Is Tidal Ditching MQA? Tidal Music vs Amazon Music Unlimited

Tidal Trial bit.ly/3fVqZu7
Amazon Music Unlimited Trial amzn.to/3AvvPHQ
Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH
apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P
massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5
Amazon Music and Disney Plus Free Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9
www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman
High Res Music Streaming for FREE!!!!
Amazon Music Unlimited Free Trial amzn.to/3fiiMPC
0:00 Start
1:07 Tidal History
2:05 Tidal Controversy
3:45 New Tidal Pricing Structure
6:16 What I like about Tidal
10:48 What I Don't Like about Tidal
12:32 Amazon Music
14:31 What I Don't Like about Amazon Music Unlimited
18:44 Wrapup
#tidal #audiophile #rockandroll
Test Track Playlist:
music.amazon.com/user-playlis...
Satanic Panic Playlist:
music.amazon.com/user-playlis...
Leg Warmers Playlist
music.amazon.com/user-playlis...
cheapaudioman
If you click on this link and sign up for a free trial I will receive a small referral fee.
If you use any of my links to purchase products I will receive a small commission on the sale of that item. Won’t cost you any more to purchase with the link.
Recommended Speaker List
Around $100 (These prices will fluctuate between $75 - $150)
Sony SSCS5 - Lively amzn.to/3pZNnGk
Pioneer AJ First Gen - Laid Back
Neumi BS5 -Neutral amzn.to/3q0SR3B
Around $200
Emotiva Airmotiv B1+ - Crystal Clear and Punchy emotiva.com?aff=9
Elac Debut b5.2 - Neutral amzn.to/2WPNQxw
Wharfedale Diamond 11.2 (In and Out of Stock) - Laid Back/Bassy/Detailed amzn.to/37W8hPA
JBL Stage A130 - Neutral/Great All Arounder at $179 the best value amzn.to/3t7gOHe
Around $400
Klipsch RP600M - Neutral amzn.to/3pBoXCf (This speaker’s price can fluctuate between $440-630 which is really dumb)
Jamo C93ii Bit - Boosted on Top amzn.to/3beIG6F (Can also be found cheaper at Crutchfield)
Q Acoustics 3030i - Neutral with Punch - amzn.to/2OQkpLo
Around $500
SVS Prime bit.ly/2LozJgF
Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 bit.ly/2ZckoD9
Around $600
Elac Uni-Fi UB5.2 - Neutral amzn.to/3s3srPG
Elac Debut Reference - Buttery but Detailed amzn.to/39bt6WC
Polk Reserve R100 - Neutral
Aperion Novus - Neutral and probably the best desktop speaker one can get $599 bit.ly/2Q1H9rW
Aperion Novus Open Box $449 bit.ly/3us8zGx
Wharfedale Diamonds Lush and Detailed amzn.to/3aBAso0 Come as singles
Recommended Amp List
Under $100
Aiyima A07 - Neutral and Full amzn.to/3g9YLNf
Around $130
SMSL AD18 - DAC/Amp Lively on top but solid tone controls amzn.to/3rVZxkN
SMSL SA300 $140 amzn.to/3u83oLs
Around $250
SMSL DA-9 Balanced Amp amzn.to/34SdbLs
Around $400
Emotiva TA-100 - DAC, Phono Stage, Pre Outs - Balanced and Tasty emotiva.com?aff=9
Vista Audio Spark www.vista-audio.com/products.htm
Recommended DACs
Ifi Zen DAC amzn.to/2T3wuyY
FX D01 amzn.to/3d9GY6U
SMSL SU8s amzn.to/2SWTGiw
Denafrips Ares 2 www.denafrips.com/ares
Subs
Emotiva SE8 emotiva.com?aff=9
Emotiva SE12 emotiva.com?aff=9
SVS SB1000 Pro bit.ly/3scmwsc

[@cheapaudioman]

Tidal Trial bit.ly/3fVqZu7 --Amazon Music Unlimited Trial amzn.to/3AvvPHQ ----Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt ------Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH -------apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P ---------Amazon Music and Disney Plus Free Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9 -----------www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman

[@Cyba_IT]

Hey Randy. I'm allergic to paying any kind of subscriptions and am a cheap bastard. I just stream KZbin through my Chromecast Audio and amp and it sounds pretty good to me. I know you're more interested in lossless and all that but a comparison between KZbin music (Just the normal music vids on YT) and the free Tidal and others would be awesome. I realise I could compare them myself but it'd be interesting to hear your take. Cheers mate, back to my suppository repository. :p

[@VicFroman]

Aye, I like the cheap bastard below he's a bit cheeky

[@VicFroman]

They want people to have the FOMO

[@VicFroman]

Free tier go

[@VicFroman]

😶‍🌫️

[@AlbaTech]

I ditched Tidal because of MQA. I was a subscriber to the top tier of Tidal for a couple of years and was agnostic towards MQA, having never heard any improvement through my MQA-capable DAC. Until I watched the GoldenSound videos on MQA. I hadn’t realised what a poisonous self defence mechanism MQA have towards anyone asking questions about their processes. I asked Tidal to make their Hi Res audio accessible in a non-MQA encoded format, which they obviously weren’t able to do so I left for Qobuz and to be honest I don’t miss Tidal one bit.

