Tidal music service is already a spectacular flop

Yes, and so in an ideal world each individual should choose equipment (and other sources) only by blind tests, which in my view may need to be protracted to be sure that a difference is in fact a difference for the better. Sadly this is rarely possible in practice for most people, so we end up seeking reviews, and assessments by others like on these fora, to help guide us - though how valid anyone else's opinion is in relation to individuals' own perception of sound quality is an unknown quantity, so we seek either to learn whether we tend to experience the same as any contributor, or, perhaps, a solid consensus, which may act as a guide. 

However, if someone does gravitate to the lower quality streaming sources, it does beg the question as to whether their Naim system is a wasted resource in being far more capable than being allowed to be - unless of course at other times they listen and appreciate higher quality sources.

How does Tidal streaming a boxing match take away from your enjoyment of the rest of their programming? 

I suppose you should reject outright any service that broadcasts anything you (a) don't like and/or (b) conclude they are broadcasting 'just to get their numbers up.' I have to imagine that includes all of the BBC at some time or another.  Or NBC. Or HBO. Etc. etc.

NB - I wrote in another thread a minute ago that I require blind testing oftentimes for a vs. b comparisons.  Not for redbook vs. 320kbps mp3; I can hear the differences readily on either of my home systems.

I tried spotify and thought it sounded pretty ropey. The cd rips were massively better. I'm amazed people can't hear the difference.

+1 I find Spotify just doesn't get my foot tapping, there's no comparison. Curiously, I do still enjoy Radio Paradise 320 - it's not like a CD rip, but I can still enjoy it, whereas Spotify just doesn't hold my attention.

Yes, because the other David is extremely active with industry people...

Tidal is taking money from me and various other subscribers to provide a Hi Def music streaming service. That is what I pay for. I now find that some of that money is diverted to fund the streaming of a boxing match instead of being reinvested into new tech or onboarding new artists, etc. Instead I get a barrage of emails telling me how lucky I am that I can watch the boxing match. I didn't sign up for anything else but the music service. With all the other providers you mentioned, you sign up for general entertainment  and you get a mix of said general entertainment. In the Tidal instance I don't recall them telling me that they are general entertainment providers.

Business's survival in modern world have to create an edge for itself. Tidal price is competitive for CD-Quality/lossless and if Apple/Google comes along with a cheaper price for same product/content then Tidal/Quboz will have to review its pricing policy otherwise subscriber will leave in droves. Its all about competitive edge and added values. All Tidal is doing is adding values to a product and trying to stand out from the market crowd.

For me, the choice is Quboz or Tidal and I chose Tidal - advert promotion with Bluesound node. CD rips is slightly better but very difficult to notice the difference on some recordings.

By the way the 320k internet radios sound far better than spotify on Sonos and CD rips on Sonos sounds very flat/un-involving.

If/when nac272 could stream Quboz/Tidal, I will trade-in my 202/hicap-dr/napsc/unitiserve-ssd/(nDac?). Keeping 200,XPS-dr +nac272. 3 boxes against 7 boxes. All of a sudden Naim Fraim a possibility

I can also hear the differences clearly but for most of my listening the Naim is providing background ambience and I'm generally happy with Spotify most of the time. It is a bottleneck though if there's a track I wish to turn up and listen to properly. I knew this when I subscribed though so it's my decision.

Would I pay £20 for a better service through the Naim - probably, but I genuinely don't listen to it enough to make it actually worthwhile. I'd be better off buying CD's but won't do this until I can rip them to a NAS which I don't yet have. So, caught in my own little quandary, I'll stick where I am for now and wait to see what happens.

I know i've been quite vocal on here about how having Tidal, Qobuz etc integrated into Naims's streaming offering is irrelevant to those who live where these services aren't available (for eg NZ).

Well NZ now has its first lossless streaming service, with Tidal available here from today. As a an aside, I registered my interest on their website when it first launched and was told I would be advised when it became available in my territory.  Of course I have had no direct communication from them and only know it is live as I work in the music industry.

