This was posted 3 years 5 months 21 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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TIDAL Premium/Hifi Music Streaming - 90 Days $4 (New Users)

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TIDAL Premium/Hifi Music Streaming - 90 Days $4 (New Users)
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insertusernamehere on 27/10/2020 - 13:38 try.tidal.com (780 clicks)

Looks like this deal is back for new users. I couldn't get the exisiting/expired user work around to work for me unfortunately, so looks like they've closed that loop hole.

Usual comments on the UI being dated etc but the audio quality is fantastic in MQA on HiFi plan (normally $23.99 a month).

"Get unlimited access to 60+ million tracks, 250,000+ HD videos and live events, completely ad-free. TIDAL members also get the chance to experience exclusive music and videos that can’t be streamed anywhere else."

Entertainment Music Streaming TIDAL

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  • HossTheHustler on 27/10/2020 - 13:47
    +1

    What are the differences between Tidal and Spotify?

    • zeefiraph on 27/10/2020 - 13:59
      +4

      https://www.androidauthority.com/tidal-vs-spotify-1119066/

      Few things but if you are an audiophile who prefers Quality over myriad of songs in the library - Spotify is the choice.

      However, sound quality:

      Both Spotify Premium and Tidal Premium offer streaming at a data rate of 320kbps (CD quality). That said, Tidal streams offered a more spacious soundstage and sounded that little bit more engaging.

      Tidal also offers the option to listen to tracks in better-than-CD-quality. The audiophile-friendly Tidal Hi-Fi plan grants access to over 25,000 Tidal Master tracks (such as Fleetwood Mac’s remastered Tusk) in the form of hi-res MQA streams.

      You can identify Tidal Masters by the tiny little "M" icon next the title. They deliver guaranteed master-quality recording directly from the master source, thus providing the audio experience that the artist originally intended.

      Until fairly recently, Tidal Masters were only available via the service's desktop app but Masters are now available on all Android smartphones.

      Result: Tidal wins hands down

      Verdict:

      Spotify is the most recognisable name in music streaming and offer free (ad-supported) access to millions of songs and recommendations. If you love discovering new music, or simply want the best all-rounder, hooking up with Spotify will make you happy.

      However, those who value audio quality are best off with Tidal. Stretch to the £20 a month HiFi tier if you can – it's fantastic destination for those who want to listen to lossless and hi-res files.

      • zeefiraph on 27/10/2020 - 14:06

        PS: if you have one of the Sony Connect app (I have a XM3 Headphones) - TIDAL app provides additional support and benefit of the DCEE HX

        Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX (DSEE HX™) upscales compressed digital music files, bringing them closer to the quality of High-Resolution Audio. By restoring the high-range sound lost in compression, DSEE HX™ produces your digital music files in rich, clear sound.

      • onlinepred on 27/10/2020 - 14:12
        -3

        Yep, if you are the person who will sit in a soundproof or silent room, and listen to music through cabled headphones to a dedicated DAC and source, then Tidal wins hands down.

        If you are listening to the music while on a train/bus or while walking, Tidal is a complete waste of money hands down.

        • swalloweda on 27/10/2020 - 15:12

          I can tell the difference on my middling HiFi systems or on my $150 headphones. Not all of us are pompous asses.

          Having said that, $25 a month for a single account vs $19 for a 6-person family may not work for everyone.

          But your latter point is correct if you are using your phone. And you'll use up your data pretty quick.

      • antman on 27/10/2020 - 14:21
        +1

        Correction: 320kbs is not CD quality!

      • apple2016 on 27/10/2020 - 22:53

        For Tidal masters you need MQA enabled hardware also.

        • antman on 28/10/2020 - 11:52

          Actually no. You need it to get MQA, but you will still get full 24bit sound with a non MQA DAC.

    • Michalek on 27/10/2020 - 13:59
      +4

      Having previously used Tidal, the main point of difference is the streaming quality, where Tidal has content available in higher quality than that of Spotify (320kbps).

      How does this manifest itself in reality? I'll be blunt - if you're using headphones to listen to music via bluetooth, in the real-world I'd be surprised if you noticed a difference. Especially if the headphones used are in the range of Sony XM4 or something akin to that.

      That being said, I used a dedicated DAC and wired headphones and there was a perceivable difference - albeit minute for my ears and so I stopped paying for Tidal.

      If you have an awesome HiFi system or you're on audiophile, YMMV, but in general, Spotify Premium on their maximum streaming quality will do just fine for the vast majority of users.