[@JC-lk3oy]

I also am not a fan of MQA but the sound quality of tidal is still better than most. I tried qobuz for this very reason but the interface was... lacking to say the least. Also the integration with my streamer was buggy. It definitely sounded fantastic though.

[@AlbaTech]

@@JC-lk3oy I do all my listening through Roon, which has the best music interface I have used, so I can’t comment on Qobuz’s interface. But MQA is a pointless distraction. Lossy compression for bandwidth issues that no longer exist and dubious time smearing claims they won’t allow to be independently verified. And I know for a fact they allow music that has not been mastered in an authenticated studio to be encoded and marketed as MQA. A parasitic middleman in a sea of middlemen who bring no improvement to sound quality.

[@alvaskins]

I also dumped MQA for the lower tier after watching Golden Sounds.

[@JC-lk3oy]

@@alvaskins same.

[@tdg176]

@@JC-lk3oy My problem is I like Tidal and Spotify better simply due to there interface being the best. But really wanted lossless/cd quality just better quality than Spotify. Even though I have a MQA dac I am not a fan of MQA do to all the secrecy about the thing. So I tried Qobuz. The interface is pretty good BUT it is missing 90% of my library of preferred music so a no go for me. So I am stuck with amazon hd at the moment till Spotify go lossless as it holds all my preferred music library in lossless/cd quality more son than Tidal I must say so happy days just a shame the interface sucks so hard. Just going to have to be patient for Spotify lossless.

[@postjm9]

I appreciate that Amazon Music is transparent about the bit rate you're getting. Not just what the track is, but what you're actually getting through your device based on its capability and settings. Unless there's reason to believe it's not accurate, if course.

[@scottbaylor6215]

I was just thinking it was time to sit down, have a cup of coffee and learn more about affordable Hi-Fi.

[@tentontarantula7750]

I think a couple of metrics often left off of these discussions are: firstly UI - Tidal's rates first for me, whilst Amazon Music I couldn't live with.; secondly, editorial, where again I think Tidal does a very good job; thirdly (though you do touch on it) the quality of the AI in terms of music discovery, which I think Spotify and Tidal both do a pretty good job of (no idea about Amazon). For me a streaming portal is as much about constantly uncovering new music, as well as immersion in the broader cultural context of what you listen to, which these three parameters are all key to. I was a long-term Spotify sub until I got my hifi sorted and couldn't wait any longer for lossless; now it's Tidal all the way.

[@zeke937]

Having used Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, Apple and Amazon music I can say Amazon is pretty solid at finding new music you'll like (up there with Spotify imo).

[@macgarester]

@@zeke937 I agree. I think Amazon music has come a long way in the last few years for recommendations.

[@word2RG]

how can ANY searchable UI, where you are UNABLE TO SORT RESULTS, be complimented?

[@gregstevenson7401]

My thoughts exactly. Tidal just seems to get me more than the others but Roon integration is the cherry. Nowadays a service would need to be pretty frickin’ great to tear me off that platform. Also weird to hear someone knocking payouts to artists and then praise another service for being cheap.

[@quincyfreeman2901]

This^ This is the kind of stuff I tell newer folks to care about. If you’re going to stream, pick a service and experience you like, and don’t worry about sampling rates for now. My only complaints with Tidal is price, and that once every week or 2 I run across a missing album, that I know Spotify does have.

[@chrismurray790]

Holy Schiit! You’ve got some Ascend CBM-170 behind you! I’m excited to hear your review. I used to really like them for the price but my ears have matured since I started watching your channel.

[@danny51577]

Thanks for detailed breakdown. I have been with amazon music for couple yrs but recently a bit aggravated with it. Was thinking about trying tidal but didbr know enough about it. Now I'll use your link and give it a shot, thanks man

[@smartzoli]

If I set my Windows settings to match the highest output of the DAC , Amazon Music does change the output of each track if I use their exclusive mode - at least according to their interface

[@gmgasser]

You hit the nail on the head about the "My Playlist" and the radio/stations for Amazon Music. They play the same songs all the time...and the stations start on one of the same three songs almost every time. It's infuriating. Thanks for this video!

[@bretspangler8717]

MQA adds cost to anything it touches and there is no proof that it improves music and substantial evidence to indicate it is a scam. When the owners of MQA are asked to explain what MQA does they can not, they are adding equalization and nothing more erasing a lot of the original sound and its acoustic envelope, jacking with music and calling it an improvement. So a service lies about it subscribers and established that they don't care about the truth, then they announce that they are a friend of the artists and pay them "more" with not even a tiny slice of proof.

[@thekittencult]

Why ppl defend MQA is beyond me.

