIDAL fails, what chance do we really have that another service will try this? I see my $20 per month as an investment in my hobby, not charity to a business. I want TIDAL to succeed.

[kennyb123]

Sorry, I don't buy this argument. I'm not a provider of venture capital.

 

You are paying for cable service and internet aren't you? And how about cell phone service? Your monthly fee is paying salaries and providing capital that is invested into enhancing their service offerings. I imagine this is true for every subscription service.

 

I certainly understand your point though. I would be in agreement with you, except as I explained in a previous post: there is now exactly ONE service that streams CD-quality in the US. If TIDAL fails, I worry that there is a slim chance another service will try this.

[kennyb123]

Sorry, I shouldn't have used the word "naive." That doesn't help anything or anyone. My apologies to Kenny.

 

No apology necessary. Guilty as charged. :-)

[Toolio]

You are paying for cable service and internet aren't you? And how about cell phone service? Your monthly fee is paying salaries and providing capital that is invested into enhancing their service offerings. I imagine this is true for every subscription service.

 

I certainly understand your point though. I would be in agreement with you, except as I explained in a previous post: there is now exactly ONE service that streams CD-quality in the US. If TIDAL fails, I worry that there is a slim chance another service will try this.

 

Of course I am paying for cable and internet. But the difference between those and Tidal is that my cable and internet work as advertised. My reference to venture capital refers to the fact that venture capital usually is employed by startups as a form of financing while they are getting their house in order and developing their service or product. With my cable and internet provider and my cell phone provider I am not being used as an paying experiment while they try to make their service work. My cable, internet and cell services already work, and I am happy when they bring enhancements onstream I, too, would like Tidal to work. I subscribed beyond the trial period and paid for their service. I liked many of their features and their interface (except their wonky search engine). But I cancelled because IMHO a streaming service should stream music. The audio should not drop out half way through a song. If my internet cut out every few minutes or my cell phone audio cut out every few minutes, I would no longer be a customer. So I am no longer a Tidal customer.

 

As I mentioned earlier, let's not forget that Tidal is not a newcomer. They have been selling their service for a considerable time as Wimp in other countries. I would assume that by now their service should work properly.

 

I have subscribed to Qobuz, the French equivalent of Tidal, for about 16 months. It works fine. It's not difficult to subscribe from outside of France (I split my time between Brazil and Canada, mostly Brazil). Other than the potential hassle of dealing with another language if you don't speak that language, it works well. If you're interested, search these forums for explanations on how to sign up from the U.S. or another country.

[Fridolin]

I did subscribe to WIMP ( = Tidal ) a couple of months here in Germany, always using the Mac desktop app for streaming the service.

 

I can't complain about streaming dropouts etc, albeit i have only a 6mb/s connection.

That works very well here.

 

The reason i cancelled my subscription two months ago was however because they are lying about their HiFi streams here in Germany at least. They claim to stream all of their contents in HiFi whereas in reality at most two thirds are in HiFi.

 

If you are in bad luck because of your musical taste even less is streamed in HiFi, what makes me very upset about them.

 

I suspect, it will be similar in the US.

[jrflanne]

OS X here. The player usually won't play. It might after reboot but frankly, I would rather just play my own music with Audirvana, which always works. Subscription cancelled. It was just too much hassle.

[kennyb123]

Of course I am paying for cable and internet. But the difference between those and Tidal is that my cable and internet work as advertised.

 

You are fortunate. My internet provider had very poor reliability early on, but is much better today.

 

With my cable and internet provider and my cell phone provider I am not being used as an paying experiment while they try to make their service work.

 

That was certainly the case with AT&T here in the US when I got the very first iPhone. Dropped calls were the norm early on. I dealt with it because I wanted the iPhone to succeed.

 

But I cancelled because IMHO a streaming service should stream music. The audio should not drop out half way through a song. If my internet cut out every few minutes or my cell phone audio cut out every few minutes, I would no longer be a customer. So I am no longer a Tidal customer.

 

You certainly have that prerogative. Trust me, I've felt like dumping them too. I will give it a few more months though because 1) I can afford to, 2) I have gotten a ton of enjoyment from the service already, and 3) they are the only game in (my) town.

