I genuinely can’t cope with Spotify. Nice interface but sounds poor compared to local files. Tidal is better and quobuz better again to my wars, local files best of all
1 Like
Agreed Spotify is awful. I tried it and found myself nodding off 
1 Like
I have both and Tidal is sooo much belter! The depth, the detail ect…
1 Like
I recently switched from Spotify Premium to Tidal Hifi. Things to look for:
- The real comparison, and advantage of Tidal, is Masters. To get a better comparison, make sure you are comparing Spotify 320kb/s to Tidal Masters. Hifi is also great btw.
- When listening, focus on the overall soundstage (it should be bigger, clearer and more detailed) and the real high ends, the symbols, etc, should be more life-like and perhaps to some ears a bit harsher at first. Then listen to the bass, it should be deeper and tighter, you should hear the control.
- Select tracks that reveal the above.
I found once I’d done the above, the gap revealed itself.
2 Likes
I will continue with the Tidal HiFi trial - if there’s a difference between Spotify Premium and Tidal HiFi on my system I will find it!
Thanks for everyone’s comments and afvice.
It’s interesting there are as many claiming they hear zero difference at all as those that claims the difference is huge. I struggle myself hearing a difference between them but mainly use Tidal to find new music since it much better provide suggestions that suits my taste than mainstream focused Spotify. Anyone can point to a track that in a best way show the major difference in quality between Tidal and Spotify and what to listen for?
My taste is mostly contemporary Jazz, particularly Scandinavian. Spotify is full of suggestions - my library is massive as a result!
Well, if I didn’t hear a difference quite easily I wouldn’t bother with Tidal since Spotify is the better service.
I’m listening to Spotify Premium now - Espen Eriksen Trio - not loud (neighbours) and the sound is just sumptuous. It’s crystal clear with sharp highs, clear midrange, deep agile detailed bass, warm, involving, musical.
A bit of a leap from an Arcam rPlay to an NDX but what a difference! I would still happily pay for Tidal but …
For me, Spotify sound quality was a real disappointment when I tried it. All the more so as their app is really good, probably the best of all the streaming services, and I’ve often thought that if only they would release a lossless subscription, I’d sign up immediately. Tidal on the 1st generation Naim streamers was much better for me, although still not as good as a local UPnP stream. Still, if your findings are different, of course you should stick with what sounds best for you.
One thing I did find with Tidal is that it sounded mediocre when Naim first supported it. On later firmware versions, it was much better. So if you have recently bought a used NDX you should check that it’s on the latest firmware, which is version 4.7
Thanks for the tip. I checked and it’s 4.7.00
I have Spotify in my mobile phone contract, currently listening to it through my Uniti 2. The quality I feel is not as good as cd and I have done back to back comparisons. However, music is still very enjoyable and using Spotify, my music collection has grown significantly as when I find something I really like, I will try to get hold of the disc.
I’ve not tried Tidal so can’t make that comparison. Maybe one day I will or maybe one day Spotify will up their game with lossless files…
On my system, Tidal does sound noticeably better than Spotify, mainly in the finer details and in the overall spaciousness of the sound. I think that kind of subtle information is just a bit too much compressed away in 320k ogg or mp3 variants. It does vary by album and genre, and for some releases the difference is almost negligible.
Having said that, for my tastes Spotify offers a much better selection, so i personally probably wouldn’t choose Tidal over Spotify for the long haul. I’m still hoping for a lossless option on Spotify to arrive, it has been in the works for years now and we’re still waiting…
I don’t know but maybe it’s the way the Naim NDX processes Spotify. It sounds great! On my Arcam rPlay it was pretty good but now… I’ve loved the Naim sound since I discovered it in 1996, maybe this is just Naim streamer, pre-amp, amp synergy.
It’s half ten and I haven’t switched on the telly! I spend far more on Sky than Spotify/Tidal!!!
1 Like
I’m on v4.6 with my 272 but works fine. Are there any sound quality improvements reported between 4.6 - 4.7?
Espen is great and sounds great on Spotify. Any other suggestions to share? 
I am running both at the moment. Neither are through Naim streamers though.
In my view, Spotify Premium has the better App which can be directly accessed and work in the same way via the streamer’s app. Sound quality is ok but it can sound a little flat and 2 dimensional. Good for background listening.
Tidal HiFi/Masters is less intuitive to use and I only get full functionality, including access to the Masters quality, if I plug the I-pad straight into my DAC - my streamer doesn’t support Tidal in the same way it does Spotify connect. The best SQ I have had out of Tidal is by using the I-pad, via lightning to USB, straight into the DAC. Much greater clarity, depth and Dynamics than Spotify. However, it’s not perfect - it can sound a bit sharp and tonally bright to my ears - not very natural. This does depend on the track/recording and particularly effects Masters tracks - is it a byproduct of all the MQA packaging?
Tellingly I played the same album (Kygo - Cloud Nine) back to back on Spotify Premium, Tidal HiFi (no Masters version) and CD via coax all into my DAC (Arcam D33). Tidal was clearly better/more involving than Spotify, but the CD version was the best of the lot and by some margin. More body, better tone, more punch and just more musical.
Perhaps a high end streamer might solve this but, for me personally, I think the market needs to mature/settle in terms of interface and support of streaming services before I commit large sums of money to a streamer.
My own journey, in pursuit of sonic excellence…
Spotiface - Tidal - Qobuz.
I reccommend the next step. The big Q is better.
3 Likes
Does the D33 decode MQA? I can’t see anything on Arcam’s website that says it does.
Not it doesn’t, so I get the first unwrap via the I-pad (in theory) but not the next part. From what I understand, as Naim is not behind MQA, then it is the same situation as with Naim streamers. A Node2i does and will support Tidal connect, but I have no idea how it will work with the D33 unless I buy it. This is why I am happy to wait until some maturity occurs in terms of online streaming services and proper support.
Qobuz might be the best option for me SQ wise, but, as far as I am aware, not all of the other streaming devices we have support it and I’ll be blowed if I run 2 subscriptions every month (I plan to cancel Spotify). If know that Tidal are fully signed up to the MQA direction for their high res stuff but I would rather just received non-doctored high res streams - I guess this is what Qobuz offers?
Possibly the most consistent results with Tidal I have had so far are Firestick HD/TV coaxial into Arcam Solo Movie into Piegas. Seems to work well.