Atmos music on Tidal

D

depechefan

Audioholic
Hi,

Am I the only one who is really underwhelmed by Atmos music on Tidal? Volume is really low and I don't actually hear a significant difference. Mainly using an Nvidia Shield on a complete 7.2.6 system. Sounds great with local media so... Just wondering?

Morten
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Atmos volume is an issue on Tidal. If you think it is low on the Nvidia Shield, try an Apple TV 4K. It is even lower. Unfortunately, no AVR Tidal apps support Atmos so an external device is necessary for streaming it.
 
D

depechefan

Audioholic
Yeah, I have tried on ATV as well. Certainly not better
 
M

Mike K.

Audiophyte
After the initial 'wow' factor of Tidal (Masters vs CD) I tired of the sound. To my ears (old ones for sure) Tidal is playing some games with levels and sound balance. Whether this is intentional or simply a product of their proprietary compression I could not say. I find that to do A/B testing on my usual components (iMac, FiiO K5 PRO, Schiit Asgard 3 and Sennheiser HD600) the I need to reduce the volume on the Tidal steam into which ever DAC / amp combo I use. Once done, the difference in sound is consistent and recognizable in blind sessions. The Tidal sound warmer, heavier and more 'center-staged'. It is less detailed and transparent than Amazon - even on CD feeds that are not 'ultra'. While the warmth, bass and loudness of the Tidal stream is initially attractive, it bugs me after a while. The difference in streaming / source versus DAC/Amp combination is huge. Maybe as much as switching headphones or speakers in the testing. I was surprised.
I've canceled my subscription to Tidal after 3 months - and listen entirely to Amazon HD now.

I might try Qobuz soon, but I'm not sure I have the energy for 50 hours of back and fore to make the call. First world problems I know..
 
D

depechefan

Audioholic
I agree. I much prefer local media. Would love to use Qobuz but it isn't available in Denmark so... Well, I guess most of what we're talking about here is indeed first world problems :)
 
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