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Who has tried "TIDAL" vs other streaming applications?

Hello, I'm new to Audiogon, this is my first posting into Forums.

I enjoy streaming audio from my PC and have been using Spotify for a number of years now (college student discount to premium $5 a month). I just recently stumbled upon a App called TIDAL, that streams Lossless 16/44.1FLAC with their "HI-FI" subscription (Student $10 a month). Since I can queue up Spotify and Tidal at the same time, I was able to do an A/B and used Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. I noticed that TIDAL indeed sounds better to me but am convinced none of my family members could tell a difference. I then did an A/B with TIDAL and the actual Brothers in Arms CD, to my surprise TIDAL sounded scary close, if not just as good as the CD! This is hard for me to believe, I think I'm just trying to justify the extra cost of TIDAL on a crazy tight student budget, maybe its a placebo effect? I need to drop one of the services, but which one? I would appreciate your thoughts please... Thank you!
My system:
PC = Gaming Rig I built myself, using dedicated high quality audio card.
Krell KAV 400xi integrated
Sonus Faber Electa's with Sunfire HRS Sub
Cambridge AZUR 840C CDP/DAC
Luxman T117 Tuner
Sony SCD - C2000ES SACD Player
Kimber Silver Streak throughout  


grm
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
4,637 posts
 
Tidal is amazing in sound quality, just so wonderful. Coupled with Roon it sounds far better and as good or better than a cd played on a $4000 transport I owned. Roon combined with Tidal is the best digital I have heard to date. Roon may be out of reach for a college student, but others please take note. 

I tried computer based  audio and left it dismayed a couple of years ago. However with the advent of Roon, Tidal, and today's one box servers, computer front ends can be something altogether superior. Great times for us music lovers! 


grannyring's avatar
grannyring
4,637 posts
 
Forgot to mention that I use the Music Vault Ultra Plus as my server. It comes with a lifetime Roon membership. The sound quality of my ripped CDs and Tidal is just so enjoyable with this set-up. The Tidal SQ is as good as my DB Poweramp ripped CDs! I do prefer my DSD downloads to Tidal however. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
4,637 posts
 
Grm, yes your ears are to be trusted. No need to buy anymore CDs! Tidal is loaded with all kinds of music for you to explore and enjoy and all from the screen of your phone or tablet. 

When you are able, add Roon and you will be astounded by the sonics. Roon has interesting liner notes, pictures, lyrics etc... And all are a simple click away. 


grm OP
72 posts
 
Hello again,
To answer the question regarding how my PC is connected to my system, I'm using a 280 Glass Fiber TOSLINK cable running at 96khz according to my CDP/DAC. Though the CDP/DAC displays 96khz (the highest TOSLINK can go I think) it says my bit depth is =<20bit, so I'm not sure what the bit depth is exactly, and the App for my card allows you to select either 44.1, 48, and 96khz max for the output but no selection for how many Bits. I tried using a COAX SPDIF interface, but ended up with a real nasty Hum (bad ground loop) so that was fixed with the TOSLINK. Lastly, can somebody explain to me a bit more on what Roon is? I'll have to Google it?
grm OP
72 posts
 
Just watched 32min Roon demo on YT, way cool! Its unfortunate that you can't do a one time download of the App, rather its another annual subscription, another $120 a year - too deep for my pockets at this time. I loved the way it integrated with TIDAL, maybe someday!
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