![]() I'm currently listening to a track that is a MQA file on Tidal vs a CD quality file on Qobuz. In the process, I think side effects of doing this is to take out some of the presence of voices and instruments and add an artificial quality to voices and instruments. I think they have applied some equalization to boost the bass and treble. Some additional thoughts about Tidal after listening on higher quality equipment. Spotify Premium even seems to sound better than Tidal. I'll listen a bit more to Tidal, but so far I'm not impressed at all. Tidal sounds very two dimensional and flat in its sound quality but with some harshness in the high frequencies. Round 2, Qobuz vs Tidal: So far Qobuz is clearly better than Tidal even listening through pretty cheap desktop passive speakers. After listening for a longer period of time, Qobuz is clearly better at conveying detail, transparency/clarity, pace and presence, but Spotify doesn't do anything noticeably wrong. ![]() I can listen to Spotify especially in mobile settings and be engaged and immersed in the music. Any shortcomings that it has are errors of omission rather than errors of commission. From a critical listening perspective in my auditioning sessions, Spotify actually is not bad at conveying detail, pace and presence from music. From a value standpoint, Spotify was my default choice that has the best search as well as working well for my family. Round 1, Spotify Premium vs Qobuz: I have Spotify Premium with a Family subscription. My listening notes of Tidal vs Spotify vs Qobuz for more details of my perceptions: Who knows? All I know is that Tidal sounds different and I’m purchasing backup physical copies of albums I love because I don’t trust the different players in the streaming industry, labels especially, to stop screwing around with things and simply deliver what they promised. I have seen elsewhere online anecdotal posts about audio engineers who noticed that certain albums they worked on were listed as “Master”, which was news to them as they had not utilized MQA technology in the studio. This album apparently was re-recorded in 2019, but the version in Tidal is listed as the original 2003 release and sounds awful, so I can’t imagine it’s the re-recorded version. There is no way MQA was utilized in any way during the recording process, nor that this one random release in the catalog would have been given the MQA treatment recently. This album was released in 2003 on Drive Thru Records, a label long since defunct. I recently noticed that Senses Fail - From the Depths of Dreams was listed as “Master”. I think a big part of the problem is Tidal’s ridiculous all-in on lossy MQA technology. I have not tried Qobuz on my system yet, and would prefer to use Tidal given the built-in Oppo app. Perhaps it’s because there really is something to better quality networking cables and electronics. ![]() Perhaps Tidal is performing some processing to the files on their end without disclosing it. Perhaps whoever from the label is uploading the files to Tidal doesn’t send them the actual lossless tracks. Who knows why these differences exist, especially with the Taylor Swift example where the two should be identical. This was a couple years ago and I don’t remember anything else, nor have I compared the CD version to Tidal more recently. The local version sounded less edgy and fatiguing and had a little more satisfying low end. The files were on a flashdrive plugged into the Oppo’s front USB port. Similar phenomenon here except I was comparing a 320 kbps MP3 download of the album (accompanied the CD purchase, which had not yet shipped), to the Tidal stream. Turns out there is audible watermarking on numerous tracks, including exile. On SBAF, another user noticed inferior quality on Tidal of the same album. There should be no difference between the two, but there is. ![]() My wife noticed the difference too, which, though cliche, is actually saying something because she typically thinks I’m crazy. Immediately jumping back to the CD version was a relief. Bon Iver’s vocals especially sounded strained, and the track as a whole was more edgy and grating. It sounded less dimensional and expansive, the sound coming more from the speakers. Bon Iver) on Tidal (via the Oppo’s native app). After the last track, we queued up track 3 (exile, feat. I recently listened to the CD version of this album all the way through with my wife. The Oppo is connected directly to my TP Link Archer C7 router in the same room with a 3m Blue Jeans Cable Cat6A ethernet cable. The rest of the chain is the same thereafter (S/PDIF output from Audiopraise Vanity board, same cables, DAC, preamp, amp, etc.). I have compared a couple sources of the same album on my chain through my Oppo BDP-103D. Yes, they do sound different, and Tidal is inferior. ![]()
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