Why does Tidal offer different prices for exactly the same services in different EU countries? I pay €19.99/month for HiFi+ in Ireland, which is the same as in Germany, France, etc. The level of tax applied is the same in Portugal as Ireland. There are no physical, i.e. people elements in the delivery of the services in the other regions, so why different. This breaks the EU rules. So you take the Portuguese prices for HiFi+ as at €13.99/month you are getting it cheaper then nearly anywhere else.
You hit the nail on the head. I find that it's the master they use that makes much more noticeable difference to the quality of reproduction. When there is the opportunity to stream the original 16bit or the hi-res "remaster," a lot of the time I find the 16bit version to be miuch more dynamic which is what I much prefer. I am glad I bought my CD's years ago before all this remastering, brick wall limiting and compression took place. This is where, in my opinion, streaming services fall down. You can in most cases, only stream the version that is currently allowed by the record label. Whilst they can claim to remaster in hi-res, there is nothing hi-res about a recording that has been butchered for the sake of making it as loud as can be. Another thing that has been highlighted by "Wings Of Pegasus" channel on TH-cam, they are now taking it upon themselves to autotune the vocals when they remaster, which is a total tragedy. So you're not even hearing the singers natural voice anymore. When will this madness end?
I tried Tidal along with Qobuz, Spotify and Amazon music along with Apple Music. I Chose Qobuz. It had the best combination of sound quality, selection, price and ease of use IMO. Thanks for the video. Peace, love and music!
Tidal has been the best for me at discovering new music. Spotify feels like I'm paying to be bombarded with ads of whatever music has released and has paid Spotify.
I’d like to point out, at least in UK the Tidal app on Fire TV, Android TV and the Samsung TV app are NOT restricted to videos only. All your audio and video stuff is there under My Collection and the audio only content is also available either by search or by scrolling further down the Home Screen. As a long time Tidal user and Roon user I have to say I’m now using Tidal connect 90% of the time. It is just so convenient. Auto scrolling lyrics on your iOS device while Tidal connect plays via your hifi is a neat feature. Finally I’ll add that Tidal does eventually learn your listening preferences and the resulting custom mixes and recommendations are now great.
For some people having surround systems at home, there's also Dolby Atmos, which you get in the Plus tier. Yes, I know. Lossy. But trust me, a lot of people new in the hobby who have Atmos systems at home whose stereo resolve isn't the most convincing, will get a thrill out of those Armos tracks. In my view, that counts for something.
I been looking to swap fron youtube music to either Apple music or tidal I don't have any I phone accessories and heard both was good quality music. I don't pay for youtube music so hopefully tidal or apple is better quality if I buy the monthly rate
This video seems to be about selling Tidal, not about which streaming platform offers the best sound quality for your system. That SQ depends on many things (and everyone should mainly trust their own ears...). I stopped using Tidal last year because Qobuz's sound quality is better IMO. Who wants to use Tidal Connect at home or outside when you have Roon and Roon ARC? Roon radio also does well with Qobuz and Qobuz offers 100 million songs in 100% CD quality. They even have 240,000 albums in high resolution. For some gaps in their catalog I use Spotify or my CD collection.
I compared Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz in my treated room with my all Benchmark Media system and Paradigm signature speakers. Qobuz was so much better, no matter what resolution. Tidal was just all over the place, horrible clipping and distortion. Spotify sounded the radio in my car. I couldn't care less about what apps they offer if a service sounds bad.
Same here. Ditched Tidal after finding out at a demo that Qobuz offers a more natural sounding quality. In my room Qobuz (and Roon) sometimes even matches the SQ of my cd’s (using Hegel amp+cd and Dynaudio Confidence setup).
I tried a couple of times to switch back to Spotify, but my ears advised me to come back to Tidal. Believe it or not, it's like night and day. Obviously it depends on the quality of your gears also.
I'm not normally a fan of algorithms but those suggesting similar music to the one currently playing have introduced me to some wonderful new music. I don't know how the Roon algorithm compares but Tidal's New Arrivals, Daily Discovery and suggested new tracks (along with of course some great suggestions from one notable YT reviewer who introduced me to Alva Noto) have in the electronic music area introduced me to Craven Faults from Yorkshire, Föllakzoid from Chile and Svaneborg Kardyb from Denmark just in the last week.
For me Tidal Hi-Fi is all I need. I use it to try out new (to me) music, and if I like it I buy it on CD. Problem with any streaming service, is that they often only have the latest re-mastered albums on there. In a lot of cases Remastered = Louder and Harsher, so I prefer the original mastered versions on CD. Also, if some artist has a row with the record company or streaming service, my music collection isn't going to disappear overnight.
Had Tidal for a while and when I started getting into hi-res audio I upgraded to the max package and have NOT regretted it one moment. I listen to it via a WiiM Mini hooked up via toslink to a Fosi DAC. Through my beyterdynamic DT770 Pro cans it sounds out of this world.
Tidal hifi plus is great! It has most music in HI-RES. I’ve been using Tidal almost since its very beginning. It uses full sized flac files now on connect but also retains the MQA Which there are a lot of haters, I however am not . I like the MQA’s and in some cases even more than the HI-RES flac . Despite the uncalled for hate MQA is the only format that considers the time domain throughout the entire delivery. I used to have Spotify as well but have long since cancelled it as there was no point paying for something I didn’t use anymore.
I changed last month from spotify to Qobuz...AMAZING!!! I was not sure, what to choose...Tidal/Qobuz. After some reviews I choose Qobuz, because it gots all I need and it got a clear communication in a each song, if I hear "CD" or "HiRes" quality.
