Bubba: the drop outs are most likely a connectivity issue. I listen at home every day and it is not ever an issue at my house. I also did a comparison and tidal digital out from a blue sound to my McIntosh C50 dac in my opinion does sound better than CD. It is also a heck of a lot easier to find music than hunting through a mass of cds. Guess I am one of the lazy ones who values convenience and for that reason does not play vinyl ( I was a club DJ in the 80's so I played my share). Tidal has opened up a whole new world of music for me.