Hi
Spotty has a couple of relevant settings that may impact the experience you can choose up to 320kbps OGG as bitrate/compression this is very good considering that ogg may be better than mp3. It is also possible to turn volume normalisation on/off per player ,this can impact the perceived loudness/quality level if used . I don't know what settiongs the tidal plugin offers ? Also check out the "default adjustment for remote streams" parameter in LMS player settings which gives a volume adjustment to remote streams , usually to counter that online radio for example boost the volume as high as possible in many cases. Then you can run into some subtle problems when trying to compare . * is the volume really the same between these two services ? probably not . * what master are they using ? it's quite possible that it's not the same version on spotify/tidal/your local CD so that gives you apples,oranges and bananas to compare with ? No streaming service does any QC they let the labels/artist do the work and upload what they deem proper . * spotty always transcode to flac or wav before sending it to your squeezebox . How does the tidal plugin doing it ? The onboard mp3 decoder in for example old hardware squeezeboxes can have audible artifacts that on server transcoding avoids by using the lame decoder which is really good . I have heard that with some actual music on some tracks you hear the diff 256kBs mp3 vs flac . If let LMS do the transcoding the diffrence is gone . This is a rare artefact but it exists for some tracks. The bug is filed somewhere in our buggzilla . However I tried for myself to compare Spotify against a local CD picked some not mainstream acoustic blues record on a small label . Making it somewhat unlikely they even have several versions/masters to pick from (but you can not really know for sure) . Worst pick would be Miles Davis Kind of blue or some Michael Jackson albums that exist in countless versions where all sounds diffrent. Result: I could not say with any confidence that there was a difference . In that case . But I have also noted that audio quality varies on Spotify ! Sometimes it's not good it may depend on whatever the label uploaded and the spotify service itself is not the limiting factor. I also suspect that at 256k mp3 or 320kps OGG you have come to limit where the audio format starts to become a non issue (it definitely a non issues at >16/44.1 lossles or better ) The real issue is the actual sound quality of the recording itself and its master so the limiting factor is neiter spotify or tidal or your CD . Most of the older rock and pop albums so well liked does not have an intrinsic audio quality that challenges the CD even if HD tracks really want you to buy the 24/192kHz version. I have not retired yet so i have not spent time in for example Steve Hoffmans forum to track down the ultimate versions of my favourite records . Suppose thats they way to go if one wants to be sure you get the best audio quality not bits and bitrates or delivery format . Spend time tracking down the ultimate version. I do like the spotty plugin an what it brings me , I have discovered a lot of music with Spotify playlist and suggestions based on my playing habits . And the search is good in Spotify's app . Thats also important when comparing services how well they makes you explore new music and discover stuff . I only tried Tidal(wimp) for a very short time long ago so I cant compare how well it worked regarding smart playlists and all. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH 2 x MeridianDSP5200 MeridianDSP5200HC 2 xMeridianDSP3100 +Rel Stadium 3 sub. Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: Touch + powered Fostex PM0.4 Misc use: Radio (with battery) iPad1 with iPengHD & SqueezePad (spares Touch, SB3, reciever ,controller ) server HP proliant micro server N36L with ClearOS Linux http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=110076 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
