Tidal Lossless Streaming

[Sonic Defender]

I guess I just hit the 10k album limit. Took me a while to figure out why I couldn't add more albums to my library. How in the world is this still a thing? It's an inconvenience to their most dedicated customers. Guess I'm switching to Qobuz? I'm stumped why and how this remains a baked-in limit only on Tidal.

And you are actually going to make it through all of those albums?

 

[enz0pt]

And you are actually going to make it through all of those albums?

That what I thought, 10 k album for a stream service...should be more than enough. But I also get his point.

 

[Sonic Defender]

That what I thought, 10 k album for a stream service...should be more than enough. But I also get his point.

I also get that people have different wants and needs, but I'll bet that 10k is enough for the vast, vast majority of users.

 

[Hypops]

I also get that people have different wants and needs, but I'll bet that 10k is enough for the vast, vast majority of users.

Fair enough, but I’m no market analyst or Tidal executive, so the “majority of users” don’t matter much to me. There’s only one user who does.

Serendipitously, Roon just introduced their “Listen Later” feature. Now instead of adding albums to my Tidal library for later listening, I just add them to Roon’s Listen Later playlist, and they don’t add to my total album count.

 

[6Channel]

All I can say is "Wow". I apparently sourced this thread in the past for some info on Tidal, and I got an update in my email today. Wow. I cannot conceive the issue at hand on this page. Library ?? Playlist ??

 

[enz0pt]

All I can say is "Wow". I apparently sourced this thread in the past for some info on Tidal, and I got an update in my email today. Wow. I cannot conceive the issue at hand on this page. Library ?? Playlist ??

How many albums have you got, sir?

 

[Hypops]

All I can say is "Wow". I apparently sourced this thread in the past for some info on Tidal, and I got an update in my email today. Wow. I cannot conceive the issue at hand on this page. Library ?? Playlist ??

Not sure how to respond really. I listen to the new releases every week. If I want to mark an album for further listening, I add it to my library. Multiply that by five years. Shouldn’t be too hard to imagine how I eventually hit that 10k album cap.

Even after going through my library to cull the collection, there still aren’t all that many albums that I felt good about cutting from my collection. Most of my cuts were to additional albums by the same artists. Even so, I’m still well into 8-9k albums. And that’s not counting the thousands of other digital albums in my collection from downloads, ripped CDs, and ripped vinyl. I guess I just listen to more music than other folks?

10k albums might sound like a lot if you’ve just got a core rotation of a dozen albums you listen to over and over again. But I listen to new music pretty much all day every day (speakers, headphones, IEMs). My family doesn’t watch TV. We do things while listening to music. I commute to work on foot. Music again. I spend most of my work day writing. Music. Picking up and dropping off my kids. Music (their choices). 10k albums will get you through a year without repeats. That’s not that long. I’ve been alive 50 years and hope for another 50, and I expect music to be playing for most of that time.

Regardless, I certainly didn’t expect to get shamed on an audio forum for listening to too much music!

 

[6Channel]

Not sure how to respond really. I listen to the new releases every week. If I want to mark an album for further listening, I add it to my library. Multiply that by five years. Shouldn’t be too hard to imagine how I eventually hit that 10k album cap.

Even after going through my library to cull the collection, there still aren’t all that many albums that I felt good about cutting from my collection. Most of my cuts were to additional albums by the same artists. Even so, I’m still well into 8-9k albums. And that’s not counting the thousands of other digital albums in my collection from downloads, ripped CDs, and ripped vinyl. I guess I just listen to more music than other folks?

10k albums might sound like a lot if you’ve just got a core rotation of a dozen albums you listen to over and over again. But I listen to new music pretty much all day every day (speakers, headphones, IEMs). My family doesn’t watch TV. We do things while listening to music. I commute to work on foot. Music again. I spend most of my work day writing. Music. Picking up and dropping off my kids. Music (their choices). 10k albums will get you through a year without repeats. That’s not that long. I’ve been alive 50 years and hope for another 50, and I expect music to be playing for most of that time.

Regardless, I certainly didn’t expect to get shamed on an audio forum for listening to too much music!

Certainly not shaming you !! Maybe I should merely stand in awe !! I'm a bit older than you, spent 10 early years in audio biz, and may possibly regard music more highly than you. Still have ~500 vinyls, but haven't spun one in a few years. I have a modest TB stored away that I tap at will, but still broaden my horizons on FM and internet stations every day. But I've certainly focused my favored listening & versions of such. Most time I spend listening to "my" library is in front of my rig - car/garage music is "whatever is playing right now". Obviously humbled by you, I have about 40 or 50 "albums" each on my playlists (faves?) in Qobuz & Tidal. New World Sym, Zep One & Allman Bros at Fillmore are about the only produced albums I can any longer endure stem-to-stern, so the bulk of my library is pretty tailored. I was taken aback by the claim of 10K albums, a quantity I can't fathom even clicking on that many times, let alone keeping indexed.

Again, tipping my hat, Hooray for you !! I think we skinned this cat about as far as need be !!

