Tidal Music deals from Tidal Music
2 minute exam
Tidal was first released in 2, but most of us first heard it a year later, when Jay-Z relaunched it at a celebrity event in March XNUMX. In appearance, it is very similar to Spotify. But there are two key things that set it apart in a growing sea of music streaming services. The first is that it is presented as belonging to an artist. This means you get a better deal (but not necessarily a lot) for musicians, paying them more than many streaming services. The second is that listeners also get a better deal, thanks to CD-quality sound, especially if you're willing to pay more for Tidal's higher premium subscription, HiFi. Let's be clear. If you listen to music casually, this service is not for you. Either settle for the free version of Spotify or sign up for Spotify premium or any other music streaming service. However, if you take your listening more seriously, it could be a perfect match. You may notice a slight difference between Spotify Premium and Tidal Premium, but they offer exactly the same bitrate. Instead, it's the $XNUMX / $XNUMX Tidal HiFi stream that makes the most sense and is the most significant leap in quality. Obviously, this is going to be a high cost to pay for some, for others it is obvious. Especially if you've already invested in audio gear, like two of the best noise-canceling headphones or one of the best surround sound systems. Tidal is one of the few streaming services with lossless hi-res audio files that will do justice to your love of music and top-notch audio settings. If you're interested, get started with the XNUMX-day free trial. You may not notice a difference between Tidal and your music streaming service of choice, but you can immediately see the difference and realize what you've been missing. Of course, all of that could change when Spotify HiFi launches; rumored to happen later in XNUMX. But, until then, Tidal is the best option for those who are serious about sound. In this review, we'll take a look at Tidal's XNUMX experience, covering track selection, whether the audio quality is as good as promised, and what ancillary features might sweeten the deal and set it apart from editing. competence.
(Image credit: LaComparacion / Tidal)
What is Tidal?
Tidal is a music streaming platform. It lets you play music from the cloud on multiple different devices. The service suggests tracks, artists, and playlists that might interest you, as well as letting you browse for fresh, new music. You can also save your favorite playlists, albums and songs, or download them for offline listening. The difference between Tidal and a service like Spotify is the high-quality audio on offer. With Tidal's HiFi subscription, the audio quality is significantly better than that offered by Spotify Premium. This is one of the reasons why Tidal is considered a great alternative for those who take music seriously. It's worth remembering that Tidal may be one of the best options for streaming high-quality music right now, but it's not the only one. Deezer Elite remains a leading contender for Hi-Res Audio, and Amazon Music HD and Qobuz now offer CD-quality listening. Spotify HiFi, Spotify's upcoming hi-res audio streaming service, is also scheduled to launch in XNUMX, which could disrupt this space for good measure.
Tidal: costs and subscription
You have 2 options with Tidal: premium and HiFi. Unlike Spotify, there is no free version of Tidal. On their site, you can choose any of the above services first, then try a XNUMX-day free trial before committing to a subscription fee. Tidal Premium is €XNUMX / €XNUMX / €XNUMX per month and Tidal HiFi is €XNUMX / €XNUMX / AU €XNUMX per month . There is a huge jump in between at twice the cost. This is because with Tidal HiFi you get HiFi sound quality and access to Tidal Masters; we will talk about that later.
(Image credit: LaComparacion / Tidal)
Tidal: music catalog
As of this writing, there are over XNUMX million tracks on Tidal; that's exactly the same number you can find today on Spotify. There have been times before when a service didn't have a specific artist, but a competing service did. This means it's best to check that your favorites are on Tidal before committing. This can change depending on the area you live in, with what you do your research. Unlike many other music streaming services, Tidal also has a dedicated section for videos. At the time of writing this article, there are more than XNUMX with zero videos on the platform. You can watch many full shows and concerts like traditional videos either on the app or stream them to your TV. It's a great addition, but you won't find videos of all your favorite artists here.