      • swalloweda on 27/10/2020 - 14:03

        What he said^^

      • blackpizza on 27/10/2020 - 14:14
        +1

        I am with you on this Michalek. I have Grado headphone and Dynaudio speakers, it is very hard to tell the difference betwen Tiday M and Spotify highest bitrate. Dont get me wrong, you can but you really have to listening critically, which for me takes away the fun of listening to music.

        • antman on 27/10/2020 - 14:27
          +3

          Yes, no difference if listening over Bluetooth. As for on my main hifi, I was actually surprised how different the 2 were in quality. But as you say depends on your ears and your gears.

      • blinkyblink on 28/10/2020 - 16:47

        just adding to what has been said here.

        My understanding is that If you use any form of bluetooth to listen, the conversion from digital to analogue over bluetooth will drop your bitrate rendering any source higher than cd quality obsolete. You are effectively at the mercy of the dac in your bluetooth headphones and the limited bitrate of bluetooth transfer. Therefore, the high quality tidal source will sound the same as other streaming options.

        if you run through a dedicated dac to a wired/hifi output though, then you may notice a difference in sound- I could only hear it through my hifi unit.

    • swalloweda on 27/10/2020 - 14:02
      +4

      The HiFi plan is CD quality. The other plan is the same sort of quality as Spotify (mp3 around 320kbps).
      Whether you'll hear the difference depends upon your system, your internet speed and your ears.
      (No judgment intended)

    • onlinepred on 27/10/2020 - 14:23
      -2

      Tidal is more expensive and has less of a library, and less features.

  • PinzVidz on 27/10/2020 - 13:55

    Everytime I see the name Tidal I can't help but be reminded of Tide Pods those Millennial clowns were eating.

  • bootlace on 27/10/2020 - 14:04
    +14

    Tidal UX Design

    Searches for Hip Hop -> Hip Hop
    Searches for Jazz -> Hip Hop
    Searches for Christmas Carols -> Hip Hop

    • JAF on 27/10/2020 - 16:19

      This is one of my favourite comments I’ve seen on OzB , I nearly choked on my Salad laughing at it!

  • Buy2Much on 27/10/2020 - 14:17

    I tried the Tidal 360 Reality Audio play list on the Sony XM4. Sounds amazing!

    • onlinepred on 27/10/2020 - 14:19
      +1

      Just FYI, you won't see any benefit with tidal using headphones like XM4 compapred to spotify, unless you listen critically in a silent environment - even then the XM4 will be limited.

      Try listening to the binaurial test here: https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php

      They are really fun to listen to

      • blackpizza on 27/10/2020 - 14:33

        I got up as I thought someone was knocking at the door! hahahaha thanks!

        • onlinepred on 27/10/2020 - 14:38

          Yep haha, confused the hell out of me. First time I listened to it, I thought there was no audio, and that someone was just knocking the wall or something.

  • luke700 on 27/10/2020 - 14:36
    +1

    Works well with the LG V30+ mobile phone that has the inbuilt 32bit DAC.

  • bosanceros on 27/10/2020 - 14:50
    +2

    Worth mentioning that Tidal also supports Dolby Atmos music
    https://tidal.com/partners/dolbyatmos

    It requires a HiFi membership.

    • onlinepred on 27/10/2020 - 14:55

      Only with supported tracks and hardware - doesn't support headphones. Could be interesting though

  • [Deactivated] on 27/10/2020 - 15:40

    Never used Spotify, but tried Tidal for 3 months. If you're after highest quality audio and you have a good set of wired headphones, get Tidal. MQA sounds fantastic.

  • craving on 27/10/2020 - 16:07
    +1

    Not sure about others, my experience with Tidal was very disappointing to say the least. To start with the music loads up painfully slow like a few seconds gap each time you select a track so when you are selective with the tracks you can really feel the waiting times, with Spotify it is instantaneous. Then the biggest let down is the car app that comes with Android Auto. Compare to Spotify it was a nightmare to use. I'd be lucky if I could get it to play music, let alone a selection from your playlist. At the end after only a few weeks out of a 3-month trial, I just gave up. Lucky it was only for a dollar. Wait…perhaps that was the reason. They put some kind of restriction for a cheap paying customer. But I wasn't game enough to give them the full amount. There is nothing of a sort with Spotify, they only restrict to very high-quality music and ads which I can put up with.

  • Pigey on 27/10/2020 - 16:10

    Great deal.

    I use Tidal with this dedicated DAC on my S20 with my ATH-M50Xs. If only there were some good deals on some good DACs

    https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/zorloo-ztella-usb-da…

    Makes a world of difference compared with Spotify.

    • onlinepred on 27/10/2020 - 16:36

      It must matter what music you listen to. I listen to live music and couldn't tell with my dac and M50x or dt 880 with dac.

