Advice Request Spotify or Tidal?

[Nevi]

Lately I have changed my subscription from Spotify premium, to Tidals hi-fi subscription. I had bought a couple of new Beyerdynamics headphones, and tried to take a listen to Tidals lossless. Now I get it. With a couple of good headphones it was possible for me to actually hear the difference. More room, better bass etc.

What are you guys using? Are you able to hear the difference between the two? I couldn't before I got some good headphones. What about you guys?

 

[upnorth]

Deezer. Haven't tested other services. Well I did a long time ago with Spotify, but always been more then satisfied with Deezer.

Good headphones are essential. Smart upgrade.

 

[LASER_oneXM]

in the past 2 years i had a paid abo from Spotify. Currently Deezer is offering a free 3 months trial (in germany) and in this moment im listening to music in HiFi/CD quality from Deezer. IMO it is a big/huge difference therefore i guess i will stay with Deezer for a while and continue the subsciption after the free trial period. Deezer (HiFi option) is a bit cheaper than Tidal-HiFi (15 euro vs 20 euro). Im also using beyerdynamic headphones (with the mobile headphone amplifier Creative Sondblaster E5): DT990 Pro (250Ohm), Custom One Pro plus (16 Ohm) and iDX 200iE (in ear).

 

[ItsReallyMe]

what

Lately I have changed my subscription from Spotify premium, to Tidals hi-fi subscription. I had bought a couple of new Beyerdynamics headphones, and tried to take a listen to Tidals lossless. Now I get it. With a couple of good headphones it was possible for me to actually hear the difference. More room, better bass etc.

What are you guys using? Are you able to hear the difference between the two? I couldn't before I got some good headphones. What about you guys?

what is the headphone?

 

[Cortex]

Using Spotify Family at the moment, I gave Tidal a try a few months ago & there were to me subtle differences, an issue was I have a playlist of thousands of tracks (used Spotify for many years) that were impossible to import whatever system I used - As Tidal is twice the price I didn't bother as I tend t use online streamers for background use - I've ripped 1500 albums FLAC CD quality anyway & some hi-res (waste of space) that I stream to hi-fi from PC or NAS that don't disappear in a flash of light like it does on online streamers when artist/label i n a bad mood or skint - Use Roksan K3/Marantz Streamer/Castle speakers - Just an alternative way?

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

Lossless is awesome as long as you have decent hearing and a good headphones

 

[Cortex]

Lossless is awesome as long as you have decent hearing and a good headphones

Or decent well placed loudspeakers on solid stands if small not floor standers? Hearing frequency loss doesn't make that much difference as almost all music is well below 10,000 htz - Most musicians of my generation are almost stone deaf because & playing in a band all their life but still play well

 

[Ink]

Spotify Free (previously Premium 2x 3 Month offers).

Don't own any high quality headphones/speakers.

 

[ForgottenSeer 55474]

Tidal Hi-Fi for sure, if you have a good soundcard and Headphone/Speakers.

 

[Nevi]

what

what is the headphone?

I have two now. The new Beyerdynamics Aventho, and Audeze SINE. What I have noticed most, is the dynamics and the room. They were not good on Spotify. Now I can hear the room is bigger, and there are air around each player in the band. I keep hearing new things. The bass is also better.
I have heard many good things about Deezer, I think they will be more used in the future. There are also one called Quobuzz, they just only work in USA at the moment, and maybe parts of Asia, but it's only a matter of time say customer support.
But now I have found Tidal, I think I stay here. Viva el musico.

 

[Nevi]

Tidal Hi-Fi for sure, if you have a good soundcard and Headphone/Speakers.

Carsten what speakers do you use?

 

[Jaspion]

Deezer. They have hi-fi lke Tidal, but much better interface. Idk if that's a huge deal for you, but I couldn't stand it that the first thing I saw when opening Tidal was artists I have absolutely no interest in; same with Spotify. Deezer's Flow feature and recommendations are great too, plus I've managed to find a few more obscure tracks only on Deezer.

 

[ForgottenSeer 55474]

I use Headphones: JBL Live650BTNC.

 

[FireHammer]

I have purchased Deezer Hi-Fi and I must say: the interface is much better, so you are completely right @Jaspion
But I still use Tidal Hi-Fi because I have Audirvana & Roon Players where Tidal is integrated.

 

[ForgottenSeer 89360]

I use Sony XM4 headphones with Apple Music and everything’s just fine.
Tried both Deezer and Tidal, but they are not for my music (club, house, dance)... mids and highs are emphasised, but bass is not so punchy.

 

[LASER_oneXM]

currently i'm testing Amazon Music HD/Ultra HD (3 months free trial period). They are offering music in HD and Ultra HD quality for 15 Euro (in germany).

 

[Jaspion]

I have purchased Deezer Hi-Fi and I must say: the interface is much better, so you are completely right @Jaspion
But I still use Tidal Hi-Fi because I have Audirvana & Roon Players where Tidal is integrated.

I'm really glad you like it!!

I use Sony XM4 headphones with Apple Music and everything’s just fine.
Tried both Deezer and Tidal, but they are not for my music (club, house, dance)... mids and highs are emphasised, but bass is not so punchy.

But the player shouldn't be the problem. I don't think Deezer has an Equalizer, but my device has one built-in, and with the XM4 I don't have to turn on any equalizers. But that's my taste (it changed recently, btw, I used to use an equalizer all the time)., anyway I'm sure you can find some help in the built-in equalizer or a third-party one, no?

 

[HarborFront]

If you want to listen to hi-res music at least get a hi-res portable player (below) which comes with its IEM or buy a high-res certified headphone. Some may say the certification is a gimmick but at least you are assured it can play high-res audio

Best portable MP3 players 2025: top hi-res music players tested by our experts

When your phone's storage and sound simply won't do

www.whathifi.com

From FiiO

https://www.fiio.com/player

https://www.fiio.com/m15_comparisons

Alternatively, get a handphone e.g. like the Huawei Mate 40 and its companion headphone Huawei Freebuds Studio headphone or one from LG (LG V30, LG V60 etc) which supports hi-res audio

 

[LASER_oneXM]

i'm quite satisfied with these (quite new) streaming services offering 'true' HiFi quality. I grew up with CDs/DVDs and HiFi tape decks/HiFi tape machines (chome
and metal tapes)... ...and i didnt really liked the MP3 compression/sound quality offering max. 320kb/s only that came up in the 90s. IMO there is a big
difference between the original CD quality (the original bitrate of a CD) and the reduced bitrate of a MP3 file.

I've tested 3 services offering the 'original' CD quality: Tidal HiFi, Deezer HiFi and Amazon Music HD. I guess i will stay for a while with one of these services...