[@ericelliott227]

You have it mostly correct about MQA. I was invited to the early demos before release somehow. I met the developers and learned what it was to be. It started out as a real thing, which was a lossless compression format designed to pump lossless music through our narrow US bandwidth pipes, nothing more and nothing less. (We are still behind every other country on the broadband front to this day). The only thing is that it required a different uncompressing protocol and at that time there were only two Dacs that could do it, one was $100k and one in development was to be $99. At the time Sony was very interested and had permitted Tidal to offer Sony's catalog with MQA. The other part is that Tidal had to purchase license for MQA, so yeah, it is always about money. It also explains some why Tidal was one tier at $20 per month. So MQA started as a real thing, but in two years time turned to snake oil thanks to rumors by "audiophiles" and some unscrupulous audio journalists that turned it into some type of magic fairy dust that could somehow be applied to everything to improve sound quality, including in the words of one reporter (whom I will not name) MQA could be applied the vinyl records! (No, it was not Michael Fremer). The developers for reasons I will never figure out decided to get on board with the ridiculous MQA conspiracies and run with it. All I can figure is that greed can make some people do really stupid stuff! So the developers killed their own product! The smart move and the more money into the coffers that could have flowed would have been to stick with the facts and tech language instead of leaving planet earth.

[@buffal0bilious]

Even if we assumed MQA is good, it seems like ditching MQA would be good business. They'd have a much larger market for their hi-res tier if they switched to flac or another more universally compatible format. Schiit, Geshelli, JDS Labs, Chord Electronics, RME, Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Emotiva... none of them support MQA. That's a lot of customers.

[@dudemastermaster8944]

🔳

[@shitsandwich1983]

have you listened to any mqa tracks?

[@charlesclifton1006]

Well Randy, I just learned more about streaming services - relevant to my lack of understanding AND I wasn't even aware that I actually needed to know this. Maybe it is just the way you teach or present your knowledge that strikes that cord of curiosity but whatever it is it works. Big smile here. You and The British Audiophile are simply the best.

[@rjzlwop3153]

Thank you so much Randy getting on it now

[@Dankzzz]

Very nice review, what gear do you use for roon? Nas, computer?

[@MSGjk8]

Enjoy Tidal daily. The generous Military discount they have is very nice and rare.

[@glenncurry3041]

Some good detail in there! Thanks!

[@JBPittmanVISUALS]

I've used them all. I'm settling on Apple Music. I send the lossless signal out of my Apple TV via hdmi to my TV and from the TV to my Denafrips Ares II via optical. Sounds great! and it is all included in my Apple TV+ plan. Apple lossless sounds really good on Apple Play in my car too.

[@daymonnin]

I do the same - Apple Music on Apple TV HD to TV via HDMI then TOSlink to my RME dac. It’s limited to CD quality but I’ve tried hi res and cannot hear any difference so I’m very happy with this setup.

[@DonnieMulligan]

Randy, Love it! Keep up the great videos. How about a comparison video about cheap vs. expensive speaker wires, cables, and interconnects? Audio Jewelry or conduits to the Gods?

[@RdandTrk1]

Thanks for the content. Channel is awesome.

[@BillyKueekSG]

Thank you Randy for another great video sharing your thoughts and feelings. I was a Spotify subscriber until I decided to get back into the audio hobby when my disabilities and health got worse and I am working less. From my teens, I had cassettes and my late dad’s vinyls and would often damaged his Hi Fi system which was very bad of me considering we were rather poor. I’d make my own cassettes and even sold what I dubbed. Later while serving in the military (It is compulsory to serve in the Singapore Armed Forces aka Army when boys turned 18, for a period of 2 to 2.5 years), I worked part time as a DJ for about 7 years and kept many CDs, SACDs and of course Vinyls Singles that we DJ used in those days. When my career got better, I bought my own cars and would spent tens of thousands in Audio system for my cars. I moved to MD when it first came out and even had an MD Player in my car. Too bad I gave away my vinyls when I got married as we could only afford to rent a room so I had no space. The CDs were kept, many of them are still in my storage facility I rent every month. So, I started back into the audio hobby. I am a headphone user for now as my home has no ideal place for speakers but I’ll be looking into a good pair of bookshelves and a sub when I can. I evaluated by signing up for the trials with Apple Music and Tidal to check out MQA because my DAC amp can play MQA. It just doesn’t sound right to me and I didn’t like it. I subscribed to Apple Music instead since I use a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad Pros and iPhones. I have a collection of about 20TB of Hi Res music (DSDs, FLACs, AIFF, etc…) which I listen to most of the time and start to manually catalog them. I’d like to try Qobuz but it’s not available in Singapore.

[@howardmims8376]

Thank you for the info

[@giovannipepe5945]

Hiya Randy. I'm a Qobuz subscriber based in France. Small point of info..I recently changed to their Duo plan. My partner lives and works as a teacher 400 miles away, different family names. So although they stipulate "under same roof", the reality is actually less draconian than one might think. BTW absolutely love your vids 👍

[@Chiroman527]

Hey Randy, good video as usual. I'm relatively a Newbie when it comes to Streaming music. Watching this sent my Head spinning almost as fast as Linda Blair's in Exorcist. I have been Hood Winked into signing up for Pandora , Spotify and Tidal. I am a Amazon Prime member (I don't really know.....as a prime member is Amazon Music Free to me?). I am a Music affectioando and also use Streaming to play Music selections that I play my Drums to. I'm 70 yo, retired, and "learning". The monthly charges are Mounting up (foolishly). I guess like anything else there are Pros and Cons to each. What is the consensus out there for using just 1 service to meet the needs?

