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What's needed to Steam Tidal

Is there anything other than a MacBook need to get the best sound from Tidal? I recently purchased an AudioWhen Coffee 3m USB cable to run from my MacBook to Ayre Codex DAC. I am just streaming music from Tidal. Prior to the cable purchase I would stream using an Audioquest Vodka optical from my Bluesound Vault. Comparing the two, the sound coming from the Bluesound blows away the MacBook. The soundstage is wide, there's more detail, clearer etc.  Do I need any special software or something or just stick to the sure thing?
128x128luvrockin
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david_ten
5,480 posts
 
If you want to improve on your USB based sound, then I would start with something like the Uptone Regen or ISO Regen. There are other options as well. W4S. SOtM, etc. etc. etc. This would be from your MacBook. And you will be able to A/B vs the Bluesound via Optical.

If you like the results, then I highly recommend going Tidal via Roon, into a Roon Endpoint. I use the Sonore microRendu. Sonore has just released the UltraRendu. There are also options from SOtM and others.
cjjeeper
85 posts
 
Since you are on a Mac you may want to try Audirana.  https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=audirvana+plus+3&ie=UTF-8&oe=UT...

Provides excellent sound, good control, and direct access to TIDAL and TIDAL masters which is MQA.  (the MQA files are stellar...)

2psyop's avatar
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2psyop
1,568 posts
 
I will agree with stfoth...the Bluesound into the Ayre would sound tremendous. I am a fan of Benchmark DACs (DAC3 HGC) and Schiit (Yggdrasil), so I would try those brands. And yes I agree, the Bluesound blows away the MacBook Pro. That is why I luv it.
joshelston
53 posts
 
Per Tidal you can only get the "HiFi" quality via the desktop application or Google Chrome web browser.  Otherwise you're not getting the full output from Tidal.  Are you using either of those?  If not, just install either/or then do a comparison.  

This is from the Tidal website:   To use HiFi/MASTER you need to have TIDAL HiFi account. For HiFi playback you need to use Chrome or the TIDAL desktop application. The best HiFi/Master audio quality is only available on the TIDAL desktop application -Download here.
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