I almost exclusively listen to jazz and classical music. I have Tidal and Spotify.
I have Tidal at the student rate of $10/month. At that price level, Tidal with "Masters" (MQA) is worthwhile, but maybe I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic if the "usual" price applied. I have three complaints about the service:
1) the search function is persnickety (even a minor misspelling baffles the algorithm and sometimes entering by artist name or album title returns nothing but an alternative search phrase finds what I want).
2) Tidal relentlessly and annoyingly promotes music associated with its major shareholders (e.g., Jay-Z) and,
3) The algorithm oftentimes links music I like with utterly baffling choices.
I also have Spotify Premium at the student rate. I like that service for my "inattentive" listening because :
1). While fidelity doesn’t seem quite to the level of Tidal’s (but maybe I’ve fallen victim to propaganda in that regard), the selection of jazz seems more comprehensive and classical is commensurate with Tidal,
2) The Spotify algorithm creates more appealing playlists than does Tidal’s and,
3) Spotify’s search function is more forgiving (or simply better) than Tidal’s.
Right now, I can’t find a compelling justification for Qobuz, either by price or selection. I’d hoped that competition would drive down costs, but so far, that hasn’t happened.
keith
