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Tidal FLAC vs. Qobuz

Does the recent change by Tidal, from MQA to FLAC make Tidal the better choice for streaming?  Or, since Tidal only seems to offer FLAC on its own app and not the BluOS defeat the purpose since you need to transmit by Bluetooth instead of ethernet?  

Currently, I stream from Tidal over direct ethernet cable to a Bluesound Vault streamer, to a McIntosh amp and Revel speakers.  I have a trial membership to  Qobuz but I find Tidal has a much better catalog.  Since Tidal added Flac I thought it would be the obvious choice moving forward, but isn't the point of FLAC defeated since you need to send wirelessly from the Tidal app over Bluetooth?

mojo771
mojo771 OP
44 posts
 

@yage I've been emailing Tidal and Bluesound for days now and it appears the only way to get flac is through the Tidal Connect app and not the Bluesound app that is imbedded in the Vault.    The BluOS integrated in the Vault is limited to mqa.  But maybe they are working on another upgrade.

 

yage
399 posts
 

Yeah - most likely they are. If you don't want to use two apps for music playback, then I guess you're stuck with MQA rather than pure PCM. Otherwise, there's no reason to panic since the Vault supports TIDAL Connect.

dinosore
100 posts
 

@mojo771 I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a BluOS update for Tidal FLAC, since Lenbrook now owns MQA.

What's the problem with using Tidal Connect? It has a few more features that are not available on the BluOS app. (Also note that a lot of MQA on Tidal has still not been converted to hi-res FLAC).

gkelly's avatar
gkelly
101 posts
 

I would like to ask, are you more concerned with ease of the application or sound quality? If application is your main concern, then you’re done. No need to have any further discussions. But if sound quality is the main concern, one is going to have to give up some comfort and learn the new system. I remember going from Spotify then to Amazon Music then having box that can let me play Qobuz. It seemed that when I went from each service, the options became less. But the sound quality increased. Just a thought

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,288 posts
 

@mojo771 if you are streaming via Bluetooth then really it doesn’t matter what streaming service you use. You’re sending lossy audio to your streamer. That’s a waste of money so might as well cancel your tidal and just use free Spotify or the cheaper Apple Music or Amazon music. 
As to the catalog, I find albums and artists on Tidal that don’t exist in Qobuz.
I listen to rock, jazz and classical. One example is a band I discovered thanks to Roon radio feature…The Stimulators. Only exists on Tidal. They have several tracks that are really good and all of their albums are recorders well. 
There are more examples. However, Qobuz has a larger selection of high res music. If you only care about library selection, I would stick with Tidal. 

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