Tidal Qobuz Accounts Question For Beginners

Now that I have the A6 in house and hooked up, I need to start steaming. For that I'd like something lossless or hi rez.

So when I sign up for a subscription, like Tidal or Qobuz, what exactly does 1 account buy?

Is it locked to one device? Or does it move with my devices?

Say I want Tidal on the stereo system, like on the A6, and on my phone (so I can use it in my car or with my portable Bluetooth speaker?

And then what about my wife and her phone?

What constitutes needing more than one account?

Sorry, I know this is really rudimentary but I'm a virgin at this.

Thanks --- Bonzo

 

If you only play one stream/device at a time - the standard Solo plan, not sure on how many devices limited probably something like 10? One or two streams/devices used simultanenously- Duo Plan. More than 2 at time - Family plan. The other choice is whether or not you want hi fi or hi fi plus.

 

Thank you. That's very helpful.

 

I have tried most of the streaming services. I would go with Q0buz or Amazon. Both will have most of what you want to listen to in hi-res FLACs and avoid the complications of "unfolding" and the like that comes with Tidal. Others may prefer Tidal's sound.

 

I like Apple Music. It has cleanest possible layout. It is the easiest to search. I have found music that I loved from the past and this is the only place I could find them. Apple Music has many older records from the 50s and 60s that have been digitalized and are on the site. That might not interest you at all

 

I decided to jump in and get my feet wet with Tidal first for their 30 day trial period. Then I'll try Qobuz and Amazon.

I can almost certainly tell which one I'll go with right now. That's the one with the best app interface that makes the most ergonomic sense and works the best for me.

I am already finding a lot of faults and really dumb things Tidal has / does (or doesn't have / do). So trying the other options is a must for me. Perhaps they are all just as bad, I dunno, but I'm gonna find out.

I'm a very "ergonomics are essential" person. I've been that way since I was born. So with stuff like this, where choices are limited, and the apps themselves are very limited in terms of set up options, I get frustrated with the backwards thinking, or lack of thinking at all.

Time will tell.

I've also started making a list for the A6. What works and what doesn't. What is good and what needs to be better. At least with them we stand a chance to make it better. With the streaming app companies, good luck.

 

Bonzo - are you usingvRoon or looking into it?

(madrac from AVS)

 

Its on my list, but it's down the list. Why you ask?

 

Because I'm researching it as well and was interested in your opinion/input if you were a current user.
I'm contemplating the free trial and then maybe go month by month for a bit to see if I like it and I use it enough to then justify the cost of a lifetime subscription.
I may also look into JRiver.

 

That would certainly be the way I would do it. Month by month to see.

Like I'm doing with the streaming places. Right now I signed up for Tidal and their 30 day free. I'm gonna try Qobuz and Amazon the same way.

Then I need to re-rip all my CDs to flac. Ugh.

Once that's done, or well on it's way, THEN, I'll look into Roon. I THINK I would base my final decision on 2 things mostly; how I like it and do I use it enough to justify it? It's basically the same 2 questions I'm asking myself about Tidal right now. Even after just a few days with Tidal, I'm not impressed with how it's organized, or how ergonomic the app is. I'll be surprised if Tidal is the winner in the end. As for Roon, perhaps that's why people love it, because apps like Tidal only scratch the service of usability and clean ergonomics? Dunno until I try it myself. Slowly but surely I'll get there.

Oh, and then there's the $7k on either the Marantz AV-10 or Anthem AVM-90. Yikes.

And the brilliant idea (not) I got a few weeks back about adding SVS in-wall subs so I can have 4 subwoofers. Another $3k.

It's all pie in the sky at the moment but I'm determined to get back into this and catch up some after not changing much for 10 years.

 

Good plan and appreciate your opinion of Tidal.

I have Amazon music through my Prime membership (although not sure if it is the same as the paid version) but hardly use it.

I've considered the AVM90 as an upgrade from the AVM70 I currently have. I'm just not sure I'd hear $3000+ in difference. LOL on the subs, I've been thinking about adding another 2 Rythmiks.

 

I have questions about Amazon Music that I haven't looked into yet. Like, is it all hi-rez or are there 2 levels? Does Prime cover the hi-rez? Is hi-rez CD quality or better? I'd like Amazon to be the big winner, because with Prime, if hi-rez is included, then you get music and TV streaming and 2-day shipping and the other benefits all included at once. This is especially convenient if we don't use them everyday.

One thing I like about using Pandora is, since its free, I never have to feel bad that I'm wasting money for not using it. If I have a music service I only end up using once a week, I'm not sure how I'll feel. I don't fret with something like DirecTV, because we use it every day. This is part of the reason for the A6. $900 is a lot. But, it gets you a lot for what it does compared to the Rose that costs 3 times more. So if I don't use the A6 all the time for streaming, I won't feel so bad.

I have not actually heard many sub brands, but Rythmiks are very highly rated. Can't go wrong there.

The smart buy is the AVM-70, and use an external DAC for music. I'm just at that point that I'm gonna try and be 1 and done. My current system has made it 10 years now with little to no change. At the moment, I'm leaning towards going all out once, spend a lot in the next 6 months, then live with it for many years to come. Not sure, but that's my current thought process. Probably why I'm leaning 60% towards the AV10, vs 40% towards the AVM90.

 

@Bonzo
I wasn't sure about Amazon Music, so just looked. With Prime, it's not HD. You could add HD for $89/year (or go month by month).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GW3PHAUCZM8L7W9L

I've used Pandora in the past...I'll need to see if I can get it loaded onto the EverSolo.

I love my 2 Rythmik E15's. Just thinking about 2 more for nearer field...likely not any time soon as other priorities and things to pay for!