I used tidal for years. I now subscribe to qobus for the following reasons, no bill creap and most importantly it sounds better less compression and more natural sound. Tidal interference and algorithm is superior to qobus but for me the sound will always take priority.
One thing you didn’t address is whether or not paying for the hi res tier pays the artists more. I love that tidal is somewhat transparent with which artists are receiving the money from me each month. As you’ve noted before $20/month is dirt cheap when you think about what someone paid in the 90s. So if the artist is getting more and I’m getting maybe a few extra streams in high res I think it’s a win win.
but tidal only has 11% of the digital market. In the end, the one that pays the most is Spotify, which is why it reaches close to 60% of the digital public. You earn more money because there are more people.
@@RitmoMusiquero i don't mean globally of course. of course if you have more customers, in the global scheme you pay more. (and earn much more also) i mean per stream. big artists earn more because they get a big part of the cake without even being listened to. of course that part of the cake comes at the cost of smaller artists that earn less and less. spotify is the worst in this context. of course the app itself, layout, algorythm etc. is a completely different story.
Back when I was a young boy, we got lossless audio in boxes, cd boxes, and it lasted the lifetime of your listening attention. Some would even dare to say the music was better back then👀😲
It’s even an easier choice now …. Come April 10, in the US at least, Tidal Hifi Plus will be $10.99 … tidal cd quality and hi res will be combined into one price / tier 😂 Spotify HIFI no more
No way! Will this be for everyone? I just signed up for the 60 day trial for $2 for the Hi-Fi. Wooooo well that's great news, I am still keeping my YT music for those unofficial tracks!!!!!
Here's the easiest way to get a Roon-like transition from your mobile phone to your home stereo system without using Roon. You will need a Wiim (Mini, Pro, or Plus) and MConnect on your mobile device. MConnect will play locally on the device, then when you wish to connect to your home system, choose "Play to" and make a UPNP connection to the Wiim and you're done. Very similar to what you're doing with the FiiO. All without the monthly cost for Roon and $1,000 for the FiiO. This only works with Tidal and Qobuz, but since the video was about Tidal, I figured it was worth passing along.
Also consider how you are listening. If you mostly listen on wireless headphones without LDAC codec or similar, you dont really need anything better than mp3 320 kbit
I'm currently using TIDAL and Qobuz. I like that TIDAL doubles the royalty that it pays the artists over everyone else. I also enjoy the music that TIDAL picks for me when I choose "go to track radio". Occasionally, I've noticed that Qobuz might have an old esoteric album that I want to hear. Occasionally, Qobuz might offer a better version of the recording. But, if I can only choose one, I choose TIDAL.
I stopped using Tidal for a while now. Back to playing cd's and personal rips. Done with all those terrible remasters which are brickwalled like crazy. Hunting down for OG or repressings of cd's is quite fun
I started with Tidal hi-fi because USB Audio Pro used it. Got a Wiim Pro with Tidal connect as well. It sounds great to me and never felt the need to upgrade. I buy the hi-res or sometimes CD if I find it super cheap used. Some albums I just want to own.
the music I listen to was made in the 80s and 90s, cd quality is the best I can get for this. the built in music player in my pixel 8 pro does a wonderful job playing this quality of music.
I went for Qobuz. It's European, no MQA. cheaper than Tidal in the Netherlands. Qobuz is slowly getting better. Recently added song radio and recommendations are getting better. Qobuz will come with a connect function eventually. You didn't mention Amazon.
Thoroughly enjoy the standard hi fi tier with a nice 40% military discount. Sounds wonderful on my vintage gear thru Topping e30 dac. None of the other services offers this discount.
I fully agree with you with your 3 points on tidal and also regarding the hifi plus I also think its not worth the money for just few hires flac files which is a very small percent. I also use Qobuz only under Roon. It has more hires files than tidal.
No unfortunately I don’t but I converted a tidal playlist to a Qobuz playlist and many songs after being converted into Qobuz were in hires. When I looked at the same playlist with hifi plus subscription that particular playlist had very few hires files In tidal. I don’t know may be it was due to a transition time from mqa to hires
After 40 years of re-purchasing my favorite music about every 10 years from (70 Vinyl), (80 tapes), (90 CD), (00 MP3) I am NOT going to buy my music (yet again) in Hi-Res format! Fool me (4) times...that's enough.
I love streaming music services, am perfectly happy with CD quality audio so I'll pay for that rate, but that collection of CDs will stay with me for at least it is actually mine! What's on a streaming service can be taken off the service just like that and disappear, tough luck on you. So hang on to your collection!
On my smartphones and tablets I tend to download the songs I like best onto my device so I’m not streaming them over the internet when I listen just to remove that variable from the listening experience and to avoid cellular costs or poor wifi connections.
For me, Tidal was the only streaming app that works just fine on my main setup (android tv> reciver). The key difference for me is the availability of Dolby Atmos on some albums. One thing I would chance on Tidal is it's Tidal Connect, as it won't pass HiRess nor Atmos, only "HiFi", and that's why I mainly use it directly from the native app on the tv (or Google TV Chromecast)
@@jamiejade1971 well, from my phone direct to the streaming box (o Chromecast w/GoogleTV) it only works on "HiFi" quality. But, if I open the native app on Google TV, it does play everything and every format.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, AirPlay does indeed have a handoff/connect feature, but it requires either an Apple TV or HomePod/homepod mini. HomePod is the simplest to use in this way, you can just tap the HomePod mini, tap the popup, then tap the AirPlay menu when it starts to move the sound to your hi-fi AirPlay end point, then remove the HomePod from the list, voila.
