Yes, the degradation is audible. The more decent equipment you have the easier to catch it. In case of 44kHz 16bit very. MQA has near CD quality but not the same. I hear it as roughness mostly without the clear echos and thinner soundstage. It become so obvious when you put CD to the player after 2-3h Tidal session. The revelation is that you somehow waist your time. It is better to not do it. Oh... anyway Tidal has no competition at the moment. Qoubuz perhaps... i threat as a great fishing area, and exchange the prey for the CD or SACD when is worth.
Grimm findings on streaming audio
I just wanted people here to know that Eelco Gimm, who makes Grimm streamers, spoke to a reviewer where he addressed the reason why most streaming from the likes of iTunes, Tidal and Qobuz sounds different from CD playback. It's that the music is watermarked before you get it. It accounts for what he deems to be a fluttering around the edges of music. Everyone thought it was compression.
Also, when music is streamed, the first block you get is lossy, followed by blocks of lossless, so if the content is too much for the carrier, the lossy will get through without the listener's knowledge of the switch, unless you're monitoring it on a regular basis.
I understand why some streamers charge for the product, but to go further and mess with the content in the name of licensing, permanently degrading the content, is beyond me. This was from a very short article and more is said to follow.
I also want to add that all of this is over my head but I thought it would be of interest to those who stream and for those who wonder which is the best way to listen.
All the best,
Nonoise
Also, when music is streamed, the first block you get is lossy, followed by blocks of lossless, so if the content is too much for the carrier, the lossy will get through without the listener's knowledge of the switch, unless you're monitoring it on a regular basis.
I understand why some streamers charge for the product, but to go further and mess with the content in the name of licensing, permanently degrading the content, is beyond me. This was from a very short article and more is said to follow.
I also want to add that all of this is over my head but I thought it would be of interest to those who stream and for those who wonder which is the best way to listen.
All the best,
Nonoise