The AVM70 is pretty good for music although I do my critical listening via a Rogue RP5.

 

Thanks for the info about Amazon.

Pandora is certainly not for super hifi situations or critical listening. But it works well enough for me in the car and patio with bluetooth speakers (I happen to like the JBL Charge). Of course I can do the same and better with playlists on Tidal etc, but those will take a little time. The upside to playlists is it's what you want and like, 100% of the time. The downside to them, where Pandora and regular radio (used to, but no longer) shine, is they introduce you to new stuff.

If you figure out how to get Pandora loaded on the A6, please let us know. Would probably best posted in the side loading thread. At the very least, then we could do some direct comparisons in SQ between hi-rez services and a lossy service.

 

Added Pandora yesterday evening. What I did in the sideloading thread.

http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?thr...aming-music-apps-aggregated-list.96057/page-2

I also installed a version of youtube which I found on this thread...
http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/youtube-app-on-the-dmp-a6.95645/page-2#post-193459

 

So since I started this thread I'll continue my story onward from here.

I have now tried Tidal, Qobuz, and Amazon.

I did Tidal first and was not overly in love with the ergonomics of it. Then to Amazon. Easier to use than Tidal. Then to Qobuz, which ergonomically works best.

BUT, they all have caveats and......

Amazon appears to be made for the mass appeal of music likers (not lovers). Its more simple, which I like, but it lacks options that could make things better for each user. It doesn't list album credits, and what's up with the ever scrolling lyrics? Stupid. The album art isn't very hi-rez either. It lacks some albums and songs I'm interested in.

Qobuz works the best ergonomically for me. How it operates makes the most sense. What option choices it gives you make sense, although I still wish it had more. At first I was like, it works better than Tidal and its cheaper, so I know this is the winner....BUT..... Its slower at searching. It's data base is not nearly as accurate with dates and albums etc, which screws up sorting and other aspects. And it simply doesn't have as many titles to choose from (at least not for me). Unfortunately, part of it's great, but its inaccurate and incomplete. It unfortunately comes in last place for me.

So now I'm back to switching between Tidal and Amazon. I'm thinking maybe I didn't give Tidal a fair shake. But we'll see.

What I hate about all three? Sorting. I'm sorry, but artists with the word "The" in the beginning should not be sorted alphabetically using "The". It makes the "T" section 50 times longer than it should be. I don't want to have to look under "T" when I'm looking for Beatles, or Doors, or Rolling Stones. And hello, I know its how young kids do it, I guess, but when the name of a band is a singular person, like Peter Gabriel, it should sort by LAST name first, as in Gabriel, Peter. NOT Peter Gabriel. If people want to do it the hard way on their dime, that's fine. But then these apps need to step up to the plate and add the option to sort it how the user wants. Lastly, they all advertise having 100 million tracks to choose from. Nice. Except what they don't tell you is how many of those choices are pure garbage, and that they don't offer a lot of things from real stuff that isn't on the "makes big money" train. People who tossed or sold their old CD and Vinyl collections because streaming has them covered....I say whoops, no it doesn't. Oh wait, I have another. Under sorting of favorite tracks, who just wants to see the few tracks only you have favorited? Not me. If I favorite an entire album, ALL those tracks should show up. I want to be able to hunt ALL my tracks, not just the individual ones I happened to favorite. Better yet, so kids can have their limited number tracks, and I can have all mine, there needs to be another main search area added: Albums, Artist, Favorite Tracks, and All Tracks. And on that note, what happened to being able to search things like genre within your own collection, like the old iPod used to do? It amazes me how sometimes the old school devices are vastly superior in many ways to newer ones...... Where's the option to quick scroll so I don't have to swipe my finger 500 times to get from A to Z?

More to follow......

 

Thanks for posting your findings so far, @Bonzo. I've still not tried either Tidal or Qobuz (both on my to do list when I have some more free time). Do have basic Amazon as comes with Prime, as well as free Pandora & Spotify. Granted none are high res and overall quality might be lacking but the price is right for "background" music.

 

I don't use streaming services, but this problem is prevalent with virtually all media players. Library Management is almost always an afterthought. With metadata-tagged files Grouping and Sorting options should be easily implemented, but they rarely are. MusicBee (which does not run on Android or Linux) is the only program/app that I've used that manages libraries correctly ...

 

How about ROON for library management? I've not used it but it is supposed to be very good (albeit expensive, IMO)

 

Its a lot about preference for sure. That's why I have no problem spilling my guts on a thread started by me. I can be selfish here. Haha.

I'm gonna pick 1 service within the 30 day trial then pay for it for a few months to see how much I use it. My gut says that inside the house, on my stereo where the A6 sits, I won't use the streaming services or the A6 much. Maybe once I finally get whole house audio up and running that will change, for background music. But for real listening, I'll use my CDs. The streaming will come in handy for new music, or for those oddball moments when I want to hear something I don't have (if the streaming service has it, which so far I have seen many they don't have).

Where I think the streaming service comes in handy for me is outside the house, on my patio or traveling with my portable Bluetooth speakers, or in the car (paid more for the top of the line model that pitched the CD player....go figure). Pandora has worked just fine for these applications. But I also like to listen to specific tracks and whole albums, so there it doesn't work. I think having something like Tidal will expand upon Pandora, not replace it.

One thing that I failed to mention about Amazon that the others don't have (at least not that I found), is the ability to turn on an EQ. There are presets, as well as a user option. This isn't something I would ever use on my hifi system in the house, but for a Bluetooth portable, it can make a difference. Tidal sounds clear and clean, but yet flat and boring on my JBL Charge 3, when compared to Pandora. With Amazon I can turn on the EQ, dial it in, and have the Charge 3 sounding it's best for fun outside sound.