[Taz777]

@Womaz Take a look at post #257 regarding the Astell & Kern A&Norma SR15 DAP: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/astell-kern-sr15-a-norma-impressions-reviews.885313/page-18

Additional info linked in that post is here: https://www.astellnkern.com/eng/content/support/faq/view.asp?li=1000606

So, not a roundabout implementation of TIDAL offline for that DAP, but some progress?

 

[Apatride]

I've emailed HiBy regarding their HiBy R3 network music player that seems to be specifically for TIDAL online mode. I've asked whether offline mode will be supported in the future. Given that this player is almost dedicated for use with TIDAL, and has the ability to use memory cards up to 2TB in size, I'm hoping that TIDAL offline mode is imminent. HiBy has recently announced MQA support for the R3 so the integration with TIDAL is even deeper now.

It's also a LOT more affordable than the HiBy R6.

Please keep updating this thread as I feel it's only a matter of time before we see a hardware music player that will support TIDAL offline mode.

It appears that the issue is Tidal not supporting 3rd party apps for offline play. Possibly because offline playing requires some sort of encryption so the tracks become unusable once they are removed from Tidal or the subscription has expired and helping a third party achieve this could make it easier for others to crack the encryption. Also, while the Android app is far from being perfect, especially on older Android versions (like what my Fiio X7 is running), Tidal's approach is probably that manufacturers should try to run Android, which isn't an absurd stance.

 

[Womaz]

@Womaz Take a look at post #257 regarding the Astell & Kern A&Norma SR15 DAP: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/astell-kern-sr15-a-norma-impressions-reviews.885313/page-18

Additional info linked in that post is here: https://www.astellnkern.com/eng/content/support/faq/view.asp?li=1000606

So, not a roundabout implementation of TIDAL offline for that DAP, but some progress?

.

Thanks for the post , so now A&K have this option. Mind this is similar to what I have with the dx200 . I am no expert but always guessed that this is what is Meant by side loading

 

[Taz777]

.

Thanks for the post , so now A&K have this option. Mind this is similar to what I have with the dx200 . I am no expert but always guessed that this is what is Meant by side loading

I posted a series of questions in that thread that the AK representative kindly answered.

As I understand it: this week the embedded Tidal app will support MQA, but no offline. Some time next year it may. Currently offline Tidal works with a 'side-loaded' Tidal app, but that won't provide MQA. I may buy this DAP and then see if offline mode happens in 2019, if the DAP comes in at a good price over the Christmas/New Year period.

 

[ohsigmachi]

I use my LG V30+ as my DAP and it does Tidal offline(including MQA support) flawlessly. It came with 128gb of internal storage and I put another 256GB in it and I have about 140 MQA and hi-res albums on it currently as well as about 3 dozen playlists.

The quad-fi DAC/Amp package is about as good as you're going to ever really need in noisy commuter situations.

 

[Womaz]

I use my LG V30+ as my DAP and it does Tidal offline(including MQA support) flawlessly. It came with 128gb of internal storage and I put another 256GB in it and I have about 140 MQA and hi-res albums on it currently as well as about 3 dozen playlists.

The quad-fi DAC/Amp package is about as good as you're going to ever really need in noisy commuter situations.

Yes I guess using my iPhone is an option as tidal works flawlessly on there . It would be a drop in sound quality from my dx200 but I try not to get massively hung up on that if the differences are small. I had this dilemma about 18 months ago and decided to go for a dedicated DAP.

So far then it appears that the situation has not changed that mush really. On a DAP tidal has to be side loaded to be able to download and store the albums on the player itself.

Great posts guys, thank you

 

[ohsigmachi]

Yes I guess using my iPhone is an option as tidal works flawlessly on there . It would be a drop in sound quality from my dx200 but I try not to get massively hung up on that if the differences are small. I had this dilemma about 18 months ago and decided to go for a dedicated DAP.

So far then it appears that the situation has not changed that mush really. On a DAP tidal has to be side loaded to be able to download and store the albums on the player itself.

Great posts guys, thank you

Has Apple enabled MQA decoding? That is probably the only real-world drawback to using a high end phone with a decent internal DAC/amp.

 

[Womaz]

Has Apple enabled MQA decoding? That is probably the only real-world drawback to using a high end phone with a decent internal DAC/amp.

I don’t think so but i guess this wouldnt concern me . I would try my I phone but I don’t have the headphone adapter .......I may look for it. The annoying thing is tidal works flawlessly on my phone and there is no lag. The screen is brighter and easier to read and negotiate

 

[Taz777]

I got a reply back to my questions from HiBy regarding the R3.

Q. Can it be used in TIDAL offline mode?
A. R3 cannot support Tidal Offline currently.

Q. I already have a DAC and headphone amplifier. Can the HiBy R3 act simply as a digital audio device, sending the digital audio from TIDAL to my external DAC via a USB connection?
A. You can use USB Audio out from R3 to the USB port of your DAC, but you can only do online audio streaming via TIDAL

Q. When will you have stock of the other colour options (i.e. red or grey)?
A. The other colors do not in stock currently, we are manufacturing now. It's black color available now.

 

[Womaz]

Looks like A&K DAPs are now Tidal compatible......surely all of them will follow suit.

 

[Taz777]

Resurrecting this thread for 2019.

I've been talking to FiiO and it seems like their FiiO M9 player can do Tidal in offline mode. I need to research this a bit more though as I want to see if there's a built-in Tidal app AND that built-in Tidal app does offline mode. I'm not into all this 'side-loading' so just want to switch the player on, listen to my Tidal music using a native Tidal app, and store some of it offline in the player for when I'm travelling.

The FiiO M9 has two AKM DACs so, in theory, should sound quite nice.

There's a thread for this player in these forums here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...d-ldac-hwa-lhdc-usb-dac-usb-audio-out.886226/

 

[KevDzn]

I"ve been using onkyo dp x1 for more than 3 years and very happy with it. And especially for tidal it's a no brainer, offline and online works great. And you can also offline mqa (masters) files.

 

[Taz777]

I"ve been using onkyo dp x1 for more than 3 years and very happy with it. And especially for tidal it's a no brainer, offline and online works great. And you can also offline mqa (masters) files.

That's good to know. Do you know whether there's an updated version of that player with the same capability?

 

[KevDzn]

Dp x1A is the updated version. You can check out the full spec on onkyo's website.
It's runs on android with access to Google playstore and it also comes with 2.5mm balance output.

 

[Apatride]

Dp x1A is the updated version. You can check out the full spec on onkyo's website.
It's runs on android with access to Google playstore and it also comes with 2.5mm balance output.

Unfortunately, internal memory is decreased quite a lot, which means you have to rely on sdcards, which often leads to the issue of Spotify or Tidal reverting to internal memory for offline storage on reboot (due to the fact that their handling processes start before the external sdcard is mounted), making the sdcard useless when it comes to Spotify/Tidal...