I guess I’m also thinking 96kbps mp3 as opposed to Ogg Vorbis which are very different animals…
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Tidal and in car audio with 2021.40.x
- Thread starter MrBadger
- Start date
Nick77
Deep Blue Model 3 LR (2021 MIC)
In case you, or anyone else decides to give Tidal a go, they have a nice easy playlist importer on their site which works for most sources.
My thoughts from the other side of the pond. The current Tesla music apps are pretty poor sound quality, so poor that I never use them as they are just fatiguing. Instead I'm using Qobuz on my phone over the bluetooth, and it still can be fatiguing.
I had Tidal Masters when it first became available in the US and thought that it sounded very good, but I never could quite wrap my head around how they were saying it worked. I have 2 different MQA DACs, neither high end, and also other DACs that would still sound good when played. I believe the first 'unfold' happens in the the software and brings enough of an improvement to be audible. Then Qobuz became available in the US and I immediately subscribed to that as well. I had both subscriptions running for about 6 months so I could use either. I found though that I used Qobuz much more since everything I listened to was available on both. If it were in MQA on Tidal it would be in hi-res on Qobuz. I dropped Tidal when the student discount I got ran out and I realized I wasn't using it. My setup is all tubes with DIY speakers designed by Troels Gravesen. There is just an ease of presentation in hi-res that you miss when you go down to CD quality and is ruined by compression completely.
As for cabin noise, I played hi-res in my Honda Odyssey and you could certainly hear the difference, even on the highway. It's the same thing, an ease of presentation and clarity. I sold my Odyssey when I bought my M3 and my daughter has the setup now in her 2009 Camry and it still sounds better than any other source in that car. The M3 is much quieter than either of those so I expect hi-res to sound much better in it too. And if it is not fatiguing the way bluetooth or low bitrate is I'll keep it on longer.
I'm just waiting now for the software update to happen in the car, I'll resubscribe to Tidal, and I've already changed my phone plan to allow for a high speed hotspot so I can download music on the road.
I had Tidal Masters when it first became available in the US and thought that it sounded very good, but I never could quite wrap my head around how they were saying it worked. I have 2 different MQA DACs, neither high end, and also other DACs that would still sound good when played. I believe the first 'unfold' happens in the the software and brings enough of an improvement to be audible. Then Qobuz became available in the US and I immediately subscribed to that as well. I had both subscriptions running for about 6 months so I could use either. I found though that I used Qobuz much more since everything I listened to was available on both. If it were in MQA on Tidal it would be in hi-res on Qobuz. I dropped Tidal when the student discount I got ran out and I realized I wasn't using it. My setup is all tubes with DIY speakers designed by Troels Gravesen. There is just an ease of presentation in hi-res that you miss when you go down to CD quality and is ruined by compression completely.
As for cabin noise, I played hi-res in my Honda Odyssey and you could certainly hear the difference, even on the highway. It's the same thing, an ease of presentation and clarity. I sold my Odyssey when I bought my M3 and my daughter has the setup now in her 2009 Camry and it still sounds better than any other source in that car. The M3 is much quieter than either of those so I expect hi-res to sound much better in it too. And if it is not fatiguing the way bluetooth or low bitrate is I'll keep it on longer.
I'm just waiting now for the software update to happen in the car, I'll resubscribe to Tidal, and I've already changed my phone plan to allow for a high speed hotspot so I can download music on the road.
Tried TIDAL earlier after signing up for the 30 day trial (on the top “Hifi” level that’s £19.99 a month) and it sounded pretty great to be honest, definitely better quality than Spotify.
The tracks I played even said “Hifi” next to them, indicating that they were the lossless level bitrate, although I was on wifi at the time.
The tracks I played even said “Hifi” next to them, indicating that they were the lossless level bitrate, although I was on wifi at the time.
Talked to my HiFi dealer.
He told me that the "free" spotify in a Tesla is the lowest quality that Spotify supplies, if you subscribe as an individual it is a higher bit rate and does sound better....as long as the signal available is good enough. His experience is that in much of the rural UK it is not.
He has all the streaming services in his RR Velar (soon to be a Model Y, he hopes) and doesn't feel upgrading to Tidal or Qobuz will doo much outside good 5G signals.
He told me that the "free" spotify in a Tesla is the lowest quality that Spotify supplies, if you subscribe as an individual it is a higher bit rate and does sound better....as long as the signal available is good enough. His experience is that in much of the rural UK it is not.
He has all the streaming services in his RR Velar (soon to be a Model Y, he hopes) and doesn't feel upgrading to Tidal or Qobuz will doo much outside good 5G signals.
It's the same bitrate in the car whether you subscribe or not. It's poor compared to desktop spotify. It's not signal related (that would lead to drops, not a change in quality).
On the desktop I have trouble telling the difference between 320kbps spotify and tidal 'master' as unlike others I haven't spent as much as a small house on my audio system (just a £100 DAC and £150 headphones) but both are lightyears ahead of the car - as you'd expect I guess.. but the Tesla is surely capable of better than it does, and hopefully some better sources will allow that.
On the desktop I have trouble telling the difference between 320kbps spotify and tidal 'master' as unlike others I haven't spent as much as a small house on my audio system (just a £100 DAC and £150 headphones) but both are lightyears ahead of the car - as you'd expect I guess.. but the Tesla is surely capable of better than it does, and hopefully some better sources will allow that.
