[iamjohnm]

Your welcome.  With a reference you should be able to lol.  Yes, it is possible, I may actually ask them.  That could be a lot of legwork for them though and defeats the purpose of accepting 320 (size on server) only and not a WAV or other lossless file.  It could be possible they just take the best tracks offered.. Who knows..

 

[swab]

Revelations like this can really go and tear a hole in an otherwise promising brand.
 
Please do report back here with any explanation the distributor can offer you as to how a file you upload as an mp3 (lossy) manages to wind up being ID'ed by Tidal as a lossless HIFI quality file.

 

[iamjohnm]

What do you mean?  And yeah I sent them an email regarding this.  Also here is a statement already found on there site just to clarify.
 
"What file formats should I prepare for uploading?
Audio: RouteNote can only accept MP3 files with a sample rate of 44.1khz. The bitrate of the MP3 can be anything above 192kbps, however, we recommend users to use 320kbps for the highest quality."

 

[pedalhead]

Iamjohnm - what we're concerned about here is that Tidal is positioning itself as an audiophile streaming solution, claiming that all tracks steamed as "hifi" are full redbook 16/44 quality. It is charging twice what Spotify does on the back of that claim.

If in fact some of their catalogue are actually upconverted lossy files then clearly there are some questions to be answered. Of course, it could be that your distributor is converting the files and passing them on to Tidal (who have no way of knowing if a file has been converted from a lossy format). Or it could just be an innocent mistake or oversight by either side. It sure would be good to know though as it otherwise threatens to put the integrity of the whole service into doubt.

 

[swab]

What do I mean ?

I would very much doubt that Tidal would want to be known to be knowingly passing off mp3 re-rips as HIFI FLACS. That would be very sloppy business practice.

However, if they are not vetting the quality/origin of the files being uploaded to their service (as you are suggesting) then they should be seen to be failing to deliver the high end product they profess to be delivering.

I would beg that you, as the owner of the original work and the only person able to testify as to its authenticity, should qualify your statements with testimony from both your distributor and Tidal explaining how it is that a track you have uploaded can be labelled HIFI (FLAC ripped from digital masters) when you only ever submitted it in the first place as an MP3.

I would contend that you owe your fellow head-fiers that much, seeing as you've ventured so far as to volunteer information which queries the brands legitimacy.

In a nutshell : PROVE IT.

 

[iamjohnm]

I am not sure what you are getting at but I sent them an email regarding this.  Regardless of who is at fault, my music is on Tidal and it is not lossless, which means not all of the music on Tidal is lossless.  And that is fact. 

 

[swab]

You sent Tidal an email ? Saying what ? Please enlighten us.

 

[iamjohnm]

Here is the distribution I did back when I uploaded to Routenote, which only accepts mp3's.  It was the only distributor I used for this EP release.  I did not email Tidal yet but I will.. I emailed Routenote asking how could my releases be on a lossless streaming service if they only accept Mp3's basically..

 

[swab]

Or is that the email to your distributor that you referred to earlier ?

Not doubting you. There's nobody here would wish your music to be falsely represented. Hopefully your distro will throw some much needed light on this. Maybe you could log a query with Tidal too. For all we know the Tidal app has an inherent bug, or the tracks been wrongly tagged, or God knows what. Only you can follow it up, and I wish you every success in doing so. I would hope that there is a valid reason for this, and we can all get back to enjoying the music as it was originally intended to be.

 

[iamjohnm]

Yes, it's very interesting to me also.  20 dollars monthly is a lot if the integrity of the company is invalid. 
 
Regardless, I just contacted Tidal's Head of Label Relations and also my distributor.  Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.
 
I will definitely keep you guys posted.

 

[rschoi75]

I've been using Tidal for almost a month now, and I'm on the fence about the service. I really, REALLY, want to like it, but there are still too many things missing when comparing to the overall experience of Spotify. 
 
Pros: 
- Sound Quality is fantastic. Feels more airy and crisp than Spotify. That alone makes me want to keep the service. 
- The curated playlists are nice.  
- Has most of the artists/songs I was looking for, and they are adding more everyday. 
 
Cons: 
- Streaming is inconsistent, and buffers in the middle of songs too much. This is my biggest complaint since sound quality means nothing, if there is a buffering pause in the middle of every other song. 
- Gaps between songs is too long
- Interface is definitely lacking compared to Spotify. No plug-ins/apps yet, and no social media connections. 
- Playlists and front page content are much too stagnant. They need to include an algorithm that varies the albums/playlists that pop up on the home page. It feels somewhat claustrophobic, if that makes any sense, because I see the same playlists/albums every single time. 
 
I'm told myself that I'm going to give Tidal an honest 6-month shot. So far, I'd rate the service a 6.5/10, and I'm hoping they can smooth out the kinks in the next few months. I can live without the social media aspect and apps, but they NEED to fix the buffering and gap issues, or else I can't see them surviving for very long. 

 

[swspiers]

  I've been using Tidal for almost a month now, and I'm on the fence about the service. I really, REALLY, want to like it, but there are still too many things missing when comparing to the overall experience of Spotify. 
 
Pros, and I'm hoping they can smooth out the kinks in the next few months. I can live without the social media aspect and apps, but they NEED to fix the buffering and gap issues, or else I can't see them surviving for very long. 

I agree.  I've had it for just under two weeks, and committed to another month.  The sound quality is good, but in most cases I can't really  tell a difference between it and Spotify, except that I know it's a higher bitrate. The thing is, I already have a massive collection of well-mastered material.  So far, Tidal is filling a need I don't have.
 
The last issue is no support on Sonos.  Not a total deal-breaker, but I might give Deezer a try in December.

 

[dcginc]

Observation on High Res streaming services.
 
For the most part, a good many Music Streamers cannot stream these high res sources directly into their hardware systems. I think Linn and Auralic can do this to some degree, and fairly sucessfully. But my PS Audio Perfectwave DAC MkI cannot accept these streams directly. But rather an iOS device/and or PC usually needs to be inserted into the equation, which is then connected to a music streamer device like a PWD.
 
I find it a bit ironic that multi-thousand dollar streamer devices cannot do this, and require a smartphone app (or the like) to make it work. Seems a bit backward to me, as we are moving to more high res sources/services, (on the software side) but on the hardware side, it has yet to be 'plug and play'... not that any of this ever was.... Also, I guess this issue also relies on the software capabilities within the DNLA compliant device controlling the music server, the control point if I am not mistaken as to definitions and devices.
 
thoughts?

 

[Maelob]

One thing i discovered is tha Tidal is very sensitive to unstable Internet service, i was having issues since day one, i upgraded my speed, discovered my Fiios router was not good, and still having issues until finally i discovered that i was having latency and slow imternet periods. now my anger is not towards Tidal but towards Verizon. I pay for a 75mbps service and i expect it to be stable. So finally after a 4th time dealing with customer service,my connection seems to be stable and no buffering issues with Tidal. hooefully it remains that way. So for the people having issues please make sure your network and internet service are stable.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

They definitely have a lag issue. If you have a Mac, try something out. Use the media keys to pause and resume. I've had delays of up to 20 seconds between hitting the button and it actually responding.