[@dank1292]

I can tell you this, after reading and listening about all of the secrets and mysticism behind MQA ,(also known as B.S.) I dumped the highest tier on my Tidal account and cut my "Family Plan" cost in half and I honestly don't even miss the super high end dog whistle level of listening on my Powernode 2i. I do qualify for the veteran's discount but you don't get the discount if you subscribe to a family plan.

[@GhettoMike72]

As a prime member and Alexa user (sometimes, when it works) I wanted to prefer Amazon prime but tidal had the advantage in usability for my liking. Well not just mine but my wife and daughter use it too. I see a lot of people hate mqa but I just hit play and enjoy music.

[@kylemacarthur3177]

I originally thought my PC couldn't play Amazon HD audio, but I watched a youtube video on how to change your soundcard's settings. Basically, you can increase the output needed to a DAC. My topping d10s is currently playing at 192khz. Amazon Music certainly isn't plug and play, but it is easily remedied...

[@adsph]

Great content. I have a better understanding on the topic now.

[@ThecrosseyedTexan]

I see over your right shoulder an ascend acoustics speaker am I correct? And if so when will you be reviewing that one good sir?

[@sopasadena1499]

Thanks Randy. Great review. I did subscribe to the Tidal Hi Fi promo through your link. Connected to my Geshelli J2, Vidar, Freya S and refurbed AR2ax speakers I do believe Tidal sounds better than Amazon music unlimited. Perhaps it is the way Tidal on Windows 10 pro interacts with my computer. I do like the Tidal App very much as well as the the playlists, the recommended titles, and Tidal sponsored music. Do you know if the Master subscription sounds better than Hi Fi CD quality subscription and if one goes with the Master subscription, do you need MQA (which is not supported by the J2)?

[@tonykazz2779]

Mr. Randy, that is one hell of a review ! Tony in Florida

[@BryanRuby]

The inconsistency of what devices I have that can and can't play MQA is why I don't like Tidal. My preference is Qobuz (with their preference toward FLAC) but their library is somewhat limited for my tastes. I eventually landed with Amazon for lossless music streaming at a good price.

[@BrentWatkinsMusic]

I know this video is 8 months old, but I'm pretty sure Amazon Music for Mac Desktop has always had (or at least for the past year) exclusive mode. I'm looking at it right now. My Topping DAC displays the current playback rate and it is changes when the track sample rate changes. I wish I could include a screenshot.

[@mattwolhar1818]

Thanks for the breakdown Randy, one thing I’m finding a bit irritating it’s almost every week with TIDAL I got to play an album and it’s no longer available. Not sure if this is the norm for other services

[@jimmyayotte5529]

Amazon music does this too. I can't figure out why. It says the album is gone but then you search for it and it is there. You have to delete the old one and add the new one in even though they are identical. I though it was due to it being downloaded but it also does it to albums I've never downloaded.

[@TheAwmoody]

I tried Tidal MQA on my Bolt Helm DAC and it was hard to hear it with my headphones turned way up. Amazon Music is great for the price. But I noticed when they switched to Atmos and 360 they no longer streamed in Ultra HD. It's annoying that they haven't upgraded their own Fire Tablets with the Atmos like you mentioned here.

[@philm6674]

Your speaker reminds me of my early 90s Boston Acoustics HD8. Really nice sounding setup for music.

[@johnt2442]

Which DAC would you recommend the ZEN DAC Signature V2 or the Geshelli J2? Thank you for your opinion.

[@EddieJazzFan]

Since I'm a physical format type of guy, I use the Amazon free service mainly for the radio broadcasts. The resolution seems excellent to me, considering I use it to get FM stations (mostly independent/college, etc) that I don't receive well over my regular stereo receiver. With the voice control, you juts say the call letters of the radio station and it starts in few seconds. Super convienient!

[@matiasarenas7475]

Good video, what about Deezer HIFI? It's good sound quality? I really like the sound of his hifi tracks, but i wanted to know other opinions about it

[@chadlejeune9834]

I've said this before in the comments on this channel, but I think this should get more attention about Tidal. The one reason I decided to move from Amazon Music to Tidal is their credits. For each album and track they credit the producers, sound and recording engineers, and musicians. And you can see what other albums they have worked on. Spotify or Amazon music recommend me music in the same genre with similar sound, but I rarely like those recommended artists. Instead I've found so many new favorites after going into the credits of albums I love and look at what other albums the sound engineers have worked on. From what I know, this credits feature is only on tidal.

