Except Spotify / Tidal are not hi res. Only Qobuz is high res flac. Qobuz also has many cd quality options that are not hi res flac. Tidal is mqa, which many say is not really hi res, Which is why they went to flac (on some recordings) but only thru Tidal Connect app. And Tidal says you cannot get hi res flac unless you go to their Tidal Connect App which is not available on the Bluesound, so only mqa.
Tidal FLAC vs. Qobuz
Does the recent change by Tidal, from MQA to FLAC make Tidal the better choice for streaming? Or, since Tidal only seems to offer FLAC on its own app and not the BluOS defeat the purpose since you need to transmit by Bluetooth instead of ethernet?
Currently, I stream from Tidal over direct ethernet cable to a Bluesound Vault streamer, to a McIntosh amp and Revel speakers. I have a trial membership to Qobuz but I find Tidal has a much better catalog. Since Tidal added Flac I thought it would be the obvious choice moving forward, but isn't the point of FLAC defeated since you need to send wirelessly from the Tidal app over Bluetooth?
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@mojo771 I forgot you're the OP so apologies. I had to go back and reread. Tidal Connect is high rez but regular Tidal isn't, you're correct. The Bluesound website says its BluOS supports Tidal Connect which I take that you should be able to use Tidal Connect with your Bluesound. Do you have to manually update the firmware on the Bluesound or is it automatic via the BlueOS app? |
This is where I got annoyed at both Bluesound and Tidal. They are very careful with their wording on this issue. I had to email them both multiple times to get a straight answer. They seem to be intentionally misleading. Tidal is "integrated" into the BluOS. So you can stream mqa from tida; usiing only the BS Vault. And Tidal has flac thru Tidal Connect on the Tidal Connect app, that you can stream through the Vault - wirelessly. But you cannot access flac direct from tidal thru the Vault. My BluOS app was just updated after an update prompt, and the Tidal Connect app was just released. So now, I subscribe to both Tidal and Qobuz. I stream Qobuz hi res flac direct thru the Vault, and when they don't have a flac option available I stream mqa from Tidal. I see no reason to use the Tidal Connect, unless / until they "integrate" into the BluOS as they do with mqa Tidal |
Once you find a DAC you really like, upgrade to a better streamer like any of the offerings from Aurender or Innuos. As I mentioned in my first post, I used to own Vault and then upgraded to Aurender ACS100 (I cannot live without a ripper as I still buy CD’s). It’s 1000 times better than vault in terms of library management, app interface and can be used as a dedicated streamer. Or look for used ACS 10 for about $3K. You can thank me later :-) |
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