Cancelled my Tidal subscription

Larry Dickman · « **Reply #40 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 07:25 pm »

Quote from: CanadianMaestro on 26 Jan 2018, 07:14 pm

Hey, I didn't think you were the "type" who listened to classical. Maybe your avatar photo biased me.....

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/new-yorker-festival/clint-the-composer

Larry Dickman · « **Reply #41 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 07:35 pm »

Quote from: Jonathan on 26 Jan 2018, 03:00 pm

I, like others here, still enjoy Tidal very much. I don't see that they lump Classical and Jazz together, at least not when I search for new recordings by genre. That said, their search function is pretty bad and there's practically nothing available in the way of metadata when accessing it through the awful Audirvana Plus remote app. I much preferred Roon in this regard, but I just could not justify paying $500 for a "lifetime" membership.

I was unclear, perhaps. Not that Jazz and Classical are lumped together, but that all things Classical are lumped together, and all things Jazz are lumped together. So if you select Classical on the genre page, it is not broken down, same with Jazz, i.e. you can't select Bepop, Bossa Nova, Cool Jazz, Swing, Ragtime, etc., it's all one category: Jazz. Roon accomplishes this beautifully, but as you say, it's not cheap when combined with a Tidal subscription.

Calypte · « **Reply #42 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 08:15 pm »

Quote from: Larry Dickman on 26 Jan 2018, 07:16 pm

It's not clear to me if this is a 3-month free trial, but it might be: https://www.groupon.com/deals/tidal-music-streaming-3

The Tidal website offers a one-month free trial. Why not give it a whirl? But obviously I found it really wasn't for me.

Yeah, I know they have a free trial. From my perspective, a streaming service would be worthwhile if it can replace the thousands of CDs I already have. A streaming site that has only 30 Mozart listings isn't going to cut it.

mav52 · « **Reply #43 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 08:24 pm »

Quote from: Larry Dickman on 26 Jan 2018, 06:21 pm

Exactly! 30 Mozart LP's is a bit of a joke. And it's not like those 30 LP's are the cream of the crop of Mozart recordings. They are not. However, with classical, many more albums are available that are not on the composer's homepage. You have to search the name of the piece, and get one letter or word wrong and you probably won't find it. (So if you search for--Bach suites for solo cello--you will find stuff not on the Bach homepage, and the homepage doesn't help at all in informing you of this.) Agreed, but I can't really justify the cost of both, month after month. Perhaps I'm too set in my tastes and don't need access to so much stuff.

"-Bach suites for solo cello"

Went into my Lumin, Tidal, Search - yep NO actual BACH Suites for Cello, but a lot of BACH suites for cello by other artist. I would think that's not a Tidal problem but a Label problem as not releasing the LP's to Tidal. You can't play whats not there.

Also, I'm not about to pay ROON when I can just do things myself.

Larry Dickman · « **Reply #44 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 08:47 pm »

Quote from: Calypte on 26 Jan 2018, 08:15 pm

Yeah, I know they have a free trial. From my perspective, a streaming service would be worthwhile if it can replace the thousands of CDs I already have. A streaming site that has only 30 Mozart listings isn't going to cut it.

As mentioned, the 30 album figure is misleading, as there is much more if you search by the name of the piece or the artist (which could be the soloist or orchestra, not the composer) rather than than relying on what's on the composer's homepage. And nowhere on that homepage do they clue you in about that. It's one of the reasons I said that I don't like the way Tidal organizes music! It's a mishmash, IMO.

Calypte · « **Reply #45 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 10:21 pm »

Quote from: Larry Dickman on 26 Jan 2018, 08:47 pm

As mentioned, the 30 album figure is misleading, as there is much more if you search by the name of the piece or the artist (which could be the soloist or orchestra, not the composer) rather than than relying on what's on the composer's homepage. And nowhere on that homepage do they clue you in about that. It's one of the reasons I said that I don't like the way Tidal organizes music! It's a mishmash, IMO.

I don't want to spend forever hunting for stuff. TIDAL may be a great site for pop/rock enthusiasts. Based upon what I'm reading here, it's not for me.

dB Cooper · « **Reply #46 on:** 26 Jan 2018, 11:41 pm »

Roon looks interesting, but, it's essentially $120 a year for a user interface and functionality that should be provided with Tidal (or whichever) to begin with.

TJ-Sully · « **Reply #47 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 12:37 am »

Great discussion folks!

For me, spending a few hundred bucks a year for the Tidal/Roon interface is worth every penny. Sure, there are humps and bumps and it's not perfect - but, for me, it's access to tons of music i don't own or never will own. And the SQ is pretty damn good. Not as good as bryston's MPD playing directly from a hard drive, but still damn good.

I have all Bryston gear - and the Tidal/Roon set up works just about flawlessly for me.

