I’ve decided to cancel my Spotify Premium and make the move to TIDAL. Nothing to do with the Neil Young situation – I’m a big fan of his music, but while he has every right to not want to be associated with Joe Rogan, why does he have to promote a company known for shady and unfair practices? – but because I don’t like the idea of my subscription going to the likes of Drake and Taylor Swift. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I don’t listen to them, so why should I pay them? Plus, I play music through my HiFi, so why not stream HiFi quality?
So I tried out some of the HiFi steaming services, namely Qobuz, TIDAL, and Deezer. In my totally non-scientific and non-audiophile tests they all sounded better than Spotify, even over Bluetooth, but when I Cast to my TV and listened through the wired connection the difference was a lot more pronounced.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Deezer because they champion User Centric Payments, though I don’t think they have the weight to be able to push it. TIDAL, as it’s owned by Jay-Z and a bunch of other artists, does have more ability to dictate how it spreads the wealth.
Unfortunately Deezer HiFi wasn’t as good audio quality as either Qobuz or TIDAL, and TIDAL won out in the end, despite being more expensive, with its better catalogue and promise that it pays the artists you actually listen to.
There are a couple of things I miss about Spotify. First, their customer service. You could report when a bunch of artists with the same name were mixed up on the same page and they’d get it sorted in a few days. The same can’t be said for TIDAL. And second the artists’s own playlists, where they could share their inspiration and recommendations, but it’s easy enough to replicate them.
So now in the living room I have a Raspberry Pi 4 running Volumio streaming through an iFI Zen DAC 2 to a Sony STR-DH190 amplifier and Technics SB-CS50 speakers and in the office there’s the another Pi and DAC connected to the amazing Ruark Audio MR1 Mk2, and I’m thoroughly enjoying better-than-cd quality streaming!