[@diamondbracelette]

Agreed, although a lot of those credits aren't as informative as they should be. Probably a label or artist issue in terms of info provided. Also, Tidal needs to add search by music label. Qobuz to does this

[@miltono.1152]

I think you're wrong about Amazon's exclusive mode, not only it has it but does the job, bypasses Windows settings to play at the DACs capability. I do have it on my desktop app it shows the songs bit rate and depth, the device maximum playback capability and the setting it is currently playing. Edit: sad you didn't mention Deezer

[@rosswarren436]

I think he did mention Deezer once, in passing.

[@michaelknibbs]

Agreed. On a Mac open Audio MIDI and select the highest bitrate and frequency your DAC supports. Et voila.

[@Monsux]

This! Amazon music has really nice exclusive mode that works way better than one with the Tidal. This is why I'm not switching back to Tidal. I used to have so many small problems with Tidal Exclusive Mode since it only has an effect for HiFi and Master playback songs (didn't work on every track). Super annoying when Amazon music does this for everything with lower price.

[@stevecagle550]

Thanks for your thoughts... Love TIDAL !!!

[@jeffthurston2568]

How do you access tune kit or the like to import Spotify playlists?

[@john26262]

One small correction. Those utilities do not necessarily pull in your entire playlist. When I tried it probably about 10% of my playlist was grayed out and would not play after I imported it to Tidal. Admittedly I have some fairly obscure tracks in my playlist but I suspect that Tidal may not have licensing for everything thus they cannot include everything.

[@wilssantos2]

Man, I really liked the way you conveyed your message in the video. I'll subscribe to keep seeing more. You basically spoke to me: you care about Nirvana, STP, Metallica, and certainly a bunch of other bands hehe. And you spoke true about "hi-res". Tell you what: most music producers just make their music in 16/44.1 (myself included, and quite a few bands, like Periphery, as well). The human ear basically cannot hear the difference in decibels that 24/192 brings, because it extrapolates the range in which we can actually hear. So a good hi-fi, lossless, cd-quality stream (at 16/44.1) is perfectly enough for ANY audiophile, either they agree or not haha. In that sense, Amazon and Tidal (hifi) are on the same footing now, with things like CATALOGUE mattering a lot more. By the way... I still subscribe to Spotify. Can't wait to switch lol.

[@christianwagner8364]

Thanks!

[@mcjonner]

I've read that tidal can allow a dongle DAC to bypass the block that android puts on its output as well. Not sure how much that affects the sound? Think I'll try it though

[@williammurray9055]

What is cool looking speaker behind your shoulder?

[@ralop4573]

my experience with mqa is that it sounds at best like just another filter or nothing at all

[@matreviewlab]

Cant wait for Amazon to figure out how to change the bit rate and bit depth in exclusive mode and on my phone!!! How can their software engineers haven’t figured it out by now 🙄 I really don’t want it to upsample everything to my dac capabilities and don’t want to update it manually for each song

[@metalman0708]

Do you use the Tidal app as your music server?

[@steversystems]

Another good, no-no sense informative podcast. Thank you very much, Randy!

[@jalexander192]

Amazon Music desktop app DOES have Exclusive Mode (it might not be bit-perfect though) Click on the little Speaker on the lower right in the "now playing" bar.

[@drewpknutz1410]

Yeah, but the beef is that "Exclusive Mode" doesn't actually change the bit-rate depending on the track like Tidal's does. You have to manually go into your PC settings to switch from 16/41 to 24/96 or whatever. It SAYS that it's changing the bit rate, but if you have a DAC that shows the rate, you'll find out that it's not.

[@edbrumbaugh9202]

Another informative video, thank you. I still like Apple Music, don't like that I'm stuck with whatever I set the bit rate at on my M1 Mini, but ... I use my iPad Pro on a USB C dock, and connect to my DAC via USB A from the dock to the USB B on the DAC and that set up changes the sampling rate based on the song being played, works like a champ. From what you've said about Tidal, Apple Music seems very similar wrt algorithms playing similar content when your selected album finishes, and their custom radio station creation puts together similar artists, etc., pretty much the same pricing structure as well. I'm still researching to see if there is something better than what I'm currently using, but so far, haven't found it. Again, great video, much appreciated.

[@dariuszsalamon9441]

get audirvana and that will change your m1 to great streamer you will not have to deal with apple sude as far as sound

[@charlienyc1]

Nice video. The title is misleading, though. Many of the plusses you identified about Tidal apply to Spotify. I wish they'd up their audio game, though. The $15 family plan is hard to beat, especially considering it runs on all of our devices and also offers Spotify Kids for the little one.

[@ajzepp8976]

I signed up for Tidal last year to play around with MQA, but my favorite overall is still Deezer.

[@jamesdennis6274]

I use had deezer for years and still do. They are now hifi. I use deezer and I use tidal.. both family Counts. Deezer is brillant but the quality of mqa on tidal is unmatched.

[@WimHulpia]

@@jamesdennis6274 Deezer is lossless, Tidal is lossy, the quality of Deezer is much better, however Tidal offers lossy hi-res and Deezer is limited to 16/44. If you want the best, then Qobuz is your friend as Qobuz offers lossless hi-res. Mqa is a joke.