While I struggle for a year and can’t decide for tidal, tidal plus or qobuz, WiiM mini through a descent DAC and Amazon HD do the job for me. This is tidal connect-ish. Somehow to me. Can’t afford roon in money and time, tried trial periods on all mentioned plus apple and Spotify. Didn’t like last both for the Interface, which is almost as important as the sound quality to me. Qobuz is my favorite for the app design or tidal non-plus. Yes, video helped me to exclude one more from my list. Thanks, John!
Qobuz. Tidal was good when it was Norwegian. When Jay-Z became a partner, everything went south. I had Spotify almost from the time they were formed, but the sound never evolved. Qobuz is a fabulously good streaming service.
One thing to remember is if you have an Apple TV you can do the same thing and pass off the streaming service to your Apple TV from your phone instead of streaming through AirPlay. This is extremely beneficial if you have surroundsound, and would like to access your Atmos content over the HDMI.
Good analysis. I question how the high rez, for example 24/96 and 24/192 are created. Are they simply over sampled or somehow rezzed up from the cd base quality? What information exists to know this ? How much normalization is applied?
I learned about Roon a couple of years ago from this channel. I was already a Tidal subscriber. I LOVE these two together. Roon Radio is the best for the reasons you describe.
I’ve used Tidal Hi-Fi tier for over a year now after I switched from Spotify. And I went for the Hi-Fi tier for the reasons you mentioned in this video.
I'm from the future as I post, but in the past when you read it. Stupid time. Now it is all plus. On my 2 months trial. defo keeping it. Not sure I can cancel my youtube sub, but feeling okay with the new Tidal pricing. Shaking up the game.
Hi John, I appreciate all you give, so if I request a bit more from you, don't take it the wrong way. First, I looked through your playlists to try to find the video, because if you already made it, then I can just watch it. When you look through your playlists, do they look like a mess? Maybe, they could be more organized. Anyway, the video I want to see is one on how to treat a room, for acoustics, with materials you already have on hand or materials that you can buy cheaply at the superstore or hardware store. I don't even know how to phrase it for a search. Thanks for your hard work in scripting, filming, editing and dealing with the Google. Louis
A completely fair and honest take about Tidal +. You probably talked a lot of people into realizing Plus offers no real additional value and did them a favor.
I suspected as much with HI-FI plus and I thank you for the analysis and answering an on going question I've had with my subscription. With my mid-fi equipment I think I'll downgrade and try the service with CD quality and see if I notice. Thanks!
So, I just ended my 2 months trial with Tidal hi-fi Plus. While I guess it may be worth the additional money for the Plus tier, there's a bigger issue with Tidal. While Apple and Spotify (other's I've used) have been pretty much agnostic on the content they provide, Tidal is to a great extent a vehicle for Jay Z, Beyonce, Doja Cat, and various others who make "music" in this genre, to push their new releases. It's actually pretty extreme. While I had no issues with the technical quality of what Tidal was offering, the constant use of this paid service as an advertising medium for a small group of "artists" was really not ok. I'm currently trialing Apple music and find the quality to be more than acceptable, but without the persistent bias that Tidal had. Spotify might be another good choice, but from what I understand the technical quality of their platform is not up to the level of Apple or Tidal.
I tried Qobuz trial period and just couldn't commit as it doesn't do two things Tidal does...1) doesn't have the artist's top tracks as an option, and 2) doesn't have similar artist radio which I think is great. you can only select albums from the artists which I thought sucked....also a biggie for me is if you have a student in college it's only 10.00/month for hi-fi-plus
Thanks John, it helps us to know what we're getting for our money when we're first approaching these platforms. I think they're great for discovery , and to give a little bit to the artist when we play their songs, but my curated collection of music will always be offline and local: I can't abide the arbitrary substitions and deletions that come with the cloud.
I went from Tidal Hi-Fi to Hi-Fi Plus a month ago but I am swapping back to the lower tier. Ever since "upgrading" have had constant issues playing songs/playlists with long pauses and interruptions and I didn't experience this before. Also I'm in the UK so Hi-Fi Plus is £19.99, LOL at the Portuguese pricing. Will go back to Amazon HD Unlimited if the issues with streaming persist post downgrade.
I subscribe to both Tidal and Qobuz, because Tidal has the better interface and collection but Qobuz sounds better to me, even with my very modest gear. That might be due to the way the respective apps interact with the audio APIs of the OS on which they run, but even with very modest gear I can hear the difference. I just want to have the fuller library of song radio of Tidal but also want to sometimes enjoy the higher quality of Qobuz.
Swerve-ball question @DarkoAudio, I'd love to know which Andy Weatherall w/ Daniel Avery Soundcloud mix that was? Artwork suggests from 'A Love From Outer Space' club night. Thanks in advance.
As an ex-subscriber, I still can't forgive Tidal for inflicting that failed lossy MQA codec on us when we were asking for the high res originals. It has taken them far too long to ditch that crap.
These videos are great John. I was torn between Apple Music (as an apple user) and tidal/qobuz. I hadn’t appreciated the power of tidal connect as a function. Works great with my node x and has resolved the argument. I’ve used SongShift to move playlists from apple to tidal and works great.
Thanks for your observations very good to know! I have the WiiM pro using optical into Denafrips Ares12. I have to admit I now enjoy the music equally no matter the source, vinyl or CD, or Amazon music. The question is will the WiiM pro scale if I went to a Pontus12 or even a Terminator? Have you ever tried the WiiM pro with the Mola Mola DAC, I think you have one? Is it possible the WiiM scales with an uber high performance DAC? Could be a great episode, gather 3 or 4 cheap streamers you probably have available and try them with an Uber DAC. Thanks for sharing and what you do!
