Lossless Streaming Comparisons.....
- Thread starter SWL3600
- Start date
On my second "trial" of Tidal HiFi. I was traveling the the first time and didn't get a good chance to really get into it. I got 4 months for $2 on the black friday promo. I am running it inside Audirvana on 2 older Macs using external USB DACs and using the iOS app on my iPhone Xs. On my Macs the SQ is on par with my library of CD FLAC rips. No audible noise or artifacts during playback or between tracks, dead quiet background. No real surprise there because 2009/2010 Macs have great sound and really quiet power supplies, which is why I'll keep using them as DAPs indefinitely. Audirvana's system optimizer also adds another measure of ensuring quiet. I don't have good enough ears anymore to have a dog in the MQA fight so since Audirvana processes MQA I don't have to buy hardware to enjoy their hi-res content which does indeed take the SQ up a notch or two. The mobile app works really well on the iPhone, but when using CarPlay Tidal's SQ doesn't sound as good as my ALAC library using the Apple Music player. When using Bluetooth in the car they sound about the same which is a couple steps down in SQ from CarPlay. My only complaint so far is that I like my classical music sorted by composer and the Tidal iOS app doesn't do that.
MQWhat?
Everyone on the planet MUST.
SWL3600
Super Member
So as of now I'm using three streaming services....Spotify, Amazon HD and since yesterday Qobuz.
Qobuz.....wow. There's no question that on my rig it has better sound quality than any of the others I've tried. It's a little flaky on my Android but once it gets going it seems to be fine. It's real flaky on my Windows 10 laptop.
For the next two months because of the work I do I'll have a lot of time to evaluate all three and decide which to keep. If Spotify went lossless/hi-rez it would be an easy decision for me to make.
I've got a feeling I'll be hanging onto Spotify in addition to Qobuz or Amazon HD. Amazon HD at this point isn't looking too promising. Their sound quality fluctuates big time. I sit locked in the sweet spot and it's very noticable. The little badge might say HD or HD-ULTRA but I'm 99% confident that it isn't 25-50% of the time. Those of you who have an established sweet spot know what I mean. You become very familiar with your system and it's easy to pick things apart.
Anyway, I hope Qobuz refines their service because the sound quality it great. Hopefully Amazon does, too. Tidal can shut down tomorrow for all I care. I must have tried their service 4-5 times and for what they charge....it ain't happening.
Qobuz.....wow. There's no question that on my rig it has better sound quality than any of the others I've tried. It's a little flaky on my Android but once it gets going it seems to be fine. It's real flaky on my Windows 10 laptop.
For the next two months because of the work I do I'll have a lot of time to evaluate all three and decide which to keep. If Spotify went lossless/hi-rez it would be an easy decision for me to make.
I've got a feeling I'll be hanging onto Spotify in addition to Qobuz or Amazon HD. Amazon HD at this point isn't looking too promising. Their sound quality fluctuates big time. I sit locked in the sweet spot and it's very noticable. The little badge might say HD or HD-ULTRA but I'm 99% confident that it isn't 25-50% of the time. Those of you who have an established sweet spot know what I mean. You become very familiar with your system and it's easy to pick things apart.
Anyway, I hope Qobuz refines their service because the sound quality it great. Hopefully Amazon does, too. Tidal can shut down tomorrow for all I care. I must have tried their service 4-5 times and for what they charge....it ain't happening.
I find QB to have outstanding audio quality. If you are using QB's web browser player, do download their win 10 app. That is the best way to listen to Qobuz with windows currently without paying for third party apps such as Roon or Audirvana.
SWL3600
Super Member
Thanks Alobar. I'm using Qobuz through the desktop app on Windows 10 as well as Android through Chromecast Audio. No doubt the sq is excellent. I've been comparing it to Amazon HD and Spotify Premium but haven't compared it to my local lossless files. It's gotta be damn close.
Are you using the Amazon Music HD app or a browser? I started a 3 mo trial of AMHD just for grins. I won’t keep it because it doesn’t support headless operation. Since I’m very satisfied with Audirvana a couple years in, if I decide to subscribe to a service it’ll be Tidal or Qobuz.
SWL3600
Super Member
I'm using the desktop app on Windows 10.
Tommy2D
Active Member
I've used Spotify for years and I've been happy with the quality.
I just took advantage of promotions for Amazon HD and Tidal HiFi. I've done A/B comparisons and the differences seem marginal or non-existent.
I'm using what I consider decent equipment. I don't seem to notice an improvement, even with Tidal's Master quality when compared to Spotify's Extreme quality.
Personally, I feel like I've hit a sound quality plateau.
I just took advantage of promotions for Amazon HD and Tidal HiFi. I've done A/B comparisons and the differences seem marginal or non-existent.
I'm using what I consider decent equipment. I don't seem to notice an improvement, even with Tidal's Master quality when compared to Spotify's Extreme quality.
Personally, I feel like I've hit a sound quality plateau.
