Leaving Tidal at last

I’ve not tried Tidal integration, but I agree, it’d be very useful to be able to toggle Tidal (and any future streaming service additions) albums in and out of one’s library as a global setting rather than to have to revert to using Focus…it’s not exactly like you’re free to browse any way you want once you’ve selected a focus.

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I once more tried to like Tidal over the last few months, but I believe I have failed miserably – of the 20ish albums I have added in that time, I have played none. Browsing the MQA/Master lists so far, I find that there’s very little that I would listen to at all – and for the few albums I do, the reason for listening now would be mainly ‘because MQA’. That feels just wrong.

I understand that may be just me and my listening habits / preferences. It does not help that about half of what I listen to is not available for streaming. For discovery, I like Spotify far better (playlists, dailies, new releases, etc. are at least somewhat tailored to my likings) – certainly since it fits into my (room corrected) audio path seamlessly. And not seeing this on my Roon overview is a valued added bonus:

In concept, I really like the idea of having the world’s largest music store at my disposal in CD quality (or better) and I like what Roon has done with it – but I guess it just does not work for me. Oh well…

Agree Rene.

Much prefer Spotify.

Tidal is still in the dark ages regarding user interface and don’t get me started about the bombardment of Jay Z’s favourite genre.

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The latest Elbow is pretty good though :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Bought the 24/96 version the moment it came out.

I too would leave tidal immidiately if there would be some sort of Qobuz or Spotify integration…

That’s not a beach. This is a beach:

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I use Tidal streaming to ‘discover’ music and if I like the album and wish get it, I download from Tidal store. There’s so many albums that are out of print and it is difficult even to get it on CDs and digital downloads elsewhere. I brought several albums from Tidal store after I discover those i like in the streaming contents.

Tidal opens up music in a way not just focus on high quality streaming and lossless digital downloads, it makes everything in one convenient stop pit for most of your music!

ROTFL
Had to show my wife

[quote=“MusicEar, post:26, topic:13241, full:true”]
I use Tidal streaming to ‘discover’ music and if I like the album and wish get it, I download from Tidal store. [/quote]
I’m obviously missing something here, because I see no way to buy and download albums from Tidal. Both the Tidal desktop app and the Tidal web app only show the possibility of streaming material from Tidal. How do you buy a download from Tidal?

Edit: Is this constrained by region? I’m in the Netherlands - perhaps Tidal aren’t offering downloads here?

Die Nederlanders toch :slight_smile: : http://tidal.com/nl/store/

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That’s quite an expensive hobby – Tidal downloads are usually 30-80% more expensive than elsewhere (Qobuz, 7Digital, etc.).

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In my region, the pricing of a typical Tidal lossless digital download is about the same buying a CD. So it is not much of an issue here.

@stevev1 - bedankt! I started with tidal.com, and once logged in, the store seems inaccessible…

:+1: Good for you! :wink:

Over here, new releases are usually in the €17-20 region, with Qobuz offering CD-quality downloads at €9-13.

Unfortunately once logged in there’s also no way to access their magazine from within the main tidal site : http://read.tidal.com is really good and has a wonderful layout.

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I can’t say for sure why you dislike Tidal in the way it presents itself as a music streaming but I can agree when you come to contents streaming Tidal is still a bit behind from Spotify. However, Tidal offers exclusive contents and HiRes MQA not found in others streaming partners which are the plus points here.

The only thing I keep away from Spotify is they still stream in lossy format!!! Their idea of streaming music is based on a ‘free music model’ with ads. I think every artists will tell you, their hard works are not for free!

Tidal is the best streaming system in Roon. It’s also the only streaming service for Roon. If there were other streaming services available in Roon, it would be easier to evaluate the choices, but for now, Tidal offers hi-res and MQA both in and out of Roon. Deezer is the only other service I have used which was lossless, and I liked it too. Have to give Tidal credit for partnering with Roon, which is probably a relatively small niche in the market. There are tradeoffs using many products. For me, Tidal Roon is pretty darn good.

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Yes: Tidal brings good stuff to the table that I would love to like – and Roon integration is unsurpassed and never-seen-before (or after). For me, the exclusive content and the current crop of MQA are of little to no interest. This may very well be different for anyone else. :slight_smile:

As for Spotify: I went Premium the day it arrived over here. I don’t particularly care for anything that is free (there’s always a catch) – and I really don’t need to be bothered with ads when listening to music. At 320, the quality is quite alright – surely for background/discovery/car/on-the-go/holiday/etc. For relaxing times, make it Suntory time – with Roon.

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I admit I found the Tidal push of modern rap/hip-hop music annoying at first. However, Tidal serves up quite an eclectic catalog at CD-quality or better. The sound quality is much better than Spotify and the selection is good. I learned that you can go into a specific genre (e.g., jazz) and get a tailored set of new albums listed.

I agree the discovery function is not as good as Spotify but I’ve found it more rewarding to discover new music by looking at what other Roon users are sharing, blogs like Stereophile’s “Records to Die For”, etc.

MQA is a nice bonus even if it is only for some of the artists I like to listen to.

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How do you do this? In Roon, or here (community)?

Check this thread: