Spotify Premium compared to Tidal HI-FI

HiFiJeff

Super Member
I have been using Spotify Premium forever and absolutely love it. I love the ease of use, the catalog is amazing, there are artists I find on there that I never would have thought would be on there and to my ears, the audio quality sounds pretty good most of the time. And I have a pretty nice two channel set up with a great tube amp, dac and high quality speakers. Now of course CD's and SACD's sound better than Spotify but I have to say that I am pretty impressed with Spotify's sound quality. I have been real intrigued by Tidal for awhile now and thinking about buying a Google Chromecast this weekend and trying Tidal. Is there a significant difference in sound quality between the two? I s it worth the extra $10 per month?
 
I have both Spotify Premium and a Tidal hifi subscription. I do think tidal has the edge in SQ, but you won't hear it's best over the CCA. I have two Chromecast Audios and they are awesome cause of the convenience factor, but as a digital transport for max fidelity they do fall down a bit.

From laptop to my DAC (Schiit Bifrost Multibit) into my preamp Tidal is superior. Although it's going to be system dependent. Not everyone's system will resolve fine differences.

I think Tidal is worth the extra $10. But obviously I don't mind having both subscriptions. I spend way more than both combined on craft beers and coffee in a given month.

- Woody
 
Tidal has a free trial, so I would suggest you try it to see if it is worth the money to you. When it comes down to it, you are the one that has to decide if the $10 would be better spent elsewhere.
 
I have both Spotify Premium and a Tidal hifi subscription. I do think tidal has the edge in SQ, but you won't hear it's best over the CCA. I have two Chromecast Audios and they are awesome cause of the convenience factor, but as a digital transport for max fidelity they do fall down a bit.

From laptop to my DAC (Schiit Bifrost Multibit) into my preamp Tidal is superior. Although it's going to be system dependent. Not everyone's system will resolve fine differences.

I think Tidal is worth the extra $10. But obviously I don't mind having both subscriptions. I spend way more than both combined on craft beers and coffee in a given month.

- Woody

So that kind of brings me to my next question. In fact, I am going to start a topic on this. What is the best source to use to stream things? Whether it be Spotify, Tidal, Netflix or Youtube? I am using my PS4 to stream Spotify and my Samsung Smart TV apps to stream Netflix and Youtube. And it is just down right horrible using the Samsung as my streaming source.

And this is another reason why I want to make sure that I am feeding my dac the best signal. I have actually assembled a very nice two channel audio system and want to make sure that I am taking full advantage of the audio equipment I have. So I too own a Schiit dac, it's the Modi2 Uber with a Decware SE84UFO "Superzen" Tube amp and custom Omega 3XRS Superchaged speakers. They have the RS5 driver and a built in active 8 inch sub. So yeah, I want to get the BEST signal to my system that I can.

And man, I hear ya on the craft beers and coffee. Heck I live in CO so we live off of craft beer and coffee.
 
Is there a significant difference in sound quality between the two? I s it worth the extra $10 per month?
Tidal has a free trial, so I would suggest you try it to see if it is worth the money to you. When it comes down to it, you are the one that has to decide if the $10 would be better spent elsewhere.
As you'll get as many varied opinions as there varied audio setups, I second uofmtiger's suggestion. Try Tidal free for 30 days and see how you & your setup discern the "HiFi" difference.
 
My Oppo BDP-105 supports Tidal, and offered a 90 day free trial. I tried it, then let it expire. Definitely sounded better than any other online music streaming service I've used. I just have no use for it at the moment. But, it is a good way to sample recordings for sound quality before purchasing.
 
Fwiw, I recently upgraded my Tidal to the $20.00 level. I could hear a difference. Not a huge difference but worth it to me.

I had been on the fence whether to upgrade the service or buy a better streaming device.

I stream Tidal through an Apple Airport Express. Currently, that is the weak link in my system.

The next piece of gear I purchase will be a better streaming device.
 
Spotify Premium offers cd quality with a catalog second to none. If you're priority is a huge catalog and a great algorithm for sourcing new artists with cd quality, then Spotify Premium is the way to go. If you know that your system will easily allow you to hear the difference between lossless and cd quality, and you're ok with a smaller catalog and higher cost, go Tidal. I currently use a Squeezebox Touch to stream Spotify, as well as some great internet radio.

As for all things video, Roku does a great job for me.
 