Tommy2D
Active Member
I'm genuinely curious, especially since I have Tidal for 5 months, to hear from others, on this topic. If you can hear a difference between Tidal HiFi and Spotify Extreme, what are the circumstances? Are you using specific equipment (certain headphones, speakers, etc.) or are the differences notable in specific genres of music? I've tried Rock, Pop, Classical and Soul and I'm straining to find differences. I'm not trying to prove that HD audio isn't worthwhile or start any brand-fan debates. Five months of Tidal for 5 bucks was too good of a promotion to pass up, even just for the fun of exploring and testing. Still, if there are differences to consider, I'd love to fully experience them.
Of course, it's entirely possible that my ears and/or equipment aren't up to the task. If so, that's worth knowing, too.
I was paying for Spotify once, tried Tidal, switched and never looked back. I can hear a very noticeable difference with the system in my signature, with my HP rig and also my TV set up. It is only an SMSL AD 18 to Klipsch R-51m’s.
Qobuz sounds a little better than Tidal to me. But since streaming is my secondary source and I get Tidal with a military discount, it’s not that much better for the price difference. I have yet to try AMHD but I will.
It seems to come down to equipment or hearing
.
Loiter Sack
Active Member
Since yesterday i’m trying out the Qobuz High Res 1 month free trail.
Sadly i can’t use the real High Res quality because i stream via Airplay and thats max 16 bit 41 (or 48?) KHz cd quality. But so far it sounds great.
I keep saying that Spotify on Extreme setting is very poor sound quality. Its grainy , not clear/pure sounding at all. Even Apple Music wich is 256kbps sounds better.
I wish Apple Music had the sound quality of Tidal/Qobuz. The Apple app is so great. It has all the features i want.
At this moment Airplay is my limiting factor. When i upgrade to a dedecated music streamer for my main system it has to have Tidal/Qobuz direct built in so that i only use my iphone as a remote and not as a source.
I will keep going back and forth between Tidal Hifi and Qobuz this month but i’m almost sure i go back to Tidal. My music taste is pretty , lets say , un mainstreem and i immediately found out that Qobuz didn’t have a lot of albums wich Tidal does have.
Sadly i can’t use the real High Res quality because i stream via Airplay and thats max 16 bit 41 (or 48?) KHz cd quality. But so far it sounds great.
I keep saying that Spotify on Extreme setting is very poor sound quality. Its grainy , not clear/pure sounding at all. Even Apple Music wich is 256kbps sounds better.
I wish Apple Music had the sound quality of Tidal/Qobuz. The Apple app is so great. It has all the features i want.
At this moment Airplay is my limiting factor. When i upgrade to a dedecated music streamer for my main system it has to have Tidal/Qobuz direct built in so that i only use my iphone as a remote and not as a source.
I will keep going back and forth between Tidal Hifi and Qobuz this month but i’m almost sure i go back to Tidal. My music taste is pretty , lets say , un mainstreem and i immediately found out that Qobuz didn’t have a lot of albums wich Tidal does have.
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Condorsat
Audio Enthusiast
Just my personal experience .. in a Nutshell. I started streaming back in 2012 w/ MOG (old 320k MP3) on my Desktop PC.
Tried various other streaming services … Xbox Music, RDIO, Spotify (all lossy) .. eventually Tidal (the 320 AAC version lossy) due to military discount at a dollar more than I was paying for MOG originally .. real bargain IMHO.
Shortly after switching to Tidal .. started a second streaming rig on my mains stereo. That was the big jump in sound quality.
Since then my mains streaming rig has gone through numerous upgrades (mostly small but incremental) and I have not reached the point of diminishing returns on my system as of yet. I get ideas for upgrades from audiophiles who stream and make improvements to their systems.
For a short period of time .. when Neil Young's web site was free (lossless) .. I streamed numerous albums from his inventory on my mains rig. I thought (didn't test myself) I could tell a difference between lossy & lossless (sometimes, it was not night & day) .. but only on his albums from the early 70's .. maybe I'm more familiar with them (I own those on Vinyl)
.Just saying .. but most people (average music consumer) have difficulty telling the difference between lossy & lossless .. it's not easy. I remember watching the following video some years ago .. ouch
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I agree with this statement. When I retired I was teaching a Aural Recognition (Critical Listening) course. Over 2500 students in 3 years. What I “discovered” is The majority of people can’t do it. I even find this with my “audiophile“ friends but less so, probably because if your in this hobby you are “tuned” into trying to critical listen
Condorsat
Audio Enthusiast
I agree with this statement. When I retired I was teaching a Aural Recognition (Critical Listening) course. Over 2500 students in 3 years. What I “discovered” is The majority of people can’t do it. I even find this with my “audiophile“ friends but less so, probably because if your in this hobby you are “tuned” into trying to critical listen
Yes .. know what you are saying. I was a signals analyst in the USAF for 22 years. It's an acquired skill set that takes years to develop over time. Nothing beats experience.
We called them EW’s in the Navy Surface Ship world. I had them in my division “on my last ship” (
for all you old sailors). That was a good fit putting them with the Sonar Techs.