Tidal Lossless Streaming

[Wurstteppich]

Hi,

I am searching for a device which lets me stream music located on my Synology NAS as well as from Tidal over to my Pioneer U-05 headphone amp/DAC combo. The device should be able to be controlled via Android app, so don't need to sit next to it or need a monitor or other input devices. Price should be not more than 1.5k. Any ideas? The Auralic Aries would be a candidate, but I am wondering if there are alternatives?

 

[Krutsch]

Hi,

I am searching for a device which lets me stream music located on my Synology NAS as well as from Tidal over to my Pioneer U-05 headphone amp/DAC combo. The device should be able to be controlled via Android app, so don't need to sit next to it or need a monitor or other input devices. Price should be not more than 1.5k. Any ideas? The Auralic Aries would be a candidate, but I am wondering if there are alternatives?

Consider a Sonos Connect for $350 US. Seriously.
 
Your NAS library and TIDAL will playback flawlessly (limited to 44.1/48 kHz/16-bit, if that matters to you); the Android app is very stable, easy to use and allows you to search across everything you have / are subscribed to, simultaneously.
 
If you need to be more "audiophile" about it, run the Sonos digital out through a re-clocker before your DAC/amp combo (I do this with a Wyred4Sound Remedy), but you don't need this step; I'm just a gadget freak.

 

[Chikolad]

Hi,

I am searching for a device which lets me stream music located on my Synology NAS as well as from Tidal over to my Pioneer U-05 headphone amp/DAC combo. The device should be able to be controlled via Android app, so don't need to sit next to it or need a monitor or other input devices. Price should be not more than 1.5k. Any ideas? The Auralic Aries would be a candidate, but I am wondering if there are alternatives?

 
If you use a computer you can try the Roon software (https://roonlabs.com/). It merges your music library with your Tidal library seamlessly and it has an Android remote (for tablets only at this point).

 

[Cornan]

Hi,

I am searching for a device which lets me stream music located on my Synology NAS as well as from Tidal over to my Pioneer U-05 headphone amp/DAC combo. The device should be able to be controlled via Android app, so don't need to sit next to it or need a monitor or other input devices. Price should be not more than 1.5k. Any ideas? The Auralic Aries would be a candidate, but I am wondering if there are alternatives?

If you are looking for hardware solutions only that can play Tidal as well as music stored on a NAS device you could check Tidals FAQ for ideas https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/sections/200680222-Home-Audio-Players
I heard that Aurelic is a very nice device....so you already have a good choice there.

Edit: if you want to save some money I would look at JplayStreamer if you own a computer with Windows 8+ and a Android tablet which will IMO have the possibillity to give you the best possible SQ for the money (using BubbleDS Next on Android tablet) www.jplay.eu
You will have to use Asio Bridge and probably Fildelizer Pro as well (if you ask me). If you want less hassle and better usabillity (but more money) the Roon software is the way to go. Do not care for best SQ...only usabillity? Go for Aurelic, Bluesound or Sonos!
There is also a recent post by zilch0md regarding the USB Regen advantages on this thread that you could consider as well if you have no problem attaching USB cables (plus Regen and battery or linear PSU) to your Android tablet. However, I am not sure which app to use for the music on your NAS by this solution...but you might?

 

[asdfg]

WORST STREAMING SERVICE EVER. Seriously. Period. No elaboration needed.

 

[zilch0md]

^ Do tell us what you don't like about it relative to other services.  I value negative reviews more than positive, but I crave details.  

 

[bigbeard]

  ^ Do tell us what you don't like about it relative to other services.  I value negative reviews more than positive, but I crave details.  

If you really want to take market share away from spotify, you will have to do more than they do. There has to be a reason for people to move over. 
 
If I was the one making decisions at Tidal, I would do away with videos. The video era has been over for a long time; it is time to wake up. People just don't pay attention to music videos as they did in the 80's and 90's. Tidal is just wasting its own resources offering videos. People want to listen to music while working, driving, texting, etc.' they do not want to sit there and  watch videos. Make tracks and albums the spotlight of your apps, not the damn music videos. What are you guys thinking?
 
Offer the same pricing spotify does, but with the bitrate of tidal premium. Charge $10 a month for access, and $5 a month for students. Also include a competitive family plan, or better yet, allow simultaneous streaming when devices are connected to the same network, if possible. Offer free streaming with ads at 320kbps...then you will see a ton of spotify users move over.  

 

[lextek]

I'm back on Tidal after taking a month or so off. Missed it for discovery. When resigning up noticed they have an 1/2 price for students. Seems like a great deal.

 

[Cornan]

If you really want to take market share away from spotify, you will have to do more than they do. There has to be a reason for people to move over. 

If I was the one making decisions at Tidal, I would do away with videos. The video era has been over for a long time; it is time to wake up. People just don't pay attention to music videos as they did in the 80's and 90's. Tidal is just wasting its own resources offering videos. People want to listen to music while working, driving, texting, etc.' they do not want to sit there and  watch videos. Make tracks and albums the spotlight of your apps, not the damn music videos. What are you guys thinking?

Offer the same pricing spotify does, but with the bitrate of tidal premium. Charge $10 a month for access, and $5 a month for students. Also include a competitive family plan, or better yet, allow simultaneous streaming when devices are connected to the same network, if possible. Offer free streaming with ads at 320kbps...then you will see a ton of spotify users move over.  

I totally agree that the videos does'nt bring anything to the table...for me as well. However, I cannot see why anyone else would'nt mind? Maybe this feature should be something you play extra for by adding it? I am sure that Tidal would love to offer their service for the same price as Spotify...but cannot due to the music labels increased demands. If I could ask for anything I would prefer a music service only that would have the best options for SQ...ie lossless audio with bitperfect playback with same amount of music as Spotify offers and the abbility to share music and find new music. Other features could be purchased for an extra charge if you ask me.

