BIG difference Tidal vs Amazon Music


I read an interesting article on Van Halen‘s Blood and Fire was done with a stereo guitar and I wanted to check it out. So I look for the song on both Tidal and Amazon music and OMG what a difference in sound quality between the two.  What gives? Both say CD quality but there’s NO COMPARISON!

cahuck

Showing 1 response by jb1

I would think that volume matching would be important: Streaming services may not play at the same level so the louder one will sound better to most people. I tried comparing Tidal to my Hard Drive with the files ripped to the AIFF format(full CD quality) and discovered that Tidal was louder but did not sound better once I did the volume match.

One should keep in mind that the two services could be using a different master which could be a multi-generational source:

Also, 1 demo from Van Halen, not known for audiophile recordings, is not a good barometer. I would think 5 to 10 demos across different genres of music would be more accurate.

I don't use either of the services. My friend was over with his Tidal app and I decided to compare and decided to pass in favor of my hard drive.