Streaming Eddie Cotton, Here I Come, on Tidal. Wonderful blues album, excellent SQ.  There are so many new artists and recently recorded albums by musicians that ordinarily don't get very much exposure in the mainstream.  They populate on the "genres" and "Jazz"  sub menus. No doubt I'm a Tidal fan!  Brings out the best in my Naim and Spendors. 

Moreover, the detail and harmonics are just plain superior to Beats or Spotify, not that either are bad.  Tidal is streaming through my SONOS and I am on a waiting list for beta for Deezer that will definitely trial when available. 

Simon,

In the US, nothing yet touches Spotify, Ogg Vorbis and all, for user experience.  Local lossless rips, and CD555 plays, are better, but not by a mile; and other services are not "here" yet.  Still, with a try, IMHO.

Best,

Nick

Nick, are you saying Spotify is worth a try? If so, I absolutely agree.. I have used it on and off over the years since it launched. 

But I have treated it more like a convenience food such as a McDonalds hamburger. Every so often it's enjoyable and convenient when travelling around.. But I suspect most who enjoy and appreciate different foods, wouldn't want to base their whole diet on it... But of course there will always be some I suspect who will be quite happy to eat hamburgers and fries all the time  .. So good luck to them.. And their waistline...

Simon

That's called a soft launch. Get a few users to make sure there aren't any issues. Then publicise to expand.

Anyway, welcome to the 21st century.

Thanks for the welcome, yes I know what a soft launch is - as mentioned I am in the industry - but one would expect that a soft launch would include people who registered an interest in the service in the first week of its initial launch in Europe.

Funnily enough a colleague of mine who only expressed an interest in the service once Jay-z took over did receive notification, maybe the original Wimp data wasn't passed on. 

A little light philosophy on this subject courtesy of Noel Gallagher

"In related Tidal news, musician Noel Gallagher, whose second album Chasing Yesterday became the UK’s fastest-selling LP of the year, has spoken out about Tidal in an interview with Rolling Stone. It seems the former Oasis guitarist is a little sceptical of the service, and particularly it’s big-name backing, questioning their ability to “save the music business”. 

He told Rolling Stone, in his usual style: "Do these people think they're the f****** Avengers? They're going to save the f****** [world]. I was speaking to Chris [Martin] the day after, and I said, 'Are you after a Nobel Peace Prize? Is that what you're after?' They were like, 'We're going to f****** save the music business.' And I'm just sitting there, thinking you might want to write a decent chorus for a f****** start."

Read more at http://www.whathifi.com/news/w...#DGvEx0LPEJiD2ye1.99

I don't think Noel Gallaher, in his current state of success, is a good example of what JayZ was talking about which was "emerging artists".  Noel obviously "brought himself up by his own bootstraps" and doesn't think highly of the artists backing Tidal.  Would he feel the same way if he was a new and aspiring artist looking for a hand up?

I don't know Noel's work or the band but a quick Google search leads me to believe they are doing alright for themselves. 

I like that Gallagher bloke  "write a decent chorus for a start". It really had me laughing aloud.

But he puts the finger on the weak spot, it is that high and mighty approach, where artists mimic the same behavior of the music labels they so despise once they are successful. If they were so taken with the music world, they would not have applied a shareholder model. It is just pumping up the market value and then selling it at a higher price. Which is ok. Nothing wrong with that.

But all in all, it is an industry and the value of the shares is more important than the music in the end. It is all very cynical if you think about it.

I agree on this one.  I use Tidal quiet often...

I have been using Tidal, especially at work with a very good pair of Beyerdynamic headphones. I like the quality and some of the curation is pretty good as I have discovered a few artists I like who was not previously familiar with. I agree there is a lot of bravissimo and bling in their marketing, but I genuinely like the service as an alternative to spotify and hope they are successful. I am using it on a Mac in the Chrome browser in HiFi mode and have no complaints about sound quality, it was documented somewhere that Chrome was the best browser to use with the app in terms of SQ.