The Tidal mobile app works on iOS devices running iOS 10.10 and higher, and Android devices running Android XNUMX and higher. The Tidal desktop app is free on macOS on devices running OS X XNUMX+ and higher, as well as on Windows devices running Windows XNUMX and higher. You can also listen to Tidal through a web player, which works in both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Tidal Connect also lets you stream tracks to a variety of other devices, including Cambridge Audio and KEF sound systems, as well as in select vehicles that use Apple's AirPlay and Android Auto. You can visit Tidal Connect to see if your device is compatible.
(Image credit: Tidal)
Tide: application
The interface of the Tidal desktop app is clean and simple. It has a minimal black and gray color scheme which is akin to Spotify and makes the album art really stand out. When you open the desktop app, you'll see a sidebar on the left edge. Here you will find Home, which takes you to the home screen of the application. This includes mixes created for you, suggested albums, new tracks, and trending music. Here you'll also find Tidal Rising Suggestions, which showcases emerging talent, a great option if you feel like algorithmically created playlists are limiting your listening. The Browse tab is where you can search for new music by genre or by moods and events, like exercise, partying, or relaxing. Then there is a section called My Build. Think of it as your old school music compilation. These are the things you've recorded that are divided into sections, including mixes and radio, playlists, albums, tracks, videos, and artists. On mobile, the experience is just as intuitive and easy. Instead of a sidebar, a menu bar at the bottom of the screen does exactly the same job. One of the differences between the desktop app and the mobile app is sharing. On desktop, you can share a track, album or playlist to Twitter, Facebook, copy the link or copy the embed code. It's pretty standard. But in the mobile app, you can share directly to Facebook Stories or Instagram Stories. Some people won't mind this feature, others will love the story-worthy image Tidal creates for you from the artwork of the track you're listening to, which you can then instantly share.
(Image credit: Tidal)
Tidal: Playlists
Spotify is considered the king of creating playlists that are perfectly tailored to you, but Tidal clearly has a powerful algorithm that works behind the scenes to make solid recommendations as well. For example, when you first sign up for the service, you are encouraged to choose 3 of your favorite artists. This notifies your first mix, called the welcome mix. Based on only 3 artists, we didn't have high hopes for this playlist, but it tasted perfect and we didn't just listen the first morning we signed up. The more music you like and listen to, the more Tidal will learn about your tastes and produce multiple playlists called My Mix. Each of them is based on your listening and focuses on a different genre. These aren't updated as regularly as Spotify, but they tend to do a great job of predicting what users will like. Be sure to click Save if you particularly like a My Mix. This way, you can save it as a separate playlist before it updates. The mix of playlist recommendations and updates doesn't seem as extensive as what Spotify has to offer, nor are there nearly as many entertaining themed playlists as Wrapped or Time Capsule, but it's not. It's not too far off. Unfortunately, you cannot add local music files to Tidal. It's a bit embarrassing, but it shouldn't be a defining factor for most people. If so, take a look at Spotify or Deezer. However, you can transfer your music library and playlists from other music streaming services to your Tidal library using third-party apps.
(Image credit: LaComparacion / Tidal)
Tidal: audio quality
2 genres of Tidal subscription and 2 levels of audio quality are offered. The first one is Tidal Premium, it offers you streaming at a bit rate of 3 kbps. This is exactly the same as what you get if you subscribed to Spotify Premium and chose the ``Ultimate'' quality option in your settings (it's not the default). However, we found that despite having the same bit rate, Tidal delivered a clearer, richer sound most of the time. The second is Tidal HiFi. This gives XNUMX kbps streaming and uses FLAC. This is an audio format that offers a better way to stream music compared to most other streaming services, which use MPXNUMX or other formats that remove aspects of the audio recording. 'Original to compress the file. Unsurprisingly, that means they don't have quite the same high-res sound performance. This is where Tidal HiFi is different. You can hear compressed tracks without loss. That's XNUMX times the bitrate of the highest standard definition streams you'll find on other services. It's like the difference between SD and HD TV. The former works really well, but you'll notice a real difference in quality if you upgrade to higher-resolution audio. In short, the sound is better and in its purest form. But wait...