[@matiasarenas7475]

@@WimHulpia what about amazon music? in the country where i live qobuz is too expensive, and i don´t like the MQA from tidal

[@BostonMike68]

I just started trying tidal masters but I been using the dac in my pioneer vsx 45 and was wondering if I need a mqa dac . I'm new to the streaming and dac quality

[@dustincharger9919]

In the "added pay for the artists," on the MQA subscription is it going to the artist or the hedge fund that owns the publishing rights to the music?

[@davidoconnell4433]

How do Amazon or Tidal compare to Live X Live's algorithm? And which service is best on an Android phone (with a decent pair of headphones)?

[@tosvus]

Amazon should give you their premium music plan included with Prime with the recent price hike... I've actually turned off auto renewal of prime at the moment. Will see what I do when it runs out in January...

[@luxurykid666]

Ummmm I don't know about down in the US but up here in Canada my desktop Amazon Music App has an exclusive mode- it's startling how much running it in exclusive has positive effect on the music

[@audiorick841]

I mainly have Tidal because of Roon. In Canada no Qobuz so if I want to use Roon, no other choice. Still like Tidal though, just annoying to be locked with one service.

[@johngordon1175]

Wiki used to be a verified service but now there is no verification because of infighting in the accuracy verification departments

[@SubSonic1]

I get Amazon Music to play 24bit/192kHz on my Amazon Fire Stick 4k with no issues, which Amazon devices did you use?

[@dondelchulia3189]

The tidal discounts actually bring it down to $10 and $5 and I think they’re running a $2 and $1 for 3 months deal at the moment if anyone is looking to try something outside of the bezos space

[@Balagos1716]

Thanks

[@hamstercanibal]

Thank you for the video, I felt it was honest and informative, I use apple music and spotify, and I am actually considering subscribing tidal after watching this.

[@paulcs2607]

15:24 “There HD…” Umm, Their… I’m English 🤓 I know, you’re devastated. By the way, loved your video with Tarun.

[@SoFRESHandSoMJ]

I’m kinda confused about the “Tidal Masters” stuff. Like will I hear a difference with the master tracks if I did or didn’t have a MQA device? Should I downgrade to Tidal Hi-Fi instead of Hi-Fi Plus? (btw I’m using the Schiit Modi 3E DAC + Schiit Magni Heretic Amp)

[@CharlesSeraphDrums]

I think MQA is good but it's not the ultimate technology It does sound much better than say ALAC but it's right up there with other services. I don't swear by it, I still prefer to listen to Tidal than Apple or Amazon. MY main reason for choosing Tidal is exactly artist payouts. For me it's about getting the best quality music and the artists getting the most out of it.

[@MrLito1977]

What speaker is next to you???

[@davidoconnell4433]

Is Dolby Atmos a feature worthy of consideration and do either tidal or amazon have many tracks utilizing it? I've heard a number of example tracks but only one example of a good use of spatial audio. Most of the ones I have heard just gradually go back and forth from left to right and don't stay overhead very long.

[@totalplonker824]

Personally I can't listen to Dolby Atmos music for more than 20 minutes without it giving me a headache, mind you I've never been overly impressed by this so called 'object-based audio' thing anyway! And I've got a full 5.2.4 (wired) audiophile grade setup.

[@opie32958]

These Sith Audio cable wraps are awesome. Best tip in the whole video. I just ordered a second pack.

[@ericelliott227]

Thanks Randy, I'm glad I watched this. Tidal lowering it's pricing to match the rest of the world and even offering a free tier was news to me. I had no idea until now (Tidal being late to the party is why). Their pricing and MQA is foremost why I was never interested in Tidal. I also did a catalog comparison between a few services and Tidal was just ok, but not best at the time. I use Spotify at the premium subscription ($10). They have/had the largest catalog. I know it is lossy, but I don't care because of how I use streaming. I don't formally listen to music via streaming service. For formal listening I go vinyl or CD. I use streaming for background and research. So I really don't need lossless or CD quality or whatever. Of course, if I used streaming services for formal listening, then the rules change and I would need lossless. Do I ever see myself using streaming for formal listening? No. I was raised analog. I'm insufferably old school and locked in to that and the key has been lost. That said, at the $10 price I am curious again about Tidal, so if I get time I will research their catalog again to see how it measures up. If it is as good as Spotify, I might switch, not sure. (I have trust issues). I have no interest in Amazon Music. First of all, I have no interest in Prime. I don't need anything I order in an hour. I will wait the 7 to 15 days (99% of the time I get my order in 5 days or less, sometimes next day without Prime). Sure $8 per month is better on my budget than $10, but it is not $8 per month when you do the math. Prime is what now $110, $120 per year? So Prime is $10 per month plus $8 per month for Amazon Music so it is $18 per month as it works out. Prime just gives fast delivery, Amazon Music and Amazon movies, which you still have to pay to see anyway. Amazon Music also has a tiny catalog compared to most other stream services. (Besides I don't want to give Bezos any more money than I need to). As for artists getting paid by these services: I don't buy any of streaming services claims. The services pay the artists very little, if at all in spite of what they claim. If I like something I hear on a stream service enough, I go buy the album or whatever. (I was in the music industry for a time and can tell you that artists also get paid maybe a penny for album sales - unless you are buying direct from the artists, but that is another conversation). MQA - Don't get me started! The real shame of MQA is that it did not start out as snake oil, but it definitely is now thanks to real stupidity on the side of the developers. (I was invited to early demo meetings somehow and attended, well before MQA was released). I won't buy or pay attention to anything that has MQA or an "Audiophile" label on it. As for Amazon Music exclusively controlled with voice - there is an easy fix for that. Any smart speaker device works on all streaming services. I have a google device and a few Echo devices and I can control Spotify, Pandora and any stream service by voice. So voice control is not an exclusive benefit to Amazon Music. I stream through my system via Ms. Thing (Alexa) with bluetooth. I can also tether my Echo devices with a 3.5mm aux cable if I want to. I can't stand Roon! It is totally useless to me even if it was free, which it is not and far too expensive for what it is in my opinion.