I am an avid Roon user. Probably a little obsessed is a more apt description. I had both Tidal & Qobuz integrated for a couple of years. At the height of Tidal and their MQA marketing. For me, I found about half a dozen artists on Tidal that Qobuz skipped for whatever reason. That half dozen wasn't worth carrying both services. And I could get as far away from the Tidal MQA BS. Qobuz Hi-Res library is good enough when I want to dip my toe in those waters. My 2 cents worth.
Good info. Especially on Tidal connect. I've used Apple Music a lot in the past but had tidal previously and really enjoyed it. I do wonder if it really matters cd vs master when using an iPhone or Bluetooth codes ? Also, Tidal plays nice with PLEX which is another reason I've thought about throwing my money back its way. I do wish Tidal offered an a yearly subscription vs monthly which apple does and saves you a few dollars per year.
You forgot to mention that hifi plus also pays 10% of your monthly subscription fee to your most listened to artist each month. While not a benefit for the end user and most aren't going to care, some of us do.
@@DarkoAudio That was the only reason I was subscribed. I'm switching down a tier today, I appreciate you. Maybe I'll even just switch to TH-cam to get rid of the TH-cam ads.
An idea for a video is exploring the "better CD options" like Blu Spec CD2, UHQCD, SHM-CD, XRCD and SACD. I have no idea if we can hear the difference compared to a regular CD and if it's worth it at a higher price.
You frequently mention that this hi-fi hobby is budget independent for each listener. For someone who spends thousands on gear, particularly headphones, it’s worth five bucks a month to find those 10 songs where the instrument placement is a little clearer or you hear that symbol that you can’t hear in lower res. A spreadsheet can’t tell you how to get the biggest smile listening to Aja again.
You’ve got me thinking now. I pay for plus, which I enjoy. I wonder if there is a way switch back and forth between the 24 and 16 bit? IE; To test, is the difference I hear (on my gear) worth the extra money I’m paying….
Hi John, What do you think of Deezer? An annual subscription will cost you € 108 in the Netherlands. The streams are in CD quality. The music ilibrary is huge. But Deezer is never mentioned in all kinds of reviews. A little more about TIDAL. ( I have a trial subscription ) TIDAL sounds very LOUD!!!! At least on my audio equipment. ( NAD C388/BluOs 2i module/ Castle Avon 4 LS)
I think nobody talks about Deezer because of its small market share. As a Spotify and Deezer user for over 5 years, I can say that I have always found the same albums on Deezer that Spotify offered. Unlike Amazon Music, which has missing albums. I like rock, metal and blues and Deezer's collection is the same as Spotify's, at least in everything I listen to, and what's more, Deezer sounds great in CD quality.
Excellent video thank you Blue sound Node for sponsoring, I love mine! After watching the question I have is does HIFI allow you to access older versions of albums that have not been remastered or is the access equal between the subscriptions? I agree remasters often suck. I am always disappointed when all I see is remaster versions of my preferred musician on Tidal HIFI plus.. Lastly seeing those Zu Soul 6 in the background warms my heart.
**CORRECTION** The Tidal Hifi and Hifi Plus pricing mentioned in this video isn't German 🇩🇪. It's Portuguese 🇵🇹.
In Austria Hifi is 47% more expensive. 🤔
Why does Tidal offer different prices for exactly the same services in different EU countries? I pay €19.99/month for HiFi+ in Ireland, which is the same as in Germany, France, etc. The level of tax applied is the same in Portugal as Ireland. There are no physical, i.e. people elements in the delivery of the services in the other regions, so why different. This breaks the EU rules.
So you take the Portuguese prices for HiFi+ as at €13.99/month you are getting it cheaper then nearly anywhere else.
Hifi plus is £19.99 in the UK no real reason for the twice as expensive as Portugal's price that I can see any ideas?
I still don't get why everyone is allergic to Amazon music HD. Why am I the dumb one?
In Spain is also HiFi: 10,99€ and HiFi Plus: 19,99€ 😳
You hit the nail on the head. I find that it's the master they use that makes much more noticeable difference to the quality of reproduction. When there is the opportunity to stream the original 16bit or the hi-res "remaster," a lot of the time I find the 16bit version to be miuch more dynamic which is what I much prefer. I am glad I bought my CD's years ago before all this remastering, brick wall limiting and compression took place. This is where, in my opinion, streaming services fall down. You can in most cases, only stream the version that is currently allowed by the record label. Whilst they can claim to remaster in hi-res, there is nothing hi-res about a recording that has been butchered for the sake of making it as loud as can be.
Another thing that has been highlighted by "Wings Of Pegasus" channel on TH-cam, they are now taking it upon themselves to autotune the vocals when they remaster, which is a total tragedy. So you're not even hearing the singers natural voice anymore. When will this madness end?
I tried Tidal along with Qobuz, Spotify and Amazon music along with Apple Music. I Chose Qobuz. It had the best combination of sound quality, selection, price and ease of use IMO. Thanks for the video. Peace, love and music!
Tidal has been the best for me at discovering new music.
Spotify feels like I'm paying to be bombarded with ads of whatever music has released and has paid Spotify.
ive never had a ad in 5 years
I’d like to point out, at least in UK the Tidal app on Fire TV, Android TV and the Samsung TV app are NOT restricted to videos only. All your audio and video stuff is there under My Collection and the audio only content is also available either by search or by scrolling further down the Home Screen.
As a long time Tidal user and Roon user I have to say I’m now using Tidal connect 90% of the time. It is just so convenient. Auto scrolling lyrics on your iOS device while Tidal connect plays via your hifi is a neat feature.
Finally I’ll add that Tidal does eventually learn your listening preferences and the resulting custom mixes and recommendations are now great.