 

[iamoneagain]

I think the only thing Tidal has on the other guys is sound quality and integration with Roon and soon to be Amarra.  They might also have integration with some audio hardware companies as well.  Not sure if just focusing on the audiophile market is enough though.  The rest of the consumers seem to think 256K AAC is equal to lossless.  That is until Apple finally provides lossless and tells them how much better it is with the latest Beats headphones.
 
Not sure why average consumers want high end monitors like 4K or even 5K but not lossless audio.  We were also told this monitor or this screen is the best your eye can see but yet they kept coming out with better and better screens and everyone says they can tell the difference.  But for audio, they keep publishing tests of people saying they can't.  Lossy is good enough.  Even if you sort of thought that, why not demand the best anyway.  Why settle.
 
With Tidal, you don't have to use lossless when you're on you cell data You can have it set to 320K for cell and lossless for wifi.  And then for your home setup, can have your pc hooked up to DAC and great speaker or headphone setup.  Does the average consumer no longer listen to music at home?  I guess at the very least Tidal needs to market to all the hi-fi magazine and audio shops and corner that market.  If they can make some dent there, perhaps Spotify and Apple will add lossless later and won't have to worry about having just one streaming service with great sound quality.
 
Also, if they can somehow not charge double for the hi-fi service, that would be great.  Don't think that price is regulated by the music companies, just think it's to help cover their extra cost for servers or something. But who knows.  Pretty sure Apple has all their files in lossless and even 24/96 on their servers but choose not to sell or stream at that level.  So not sure what extra cost is incurred to stream at higher level on their end.

 

[elvergun]

I totally agree that the videos does'nt bring anything to the table...for me as well. However, I cannot see why anyone else would'nt mind? Maybe this feature should be something you play extra for by adding it? I am sure that Tidal would love to offer their service for the same price as Spotify...but cannot due to the music labels increased demands. If I could ask for anything I would prefer a music service only that would have the best options for SQ...ie lossless audio with bitperfect playback with same amount of music as Spotify offers and the abbility to share music and find new music. Other features could be purchased for an extra charge if you ask me.

I would ask for a better desktop player (one at least as good as the one Spotify developed) and the ability to download tacks for offline listening.   Tidal's desktop player is lacking in so many ways right now. 

 

[Bibliophile]

For me, Tidal's desktop player skips regularly while direct access to the website via Chrome sounds great with no skips.  I don't really mind paying a bit more for higher quality and greater artist compensation.  That said, if Spotify were to offer FLAC tracks and/or 94/96 (or higher) music, I'd switch over so fast it would make your head spin.  Also, Tidal's library is a bit...limited.  Here's my request list (none of which have been added);
 

The Allman Brothers Band - At Filmore East (Capricorn 1971) (requested 2015-06-26)

Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby (OJC, 1961) (requested 2015-06-09) 

Blind Faith - Deluxe Edition (Polydor, 2001) (requested 2015-06-26)

Blue Stingrays - Surf-N-Burn (Epitone 1997) (requested 2015-06-26)

Deadbolt - Tiki Man (requested 2015-06-09)

John Coltrane - Blue Train (requested 2015-06-09)

Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - Hope Radio (requested 2015-06-09)

Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - Just for Today (requested 2015-06-09)

Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - Language of the Soul (requested 2015-06-09)

Steve Winwood - About Time (requested 2015-06-09)

Supertramp- Breakfast in America (A&M 1978) (requested 2015-06-26)

Van Morrison - The Best of Van Morrison (Polydor, 1990) (Requested 2015-06-26)

 

[iamoneagain]

Yeah, I'm not loyal to Tidal in any way.  Spotify had a slightly better catalog and better player and Apple Music is supposed to have a larger catalog.  So if either of those offered lossless, I'd probably switch. I've seen Qubuz's selection and for my needs it doesn't work.  So not sure it would help me much if they came to the US.
 
I just went to Tidal's website and it just seems like it's being marketed as a rap and hip hop site.  Nothing on the opening page is appealing to me and if I didn't hear others talking about it on this site or other audiophile sites, I wouldn't have even bothered with the free trial. 
 
And as far as lossless vs AAC quality, I've tested it several times with Tidal's settings on my headphone setup and I can tell the difference.  It's not huge but it's enough to keep hi-fi Tidal.  If I just used in my car or on my phone, I could get by with AAC but I do a lot of my listening at home.  Can someone get Taylor Switch to tweet Apple about offering lossless.  They seem to listen to her.
 
Edit: So it looks like Deezer might be a good option if Tidal fails.  Sounds like they should be coming soon to pc/mac and ios.  They offer lossless and bigger library than Tidal and think they'll only be $15 a month.  Reading more, I can't tell if the lossless feed will be available on anything other than Sonos.  That kind of sucks.  So yeah, have to spend $350 on Sonos unit that bypassed the computer, but don't know why this should be only option.

 

[zilch0md]

  (snip)
 
The rest of the consumers seem to think 256K AAC is equal to lossless.  That is until Apple finally provides lossless and tells them how much better it is with the latest Beats headphones.
 
(snip)

 
As I wait for the coffee to finish brewing, this was my first good laugh of the day.  

   
 
Cynical, yes.  But there's some truth there, sadly.

 

[vrapan]

As I wait for the coffee to finish brewing, this was my first good laugh of the day.      

Cynical, yes.  But there's some truth there, sadly.

Even though there is some truth in, firstly I doubt apple that much for beats headphones, I prefer the 256 aac to the 320 spotify encoding on many songs