Spotify Premium offers cd quality with a catalog second to none. If you're priority is a huge catalog and a great algorithm for sourcing new artists with cd quality, then Spotify Premium is the way to go. If you know that your system will easily allow you to hear the difference between lossless and cd quality, and you're ok with a smaller catalog and higher cost, go Tidal. I currently use a Squeezebox Touch to stream Spotify, as well as some great internet radio.

As for all things video, Roku does a great job for me.
1. Lossless is CD quality
2. Spotify is lossy ergo not CD quality.
 
I have both Spotify Premium and a Tidal hifi subscription. I do think tidal has the edge in SQ, but you won't hear it's best over the CCA. I have two Chromecast Audios and they are awesome cause of the convenience factor, but as a digital transport for max fidelity they do fall down a bit.

From laptop to my DAC (Schiit Bifrost Multibit) into my preamp Tidal is superior. Although it's going to be system dependent. Not everyone's system will resolve fine differences.

I think Tidal is worth the extra $10. But obviously I don't mind having both subscriptions. I spend way more than both combined on craft beers and coffee in a given month.

- Woody
Have you tried optical out on the CCA into an external DAC? I believe this bypasses the DAC in the CCA. I noticed a big difference and I'm not that discriminating.
 
Have you tried optical out on the CCA into an external DAC? I believe this bypasses the DAC in the CCA. I noticed a big difference and I'm not that discriminating.

Yes. One of my two CCA's is running into thr optical input of my Bifrost MB. It's still inferior to the USB input from my MacBook Pro using Amarra for Tidal as the source. Could be because of this...

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2...ist-intended-google-chromecast-audio-w-tidal/

But I'm not complaining. The CCA is still one of the best deals in my arsenal. So handy for non-critical listening.

- Woody
 
I've been impressed with the Chromecast Audio device. The DAC in these is decent. I doubt that I could distinguish between the CCA DAC and others... but that's just me. As mentioned, others say they detect a difference.

Many people cannot tell the difference between 320kbps and CDs. Some say they can.

Before you commit to the Chromecast, you may want to check if Tidal has developed support for the CCA yet. There was rumor that they were working on it but I've not heard of anything yet.

I, too, have Spotify Connect as well as Pandora One accounts... $15 a month total. Works great for me.

Best wishes in your quest.
 
Before you commit to the Chromecast, you may want to check if Tidal has developed support for the CCA yet. There was rumor that they were working on it but I've not heard of anything yet.

Fully supported now as of about a week ago. Works great.

- Woody
 
I also have Spotify Premium and The Tidal 20.00 plan. I love em both but chose Tidal every night for sound quality. I stream both thru Fisher gear and a tube DAC, LaScalas and Chorus II's.
 
Just finished an interesting test. My Schiit Bifrost Multibit has three inputs. Coax. USB. Optical. I have my CD player going to the Coax input, it's also going to my preamp via RCAs... so I can A/B between the DAC and CD Player's internal DACs (Teac PD-H600) if I want to. I have my MacBookPro running Amarra for Tidal going into the DAC via USB. And I have the Google CCA going into the DAC via optical.

This test is comparing the USB from Amarra/Tidal to Optical from the CCA/Tidal.

I played a few tracks, but the one that got me the most was a cover of Danny Boy done by Charlie Hunter. It's a pretty simple track, for those of you who aren't familiar, Charlie hunter is a contemporary jazz guitarist that plays a guitar with a fanned fretboard and plays lead, and the bassline at the same time. I synced the playback of this track using my iPhone to control the CCA, and my laptop for Amarra. I got them within 1-sec of synced. Using the switch on my DAC I could go back and forth between the two. The CCA did quite well. But overall there was a noticeable truncation of the lower notes. The sub-bass notes that you kinda feel and really round out the sound of the bass were lacking from the CCA. Those overtones and hermonics were lessened. The sound wasn't as full, and the bass notes sounded more one-note... kinda fart-like. :) The MBP/Amarra tidal stream was more fully fleshed out. There was a richness to it that the CCA lacked. Those low bass notes I could feel, softly in my sofa and floor. And the tone of the bass notes and regular guitar plucks were more natural with the MBP/Amarra.

The CCA was still enjoyable. For my use of multiroom, and letting other people stream their music quickly, it's still awesome for $35... but I wouldn't use it for critical listening or a primary source. Even with an external DAC.
 
Shouldn't the two sources be sending the exact same sequences of zeroes and ones to the DAC? (Assuming that Tidal is sending the exact same stream to both of them.)
 
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