 

I have subscribed to Qobuz, the French equivalent of Tidal, for about 16 months. It works fine. It's not difficult to subscribe from outside of France (I split my time between Brazil and Canada, mostly Brazil). Other than the potential hassle of dealing with another language if you don't speak that language, it works well. If you're interested, search these forums for explanations on how to sign up from the U.S. or another country.

 

That's good advice, thanks.

[CKehoe]

Maybe they should have run a Kickstarter for the US rollout.

[hifi25nl]

I have now a subscription to Tidal. These are the results:

 

1) Android phone: perfect in HIFI, no dropouts.

2) Linux Chromium last version (linux open source version of Chrome): good with AAC 320 no sound with FLAC 1411 (HIFI)

3) Linux Google Chrome lst version (original from Google): good with AAC 320 no sound with FLAC 1411 (HIFI)

4) Windows 8.1 Computer 1 with Chrome last version: good with AAC 320 no sound with FLAC 1411 (HIFI)

5) Windows 8.1 Computer 2 with Chrome last version: perfect in HIFI

 

I don't know what to think...

[rodrigaj]

I have now a subscription to Tidal. These are the results:

 

1) Android phone: perfect in HIFI, no dropouts.

2) Linux Chromium last version (linux open source version of Chrome): good with AAC 320 no sound with FLAC 1411 (HIFI)

3) Linux Google Chrome lst version (original from Google): good with AAC 320 no sound with FLAC 1411 (HIFI)

4) Windows 8.1 Computer 1 with Chrome last version: good with AAC 320 no sound with FLAC 1411 (HIFI)

5) Windows 8.1 Computer 2 with Chrome last version: perfect in HIFI

 

I don't know what to think...

 

I'm not going to defend Tidal, but I have always had something happen in HIFI. Maybe not for long, but certainly for three or four tracks. Your experience mirrors mine with regards to the Android experience. If they could only get that level of service up on the Apple and Windows apps...sigh.

[jhwalker]

I listen on Windows, OS X, and iOS (native players on each, no browsers) and have no problems whatsoever(at least since the first couple of days).

 

No dropouts, no stuttering, whatever - just great sound.

 

I'll say I'm disappointed by their search mechanism and by the inadequacy of their classical catalog, but I'm not plagued by technical issues, thankfully.

[DanSmedra]

I'll say I'm disappointed by their search mechanism and by the inadequacy of their classical catalog, but I'm not plagued by technical issues, thankfully.

 

I'll second the "search engine" issue. They need to upgrade to something a bit smarter (aka "AI lite"). Compared to the late MOG catalog, the choices seem weak indeed. They show an array of album covers, but the contents are missing. Hopefully, there not flying be the seat of their pants. For the US customers, they need to figure out that substantive $$ exist among the 55+ set.

 

I'm using Logitech Media Server 7.7.5 with ickStream/iPeng. They're currently having sync problems with Artist listings. I'm confident they'll get it worked out.

[DanSmedra]

A good test of TIDAL's audio/fidelity capabilities using newer albums, play Grammy Nominees 2015 (104 scripted tracts) under Playlists.

[Golden Ears]

I've been on tidal tonight... and though it isn't doing it now..I could swear for several tracks it sounded like it was playing fast...

 

Weird huh?

 

The pitch was not really off...but the pace was definitely picked up. Anyone else notice this?

[boatheelmusic]

I've been on tidal tonight... and though it isn't doing it now..I could swear for several tracks it sounded like it was playing fast...

 

Weird huh?

 

The pitch was not really off...but the pace was definitely picked up. Anyone else notice this?

 

Need to switch to decaf.....

[hifi25nl]

I was thinking the problem was chrome or chromium so yesterday night I was running the Tidal windows application under wine in Linux (installation was not working, I simply copied the windows directory TIDAL under .wine directory).

To my surprise is working fine... but not HIFI. The same exact problem I had before.

 

As a side note yesterday I was also streaming from Tidal (android) to HQplayer embedded with audiocast option in BubbleUPNP. The result sound in DSD128 was very good!! Incredibly no dropouts at all.

 

Note: I am absolutely not against Tidal. I'm very happy of the indroduction of lossless streaming!! I hope a lot of people will subscribe to tidal (or qobuz) so these services will not go bankrupt...