Will I Ever purchase Vinyl / CD again... perhaps YES

[Boyse6748]

I know this will probably irritate many of you Hi-FI aficionados, but bear in mind most of my kit is vintage (almost as old as me).

Before I begin, I have some 2000+ Records and many hundreds of CD's / SACD's.

My music collection has now exceeded 40,000,000 in high res Lossless Flac.... complements of Tidal.

What I'm asking, does anybody else use this service, as I believe it's the dogs bollocks. Not just the quantity, but the quality of the music playback.

I spend approximately £40 month on music (Vinyl or cd) and although this stuff is lovely to handle .... only one or two tracks make me smile.

I've been testing Tidal over the last weeks and there really is not an Album or track that isn't available. Not just the artist but every album ever produced.

All this for £20 month or cheaper if six months in advance. This is half the price I'm paying now for some, "not all" disappointing albums at present.

Obviously, streaming music is mainly dependent on the quality of the DAC / Amp being used which I understand.

I'm a big fan of JRIVER via my NAS drive (most files in HD downloads) at £20/25 a pop, mainly to save the ware on my Benz Wood and Tidal beats this format into submission.

If nothing else, at least I can listen to the full album before making a purchase and maybe only purchase my most favorite album / CD/ SACD after a full listen in the future.

Please don't tell me Spotify does this as well..... not even half the quality.

MY Kit:

McIntosh MA2275
Rock 7 / SME V / Benz Wood
KEF 105/3's
Marantz SACD
Pioneer 909 (Reel to Reel)... don't laugh !!(and yes I do use it)
Teac UD503 DAC
Dynalab FM
NJC Sut.

Your thoughts, opinions, abuse would be welcome.

Peter



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[Audio Al]

40 million albums :eek:

How will you ever listen to them :scratch:

Stick with your loved black round discs ;)

[Boyse6748]

40 million albums :eek:

How will you ever listen to them :scratch:

Stick with your loved black round discs ;)

70 now, so not much chance.... but sooooo nice to have the choice!!


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[struth]

Spotify does it too:ner: I know its only mp3 but its pretty good. Cant afford tidal....yet

[Ali Tait]

Yes another Tidal user here, recently got a Mytek Brooklyn dac, so had to try some MQA stuff. The sound in many respects beats my vinyl front end.

[Haselsh1]

It's a very poor substitute for the real thing ;)

[Boyse6748]

It's a very poor substitute for the real thing ;)

I would somewhat disagree with that statement. Yes, not as good as a decent front end but most certainly NOT a poor substitute.

And now I can listen to EVERYTHING [emoji736]

You obviously have not listened to Tidal ( Studio quality)

Peter


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[Macca]

All fine and dandy providing they stay in business. Neither Tidal nor Spotify have ever posted a penny in profit. I can understand the appeal of the catalogue although I think some stuff is unavailable (Neil Young and Led Zeppelin I think), but I wouldn't be too quick to sell a physical musical collection and rely solely on Tidal because there is a fair chance that it won't be around forever.

[struth]

Dont see spotify going anywhere. THey have led zeppelin by way. Very little they dont have tbh. I know is only 320mb but is mostly pretty decent quality. I can run flac through my dac from pc or same on spotify 320 and it can be hard to tell difference on a lot of it.

[Macca]

Dont see spotify going anywhere. THey have led zeppelin by way. Very little they dont have tbh. I know is only 320mb but is mostly pretty decent quality. I can run flac through my dac from pc or same on spotify 320 and it can be hard to tell difference on a lot of it.

True especially if you listen in isolation. Do the back to back comparison against the CD though and Spotify can sound a bit flat. Maybe not enough to be a deal breaker but as they used to say on the Galaxy chocolate adverts, why have cotton when you can have silk?

I was talking about Zep on Tidal btw I thought I read somewhere that there was none on Tidal. Possibly I was mistaken or the situation has changed since.

Spotify intending to float btw, was on the news this morning, but they need to up their revenue a bit first.

[Boyse6748]

Macca, last time I looked there were 49 LED Zeppelin albums listed.
The originals / deluxe versions and remastered. I do agree a bit of overkill, but nice to have the choice.

To the others who commented, I can't ever remember saying that you should sell your kit and only use Tidal (a bit of confusion here). It's just another way to listen to albums as you can't purchase everything..... unless of course you're loaded, which I am NOT.

Also, I don't listen to this in isolation, Vinyl is still my god closely followed by CD/SACD.

Apologies, if I caused confusion... just asking what you thought.

Peter


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[Spectral Morn]

I don't get the appeal of the likes of Spotify, if I want low sound quality music I use my smart TV and watch videos or listen to albums on You Tube. There is a vast library of material there, including rare concerts and videos and I have made a number of new music discoveries via that source. Of course much of it is illegally there, and YT remove and suspend accounts regularly but I have seen bands in concert and videos I would never have seen otherwise.

