Tidal and Apple...

brillcat

brillcat

Active Member
Hi all, we are an Apple product family (our MacBook Pros are vital to our work) so when it came time to catalog and stream my music, the easy route for me was Apple. All my CDs are ripped to ALAC on an external 1Tb drive and I stream via Airplay to a Airport Express connected via an optical cable to a Benchmark DAC1 USB. The Benchmark is connected to a vintage integrated amp (100 wpc) and it drives a 2.1 speaker system. (The Benchmark also handles a digital coax Redbook CD feed from my SACD player.) I realize the highest streaming rate I am going to get with this set-up is 16bit/44.1kHz.

We also have a subscription with Apple Music, which is fine at low/non-critical listening levels.

I'm in the middle of a trial subscription with Tidal Masters and I have really enjoyed listening to high-resolution audio through my headphones. But if I want to run Tidal to my stereo system it appears the only way would be through a hardwire connection via a USB cable to the Benchmark DAC, is that right? I would love the convenience of streaming the Tidal high-res feed but don't see how that would be possible with my MBP.

I have searched for Tidal/Apple discussions on AK for but am still not clear about options. I am hoping more knowledgeable readers can point me to the answers and/or previous threads. Thanks in advance!
 
The problem is....? You don't want to be "wired" with the USB cable to the Benchmark?

Maybe a Sonos Connect would be a solution. Set it next to your Benchmark, connect it with Toslink or SPDIF, control it through your iPhone (which I assume you have :)).
 
DrTebi said:
The problem is....? You don't want to be "wired" with the USB cable to the Benchmark?

Maybe a Sonos Connect would be a solution. Set it next to your Benchmark, connect it with Toslink or SPDIF, control it through your iPhone (which I assume you have :)).
Click to expand...

Yes, I prefer not to be tethered all the time because I move around the house as I work (on the MBP). I thought the Sonos Connect only supported streaming up to CD quality, negating the benefit of high-rez Tidal Masters...?
 
Like I said in your other thread, you can use airplay with Tidal.

If you want hi-res, you'll either need to hard wire or get a new streamer.
 
I've got the Node 2 hooked up to my Mytek Brooklyn. I control with my ipad - Bluesound has a nice app. If you have any specific questions about the Node let me know.

Have you tried connecting via USB? I know I get a higher conversion rate on my Mytek that way. Maybe Benchmark is set up similarly?
 
For my needs, it came down to the Auralic Aires Mini or the Bluesound Node 2. I chose the latter.
 
You will need a MQA equipped dac in order to get the full Masters experience. In this scenario the dac does both the first, and second, unfold. Since most of us don’t have MQA dacs the only other option is to use the Tidal app on our pc’s to stream Masters. In this scenario the first unfold is being done in software, but in order to get get the second unfold you still need a MQA equipped dac. I read somewhere that the first unfold gets you about 80% there as far as quality is concerned (someone correct me if I’m wrong). Hope this helps.
 
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