 

[Hypops]

Certainly not shaming you !! Maybe I should merely stand in awe !! I'm a bit older than you, spent 10 early years in audio biz, and may possibly regard music more highly than you. Still have ~500 vinyls, but haven't spun one in a few years. I have a modest TB stored away that I tap at will, but still broaden my horizons on FM and internet stations every day. But I've certainly focused my favored listening & versions of such. Most time I spend listening to "my" library is in front of my rig - car/garage music is "whatever is playing right now". Obviously humbled by you, I have about 40 or 50 "albums" each on my playlists (faves?) in Qobuz & Tidal. New World Sym, Zep One & Allman Bros at Fillmore are about the only produced albums I can any longer endure stem-to-stern, so the bulk of my library is pretty tailored. I was taken aback by the claim of 10K albums, a quantity I can't fathom even clicking on that many times, let alone keeping indexed.

Again, tipping my hat, Hooray for you !! I think we skinned this cat about as far as need be !!

No worries. More the cumulative effect of responses. I thought it was funny, honestly.

A big part of my love for music is the hunt. Don't get me wrong. I still have plenty of favorites that get lots of repeat attention, but I love finding new music. So that high number has everything to do with the enormous piles of dead musical carcasses lying around from devouring plump morsels of tasty new tunes every week. To mix metaphors slightly, Tidal's weekly new release category is my bread and butter.

 

[6Channel]

No worries. More the cumulative effect of responses. I thought it was funny, honestly.

A big part of my love for music is the hunt. Don't get me wrong. I still have plenty of favorites that get lots of repeat attention, but I love finding new music. So that high number has everything to do with the enormous piles of dead musical carcasses lying around from devouring plump morsels of tasty new tunes every week. To mix metaphors slightly, Tidal's weekly new release category is my bread and butter.

Gotcha. I got lulled over the last 35 years with so many forgettable boy groups & Taylor Swifts that I'm digging some new Metal - and discovery is largely online. Not to mention some killer orchestral remasters.

 

[Hypops]

Gotcha. I got lulled over the last 35 years with so many forgettable boy groups & Taylor Swifts that I'm digging some new Metal - and discovery is largely online. Not to mention some killer orchestral remasters.

That's why I like Tidal's weekly playlist so much. I listen to literally everything, regardless of my preconceived notions of genre. I just hit play. It's been life changing. There are genres of music I had no idea I would like.

 

[Audiophiliac]

I tried all sub services' free trials, searching for the best sounding default player. Until Qobuz was available in Canada, Tidal won, except that they all sucked compared to Foobar2000, but it was what I was stuck with until I found Audirvana. They all sucked compared to Foobar2000, but it was what I was stuck wit until I found Audirvana. Finally, someone not only fixed what seeed only slightly wrong with F2k, but exceeded what I had previously thought was missing, and everything sounded like so much more $$$ than before, that everything needed re-listening to on my 2.5k DAC, and it's all unbelievable how worthy of it's $ all of this gear is. When Qobuz came out, it's default player beat Tidal's, and is also supported in Audirvana, however, here's the kicker: Tidal has been exceeding my wildest hopes by giving me 8 smart custom AI playlists that rotate frequently. Qobuz had a homepage that hardly showed me anything, and it's custom single playlist never had anything to do with anything I care about. Therefore, my verdict is a new and unexpected one: custom playlists rule my service choices, and talk about beating internet radio stations, which already beat local radio by preferences, although being cheesy sounding compressed versions.
So, for me, Audirvana is the right name for normal reference listening. Tidal's default player was the least disappointing while needing gaming audio simultaneously, but I also find things getting too immersive during gaming as my chain upgrades, and nothing actually fits the music. But my current reference chain is awesome, especially for how noise-free it is, except only metal and math-rock care about not letting me fall asleep because of it. Have to stop wondering what to upgrade next, except I'm not running a balanced amp at the end, yet.
Any advice on whether to get a similarly priced (for now) balanced amp, instead?

 

[Sonic Defender]

You will gain nothing, absolutely nothing with a balanced amp. Nothing.

 

[Hypops]

Any advice on whether to get a similarly priced (for now) balanced amp, instead?

The terminology frequently gets mixed up, but if by “balanced” you mean “differential” (what is sometimes called “fully balanced”), then you usually gain much lower crosstalk and intermodulation distortion figures. A “differential” amp is worth it. A merely “balanced” one is not.

 

[peterinvan]

The terminology frequently gets mixed up, but if by “balanced” you mean “differential” (what is sometimes called “fully balanced”), then you usually gain much lower crosstalk and intermodulation distortion figures. A “differential” amp is worth it. A merely “balanced” one is not.

I do not recall ever hearing crosstalk or intermodulation on any of my single ended amps. I have balanced headphone amps with 4.4mm balanced output, but the benefit is more (usually twice) the power output.

I recently switched out my FiiO K7 balanced amp for a single ended Schiit Vali-3. No problem with power and the addition of a twin triode tube adds a subtle improvement in the sound. I am very satisfied and only had to incur the expense of new 6.35mm terminated cables for all my headphones.

Adding the Loki+ tone controls solve the problem of searching for the ideal amp or the ideal cables, or the ideal headphones to meet my tone curve preferences.