[@michaelknibbs]

You might be confusing Amazon’s free catalog size with the premium. The $9.99 has about the same catalog size as Tidal. Although I have found content and high definition availability varies. Amazon seem to have recently surpassed Tidal here. As always our choices come down to the trade offs and how we use these services. Choice is good.

[@billnugent3738]

I use spotify on win 10 over usb to my ifi Zen Dac...am trying Amazon unlimited with Ultra HD, but the light on the Zen DAC doesn't change colors. You said in the Video that you need to change a setting to get the higher resolution to work? Please someone explain what setting I need to change. Thanks!

[@colinfrancis4719]

Tidal also has a student plan. It’s just $9+ Canadian a month, and it has MQA.

[@robertmarshall7712]

I use Amazon HD on my phone and stream by bluetooth to my system. I think the sound quality is excellent (ifi Zen One signature) and I don't think I'm getting the lag you're talking about as I'm not using a streamer. Also, I don't have "my playlist" using my phone but "my station", which I really like as it streams all my frequent plays but throws in some new stuff as well.

[@welderfixer]

Randy, I'm going to finally give Tidal HiFi a try on my PC and ROKU. Let's see how well Tidal does against my Amazon HD subscription on both. I'm hoping that Tidal will impress me over the 5.1.2 system. So far, Tidal HiFi is on par(maybe a little better) than Amazon HD over the PC. I do seem to like the Tidal PC app a bit better. Time will tell. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@unchainedverse]

Hi there. I was wondering if you are still liking Tidal over the other services?

[@Zach_Routhier]

Ascend Acoustics CBM 170. Best budget speaker ever and my first audiophile speakers. I now have the Sierra 2s.

[@CharlesHeitz]

Would love to see a Qobuz vs. Amazon Music comparison!

[@BraxtonGibbons68]

Amazon Music does have exclusive mode on Mac and PC! I use it all the time.

[@TheBababa420]

I know I'm late in responding to this video. (I am old remember, fixed income kind of guy) I am really enjoying Amazon Music Unlimited... What I hate is their CAR MODE. Had to google /KZbin on how to turn the damn thing off. This might be like the speaker wire topic. but what is your take on the exclusive mode? does it sound better? I like it, but I turn it off because it messes with KZbin audio/video. Yes, I am listening through my desktop, but connected through my partially vintage 2 channel system.

[@NeilBlanchard]

You're right about Qobuz's family plan - my 85 yo mother loves to listen to music, and I got her an Andover Songbird, but there is no way that she needs to have her own subscription. I was paying for a 5 user license and it was only me and my Mom who would ever use it. But since she lives in her own house - it would still kill my music when she happened to start listening.

[@talon2pro]

Can you save/record music with Tidal or Amazon music?

[@thenexthobby]

Artist support comes from sales of physical media, merchandise, concert tix. Streaming doesn't. Streaming subscriptions are a great "audition" service for what I just mentioned. $10, max. I think that should include family plans but we aren't there yet. As much as I prefer lossless, I'd be good with a super-cheap lossy option because that's what lossy is worth: basically nothing except to spur me to a larger purchase if you're anything more than a casual fan. Record labels STILL have yet to figure out this basic construct: (If people "steal" your content, they don't value it and are not "taking" value ... ya can't have it both ways.)

[@ronalcasid3844]

Why would anyone pay $10 more for MQA when they get lossless at a lower priced plan?

[@erics.4113]

Thanks for the 3 month tidal reminder Randy. I've been on Spotify since I started my hifi journey last year and today signed up for Tidal trial. The lossless on tidal vs Spotify is not as insignificant as I thought it may be. Spotify sounds clean and clear and resolute as if it's all there. But with my system, the same source on lossless tidal images better in the soundstage and sounds smoother. I've got decently resolving gear and thought I'd share with anyone else that hadn't tried yet. For everyone else, a big DUHHHHH coming my way I suppose. Haha

[@joedinatale5913]

I would like to know why at 16 bit 44 the volume is slightly louder than 24bit 192 doses it have to do with compression of the music

[@jacoblynch9862]

Here's my experience I have a Bluesound no TY that I would listen to the Paradise radio on it has an MQ a setting and a CD quality setting that you can listen to I have tried both back to back where it actually played the exact same music and between MQA and CD I could not tail any bit of a difference the rest of my system is a parasound P6 with my Bluesound is going in digitally optically two of a 2125 amp to clips RP to ADF towers in between in QA in CD I cannot tell any bit of a difference

[@klc2578]

There's another sound quality comparison between tidal & Amazon is the 3rd party music player to improve their sound quality like Roon, it is from Android's UAPP & HIBY APP. Its a huge sound quality improvement to the Tidal mqa, mind to talk about this at the next video?