Yea, but Tidal on Tesla implementation appears that it can be downloaded up front so no reliance on any mobile signal at all. Its really easy to download albums in Tidal, doesn't take very long at all. I've not tried it with a play list but I suspect its just as easy and quick. Also, having extensively commuted listening to Tidal on my phone even in marginal signal spots, its pretty easy to get continuous master quality audio playing for the whole journey even if you are in poor/no signal areas.
The thing with MQA is that it is specifically designed for streaming master quality audio, so you should see lower mobile signal requirements than you might need for an equivalent quality audio stream.
A hint for anyone looking to trial Tidal. Consider if you want to pay UK prices. A US trial may work out cheaper in the long run as you cannot change your location in Tidal so unless you sign up with a different email address, you are stuck with the geographical region that you signed up with on the trial. However, not all regions are equal as due to different licensing agreements, available content may differ slightly between regions. For instance, last time that I checked I couldn't get DSOM but could all the other Pink Floyd albums - not an issue as I've already got DSOM on my Roon library albeit not master and I'll take the odd difference as I'm only paying $ subscription rates...
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It really should be, if the software is half decent. I stream FLAC from my home server (on 4G, no wired broadband here) to my phone (EE 4G) using Plex/PlexAmp without any problems what-so-ever.
For more than 40 years now, I’m a Vinyl Fanboy. To be continued of course. Nothing, I repeat nothing will replace my Vinyl experience
Since last year, mainly due to C-19 lockdown, I have found some time to invest in streaming for mobile usage and other reasons of convenience.
Obvious advantage: When having guests at home the whole evening, no need to stand up and flip the record every 20 minutes
and of course playlists.
Spotify was out of the game straight away, leaving me the choice between Qobuz and Tidal. Price is not an issue, see my statement below from Warren Buffett
Honestly, I couldn't hear a difference in sound quality between both of these sublime streaming services. Maybe due to the fact that I’m already above 50.
Anyway, to make a long story short:
Invest some time and try out both during trial period. Make a shortlist of your 50 most favorite songs and see/hear how many of these are available in either Tidal or Qobuz.
I ended up with Tidal as I listen more to 80ies wave/electro/new beat.
At the end of the day, it boils down to content availability in my humble opinion. Qobuz is probably better for classic music and Jazz, the latter not being my cup of tea.
Obviously, I’m pretty chuffed that Tidal is now coming soon to my Tesla, probably not via streaming, but via prior download of playlists and albums.
Let’s see...and hear...
Off topic: My smartphone doesn't have a 3.5mm audio jack. Wireless Bluetooth connection is a No-Go if you’re into Tidal or Qobuz. So I have recently invested in a decent mobile DAC with amplifier from Chronos (Violectric). And good new, wired In-Ear headphones from Sennheiser (IE 300).
Life is beautiful
Since last year, mainly due to C-19 lockdown, I have found some time to invest in streaming for mobile usage and other reasons of convenience.
Obvious advantage: When having guests at home the whole evening, no need to stand up and flip the record every 20 minutes
and of course playlists.Spotify was out of the game straight away, leaving me the choice between Qobuz and Tidal. Price is not an issue, see my statement below from Warren Buffett
Honestly, I couldn't hear a difference in sound quality between both of these sublime streaming services. Maybe due to the fact that I’m already above 50.
Anyway, to make a long story short:
Invest some time and try out both during trial period. Make a shortlist of your 50 most favorite songs and see/hear how many of these are available in either Tidal or Qobuz.
I ended up with Tidal as I listen more to 80ies wave/electro/new beat.
At the end of the day, it boils down to content availability in my humble opinion. Qobuz is probably better for classic music and Jazz, the latter not being my cup of tea.
Obviously, I’m pretty chuffed that Tidal is now coming soon to my Tesla, probably not via streaming, but via prior download of playlists and albums.
Let’s see...and hear...
Off topic: My smartphone doesn't have a 3.5mm audio jack. Wireless Bluetooth connection is a No-Go if you’re into Tidal or Qobuz. So I have recently invested in a decent mobile DAC with amplifier from Chronos (Violectric). And good new, wired In-Ear headphones from Sennheiser (IE 300).
Life is beautiful
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I’m glad I have hearing aids. They allow me to differentiate between quiet and loud. I must save a fortune on hifi gear
The normal course of events:
wife present - music quiet
wife out - music loud.
The normal course of events:
wife present - music quiet
wife out - music loud.
Of note for this thread Tidal have restructured their subscriptions so hifi quality (1411kbps which sounds like overkill in itself) is now in the 9.99 tier and the 19.99 is for MQA, & Dolby Atmos (neither of which interest me really- I have neither the equipment nor the ears to tell the difference between a bitrate that high and MQA).
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www.theverge.com
Tidal launches free streaming and splits HiFi into two plans
Plus direct-to-artist payments and a new approach to royalties.
www.theverge.com
That's basically lossless CD quality. So the same as having a decent CD player in the car.
Tidal disingenously put unrendered MQA in this bracket though. Which is the equivalent of about 13-bit audio.
One of the reasons I binned Tidal off is that they unilaterally started removing the 16-bit lossless FLAC versions of many albums whereas before they had them coexist with their MQA nonsense.
One of the reasons I binned Tidal off is that they unilaterally started removing the 16-bit lossless FLAC versions of many albums whereas before they had them coexist with their MQA nonsense.
Nick77
Deep Blue Model 3 LR (2021 MIC)
Have you also tried with 2.4 Ghz band ?I couldn't get my car to tether to my phone (iPhone 13 Pro Max), so couldn't test. No matter what I did, it wouldn't connect to the hotspot, just saying it was unable to connect with no other info
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