Tidal Lossless Streaming

[Sonic Defender]

ive noticed more than just louder.like for instance i was listening to led zeppelin stairway to heaven and page solo was a bit sharper and most recognizable to me was bonham's drumming that leads out of the solo hit much harder.so far i have only found a difference with the stronger points of songs like solos,base lines are a tad bit more recognizable,and when the drummer really is getting on the drums hard. To me things like that are what i have noticed.i set spotify at the exact time the solo started as well as tidal.i would listen to one until solo was over and then the other.i did notice a difference. Its hard to tell throughout a whole song but bits and pieces sood out when i compared them. I have a lot more music to compare but so far im not sure if its worth another $120 a year.

Try having somebody help you, set everything up so that volume levels are matched really closely. Then do multiple trials blind listening. See if the differences remain so clear. If something is very subtle with sighted listening, it likely will disappear when listening blind. Worth testing, but the volume has to match very, very closely.

 

[9bphillips]

Try having somebody help you, set everything up so that volume levels are matched really closely. Then do multiple trials blind listening. See if the differences remain so clear. If something is very subtle with sighted listening, it likely will disappear when listening blind. Worth testing, but the volume has to match very, very closely.

i have been changing the volume levels. To me so far tidal makes me tap my foot an nod my head a lil more. Its just got a little more punch or aggressiveness if thats even a word!lol. Honestly so far i would be satisfied with either but certain songs have made me lean towards tidal.the differences i heard were all when i listened to both several times so its not easy to hear a difference unless you compare several times.with blind testing i know it would be very hard to tell. Thx for the input.im definitely going to try that out.ive got 28 more days so im sure ill be doing a lot of listening considering i have my iem in all day at work. I have listened to live albums so far. Les zeppelin bbc sessions and allman brothers live at the fillmore east.im about to tone it down with some acoustic albums and see what i hear.

 

[9bphillips]

One thing that is tricky is all albums arent available in hi-fi. Ive had to pay attention.

 

[canali]

One thing that is tricky is all albums arent available in hi-fi. Ive had to pay attention.

I don't understand...if it's set to hi-fi all bitrates are 1440/CD quality for all songs...it doesn't swap back and forth between 320kps and 1440kps

 

[9bphillips]

I don't understand...if it's set to hi-fi all bitrates are 1440/CD quality for all songs...it doesn't swap back and forth between 320kps and 1440kps

some albums arent available at all on hifi.when i 1st got this app the setting was stuck on normal and i couldnt figure out why so i went to settings,manage subscription, and help i types in audio setting stuck on normal and it didnt answer my question but it did say that if the hifi signal is grey its not on hifi and if its white it is.ive downloaded some albums and sure nuff it had hi fi in grey.so i compared it to spotify and there was basically no difference. When hifi was white and i compared it their were differences.

 

[sonitus mirus]

ive noticed more than just louder.like for instance i was listening to led zeppelin stairway to heaven and page solo was a bit sharper and most recognizable to me was bonham's drumming that leads out of the solo hit much harder.so far i have only found a difference with the stronger points of songs like solos,base lines are a tad bit more recognizable,and when the drummer really is getting on the drums hard. To me things like that are what i have noticed.i set spotify at the exact time the solo started as well as tidal.i would listen to one until solo was over and then the other.i did notice a difference. Its hard to tell throughout a whole song but bits and pieces sood out when i compared them. I have a lot more music to compare but so far im not sure if its worth another $120 a year.

I can't speak for the streaming services, but I have not been able to hear any differences between an mp3 (Lame V0) or 24/96 file with the latest Led Zeppelin masters.  Good chance you aren't hearing any difference other than volume and placebo.  The characteristics you mention are similar descriptors that are usually found to be false when blind tested.  

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I can't speak for the streaming services, but I have not been able to hear any differences between an mp3 (Lame V0) or 24/96 file with the latest Led Zeppelin masters.  Good chance you aren't hearing any difference other than volume and placebo.  The characteristics you mention are similar descriptors that are usually found to be false when blind tested.  

People seriously underestimate the power of suggestion/expectation, despite it having been demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt through literally thousands of experiments across multi-disciplines for decades. I conducted a 7 subject, multi trial, blind listening test at a local head-fi meet I organized. As many factors as possible were controlled for. In the testing nobody did better than 50% at picking the 320 mp3 version versus the lossless master it was made from. Two of the subjects went into the experiment so sure they could tell the difference as they had "tested themselves" many times at home (sighted listening tests of course) and as such they were completely confident in their ability to discriminate lossless from lossy.
 
One other subject, an engineer with Bell was convinced that even 16bit files were bad and only listened to 24bit files so he was also completely convinced that a 320 mp3 file would be very obvious. The point is as you know, that when we remove the knowledge from the listener as to what file is what they simply have to guess. That is why multiple trials per subject are important as people are guessing so if you only do a few trials, well, people can get lucky and guess correctly.
 
I would wager that many if not all of the 24bit re-issues of albums are mastered a little louder which will shade our perception to feel they sound better. I still like Tidal, but I don't pay for service above 320AAC as I could never hear the difference. When I first started with Tidal I paid for the lossless, but when I tried to test I couldn't hear a difference so I saved the money. If others hear a difference and want to pay the money more power to them, I'm not telling them not to enjoy what they like.

