[DarkAngel]

I have been using Spotify Premium for sometime and saw all the hype by Jay-z, Madonna etc for this newly launched music service..........finally with CD quality streaming, this is the holy grail of music streaming

There is 30 day free trail so I signed up for premium service $19.99 to get CD quality streaming, looks very much like Spotify layout and works in a similar fashion. Quick check of opera for Callas etc shows vast catalog similar to Spotify in size (will have to look more just a quick 1st day look around)

You must use google chrome browser to get FLAC 1411 highest quality streaming, in windows IE highest stream available is AAC 320 which still sounds slightly better than Spotify premium MP3 320 stream

Anyone else signed up yet.......

 

[Weston]

I'll check it out. I've been disappointed with Spotify premium lately. A couple of days ago I wanted to try out different Stravinsky discs and all the Rites I samples had that openiong bassoon sounding granular, like there were encoding artifacts. That bassoon has got to sound smooth or it just ruins it!

 

[DarkAngel]

The $19.99 monthly rate for CD quality music stream may be too much to attract mainstream audience.......

since many cheap millenials are perfectly happy with $9.99 Spotify premium 320 MP3 stream or free Spotify service (and free Amazon Prime music stream etc)

 

[Haydn man]

Looks to me like the big names in the music industry flexing their collective muscle and setting up a rival to the other streaming services.
This could be a good thing if the money goes to support the music industry and performers as a whole, not to make the rich elite even more wealthier

 

[Seattleoperafan]

I would just be happy if Sirius Metropolitan Opera Radio would actually play something other than the same old 25 numbers over and over between the wonderful historic broadcasts of operas on Sirius. Then we would have a real first class opera radio channel.

 

[mountmccabe]

I currently use Spotify Premium. I am not sure I will notice the difference between 320 and lossless, but it could be an interesting experiment.

I am in no great rush to switch, though, because the story is that other major streaming services are working on higher quality/lossless streaming as well. I do most all of my streaming via my home wifi but there are still data limits; I really have no idea how to judge how close to them I am.

I am very interested in how Tidal's catalog is so I will be watching this thread.

 

[brotagonist]

At $20 a month, that's about the cost of 2 albums a month, or 24 albums a year. Think of how many albums you could own after a few years for the same expense.

Also, streaming can incur additional costs with your telephone company or internet provider.

I guess how you value it depends on whether you like to hear your cherished recordings regularly or whether you tend to listen to something only one or very few times.

 

[DarkAngel]

Looks to me like the big names in the music industry flexing their collective muscle and setting up a rival to the other streaming services.

At $20 a month, that's about the cost of 2 albums a month, or 24 albums a year. Think of how many albums you could own after a few years for the same expense.

The $19.99 monthly rate for CD quality music stream may be too much to attract mainstream audience.......

cheap millenials are perfectly happy with $9.99 Spotify premium 320 MP3 stream or free Spotify service (and free Amazon Prime music stream etc)

I do think that $20 a month is probably too much to attract a large customer base, most young people just are just not that interested in the increased CD sound quality streaming......

But this could put pressure on Spotify, Apple iTunes, even Amazon Prime to release a competing CD quality streaming service for lower cost and use a more sophisticated web music player

 

[DarkAngel]

I am disappointed with the included sound controls in the very basic featured Tidal music webplayer........since this is premium cost subscription and CD quality streaming there should definitely more advanced/sophisticated audio controls, like Spotify for windows there is no graphic equalizer or any way to alter sound other than volume level.......not happy

Like spotify all the attention is on making play lists, sharing lists with friends, grouping saved music etc no attention to tailoring music sound to individual taste or to match audio gear as you would expect.

Also the "find similar music" feature is not as good as spotify

 

[mountmccabe]

I guess how you value it depends on whether you like to hear your cherished recordings regularly or whether you tend to listen to something only one or very few times.

This is key. My preference is mostly for the latter so streaming is great for me.

I also still have a large collection of CDs and vinyl, though these are only slowly growing at this point. I am taking time to explore different performers, performances, and pieces via Spotify before I jump back into growing the CD collection.

 

[Dongiovanni]

Will give it a try. Uncompressed is what I really want and miss in Spotify. How is the searching ? For classical music Spotify is a pain in searching.

 

[DarkAngel]

Will give it a try. Uncompressed is what I really want and miss in Spotify. How is the searching ? For classical music Spotify is a pain in searching.

Just like Spotify there is small search box and you type one or two words, then side menu appears with matching artist, albums, tracks........there is no advanced search to quickly reduce a large group of results

 

[DarkAngel]

I am disappointed with the included sound controls in the very basic featured Tidal music webplayer........since this is premium cost subscription and CD quality streaming there should definitely more advanced/sophisticated audio controls, like Spotify for windows there is no graphic equalizer or any way to alter sound other than volume level.......not happy

On the positive side I have checked playing the same track in Tidal 1411 FLAC vs Spotify 320 MP3 and you can easily hear the superior sound quality of Tidal if you are using decent audio gear.....

I have always thought Spotify 320 MP3 was less detailed/opaque sounding compared to same 320 MP3 track I ripped from CD and played through my computer audio system

Almost certainly Apple ITunes will offer streaming service soon, and not sure if Spotify feels the need to compete in high quality lossless streaming in response to Tidal launch....

 

[anmhe]

I'm happy to pay more if the artists are getting a bigger cut. Problem is, I have not been able to find the info on what artists are paid on Tidal.

As for the better quality, I'm always happier with better sound. I'll just have to ration the memory on my mobile device.

 

[Vlad]

I didn't sign up, but listened to a few 30-second clips. I assume that's not hifi? It didn't sound better than on Spotify to me. Maybe it's a blessing I don't have the ears of a true audiophile!

 

[DarkAngel]

One cool little feature in Tidal (besides lossless music stream) is when you move cursor over album artwork a magnify symbol appears, click on picture and it enlarges artwork to near full screen size in high resolution.......nice for home computer!

 

[Weston]

I'm happy to pay more if the artists are getting a bigger cut. Problem is, I have not been able to find the info on what artists are paid on Tidal.

This is important to me. I've heard that with Spotify the artists get a pittance, if that.

 

[anmhe]

Is offline play available on Tidal? I know that should be the case, but I refuse to make that assumption before signing up.

 

[Albert7]

I love Google Music so much. And it's free. Tidal is very pricey to me.

 

[GreenMamba]

I love Google Music so much. And it's free. Tidal is very pricey to me.

Google Play isn't free for streaming music you don't own.