Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Meridian Sooloos 2.2 - TIDAL streaming

Well Tidal impressed me today. I had a text that Angel Snow's New single 'More than Ever' is on Spotify. So I checked Tidal and there it was, now added to my library.
This is a new sound for her, and I have to say, I love it. Played it three time straight.

So well done Tidal for having this there for me. Only last month she was at the LRB and did talk about her new sound coming soon.

Chris

Since the update I have tried a few Tidal albums and the Track 2 skipping issue has not occurred. I will keep trying tomorrow.

I did a post earlier to this effect but it has not appeared but hear goes as I think it's significant.

I have been trialling Tidal for 2 months now and have added albums to my Control:15 that are there in Rhapsody & CD. As you will see from my equipment I have Stax 009 electrostatics which are often touted as the best in the world. I find Tidal offers ZERO audible improvement to the Rhapsody or CD versions. My music is country which includes the full catalogue of Johnny Cash so to all noise aficionados it's minimalistic instrumentation with crucial upfront vocals.

There is a rare Carl smith album "Let's Live A Little" which is unplayable due to left sided interference but still shows when viewing in "queue" mode the full "HD" spec. This is not a knee jerk reaction I've compared dozens of albums. I was wondering if anyone else feels the same. It is the same through my 5200SE's.

In short I will not subscribe when the trial runs out & will stick with Rhapsody. I know I may have to go back when MQA arrives as I have heard that at Meridian & it's a must have. But Tidal for me at present cannot justify the difference in cost between Rhapsody & itself.

Alex

That's why you have a free trial. If it's not for you then that's that. Tidal is CD quality which in the streaming world is refered to as HD, as compared to MP3 it is NOT HD, but if you already own the albums you want in CD there is little point subscribing. Also if Rhapsody suits you, the same applies.

I think some competition is good for Tidal as I expect they will react to what the market will stand when it comes to price.

Thoughts, Chris

I sincerely hope you are right Chris with regard to the price.

I have completed a quick Sanity check, my "Artists" / "Albums" library recently played albums and Tidal album availability offering.

Artist List (12)
Brookes Williams
Monte Montgomery
Bruce Guthro
Rita Hosking
Robert Earl Keen
Alison Moorer
Isaac Guillory
Stephen Bennett
Terry Callier
Kepa Junkera
Hatful of Rain
Baskery

I was not surprised to find 84 to 57 albums in favour of my collection.

Tidal has a long way to go to compete with other streaming sources as far as my music taste goes. This comment has nothing to do with the AQ offered.

Just my observation Hector

One of the points I wanted to make Chris is that Rhapsody clearly is much better value at £6.50 a month than Tidal at £19.99 and Tidal may want to give this consideration to be competitive if others also find the difference in quality negligible. Also don't forget the trial is only available to Meridian purchasers as I understand it. People need as much feedback as possible before just assuming the price is right!

Alex

Nope, the 90 day free trial was with the latest Sooloos upgrade, So open to all. But I take your point on price. It is a competitive world.

Chris

Hi all,

I thought I'd layout the current options:

Tidal UK
- a 30 day free trial to all.
- a 90 day free trial to Meridian Sooloos users (just re-register a Sooloos device).

Tidal Try Now UK

TIDAL Premium 9.99 GBP a month Standard [320 kbps AAC] sound quality. High definition music videos.
TIDAL HiFi 19.99 GBP a month Lossless [CD] High Fidelity sound quality. High definition music videos.

Tidal USA
For the USA accounts it's 9.99 USD and 19.99 USD respectively.

Rhapsody UK aka Napster
Napster Pricing
PREMIER Listen and play any song, anywhere
14 day free trial, then just £10.00/month
Unlimited access to millions of songs

Rhapsody US
Rhapsody Pricing
PREMIER Listen and play any song, anywhere
14 day free trial, then just $9.99/month
Unlimited access to millions of songs

So looking at the lossy streaming service that they both support ... Tidal and Rhapsody are at the same price point.

Regards,
Carl

PS I never got on with lossy streaming in the home from an AQ point of view it always sounded flat, so I abandoned it a long time ago. I do now have a Tidal lossless account which I'm enjoying, whether I stick with it will depend on usage.

To be fair, Tidal Premium is 320 kbps AAC, not MP3, which is good enough for a number of scenarios (e.g. in your car). The point is still valid though.

Thanks for the post Carl but I must be missing something when you say Rhapsody & Tidal at same price point. I only pay £6.50 a month for Rhapsody and what hits my ears (which as far as I'm concerned makes the analysis of size/bits etc academic) is as good as Tidal at £19.99 per month. I just wanted others to make such a test before they dive in & commit just because of the hype & size of file.

I will subscribe to whoever streams MQA because I've experienced it & know what will hit my ears is worth the layout not because of the science (although that makes it possible of course) but because of the end product - THE SOUND!


Alex

If that's what you've found then fine.......but equally you need to be aware that many here and elsewhere have easily heard a difference between Rhapsody's maximum of 192kbps streams and the ~320kbps Streams from Tidal and Spotify

Likewise, they have also been able to appreciate the difference between the 320kbps and Lossless Streams available from Tidal

And Carl's point is that Rhapsody 192kbps (max) service costs £9.99 per month in the UK.......obviously at £6.50 ($9.99) per month, you must have signed up thru a US VPN or similar back door........while Tidal's 320kbps service also costs £9.99 per month [or £6.50 if you sign up thru a US VPN or similar]

So both Rhapsody and Tidal Lossy services ARE offered at the same price point in different countries.......which was Carl's point

One of the purposes of Tidal's 90-day trial is that people can listen and judge for themselves.......and see if they hear the differences that many here and elsewhere are able to hear thru their usually premium equipment.......if they don't hear the differences, then there is Tidal's Lossy service.......or several other Lossy services out there to subscribe to

I do hear a significant difference in sound quality in Tidal tracks compared to the 320bps tracks I have on my system. This has me leaning towards keeping it after the trial is over. However, I use Rhapsody to provide background music while doing things around the house. Rhapsody's selection of Playlists and Channels are far superior to what Tidal offers at this point. I will probably end up keeping both as Tidal will keep me from filling up my closet with boxes of discs. Another plus is that it extends the life of the 500GB drive in my MC200.