I'll spend thousands on electronics, cables, stands, etc etc....it seems every year......so i don't mind the extra few hundred bucks on Tidal.Roon services. Money well spent in my opinion.

mg8 · « **Reply #48 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 01:53 am »

I cancelled my Tidal HiRes for 3 months and came back. I have 7 TB of music on an Aurender N10. The N10 (and my vinyl collection) is what I call my reliable source but Tidal has reduced it self to kind of a novelty for me. It can be clutch when you need holiday music or something new but ideally, it buy the recording whether vinyl or CD/download an put it on the N10 or the TT. I quit Tidal because I was so tired of listening to Tidal than the signal drop. I increased my Comcast from 10mb/sec to 200mb/sec and it still dropped. All the convenience in the world is lost with a couple of these untimely issues. Too frequent I may add. Before the N10 I had an A10 with the full MQA treatment. Tidal did shine there but still reliability is priority one. Edit: Sorry, thought this was discless circle not brand specific.

lcrim · « **Reply #49 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 03:28 am »

I 've been a big supporter of Tidal and have no intention of cancelling my subscription. This thread has introduced me to many of you that I'm not familiar with. I've been a member here on AudioCircle almost since day one and am currently the Facilitator of the Jazz Circle.
I have found Tidal's interface issues mostly surmountable and I'm not running Roon, simply can't afford it. Just like anything else, the more you use it the better you get at it. I'm retired and forced to justify (to my self), the costs of my HiFi addiction. The $20 a month for Tidal is one of the greatest values I've ever come across.
I really don't like preaching but I 'm a bit put off by all the bitching about the complexity of using Tidal on a web site that is pretty technical in nature. This is a great deal and you're foolish (not the word I wanted to use) not to take advantage of it.

Larry

TJ-Sully · « **Reply #50 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 03:35 am »

Larry Dickman · « **Reply #51 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 06:28 am »

Quote from: lcrim on 27 Jan 2018, 03:28 am

I 've been a big supporter of Tidal and have no intention of cancelling my subscription... and am currently the Facilitator of the Jazz Circle.

Well perhaps you can write it off as a business expense. Just Kidding. For someone who knows what to search for, I agree with you. Others have suggested I need or desire to be spoon-fed. I think being offered suggestions based upon search history and favorites is a good thing, not a crutch. Tidal doesn't have such a feature.

Tidal has much more than I realized after starting this thread. It's a question of finding it, which at least one poster states isn't worth the hassle. Just by putting Wiener Philharmoniker in the search box rather than a composer, i see so much I didn't see before, when I searched only by composer or visited the composer's page, which should have been revealed.

One poster states that Tidal should have the functions of Roon. I partially agree. When it comes to organization and break down of genre and sub-genre, and results of a simple search, I totally agree. But Roon's other features, I don't expect them.

srb · « **Reply #52 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 07:09 am »

As a mostly Jazz listener I was disappointed in Tidal's lack of database content when it comes to listing the musicians/personnel on an album.

During my trial I found no musician listing (except the primary artist, duh!) more than 50% of the time while the Radio Swiss Jazz database listed the musicians > 95% of the time.

Steve

RandyH · « **Reply #53 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 02:22 pm »

Until other streaming services offer CD quality audio I will stay with Tidal. The vastness of the music library plus the sound quality at $20 a month is a bargain to me. I have discovered so much new music. I did have some issues with drop outs a while back but those have since been resolved. The user interface may not suit everyone but I have managed to find everything I have searched. Tidal supplements my vinyl and CD listening, it has not replaced it. I read a lot of music and audiophile forums and as I see mentions and recommendations of artists and albums, I enjoy being able to find the music on Tidal and give it a listen.

JakeJ · « **Reply #54 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 04:55 pm »

I have a question for the followers of this thread. There have been a few complaints about the expense of Roon. On Roon's website it states a subscription is $119/year which breaks down to $9.92/month. Tidal is $9.99/mo for standard and $20/mo for hifi (which I and many others pay for).

So...why the complaints?

srb · « **Reply #55 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 05:30 pm »

Quote from: JakeJ on 27 Jan 2018, 04:55 pm

There have been a few complaints about the expense of Roon. On Roon's website it states a subscription is $119/year which breaks down to $9.92/month. Tidal is $9.99/mo for standard and $20/mo for hifi (which I and many others pay for).

So...why the complaints?

Roon is a music player and music management / database / metadata service that doesn't have its own streaming content so you would subscribe to it in addition to your subscription with Tidal, Spotify, Lumin, etc.

That would bring your total monthly subscription to ~ $30/month, which may still be a good deal depending on how many CDs or digital downloads you would ordinarily purchase each year.

JakeJ · « **Reply #56 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 08:24 pm »

Thanks for the clarification, srb.

JakeJ · « **Reply #57 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 09:32 pm »

Qobuz might be too rich for the bulk of us.

Quote from an article on www.rtbf.be:

"With an average revenue per subscriber of 178 euros per month, the expenses of its customers are however much higher than those of Spotify."

This number must include downloads as the starting subscription £9.99/mo (~$14). Still, looks to be interesting.

Calypte · « **Reply #58 on:** 27 Jan 2018, 09:36 pm »

This being a Bryston forum -- is there any way to get Spotify or Qobuz through a Bryston digital player?

Grit · « **Reply #59 on:** 28 Jan 2018, 04:05 am »

Quote from: JakeJ on 27 Jan 2018, 04:55 pm

I have a question for the followers of this thread. There have been a few complaints about the expense of Roon. On Roon's website it states a subscription is $119/year which breaks down to $9.92/month. Tidal is $9.99/mo for standard and $20/mo for hifi (which I and many others pay for).

So...why the complaints?

I think it's a hard pill to swallow because you don't really own anything tangible and it doesn't (or probably shouldn't) make your music sound better. Most of us are used to paying (what I think is) a lot of money for a DAC, player, amplifier, speakers, etc., all of which probably do something to improve the sound of your music. Roon adds some great functionality though. And even though I've no guarantee that Roon will be around tomorrow, I still paid the full price rather than monthly.