For some people having surround systems at home, there's also Dolby Atmos, which you get in the Plus tier. Yes, I know. Lossy. But trust me, a lot of people new in the hobby who have Atmos systems at home whose stereo resolve isn't the most convincing, will get a thrill out of those Armos tracks. In my view, that counts for something.
I'm an audiophile, apart from DJ and music producer and I've been using Tidal HiFi Plus for almost 4 years, definitely recommend it
I been looking to swap fron youtube music to either Apple music or tidal I don't have any I phone accessories and heard both was good quality music. I don't pay for youtube music so hopefully tidal or apple is better quality if I buy the monthly rate
This video seems to be about selling Tidal, not about which streaming platform offers the best sound quality for your system. That SQ depends on many things (and everyone should mainly trust their own ears...).
I stopped using Tidal last year because Qobuz's sound quality is better IMO. Who wants to use Tidal Connect at home or outside when you have Roon and Roon ARC? Roon radio also does well with Qobuz and Qobuz offers 100 million songs in 100% CD quality. They even have 240,000 albums in high resolution. For some gaps in their catalog I use Spotify or my CD collection.
I compared Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz in my treated room with my all Benchmark Media system and Paradigm signature speakers. Qobuz was so much better, no matter what resolution. Tidal was just all over the place, horrible clipping and distortion. Spotify sounded the radio in my car. I couldn't care less about what apps they offer if a service sounds bad.
Same here. Ditched Tidal after finding out at a demo that Qobuz offers a more natural sounding quality. In my room Qobuz (and Roon) sometimes even matches the SQ of my cd’s (using Hegel amp+cd and Dynaudio Confidence setup).
I tried a couple of times to switch back to Spotify, but my ears advised me to come back to Tidal. Believe it or not, it's like night and day. Obviously it depends on the quality of your gears also.
I'm not normally a fan of algorithms but those suggesting similar music to the one currently playing have introduced me to some wonderful new music. I don't know how the Roon algorithm compares but Tidal's New Arrivals, Daily Discovery and suggested new tracks (along with of course some great suggestions from one notable YT reviewer who introduced me to Alva Noto) have in the electronic music area introduced me to Craven Faults from Yorkshire, Föllakzoid from Chile and Svaneborg Kardyb from Denmark just in the last week.
For me Tidal Hi-Fi is all I need. I use it to try out new (to me) music, and if I like it I buy it on CD. Problem with any streaming service, is that they often only have the latest re-mastered albums on there. In a lot of cases Remastered = Louder and Harsher, so I prefer the original mastered versions on CD. Also, if some artist has a row with the record company or streaming service, my music collection isn't going to disappear overnight.
Had Tidal for a while and when I started getting into hi-res audio I upgraded to the max package and have NOT regretted it one moment. I listen to it via a WiiM Mini hooked up via toslink to a Fosi DAC. Through my beyterdynamic DT770 Pro cans it sounds out of this world.
Tidal hifi plus is great! It has most music in HI-RES.
I’ve been using Tidal almost since its very beginning. It uses full sized flac files now on connect but also retains the MQA
Which there are a lot of haters, I however am not . I like the MQA’s and in some cases even more than the HI-RES flac . Despite the uncalled for hate MQA is the only format that considers the time domain throughout the entire delivery.
I used to have Spotify as well but have long since cancelled it as there was no point paying for something I didn’t use anymore.
Tidal sounds awesome. To top it off Tidal gives 50% discount to military active duty and veterans. Approx. $12US. Great deal!
Veterans discount will keep me at Tidal for HiFi Plus.
I changed last month from spotify to Qobuz...AMAZING!!!
I was not sure, what to choose...Tidal/Qobuz.
After some reviews I choose Qobuz, because it gots all I need and it got a clear communication in a each song, if I hear "CD" or "HiRes" quality.
I used tidal for years. I now subscribe to qobus for the following reasons, no bill creap and most importantly it sounds better less compression and more natural sound. Tidal interference and algorithm is superior to qobus but for me the sound will always take priority.
The main sell for Tidal HiFi Plus is Dolby Atmos Music, that’s how they got me. This may sound sacrilege but I’m fully embracing surround sound
Thanks John, a very helpful video; I've decided to step down to HiFi after seeing this. A saving almost as large as my annual Roon subscription.
One thing you didn’t address is whether or not paying for the hi res tier pays the artists more. I love that tidal is somewhat transparent with which artists are receiving the money from me each month. As you’ve noted before $20/month is dirt cheap when you think about what someone paid in the 90s. So if the artist is getting more and I’m getting maybe a few extra streams in high res I think it’s a win win.
The main reason why i subscribed Tidal (instead of its competitors) is it is the streaming platform that pays artists the best/ most.
but tidal only has 11% of the digital market. In the end, the one that pays the most is Spotify, which is why it reaches close to 60% of the digital public. You earn more money because there are more people.
@@RitmoMusiquero i don't mean globally of course. of course if you have more customers, in the global scheme you pay more. (and earn much more also) i mean per stream. big artists earn more because they get a big part of the cake without even being listened to. of course that part of the cake comes at the cost of smaller artists that earn less and less. spotify is the worst in this context. of course the app itself, layout, algorythm etc. is a completely different story.
Totally agree with your thoughts and the lack of value of Hi-Fi Plus.
Back when I was a young boy, we got lossless audio in boxes, cd boxes, and it lasted the lifetime of your listening attention. Some would even dare to say the music was better back then👀😲
It’s even an easier choice now …. Come April 10, in the US at least, Tidal Hifi Plus will be $10.99 … tidal cd quality and hi res will be combined into one price / tier 😂 Spotify HIFI no more
Same for me in the UK too, result!
No way! Will this be for everyone? I just signed up for the 60 day trial for $2 for the Hi-Fi. Wooooo well that's great news, I am still keeping my YT music for those unofficial tracks!!!!!