  • dynaflow on 27/10/2020 - 16:17
    +1

    I've used the $11.99 a month Premium Spotify ever since it came out but tried a similar Tidal offer to this one last year from OzBargain…..the audio difference was noticeable,but then I have a premium Hi-Fi system.I remember that there wasn't a wide variety of music (that I liked anyway) available then so didn't continue after the trial period expired.Things may have improved since then?
    I agree Tidal is wasted on headphones but at $4 for 90 days it's worth a go for new subscribers.

    • craving on 27/10/2020 - 16:20

      That's another thing, which I don't want to go into. There are definitely more to choose from Spotify.

  • crazyboy on 27/10/2020 - 18:02

    Thanks OP.
    Will give it a try.

  • idyllboy on 27/10/2020 - 23:13

    take care to get screenshots and confirmation emails if and when cancelling your trial - had a very unpleasant experience with Tidal around this issue.

  • Beyond on 28/10/2020 - 16:04
    +1

    I just thought I'd point out something that hasn't been mentioned yet in the Tidal vs Spotify war.

    Tidal's excellent song recommendations, based on your current music, is definitely something to consider if you're the individual who likes discovering new music within your taste.

    I'm a huge music fan and am currently subscribed to most of the streaming services, I won't touch the apple services and I'll be trying Qobuz after I put in some more time with Deezer, but so far that's my favourite feature with Tidal.

    On a side note, some of their masters are different from what you might be used to on Spotify, that's a bit of a hit-and-miss scenario, although I find that if you're looking for a particular song, you generally aren't too happy about the song variant off the bat.

    In regards to the 320kbps vs lossless statements, I usually say that you won't notice the difference if you're used to playing music at >320kbps.

    soundiiz is a handy app for transferring over a few songs or playlists from your usual streaming service.

    • extract on 28/10/2020 - 16:42

      Have you ever been on the site last.fm ?. This is a great site to discover Artists/Bands in specific genres you like. For example if you like Electronic music, go to an artist you know that does music in that genre like Daft Punk then click on the Electronic genre tag and it will come up with a massive list of all the big names within it.

      • Beyond on 28/10/2020 - 19:44

        I believe I seperated myself from the last.fm system a couple of years ago as the whole scrobble thing began getting annoying.

        I think the reason I like Tidal's random recommendations or their dedicated mixes is that I don't have to have focus my attention directly on the app, I'm able to drive whilst trying out a few songs from different artists, or the same artists but I haven't discovered that particular song yet.

        Whenever I used to spend committed time looking for music, I used to quickly go through 100-200 soundcloud mixes, put about 10-25 into a new folder, then over the next week or two I'd listen to it a few times and start cutting the ones that weren't up to scratch.

        Have you tried roon before? From video reviews, I've heard/seen that it's quite good the exact thing you're describing.

        I appreciate you taking the time for the suggestion.

        • extract on 29/10/2020 - 18:46

          Never tried Roon before, but have heard very good things about its interface. It's really pricey though, $10 a month just to have a good GUI or $700 for a lifetime membership!.

          • Beyond on 29/10/2020 - 19:15

            @extract: The price, I couldn't agree more. I really wanted to get a lifetime, even though I'm not entirely familiar with its benefits. But that's too much to justify for a service/platform without knowing exactly how it will benefit myself in a unique way.

            I recallDarko (YT Reviewer, Audio) bringing up the fact that it allows gapless playback in circumstances where you couldn't otherwise.
            Not particularly a big deal for me. I might actually look up a review again on it, they offer a trial which I've been meaning to try.

            I just recall a fair few of the audio guys bringing it up as the curret top application for what it's supposed to do, but it's so damn pricy, we don't know what platforms will be released by third-parties and devices have to be room-ready(I think, it might just allow full utilization of the app)

  • blinkyblink on 28/10/2020 - 16:30

    my experience, tidal didnt have the variety that spotify had with regards to their library (listening tastes more indie though), but they do have more high quality options -listening through a dac to hifi and also headphone amp/dac

    Also, as I was coming off the past 3 month deal for 4 bucks I forgot to cancel my account and was subsequently charged for the following month (my fault so no issue). Upon actually cancelling my account though- it seems that Tidal doesnt allow you to remove credit card details from their database even after ending your subscription. I couldnt find any option to remove cc details- only change/end the subscription. After googling, I found a number of others with the same experience.

    just fair warning, remember to end the subscription asap and use a shitty card or paypal?
    Im still going through the process of trying to remove my payment details from my account and their database which seems it has to be done manually by contacting customer support. This should be Pretty standard functionality I would have thought, and not having an option to do this through the account seems leave a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth (discourages ending the subscription/security) and one reason I wont re-subscribe.

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