In my very good home desktop system I could not listen to Spotify. It was just very bad sounding. Tidal in that system sounds incredible. This system is comprised of the following:
KEF LS50 speakers
Paraound A23 amp
Benchmark DAC2
Windows 2012 Server R2 Computer
At my work I was able to use Spotify without too much annoyance because my setup was not that great. I have the following there:
Audio Engine A2 speakers ($199)
Emotive XDA-1 DAC ($150)
Windows 2012 Server R2 Computer
However, to my surprise TIDAL also sounds better on this work desktop system. So I do not even listen to Spotify | Beats | Pandora at work anymore. It is all TIDAL.
I am looking forward to getting the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC with Bridge II to listen TIDAL through. This will be for my living room system. With the Bridge II I can use the computer on the home office to stream the music to the DAC.