Here's the easiest way to get a Roon-like transition from your mobile phone to your home stereo system without using Roon. You will need a Wiim (Mini, Pro, or Plus) and MConnect on your mobile device. MConnect will play locally on the device, then when you wish to connect to your home system, choose "Play to" and make a UPNP connection to the Wiim and you're done. Very similar to what you're doing with the FiiO. All without the monthly cost for Roon and $1,000 for the FiiO. This only works with Tidal and Qobuz, but since the video was about Tidal, I figured it was worth passing along.
Thank you for this info - very much appreciated
try JPLAY, same concept just more streamlined
Also consider how you are listening. If you mostly listen on wireless headphones without LDAC codec or similar, you dont really need anything better than mp3 320 kbit
I'm currently using TIDAL and Qobuz. I like that TIDAL doubles the royalty that it pays the artists over everyone else. I also enjoy the music that TIDAL picks for me when I choose "go to track radio". Occasionally, I've noticed that Qobuz might have an old esoteric album that I want to hear. Occasionally, Qobuz might offer a better version of the recording. But, if I can only choose one, I choose TIDAL.
I stopped using Tidal for a while now. Back to playing cd's and personal rips. Done with all those terrible remasters which are brickwalled like crazy. Hunting down for OG or repressings of cd's is quite fun
I started with Tidal hi-fi because USB Audio Pro used it. Got a Wiim Pro with Tidal connect as well. It sounds great to me and never felt the need to upgrade. I buy the hi-res or sometimes CD if I find it super cheap used. Some albums I just want to own.
Im a hifi plus subscriber , works great with my mola mola tambaqui DAC and also my other devices ... I love it 😊
the music I listen to was made in the 80s and 90s, cd quality is the best I can get for this. the built in music player in my pixel 8 pro does a wonderful job playing this quality of music.
I went for Qobuz. It's European, no MQA. cheaper than Tidal in the Netherlands. Qobuz is slowly getting better. Recently added song radio and recommendations are getting better. Qobuz will come with a connect function eventually. You didn't mention Amazon.
Thanks, your video made them merge both tiers for the price of the cheaper one :D
Thoroughly enjoy the standard hi fi tier with a nice 40% military discount. Sounds wonderful on my vintage gear thru Topping e30 dac. None of the other services offers this discount.
For years Spotify promised a high res option was coming. Well it's 2024 and still haven't released a higher quality version.
Yeah that sucks I've been waiting for it for the longest don't seems it's going to happen
Gave up Tidal for Qobuz. Pretty happy and transfer from Qobuz to Apple music for in car play. Roon at home…and vinyl 😊
I fully agree with you with your 3 points on tidal and also regarding the hifi plus I also think its not worth the money for just few hires flac files which is a very small percent. I also use Qobuz only under Roon. It has more hires files than tidal.
I don't suppose you have a source for the number of hi-res files on Qobuz? I think many of us would like to see that. 🙂
No unfortunately I don’t but I converted a tidal playlist to a Qobuz playlist and many songs after being converted into Qobuz were in hires. When I looked at the same playlist with hifi plus subscription that particular playlist had very few hires files In tidal. I don’t know may be it was due to a transition time from mqa to hires
I use Tidal for classic and new Music. The HIFI only Tidal is my Choice, the reasons are exactly told in the vlog.
After 40 years of re-purchasing my favorite music about every 10 years from (70 Vinyl), (80 tapes), (90 CD), (00 MP3) I am NOT going to buy my music (yet again) in Hi-Res format! Fool me (4) times...that's enough.
I love streaming music services, am perfectly happy with CD quality audio so I'll pay for that rate, but that collection of CDs will stay with me for at least it is actually mine!
What's on a streaming service can be taken off the service just like that and disappear, tough luck on you.
So hang on to your collection!
Thank you for saving me 14€ on my Tidal Family subscription! Great information as always!
On my smartphones and tablets I tend to download the songs I like best onto my device so I’m not streaming them over the internet when I listen just to remove that variable from the listening experience and to avoid cellular costs or poor wifi connections.
For me, Tidal was the only streaming app that works just fine on my main setup (android tv> reciver).
The key difference for me is the availability of Dolby Atmos on some albums.
One thing I would chance on Tidal is it's Tidal Connect, as it won't pass HiRess nor Atmos, only "HiFi", and that's why I mainly use it directly from the native app on the tv (or Google TV Chromecast)
Sure it does. I have a Wiim Plus pro and it plays all my Hi-Res from Tidal.
@@jamiejade1971 well, from my phone direct to the streaming box (o Chromecast w/GoogleTV) it only works on "HiFi" quality. But, if I open the native app on Google TV, it does play everything and every format.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, AirPlay does indeed have a handoff/connect feature, but it requires either an Apple TV or HomePod/homepod mini. HomePod is the simplest to use in this way, you can just tap the HomePod mini, tap the popup, then tap the AirPlay menu when it starts to move the sound to your hi-fi AirPlay end point, then remove the HomePod from the list, voila.
It's great that you can manage your Tidal library with a free account so you can move stuff from Spotify or Apple Music to Tidal at your own pace.
While I struggle for a year and can’t decide for tidal, tidal plus or qobuz, WiiM mini through a descent DAC and Amazon HD do the job for me. This is tidal connect-ish. Somehow to me. Can’t afford roon in money and time, tried trial periods on all mentioned plus apple and Spotify. Didn’t like last both for the Interface, which is almost as important as the sound quality to me. Qobuz is my favorite for the app design or tidal non-plus. Yes, video helped me to exclude one more from my list. Thanks, John!
Well articulated.
Once you've accounted for the negligible difference in sound quality and limited library, I'm happy to stay a Hifi subscribers.
