this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2025
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Is the music quality on Tidal way better like I've heard?

Because it's close enough in price I'm wondering if YT Music is worth it, as it comes with YT Premium as well.

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[–] q7mJI7tk1@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

You can sub to Tidal through a VPN for a cheaper deal. I get a family package through Slovakia for €10/month. Spotify block that kind of thing.

The Tidal app isn't a patch on others, but I'd sooner have nothing than pay for Spotify ever again.

I like that Tidal has Dolby Atmos music as well, and some tracks sound awesome on my home theatre.

To add, I've no experience of YT music though.

[–] ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip 1 points 9 hours ago

What kind of headphones do you own? If you're using Bluetooth, just go with whichever's cheaper.

[–] oyzmo@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago
[–] hightrix@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

I spent a few months trying out all the major streaming services and found that, for me, Apple Music provided the best experience.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

I use YouTube music but I am going to change to Tidal. I'm so sick of YTM. It crashes all the time and stops playing randomly in the middle of songs. I tried Spotify which I hated, and Apple Music which seems to have different licensing for some stuff and doesn't have a lot of the classical music I want, but also has a lot of stuff that's nowhere else. It also mixed terribly. If Tidal pays artists better then that's better anyway.

Also, two words for you: Metrolist and SimpMusic. Find your way. :)

[–] SeraphimNova@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I use Tidal exclusively. Because of the higher quality file formats, the music sounds more crisp. The treble is clear, mistones are easier to make out, and bass slaps.

It depends on the artist. If you're not an audiophile the effect may be more subtle, but if you listen closely, it just sounds more clear. Like switching from 1080p to a 1440p monitor.

I'm an artist and I get paid much better from Tidal streams when someone plays my music compared to YT or especially Spotify.

The player has some really good features that Spotify or YouTube doesn't have, but also some flaws tho.

Audio gets compressed when listening via Bluetooth but even so, the overall sound quality is better from my experience than YT music even when using Bluetooth.

Highly recommend, great value. Effect may seem more subtle, but it makes a difference IMO.

[–] OZFive@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Tidal uses FLAC codec which is vastly superior to YTM's AAC. YTM takes the lead in quantity of content with all sorts of remixes and other music being uploaded daily. I would say it will all depend on what kind of equipment you are going to use to listen to the music on and if it will allow you to hear the difference in the two services offerings.

[–] socphoenix@midwest.social 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you’re mainly using Bluetooth earbuds or other cheaper speakers there likely won’t be that much of a difference in perceived sound quality.

[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 hours ago

No need for the likely-qualifier - it definitely won't make a difference in perceived sound quality.

You basically need expensive gear under the right conditions and training to be able to tell. Modern audio codecs are extremely good - the main thing you will get out of lossless is more storage/data usage

[–] noxypaws@pawb.social 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Tidal is higher quality and doesn't give money directly to Google

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Quality or catalogue.

If you use Bluetooth headset you want catalogue. You won't notice a difference.

But if you are an audiophile tidal but only if you pay for the highest quality.

Honestly wish my country would just create a public repository for art and culture and cut out ornate interests. But that's legally a silly idea

[–] msokiovt@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

I just use a net to catch things. If you know what I'm talking about, you know darn well I'm not for either DRM.

[–] schwim@piefed.zip 9 points 1 day ago

Both YT music and Tidal offer a trial period, you could listen to some examples yourself since you're the only person that can determine if the differences in sound quality are anything that you notice or care about.

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago

I stick with YT Music simply because I consume so much YT. That said, if YT Premium was not part of the deal, then I'd most likely go Tidal due to sound quality but also because YT Music has an annoying habit of serving up wrong versions of songs, including playing the audio track of the songs music video instead of the album track itself, or replacing my explicit lyrics version with a radio edit one.

Tidal uses a higher quality codec than Youtube. Personally, I can't hear the difference, but I also have nearly half a century of accumulated hearing damage. YMMV.

[–] Outdated4134@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Never heard of Tidal. Maybe I'll check it out but I do only listen via phone speaker and cheap earbuds so probably just stick to adblocked YTM.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

You can get a free trial of Tidal and you can probably rent a good quality headset from a big music store for a reasonable price. This would let you check if you can notice a difference.

Also libraries sometimes have awesome gear to borrow if you are near one that is cool. With catching out if it means free

[–] Fit_Series_573@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

YTM for me since it has a vast amount of different versions and remixes of songs that aren't elsewhere. Most can be accessed by regular YouTube but still very convenient for it's discovery features. Tidal does win for audio quality