I haven't bought nor do I plan on buying HD downloads, though I have downloaded some via the codes one gets with vinyl purchases, most MP3.

I won't be dumping or switching away from physical media I prefer that way of accessing music. My collection is pretty big, modest by some folks collections and everything in its place these days. I don't have much space going forwards for new music, but I will still opt for the physical over non physical.

[struth]

I don't get the appeal of the likes of Spotify, if I want low sound quality music I use my smart TV and watch videos or listen to albums on You Tube. There is a vast library of material there, including rare concerts and videos and I have made a number of new music discoveries via that source. Of course much of it is illegally there, and YT remove and suspend accounts regularly but I have seen bands in concert and videos I would never have seen otherwise.

I haven't bought nor do I plan on buying HD downloads, though I have downloaded some via the codes one gets with vinyl purchases, most MP3.

I won't be dumping or switching away from physical media I prefer that way of accessing music. My collection is pretty big, modest by some folks collections and everything in its place these days. I don't have much space going forwards for new music, but I will still opt for physical over non physical.

Its not for everyone, thats for sure. Nevertheless i didnt expect to like it and had fully expected to hardly use my 3 month trial. Its now on every day. Sound quality overall is very good.

[Spectral Morn]

Its not for everyone, thats for sure. Nevertheless i didnt expect to like it and had fully expected to hardly use my 3 month trial. Its now on every day. Sound quality overall is very good.

I think it just reflects how I listen to music these days and probably always Grant. I have several HDs loaded with Master files, that I was given a few years ago, mostly 24 Bit, 96, a few 192 and 88. All great music, some I have physically some I don't. I can use either J River and a PC into several great DACs and I also have a Sony Z1 music player but I dislike the interface be it off the PC or an IPad remote. I spend way too much time on computers and I get more pleasure physically going through my library of real items, picking and then playing. I find the computer interface frustrating and lacking at every level.

However weirdly I don't get as frustrated with You Tube on the TV and the sound quality from the TV is pretty acceptable :scratch:. The interface isn't great, but I tolerate it. Go figure.

[struth]

I think it just reflects how I listen to music these days and probably always Grant. I have several HDs loaded with Master files, that I was given a few years ago, mostly 24 Bit, 96, a few 192 and 88. All great music, some I have physically some I don't. I can use either J River and a PC into several great DACs and I also have a Sony Z1 music player but I dislike the interface be it off the PC or an IPad remote. I spend way too much time on computers and I get more pleasure physically going through my library of real items, picking and then playing. I find the computer interface frustrating and lacking at every level.

However weirdly I don't get as frustrated with You Tube on the TV and the sound quality from the TV is pretty acceptable :scratch:. The interface isn't great, but I tolerate it. Go figure.

I find the tv poor, but its a poor tv audio wise. Not smart etc. I was blutoothing spotify to my small external speaker like a transistor radio earier and its now going to my chromecast in main system. Its not quite cd quality but its close i guess. Convenient coming off an old phon at moment. But if your into super high quality and that only i do see why.
I like its portability too. I took the speaker with me to kitchen when doing dishes and making coffee.

[Ziggy]

I have been with Tidal for two years. Great sound and good value. Sold my CD player and ripped my CDs.

[TheFlash]

I don't get the appeal of the likes of Spotify, if I want low sound quality music I use my smart TV and watch videos or listen to albums on You Tube.

Have you listened to much on Spotify? I use it on my Mac in my study which has some really good (but cheap) Harman Kardon speakers (HK695) which have survived multiple computer changes as they're very acceptable performers. I listen as background to albums reviewed in various places and playlists suggested by other Spotify users, and I audition full albums before deciding whether to purchase or not. 320kbps is much better than the number would suggest - I can't stand to listen to anything at 128kbps so never ever buy tracks off iTunes, Amazon or the like, but find Spotify absolutely fine in this context.

Once I've worked out how to get Spotify working via LMS into my Squeezebox, that will allow me a bit more flexibility, though I don't expect it will get anywhere near my main sources of CD, vinyl and ALAC so will still be mainly for exploration. Which is "the point" for this particular audiophile.

[Macca]

. 320kbps is much better than the number would suggest - .

True enough. It isn't that that puts me off it so much as the faffing around with a computer when all I want to do is put some music on. I just prefer to go to a shelf of CDs (or more normally a big pile on the floor) and rake through it until I find what I want or see something that grabs me. Stick it in and press play. That to me is no different to searching/browsing on a computer screen. Okay so it does mean no more shelves of CDs and records cluttering up the room, but then I like shelves full of CDs and records.

As for catalogue size I already own 90% of the records I want and I'm not so poor as I can't afford to buy the rest. That way regardless of what happens in the music industry I will always have my albums in my personal possession and I can always listen to them anytime I want.

[walpurgis]

Yeah. That's about how I see it too.

