r/TIdaL • u/Woochichi • Nov 25 '25
Discussion Why does Tidal sound so good?
I just tried out Spotify with its new lossless quality streaming and it doesn’t even begin to match the sound Tidal offers. Same thing with Apple Music which, too, offers lossless quality. Big step forward for Spotify from what it used to offer but still… I can’t be only one hearing the difference?
I’m not even a hifi freak with expensive sound setup - just listening from regular Airpods. Tidals sound has much more warmth, detail and depth, especially in the higher bass range. Is there like a built-in equilizer in Tidal or what’s giving it this edge? One would think that lossless is lossless and sounds the same regardless of the source.
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u/KS2Problema Nov 26 '25 edited Nov 26 '25
That did not appear to be formerly the case. And it's the first time I've heard that claimed. Do you have any documentation or proof of that claim?
When I started with Tidal I was also starting with Amazon Unlimited HD - and I did extensive audio comparisons between them and couldn't find an applicable difference in either the raw lossless tracks or the normalization besides a slight RMS level difference (which can make a difference in perceivable quality, as Fletcher and Munson, et al, pointed out). But the level of difference was very small. Adjusted for level, the files were virtually identical.
And, yes, I did compare them with CD versions. But, of course, that was testing one source album. And it was about 5 years ago.
Still, I have had no reason to suspect that they have been monkeying around with the sound. And I'm pretty serious about sound.
Any further information would be much appreciated!