Ooh, Whipping Boy *AND* Secret Machines? Ah yes, a man of class...
Also, make sure your DAC has at least 16 bits of dynamic range (96db) to be able to convert a CD quality stream correctly...
Excellent breakdown. I am looking forward to the playlist. Those alone are worth joining the Patreon. Thanks
If I have to choose between Tidal hifi or + I choose Qobuz
Thanks for that good podcast with Peter👍🙏
Qobuz. Tidal was good when it was Norwegian. When Jay-Z became a partner, everything went south. I had Spotify almost from the time they were formed, but the sound never evolved. Qobuz is a fabulously good streaming service.
WIMP 😚
Tidal Jay-Z 😒
Lies again? Teddy Bear AMWF Car
I'm a Quboz man myself but I think it's funny you blame Jay-Z for whatever Tidal's problems are 😂
Thanks for this content, saved me some cash! I was on the hifi plus family at $30 and now $17!
One thing to remember is if you have an Apple TV you can do the same thing and pass off the streaming service to your Apple TV from your phone instead of streaming through AirPlay. This is extremely beneficial if you have surroundsound, and would like to access your Atmos content over the HDMI.
In The Netherlands it is €10,99 and €19,99 (from the iOS app €13,99 and €25,99) 😕
Yep, same in Ireland... and most of Europe.
Good analysis. I question how the high rez, for example 24/96 and 24/192 are created. Are they simply over sampled or somehow rezzed up from the cd base quality? What information exists to know this ? How much normalization is applied?
You can't add data to make a cd-quality lossless file a hi-res lossless file.
I learned about Roon a couple of years ago from this channel. I was already a Tidal subscriber. I LOVE these two together. Roon Radio is the best for the reasons you describe.
I’ve used Tidal Hi-Fi tier for over a year now after I switched from Spotify. And I went for the Hi-Fi tier for the reasons you mentioned in this video.
Really really good stuff , expertly presented ..What Darko a star you are 👍🥂
I'm from the future as I post, but in the past when you read it. Stupid time. Now it is all plus. On my 2 months trial. defo keeping it. Not sure I can cancel my youtube sub, but feeling okay with the new Tidal pricing. Shaking up the game.
Hi John,
I appreciate all you give, so if I request a bit more from you, don't take it the wrong way. First, I looked through your playlists to try to find the video, because if you already made it, then I can just watch it. When you look through your playlists, do they look like a mess? Maybe, they could be more organized.
Anyway, the video I want to see is one on how to treat a room, for acoustics, with materials you already have on hand or materials that you can buy cheaply at the superstore or hardware store. I don't even know how to phrase it for a search. Thanks for your hard work in scripting, filming, editing and dealing with the Google.
Louis
A completely fair and honest take about Tidal +. You probably talked a lot of people into realizing Plus offers no real additional value and did them a favor.
Darko, you recommended Tidal years ago and I love it. I use hifi because my system isn’t resolving enough and it works well with Volumio.
I suspected as much with HI-FI plus and I thank you for the analysis and answering an on going question I've had with my subscription. With my mid-fi equipment I think I'll downgrade and try the service with CD quality and see if I notice. Thanks!
I use Tidal for Sony 360 Audio tracks that you can have only on the hi-fi plus tier. I play them on Sony HT A9 and sound impressive.
So, I just ended my 2 months trial with Tidal hi-fi Plus. While I guess it may be worth the additional money for the Plus tier, there's a bigger issue with Tidal. While Apple and Spotify (other's I've used) have been pretty much agnostic on the content they provide, Tidal is to a great extent a vehicle for Jay Z, Beyonce, Doja Cat, and various others who make "music" in this genre, to push their new releases. It's actually pretty extreme. While I had no issues with the technical quality of what Tidal was offering, the constant use of this paid service as an advertising medium for a small group of "artists" was really not ok.
I'm currently trialing Apple music and find the quality to be more than acceptable, but without the persistent bias that Tidal had. Spotify might be another good choice, but from what I understand the technical quality of their platform is not up to the level of Apple or Tidal.
Thanks so much John. I was on the Plus plan and I can't stream Hi Res material anyway! Just saved me a bundle! 👍
Pet Shop Boys 🤩. A man after my own heart.
I tried Qobuz trial period and just couldn't commit as it doesn't do two things Tidal does...1) doesn't have the artist's top tracks as an option, and 2) doesn't have similar artist radio which I think is great. you can only select albums from the artists which I thought sucked....also a biggie for me is if you have a student in college it's only 10.00/month for hi-fi-plus
my easy choice is Qobuz ❤, great sound, great interface 🇳🇱
Great video thanks Darko!
Yep, easy choice, it's Qobuz Sublime for me.
I noticed an NAD M66 in the background. Is there a review of that coming soon?
Thanks John, it helps us to know what we're getting for our money when we're first approaching these platforms. I think they're great for discovery , and to give a little bit to the artist when we play their songs, but my curated collection of music will always be offline and local: I can't abide the arbitrary substitions and deletions that come with the cloud.
I went from Tidal Hi-Fi to Hi-Fi Plus a month ago but I am swapping back to the lower tier. Ever since "upgrading" have had constant issues playing songs/playlists with long pauses and interruptions and I didn't experience this before. Also I'm in the UK so Hi-Fi Plus is £19.99, LOL at the Portuguese pricing. Will go back to Amazon HD Unlimited if the issues with streaming persist post downgrade.
The podcast with Peter Comeau was shockingly educational and interesting 🎉 Enjoyed and learned a lot.
Thanks John.
I subscribe to both Tidal and Qobuz, because Tidal has the better interface and collection but Qobuz sounds better to me, even with my very modest gear.
