Tidal - how do you use it?

Having recently discovered the delights of Roon i’ve been considering trying out the Tidal trial. I have a decent sized library but Tidal is tempting, even if just for new music discovery before buying the physical copy. For those who use Tidal regularly, how do you use it - finding new music, as part of your library etc ??

Just curious as to how others use it before i take the plunge.

James

Tidal’s search and discovery is a bit rubbish in general terms compared with other streaming services natively used, however integrated into Roon it’s a bit better over the Roon app. I personally now use Qobuz now it is also integrated into Roon. Functionality is identical with Roon through either however.

I use it to augment my NAS collection and to try new stuff…or to play different versions (perhaps higher-res) of the stuff I already have.

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Well, I don’t use Tidal, I use Qobuz so I’m taking a liberty that it’s the usage of streaming rather than Tidal per se, apologies if not.

Qobuz is now my single source of music having replaced CD maybe 3 or so years ago. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I drifted away from music for a while and had simply stopped buying CD’s. I liked the idea of streaming but wanted CD quality so jumped on board as soon as Qobuz launched (it was very unstable in the early days). Now I don’t think I could go back and generally if it’s not on Qobuz, I don’t bother. Ideally one might have both Tidal and Qobuz to fill the gaps, but it’s rare I want something so badly that I go outside of streaming.

The SQ now at a very high level (and the latest Qobuz app seems to improve it further with a revised Chromecast integration) and with HiRes too, the convenience and the almost limitless library does it for me. It did however take me a while to get use to not ‘owning’ any physical product and I worry what would happen if Qobuz disappeared as my ‘library’ is a cloud based list of favourites. Actually thinking about it I need to find a way to back that list up!

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Tidal is mainly used for new music. If I really like something I’ll buy it.

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Roon and Tidal/Qobuz is a wonderful proposition. I’ve found that I buy less and less new albums rather save them to my Roon library. I still buy box sets and s/h but nowadays if I go into a record shop I think, why would I buy this if I can stream it? I didn’t think this would happen but it has.

Roon’s latest radio feature where it searches Tidal /Qobuz as well as inside your library is just the icing on the cake. Tidal and Qobuz both do one month’s free trial, try one and the other. I found if I logged onto Tidal.com and paid by PayPal I was charged in $ which saves a bit.

.sjb

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Same here. I only really use Tidal for occasionally. I’ll sometimes let it play a playlist as background music.

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Use it for both adding to my library and discovery now Roon radio is so good. Also have Qobuz but their catalogue is limited in comparison to Tidal. Can’t say there is any sq difference except when it’s MQA and hires and even then it’s not a one horse race.

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Having milked the free trial offers af various streaming services, I settled on Tidal some time ago, and find that my usage (vs local streaming) has gradually crept up over time. I use it as a search tool, and save albums, tracks or artists I’m interested in as ‘favoutites’ so that I can return to them at will. If I like something enough to buy it, I’ll look for a CD or download, as I wouldn’t rely on a subscription service alone for the music that matters to me.
The playlists and suggestions Tidal puts on the app are of no interest to me at all, and I just ignore them. Over time, it gradually introduces more material it thinks you will like based on your listening habits, and while this doesn’t really work for me, I guess it might for others.

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Pretty much what I do too. For a high quality recording, a quality rip of a CD will still beat a Tidal Hi Fi stream.

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I use a Tidal like a magnificent jukebox. It is like a dream come true for me as I can play anything I can think of. It accounts for 50% of my listening. I do not have Roon.
I use it to explore suggestions from the forum and various magazines and buy cds if I like the music. Quality can be surprisingly good on a Tidal, and given I am a musical magpie, hardly ever listening to a whole album, the random playing of tracks on Tidal suits me very well.
Like others I feel like their curated playlists are crap, probably organised by bearded Williamsburg hipsters with dubious taste. Apologies to other Brooklyn denizens.

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If you use Roon, then Tidal (and or Qobuz) can simply become a seamless part of your collection… ie you can add the Tidal/Qobuz recording to your collection and index, and it becomes a virtual copy…This is a really powerful feature of Roon. Roon Core also takes care of the remote FLAC to PCM conversion… which I think otherwise for native Tidal playback on Naim streamers may account for perceived sonic differences

You can constrain the Roon search filter later if you need to just reference local media for what ever reason.

Unconstrained Roon blurs the boundary between local and remote media and it work really well… as far as the Roon endpoint is concerned it then largely becomes irrelevant the actual source of the media.
You can also create multiple versions in your collection from various sources, and choose which one is primary…

What you soon notice with Roon is that for a likefor like master there is no SQ difference between local and remote media such as from Tidal. When it becomes seamless and irrelevant subconscious biases start to disappear.

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I am finding I don’t buy the CD if I can stream it on Tidal. If I like the cover I will maybe buy the vinyl. I already have 2000 CDs ripped.

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I use Tidal as my main source - it sounds as good as my rips and MQA is a bit better. Roon seamlessly integrates it with my library. I’ll never buy another CD and would only buy a download if it was something very special and unobtainable on Tidal.

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Yep, that about covers it. It’s rare these days that I need to find something specific so if it’s not on Tidal (a recommendation from this forum, or from a friend etc) it’s no sweat to move on and find something else to listen to. The 700 CDs ripped to the NAS are always there but a lot I no longer care for or are the wife or kids’, and not of great interest. Which leaves Tidal, along with a varying ever-changing selection of internet radio stations with R Paradise always as preset #1.

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Went for the 3 month trial and wont be renewing. Half way through the trial so far and only used it for about 5 hours. A decent percentage of what I searched for isnt available so its easier just to stick with CD.

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Folks - many thanks and very interesting reading. I’ve got a decent sized collection (about 2000 ripped CDs) so Tidal access would be in addition to my collection. They way it integrates with Roon makes it even more attractive so it looks like it’s time to sign up and give it a go.

Thanks again

James

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FWIW, I’m halfway through the 30 day free trial period. I will definitely continue with a paid subscription. I have approx 3200 ripped CD:s on
my NAS, I love how convenient it is to mix tracks from NAS/TIDAL within the Naim app. Before TIDAL my listening habits were approx 70/30 (vinyl/stream), now its the other way around… I will continue buying vinyl… But CD:s… Not likely…

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I find its learning algorithm to be pretty useless. It still pushes music I have absolutely zero interest in as its main suggestions. I also dislike its focus on “tracks” rather than albums. These are minor quibbles. It’s not hard to find and play stuff, and the catalogue is pretty good. More useful suggestions would encourage me to explore more, though.

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Had Tidal for a number of years, but stopped £20 per month subscription last year (due to under-use) and also became fed up with ‘renting’ music and never getting to own the music. As others reflect, unless you are using a third party interface like Roon, the Tidal UI interface is poor.

The loss of ‘Ultraviolet digital locker’ (for movies) is a timely reminder that we simply can’t trust the streaming services to keep all the music we love all of the time! Industry pundits like Johnny Darko predict that we are at the peak of streaming right now and there will be a resurgence/renaissance of CD purchases (similar to vinyl) - with the message to “get them now whilst they are cheap”!

Advice would be to sign up for 3M trial and see if it’s good value for you. Just remember that just because a piece of music you like is on there today, it may not be tomorrow - no guarantees.

ATB. George.

Am still on the free trial and I love it. Which is lucky since I sold my CD player and have no ripped music!

I find the sound quality good and the library has pretty much everything I need. Although the classical selection isn’t great.

The app is fine for me. It’s not perfect but neither is having to get up and sit down again when changing a cd!

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