[@shitsandwich1983]

i also run tidal. mqa sounds fuggin awesome to my ears.

[@rockyhikes3080]

I’m a bit of a audio noob, but does tidal make a difference for streaming on Bluetooth to a device? Not sure if this only applies to wired connections with a dac. Looking to go there in the future, but just sticking to Bluetooth for now.

[@zac8670]

Check the specs of your Bluetooth device, as well as what you're using to stream to it. Bluetooth has very clear audio restrictions, although there are many "add on" technologies that change this, such as APTx HD. To use those, you'd have to have compatibable devices and also check they are enabled. There's a new one coming out that looks quite interesting. On typical consumer gear, it's possible you'll notice some amount of difference, though not much. There are pro options, though, such as a Bluetooth DAC paired with audiophile headphones that have support for an appropriate Bluetooth "add on" technology. In that case, yes, it would be noticeable.

[@imperialdagger]

Greetings, comrades ! Is there a music service that fades music one track into another? No gaps ? Wouldn’t think it would be rocket surgery.

[@bokolobs1264]

Excellent!

[@Dark-Star]

Amazon has Exclusive Mode on desktop. Does anyone know why Amazon sounds bad on Roku?

[@ukspawn666]

I cant seem to find tidal FREE plan, only a free TRIAL... that ends though right?

[@joeoberle3237]

Pretty sure I hear my Schitt Bifrost click over when Amazon music switches from CD quality to HD. Can anyone else confirm? Seems like it’s auto adjusting the bit rate etc.

[@Terry12345]

I use Tidal exclusively. My Rose RS250 is setup for it and I'm sort of use to the way it works. The only thing that bothers me is the price. I just got an email the other day saying that taxes would now be added to price. This is basically their way of blaming the government for charging you even more for an already over priced service. MQA doesn't bother me. I can take it or leave it. I love the Rose RS250. It has a built-in DAC that's unequaled to anything I've ever listened to. I own a SMSL DO200 and it's a disappointment when used with the Rose. A buddy of mine has a DENAFRIPS Aries 2 and while it's an improvement over the DO200 It just isn't in the same league as the Rose DAC. The Rose wasn't cheap but I really like. I imagine in the next few years others will make streamers with some of the same features at a better price but I doubt any will sound as good.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

(Off topic I know and I'm sorry but is that--is that an Ascend Acoustics loudspeaker?)

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

Aha! It IS an Ascend Acoustics speaker! Years ago I had fantasies about their Sierra line...

[@michaelknibbs]

This could be a long response. I have tried Tidal’s premier service in the past, decided that I did not like or appreciate MQA or spatial codecs and decided it was not worth the price. However, like many others here, I really like its interface, facility and integration with my Powernode via Tidal Connect. So, with this announcement of decoupling MQA, I thought I’d try again. After many weeks of listening, here are some problems I uncovered. 1) Comparing tracks from Master sources with Amazon HD was generally good. There are sonic differences on many tracks but I put that down to different master sources and not bitrates or codecs - there was no pattern to suggest otherwise. So good, I thought - but wait. 2) This is the big one. In Tidal, albums tagged as Master (MQA presumably?) sound way better than their ‘standard’ copy. I’m concerned about what this means. Is Tidal using MQA to decode these albums, or are they just better quality originals? I can’t see they are FLAC as that’s not Tidal’s claim. Why do I care? Firstly, it’s a pain to have to see if an MQA file is present - why not filter the standard file out for customers paying for the mid-tier service? This is exacerbated by imported playlists that default to the non MQA version - or possibly arbitrarily picking up the first track that the meta data points to. So now I have to ensure I’m pointing to the best copy. If I go to the effort of creating master copy playlists, what guarantee do I have that Tidal won’t change to different sources once they really dump MQA? Makes me nervous. I guess my real concern is whether Tidal has the financial chops to survive Amazon’s pricing and ultimately investment and development. Maybe I’ll wait… I’d like to see other experiences here - am I crazy?

[@mrq1701]

Would someone please tell me if the Tidal App, running on Windows 11 on a Surface Pro 8, in exclusive mode, connected to an external DAC via USB, will the DAC receive an unprocessed stream without windows doing any processing??

[@deanokay666]

I've been thinking about moving away from Tidal due to cost. This video has now convinced me to do so. TuneKid was mentioned as a playlist transfer into Tidal. Any third party recommendations to export playlists from Tidal, please?

[@zac8670]

Soundiz