That might be due to the way the respective apps interact with the audio APIs of the OS on which they run, but even with very modest gear I can hear the difference.
I just want to have the fuller library of song radio of Tidal but also want to sometimes enjoy the higher quality of Qobuz.
Thanks John, an interesting analysis and perspective.
You're videos are very good
Swerve-ball question @DarkoAudio, I'd love to know which Andy Weatherall w/ Daniel Avery Soundcloud mix that was? Artwork suggests from 'A Love From Outer Space' club night. Thanks in advance.
As an ex-subscriber, I still can't forgive Tidal for inflicting that failed lossy MQA codec on us when we were asking for the high res originals. It has taken them far too long to ditch that crap.
Their original sin, and a tax on much hardware since.
Say what you will, some tracks sounded better with MQA magic, than their FLAC reissue, to my ears.
Or you could move on and listen to great music
And dont forget all the lying and false advertising claims about MQA being lossless..
These videos are great John. I was torn between Apple Music (as an apple user) and tidal/qobuz. I hadn’t appreciated the power of tidal connect as a function. Works great with my node x and has resolved the argument. I’ve used SongShift to move playlists from apple to tidal and works great.
In germany tidal hifi goes for 10,99€ and hifi plus for 19,99
I see some GoldenEar speakers behind...can't wait to see them.
Can you at some point at doing a video on the following item ( miniDSP 2x4HD )
In the Netherlands the prices are much higher, 10,99 versus 19,99. The choice is even easier then.
Thanks for your observations very good to know! I have the WiiM pro using optical into Denafrips Ares12. I have to admit I now enjoy the music equally no matter the source, vinyl or CD, or Amazon music. The question is will the WiiM pro scale if I went to a Pontus12 or even a Terminator? Have you ever tried the WiiM pro with the Mola Mola DAC, I think you have one? Is it possible the WiiM scales with an uber high performance DAC? Could be a great episode, gather 3 or 4 cheap streamers you probably have available and try them with an Uber DAC. Thanks for sharing and what you do!
I use Qobuz over Tidal, prefer the sound quality versus Tidal. Plus paying monthly subscription fee of $12.99 Seems like a good deal to me.
I am an avid Roon user. Probably a little obsessed is a more apt description. I had both Tidal & Qobuz integrated for a couple of years. At the height of Tidal and their MQA marketing. For me, I found about half a dozen artists on Tidal that Qobuz skipped for whatever reason. That half dozen wasn't worth carrying both services. And I could get as far away from the Tidal MQA BS. Qobuz Hi-Res library is good enough when I want to dip my toe in those waters. My 2 cents worth.
Good info. Especially on Tidal connect. I've used Apple Music a lot in the past but had tidal previously and really enjoyed it. I do wonder if it really matters cd vs master when using an iPhone or Bluetooth codes ? Also, Tidal plays nice with PLEX which is another reason I've thought about throwing my money back its way. I do wish Tidal offered an a yearly subscription vs monthly which apple does and saves you a few dollars per year.
Looking forward to NAD m66 review!
You forgot to mention that hifi plus also pays 10% of your monthly subscription fee to your most listened to artist each month. While not a benefit for the end user and most aren't going to care, some of us do.
I didn't forget to mention it. That 10% payout programme was discontinued last year.
Oh. That’s a shame. That was one of the reasons I chose Hi-Fi Plus.
@@DarkoAudio That was the only reason I was subscribed. I'm switching down a tier today, I appreciate you. Maybe I'll even just switch to TH-cam to get rid of the TH-cam ads.
An idea for a video is exploring the "better CD options" like Blu Spec CD2, UHQCD, SHM-CD, XRCD and SACD. I have no idea if we can hear the difference compared to a regular CD and if it's worth it at a higher price.
You frequently mention that this hi-fi hobby is budget independent for each listener. For someone who spends thousands on gear, particularly headphones, it’s worth five bucks a month to find those 10 songs where the instrument placement is a little clearer or you hear that symbol that you can’t hear in lower res. A spreadsheet can’t tell you how to get the biggest smile listening to Aja again.
Monsieur Darko you are the boss! Just what I needed to chose vs qobuz finally 👏🏾
The hi rez question I want answered is are they true hi Rez or simply upsampled?
You’ve got me thinking now. I pay for plus, which I enjoy. I wonder if there is a way switch back and forth between the 24 and 16 bit? IE; To test, is the difference I hear (on my gear) worth the extra money I’m paying….
Thanks. Very helpful. And another vote for a review of the Goldenear speakers.
Hi John, What do you think of Deezer? An annual subscription will cost you € 108 in the Netherlands. The streams are in CD quality. The music ilibrary is huge. But Deezer is never mentioned in all kinds of reviews. A little more about TIDAL. ( I have a trial subscription ) TIDAL sounds very LOUD!!!! At least on my audio equipment. ( NAD C388/BluOs 2i module/ Castle Avon 4 LS)
I think nobody talks about Deezer because of its small market share. As a Spotify and Deezer user for over 5 years, I can say that I have always found the same albums on Deezer that Spotify offered. Unlike Amazon Music, which has missing albums. I like rock, metal and blues and Deezer's collection is the same as Spotify's, at least in everything I listen to, and what's more, Deezer sounds great in CD quality.
Awesome Equipment. Im so jealous.😁 And love the video too
Excellent video thank you Blue sound Node for sponsoring, I love mine! After watching the question I have is does HIFI allow you to access older versions of albums that have not been remastered or is the access equal between the subscriptions? I agree remasters often suck. I am always disappointed when all I see is remaster versions of my preferred musician on Tidal HIFI plus.. Lastly seeing those Zu Soul 6 in the background warms my heart.