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Who has tried "TIDAL" vs other streaming applications?

Hello, I'm new to Audiogon, this is my first posting into Forums.

I enjoy streaming audio from my PC and have been using Spotify for a number of years now (college student discount to premium $5 a month). I just recently stumbled upon a App called TIDAL, that streams Lossless 16/44.1FLAC with their "HI-FI" subscription (Student $10 a month). Since I can queue up Spotify and Tidal at the same time, I was able to do an A/B and used Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. I noticed that TIDAL indeed sounds better to me but am convinced none of my family members could tell a difference. I then did an A/B with TIDAL and the actual Brothers in Arms CD, to my surprise TIDAL sounded scary close, if not just as good as the CD! This is hard for me to believe, I think I'm just trying to justify the extra cost of TIDAL on a crazy tight student budget, maybe its a placebo effect? I need to drop one of the services, but which one? I would appreciate your thoughts please... Thank you!
My system:
PC = Gaming Rig I built myself, using dedicated high quality audio card.
Krell KAV 400xi integrated
Sonus Faber Electa's with Sunfire HRS Sub
Cambridge AZUR 840C CDP/DAC
Luxman T117 Tuner
Sony SCD - C2000ES SACD Player
Kimber Silver Streak throughout  


grm
grm OP
149 posts
 
Hello again,
To answer the question regarding how my PC is connected to my system, I'm using a 280 Glass Fiber TOSLINK cable running at 96khz according to my CDP/DAC. Though the CDP/DAC displays 96khz (the highest TOSLINK can go I think) it says my bit depth is =<20bit, so I'm not sure what the bit depth is exactly, and the App for my card allows you to select either 44.1, 48, and 96khz max for the output but no selection for how many Bits. I tried using a COAX SPDIF interface, but ended up with a real nasty Hum (bad ground loop) so that was fixed with the TOSLINK. Lastly, can somebody explain to me a bit more on what Roon is? I'll have to Google it?
grm OP
149 posts
 
Just watched 32min Roon demo on YT, way cool! Its unfortunate that you can't do a one time download of the App, rather its another annual subscription, another $120 a year - too deep for my pockets at this time. I loved the way it integrated with TIDAL, maybe someday!
jond's avatar
jond
5,778 posts
 
@grannyring  Roon looks interesting I use, and like, Sonos but really only use it for Tidal and streaming my own music. Roon might be a better option for me but can it be configured wirelessly? The only example given on the Roon site is with an apple device, I use Windows and don't want to mess around with itunes or any of that stuff. My own music is on a Synology NAS. How would I make it work? Feel free to PM me if you prefer not trying to hijack grm's thread. Thanks!
chubaka
28 posts
 
How do u plug a tosolink into a preamp?
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse
4,306 posts
 
Chubaka - you need a DAC (digital analog converter).  Toslink from computer to DAC.  RCA (or XLR) from DAC to pre-amp or amp.
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