[Spectral Morn]

Have you listened to much on Spotify? I use it on my Mac in my study which has some really good (but cheap) Harman Kardon speakers (HK695) which have survived multiple computer changes as they're very acceptable performers. I listen as background to albums reviewed in various places and playlists suggested by other Spotify users, and I audition full albums before deciding whether to purchase or not. 320kbps is much better than the number would suggest - I can't stand to listen to anything at 128kbps so never ever buy tracks off iTunes, Amazon or the like, but find Spotify absolutely fine in this context.

Once I've worked out how to get Spotify working via LMS into my Squeezebox, that will allow me a bit more flexibility, though I don't expect it will get anywhere near my main sources of CD, vinyl and ALAC so will still be mainly for exploration. Which is "the point" for this particular audiophile.

Its the whole idea of services like Spotify, that don't appeal to me.

[Spectral Morn]

True enough. It isn't that that puts me off it so much as the faffing around with a computer when all I want to do is put some music on. I just prefer to go to a shelf of CDs (or more normally a big pile on the floor) and rake through it until I find what I want or see something that grabs me. Stick it in and press play. That to me is no different to searching/browsing on a computer screen. Okay so it does mean no more shelves of CDs and records cluttering up the room, but then I like shelves full of CDs and records.

As for catalogue size I already own 90% of the records I want and I'm not so poor as I can't afford to buy the rest. That way regardless of what happens in the music industry I will always have my albums in my personal possession and I can always listen to them anytime I want.

+ 1

[struth]

True enough. It isn't that that puts me off it so much as the faffing around with a computer when all I want to do is put some music on. I just prefer to go to a shelf of CDs (or more normally a big pile on the floor) and rake through it until I find what I want or see something that grabs me. Stick it in and press play. That to me is no different to searching/browsing on a computer screen. Okay so it does mean no more shelves of CDs and records cluttering up the room, but then I like shelves full of CDs and records.

As for catalogue size I already own 90% of the records I want and I'm not so poor as I can't afford to buy the rest. That way regardless of what happens in the music industry I will always have my albums in my personal possession and I can always listen to them anytime I want.

Dont need a pc just a phone

[The Black Adder]

I like digital and do digital and could do more digital but it's boring in respect of having something physical... with no physical artwork or that beautiful needle drop moment it's pretty vague.

Physical media has a place in life. Makes you realise that you have something real rather than the feeling like you just have something.

40,000,000 albums is bonkers... lol - all cool if that's what you like but IMO I just wouldn't know where to start in all honesty and I think (in the end) I'd just switch it off and put a record on. Too much choice, too complicated unless it's on shuffle for background music.

[Infinitely Baffled]

It isn't that that puts me off it so much as the faffing around with a computer when all I want to do is put some music on. I just prefer to go to a shelf of CDs (or more normally a big pile on the floor) and rake through it until I find what I want or see something that grabs me. Stick it in and press play. That to me is no different to searching/browsing on a computer screen. Okay so it does mean no more shelves of CDs and records cluttering up the room, but then I like shelves full of CDs and records.

As for catalogue size I already own 90% of the records I want and I'm not so poor as I can't afford to buy the rest. That way regardless of what happens in the music industry I will always have my albums in my personal possession and I can always listen to them anytime I want.

I completely share this view!
IB

[Infinitely Baffled]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I like digital and do digital and could do more digital but it's boring in respect of having something physical... with no physical artwork or that beautiful needle drop moment it's pretty vague.

Physical media has a place in life. Makes you realise that you have something real rather than the feeling like you just have something.

40,000,000 albums is bonkers... lol - all cool if that's what you like but IMO I just wouldn't know where to start in all honesty and I think (in the end) I'd just switch it off and put a record on. Too much choice, too complicated unless it's on shuffle for background music.
And this one!

[TheFlash]

Dont need a pc just a phone

Or a nice iPad Mini running iPeng.

Like others, I still prefer the pleasure of real browsing- of shelves of round things stored in square things so they don't roll onto the floor. I'm not really fussed whether they're silver or black round things but like the chance encounter, the corner of the eye "crikey I haven't listened to that for years" discovery which just doesn't happen with streaming - well not for me.

But I'm pleased I have Spotify in my armoury.

[struth]

Sure.. iva ipad, 2 iphones and a android tablet and phone. I use them depending where i am etc. Sometimes if the kitchen pc is on i will stream from it down my extra long usb to the dac head amp too. Its really good spotify lets you do this. Tidal doesnt

[Macca]

In case anyone gets the wrong impression (as they often do) I am not knocking streaming services or the people who use them. I hope they survive and start making some money. It just isn't something I need. I can check a band out on You-Tube if I want to. No need to sign up for anything (I hate doing that even if it is a free service).You don't need good sound quality to know if the music is going to do it for you or not.

I treat listening to music as a special event, I like to sit down and do it properly. If I need background noise the tv or the radio will do, I barely notice it anyway if concentrating on something else. Get a beer on the go, no other distractions, proper volume level that does it justice, and get a couple of quality hours in. Then it might be to or three days before I listen to music again. I know I will always feel 'the hunger' again at some point.