Thank you so much! 
1 Like
I think this is actually how most sane people listen to music (not like us insane audiophiles). Just kidding, of course. 
Iāve been listening to Ambient music since Music For Airports was a new release 
Enjoying your work, which was new to me @Alan_Barnard
Iām wondering if your preference for Apple Music @Robert_Borley has anything to do with AirPods being optimized for ALAC/AAC ?
Iām not certain they are but I think I may have read this somewhere?
Personally Iāve never noticed significant SQ differences amongst streaming services other than when different masters are available.
2 Likes
Thanks for your support!
I think I may have missed out on your music because Tidal via Roon has the genre as New Age.
I donāt disagree as New Age and Ambient certainly overlap but I tend to avoid browsing New Age as a genre as itās sometimes a bit tooā¦.flowery? for my taste.
Are you able to add more than one genre when publishing?
Canāt help but wonder if then more folks like me would find you.
I agree, I donāt like the New Age label. Unfortunately, independent artists donāt have a lot of say in how the streaming services classify their releases. Basically you have to pick from a relatively short list of genres that may or may not fit your music, then itās ultimately up to the services.
1 Like
Had a quick listen to a couple of tracks - very nice and chilled indeed 
. Iāll definitely explore further.
1 Like
Yes. I think that is definitely a contributing factor when listening on iOS devices. The difference (improvement is more pronounced). However, AM also sounds better than the native iOS Tidal app so perhaps Apple also optimise for AM over other apps. But then that soesnt explain why Plexamp sounds better. 
Still, AM also sounds better than Tidal on my home audio system.
1 Like
Iāve just spent the last month comparing Apple Music, Qobuz and Tidal, the last in both āstandardā lossless and MQA. Itās been very interesting, and my conclusions are, in decreasing order:
- Tidal/Roon: the balance between MQA and non-MQA very much comes down to the individual recording, but MQA is working well for me.
- Tidal/Qobuz: Very, very little in it, but not enough to tip me to Qobuz
- Apple Music/Apple iPhone 13 XS Max/Airpods Pro 2: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple Music seems to work very well with the spatial audio of their own ear pods.
- Apple Music/USB from M1 Mac Mini: Does sound slightly āprocessedā in comparison to either Tidal or Roon. Rather disappointed
- Apple Music via Airplay. Whateverā¦ ā¦would use for dinner party background or kitchen system.
Playout chain for all bar the iPhone/Airplay combos is Roonserver on M1 Mac Mini via LAN to Gustard A26, into Arcam AVR20 (Analogue Direct setting), to Michell Alecto II+ monoblocs and thence to Martin Logan Spire speakers.
2 Likes
Well of course. As AirPlay is 16/44.1 max. And Apple Music played through AirPlay streams as 256 bit/sec AAC, and not lossless.
Exactly. Included for completeness.
What about this particular track?
Itās not all tracks and albums for me. Iāve also spent hours comparing and most often, I can hear very little difference. But now and again, itās stark. I discovered this when I decided to ditch my reference playlist and started to focus attention on album tracks which stood out to me when listening for enjoyment. Sometimes Iād use Tidal sometimes Apple Music or Spotify. Over the past few months. It hits me when Iām not AB listening. Then when I AB that track the difference is apparent every time.
Tidal is MQA and MQA only and they are the only one to be MQA only. Whatever service you choose on Tidal is either MQA or crippled by MQA. Discussing Tidal vs anything without talking MQA is impossible without performing some unnatural acts.
What about Tidal HiFi (lossless)? Thatās not MQA.
I had a Tidal HiFi plan recently.
Many albums were only available in MQA and thus it would serve MQA.
As many have noted in the forums here it would seem Tidal is gradually replacing all its 16/44 FLAC content with MQA.
Which seems to be a higher priority for them then replacing its lossy only content.
At the risk of re-opening a very stinky can of worms:
My take on MQA is that my brain hates the politics of it but my ears donāt care too much.
2 Likes
Did not noticed that. thanks for pointing it out.
1 Like
Saying āreplacing allā might have been a reach.
I was an early MQA adapter.
At first (as far as I could see) MQA on Tidal was only used for hi-res content.
When I re-subscribed last month I saw a lot of 16/44 MQA and in many cases no FLAC alternative and still plenty of AAC only.
1 Like
1 Like