InfernoSTi Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 It is their player. On Lightning DS via Auralic Aries, there are zero dropouts and I can't tell the sound quality from a CD rip. I would have dropped service without the change in player. The service is a revelation via the Aries. John Positive emotions enhance our musical experiences. Synology DS213+ NAS -> Auralic Vega w/Linear Power Supply -> Auralic Vega DAC (Symposium Jr rollerball isolation) -> XLR -> Auralic Taurus Pre -> XLR -> Pass Labs XA-30.5 power amplifier (on 4" maple and 4 Stillpoints) -> Hawthorne Audio Reference K2 Speakers in MTM configuration (Symposium Jr HD rollerball isolation) and Hawthorne Audio Bass Augmentation Baffles (Symposium Jr rollerball isolation) -> Bi-amped w/ two Rythmic OB plate amps) -> Extensive Room Treatments (x2 SRL Acoustics Prime 37 diffusion plus key absorption and extensive bass trapping) and Pi Audio Uberbuss' for the front end and amplification Link to comment
Jimmypowder Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 It is their player. On Lightning DS via Auralic Aries, there are zero dropouts and I can't tell the sound quality from a CD rip. I would have dropped service without the change in player. The service is a revelation via the Aries. John Yes it is their Mac desktop app but I do a lot of critical listening in front of my mac with genelec near field monitors . I agree I have had zero issues with my Aries playing Tidal and played on my iPad last night (got tired of the dropouts,pops on my Mac ) with no issues . The web player through Chrome is a little better then the Mac app but still had cutouts . Link to comment
Jimmypowder Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Got a message this afternoon that they were having high volume problems .My mac Tidal app shut down . Oh well . I can play of Squeezebox Touch,Aries and iPad ,iPhone with no issues but through my Mac its a problem whether I use the desktop app or the web player. That is where I do a lot of critical listening though. Link to comment
photonblur Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Worth every shekel. l. My cd/hires collection is relatively small. 2.improvment from spotify to tidal, mondo-ymmv 3.exploring unheard/unknown discographies,priceless gad- Link to comment
TimberHo Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Anyone read this review of Beats vs all the other streaming services (except Tidal)...claiming Beats is streaming CD Quality uncompressed WAV files over WiFi? The TRUTH about MUSIC Streaming Services and the ULTIMATE AUDIO QUALITY shootout test: Beats vs MOG vs Play Music (by Google) vs Rdio vs Spotify » MArC UrSELLI Link to comment
DanSmedra Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 "Is Tidal too expensive?" It depends. If you're listening to music with an iPhone and ear buds, then yes it would have a low QPR (quality price ratio). But if you're streaming into quality-priced equipment that can use the Redbook-quality, then it's a bargain. Further, the real value of any streaming service vs. purchasing, in my opinion, are the doors it opens to the vast array of artists and albums. Source: TIDAL HiFi/Masters, Pandora One > iPeng 9.2.1 on iPhone6s/iPad Great Room: SBT#1 > Cullen Coax > PS Audio DL3 DAC > Audio Envy cables > Martin Logan (ML) 200Wpc Purity. SBT#2 >JVC 110w amp > ML Motion 4 & AudioEngine 5. Garage: SBT3 > Audioquest TOS > Wyred mINT > Cullen Cables > Martin Logan Motion 12 Carry Anywhere: TIDAL/Pandora >iPhone 6s > Bose Mini Bluetooth speaker. Link to comment
DanSmedra Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Except for widespread server crashes at Tidal. How do I know? I've spent time building artist and album libraries, only to have them wiped out and restored with prior less-complete versions. They apparently don't have it fully together yet. Source: TIDAL HiFi/Masters, Pandora One > iPeng 9.2.1 on iPhone6s/iPad Great Room: SBT#1 > Cullen Coax > PS Audio DL3 DAC > Audio Envy cables > Martin Logan (ML) 200Wpc Purity. SBT#2 >JVC 110w amp > ML Motion 4 & AudioEngine 5. Garage: SBT3 > Audioquest TOS > Wyred mINT > Cullen Cables > Martin Logan Motion 12 Carry Anywhere: TIDAL/Pandora >iPhone 6s > Bose Mini Bluetooth speaker. Link to comment
tdacquisto Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I'm a 50-something with a decent sized CD collection (500 or so) along with lots of purchased music files from iTunes, amazon, allofMP3, HDTracks, etc. I have ripped my collection twice: once in VBR MP3 many years ago when storage prices were high and again very recently to FLAC now that you can get 2 or 3 TB USB drive very cheap. I love the idea of Tidal, but for me, $20 a month is way too expensive. Even $10 a month would be too much. DirectTV has music channels that I listen to when people are over and I want some background music. I only care about the resolution of the music when I'm sitting in the sweet spot, focused on listening to music. I'd rather pay for the physical CD/SACD/DVD-A and have it in my collection and be able to rip it in any format I like... It's a one time fee and I have it forever. Or I could sell it once I've ripped it. I think the younger generation of music lovers are more into streaming services than people my age... Just my .02 Longtime audiophile. Longtime IT professional. Two worlds finally collide! Link to comment
squarebab Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I wasn't convinced at first, and I cancelled half way through the free trial period. But a couple of weeks ago I wanted to hear a recording from an old artist that was new to me, and I didn't like the sound of the Google Play stream so I gave Tidal another try. I think their mobile apps for Android and IOS are very well done (as to which I think is better, I'll give the nod to Android), but I hated their PC app. I found using Tidal in the Chrome browser much better and I deleted the Tidal stand alone software from my PC. Tidal definitely has a superior sound and usability than Spotify, MOG/Beats/iTunes streaming, which makes it perfect for mobile headphone wearing. I still prefer my Hi-Res files for PC listening, but Tidal makes it much cheaper for me to discover high quality recordings on the fly. I listen to and buy music much more often than I watch and pay for television and movies, so twenty dollars a month is not an extravagant expense for me. -square Link to comment
TubeLover Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I would pay the $20.00 per month, but only if they offered a much more wide ranging selection of music. JC Link to comment
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