TIDAL: Too Much Lossy Music for $20/month

[Aspen]

Small note - Tidal charges Canadians 19.99 in CDN$. Sweet discount. I am enjoying the convenience, ability to download and store playlists and no advertising.

 

[Wildcat]

The Sennheiser app still lets you sign up for a 90 day free trial of Tidal HiFi. (You have to download the CapTune app.) Just sayin'.

The Gentleman in question had a huge collection of records. In terms of total hours of music I actually had more "music" on a couple of hard drives then his entire collection mostly in FLAC, and I have 4 more of at least a 1TB. which is available to me at a mouse click.

I do still like the vinyl I have, but I like having that digital option also. Now that I have been able to rip SACDs, it's nice to have all of my digital collection in one place, and I can play it on any device in the house. Some of the CDs are stored away, but with everything ripped now, I can pack away the rest and regain my wall space. For more vinyl!

I don't really miss those piles of 20 CD cases stacked on various pieces of furniture around the room.

The reluctance to streaming, or network servers, is not even relegated to audiophiles. On another music forum (much smaller), many of the members are set in their ways, and only a CD will do. I keep trying to educate about it, but I think for many, the task is too daunting to consider. The equipment can also be confusing. They may be wondering exactly which equipment to buy to make it all work. It's just a hurdle, IMHO. Even with me, it might take a while before something clicks and I fully "get it."

 

[Blast]

Brand new Tidal $19.95 user here so, really enjoying the comments in this thread!

 

[transmaster]

I started out ripping records and CD's and using them as backup copies. Then Napster appeared and people started sharing their own collections. I had a dialup at the time so if I loaded a coupe of songs during the night I was lucky. Those days are over of course. I am forced to occasionally bit torrent stuff that is not in any way shape, or form available stateside. I can't even purchase it from Japan and elsewhere. Thankfully the need to do this is disappearing. I have an account with Amazon Japan and I purchased CD's from them, and I have them in hand in about a week. I have found the quality of the sound and the CD its self are much better in a Japanese CD. I sure wish I could get an account with iTunes Japan. They have the Anime OST's I am looking for. The antique copyright laws are loosing the music industry billions every year.

 

[nj pheonix]

I too have had inconsistent sound quality and pauses between tracks.
Usually I'm pretty happy with it. I sometimes wonder whether during periods of high use they lower the stream quality (just a theory. Zero to back that. I was just thinking)