 

[edwardsean]

  Yes mate, don't give up hope, just don't hold your breath. It is a monumental task to return to master session files and create new masters. They will likely simply do so moving forward and for the past library only do what data suggests is the most popular music which may or may not be what you like. We can only hope, not to mention I would still bet that if mastering volumes are left alone telling the difference between MQA files and others will be pretty darn difficult to pick out in blind listening tests. Again IMO.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind a gradual rollout starting with pop material. Like a lot of people here, my musical tastes run the gambit: Coltrane to Sibelius to Radiohead to playlists the look like they've been made by a 15 year old girl. 
 
I'm sure you're right about the subtlety of the difference the MQA will bring. However, it may not be as subtle to us you know? We have the gears and ears to appreciate the kinds of things that MQA should bring. For better or worse, at this point in this hobby/habit, I instinctively listen for subtitles of resolution, imaging, plankton, etc. And, once you reach a certain level with your equipment, you are paying–a lot–of money for small, subtle improvements. When those improvements come for free, it's just the best. 
 
I felt that way when I first switched to Tidal Hifi. I still had a lot of tracks on 256 AAC at the time. All of a sudden having them at lossless was like getting a bump in the DAC section for no extra money then I was spending on music. If MQA makes good on the early reviews, and they don't increase the price, I'm hoping for that same "free" bump with the MQA decoder I already have. 

 

[9bphillips]

I can't speak for the streaming services, but I have not been able to hear any differences between an mp3 (Lame V0) or 24/96 file with the latest Led Zeppelin masters.  Good chance you aren't hearing any difference other than volume and placebo.  The characteristics you mention are similar descriptors that are usually found to be false when blind tested.  

i changed the volumes going back and forth between tidal and spotify.im positive i could hear a difference. It was a slighy difference.i listened to certain pieces of the song several times to varify it.you wouldnt hardly be able to pick it out by listening to the whole entire song but when i picked out bits and pieces the differences where there for sure. I didnt hear differences in every song. Im listening ro nirvana live in new York now and i dont really hear a difference on most songs.only thing i can slightly hear is that some songs seem a lilttle tighter with the bass on tidal compared to spotify.on tidal some songs dont get as muddy when the bass hits. Ppl will hear what they hear.if it sounds better to you and you dont mind spending that extra 10 bucks then it will be worth it whether their is really a difference or if its all in your head.

 

[9bphillips]

Did you listen to whole songs or did you break it down bit by bit? Thats the only way ive been able to tell a difference. Beleive me when i say its not a huge difference but my ears hear it.

 

[sonitus mirus]

Did you listen to whole songs or did you break it down bit by bit? Thats the only way ive been able to tell a difference. Beleive me when i say its not a huge difference but my ears hear it.

 
I don't think it is productive to continue in this line of debate.  Tidal is lossless, and a great streaming service with a huge library and applications available on several software platforms.  What is potentially equivalent in sound quality is just speculation. If anyone enjoys Tidal lossless and appreciates the sound quality over any other streaming service, for whatever reason, it shouldn't matter.  The student and military discounts are fantastic for those that qualify.  It's not for me, as I feel that alternative streaming solutions offer more of what I want, but I have enjoyed Tidal and will most likely use it again in the near future.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
I don't think it is productive to continue in this line of debate.  Tidal is lossless, and a great streaming service with a huge library and applications available on several software platforms.  What is potentially equivalent in sound quality is just speculation. If anyone enjoys Tidal lossless and appreciates the sound quality over any other streaming service, for whatever reason, it shouldn't matter.  The student and military discounts are fantastic for those that qualify.  It's not for me, as I feel that alternative streaming solutions offer more of what I want, but I have enjoyed Tidal and will most likely use it again in the near future.

I agree mate, I really like Tidal and I hope others enjoy it also, regardless of their views on this subject. Enjoy the music as they say. Cheers to all.

 

[MikePio]

I just got the HiFi membership on Tidal and so far I have been really impressed with the quality. Most of my audio collection is on CD but comparing both I couldn't really tell a difference. My set-up is the Iphone5s > Marantz CD6005 USB > AT-HA5000 > HD800 (classic). Also I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of music available since I listen to ambient/classical/electronica and they had some pretty rare releases that I didn't expect them to have. I would definitely recommend anyone to give it a try, you have one month free trial version. Now I can enjoy more music and spent majority of the day on the sofa

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[9bphillips]

I don't think it is productive to continue in this line of debate.  Tidal is lossless, and a great streaming service with a huge library and applications available on several software platforms.  What is potentially equivalent in sound quality is just speculation. If anyone enjoys Tidal lossless and appreciates the sound quality over any other streaming service, for whatever reason, it shouldn't matter.  The student and military discounts are fantastic for those that qualify.  It's not for me, as I feel that alternative streaming solutions offer more of what I want, but I have enjoyed Tidal and will most likely use it again in the near future.

i completely agree with you.whatever someone likes and thinks sounds the best is what they should go for. For me im bot sure if the difference is enough to get me to swap.spotify is a great app and ive been using it for a long time. I have 28 more days with tidal so ive got time to listen and think about if that extra $10 is worth it. One thing i havnt liked about tidal though is a couple of albums i have on spotify i cant get on tidal or they have songs on an album left off. That drives me nuts not to have the whole album whether i listen to every song or not! Another downside is tidal will take up sooo much room on my phone with 1440/cd files!

 

[Sonic Defender]

  music and spent majority of the day on the sofa

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You going to turn into a couch potato mate, be careful or you'll gain weight.