My third month as a Tidal subscriber started yesterday, but nearly not at all. Last week I prepared to cancel the pricey, streaming service after encountering a disastrous functional flaw listening on either Nexus 6 or 9. Songs skip to the next track part way through playing, which is unacceptable behavior—made more so because of expectations that higher pricing and loftier monthly subscription fee set.
I would have stopped subscribing on May 31st, at the billing cycle’s end, if not for Tidal offering a free month of service. Whether or not our paying relationship continues depends much on the music streamer resolving an app problem. “There is a bug with Nexus and Sony phones with Android 5 unfortunately”, according to a tech support specialist, “We are working on fixing this. Mostly after 26 megabytes have been streamed, it skips. So for now we do not have a solution yet”,
Yikes! If your experience on said devices is like mine, now you know why. The question: When is the fix? On this fine June 1st, every song played from the Android Tidal app on my Nexus 6 skips. None finishes.
My problem started with Google’s HTC-made tablet, then spread to the Motorola-manufactured smartphone. Last week, I contacted Tidal support, by email on May 27th at 12:42 PM PDT and received response about 10 hours later; the email text puts the time as 8:21 AM the following day. which would be about right for Norway (where the service was founded before being acquired by Jay Z). Response time is acceptable enough.
Besides acknowledging the app bug, the tech-support specialist addressed something else: “We do not want support forums as they tend to be filled with spam and other things that are not very relevant. Most answers can be [found] in the FAQ, and if the customer is wondering about something he/she can contact support for further assistance”.
Well, frak, I actually see the sense in that. Tidal appeals to people willing to pay more for superior sound. Again, high pricing—about twice other paid services—raises expectations about quality of service and customer support. One-on-one support is more sensible and presents better public image if support forums don’t: 1) Fill up with span; 2) Become repository for complaints.
I most certainly can hear the difference between 320kbps MP3 and Tidal’s 1411kbps Free Lossless Audio Codec. But I concede that many listeners either won’t, or the difference they hear will be dissatisfying because of the bassy, muddy sound to which they are accustomed. That’s why last month I put forth the Tidal challenge: Listen to nothing else for 21 days, then compare to the more compressed tracks.
It’s the highs where I mostly can hear the differences; fine details. There is also, at least to my aged ears, a purity—a clarity—that I discern. Some songs are available standard and HiFi, depending on source album. On occasion I have inadvertently chosen a 320kbps track. In each instance, I stopped listening part way through because something sounded wrong. Flatter. In checking, the song turned out to not be lossless.
But benefits are meaningless if you can’t appreciate them because songs skip. The experience might be grumpily acceptable for a free service, but certainly not at $19.99 per month. As much as I really, really, really like Tidal’s HiFi streaming and the curated playlists, something else pulls me away: Last week, when signing onto Google Music from Nexus 6, the service offered 6 months free should I resubscribe. I couldn’t refuse no billing until after Thanksgiving.
I could save $100 by just canceling Tidal before July 1st and using Google Music instead. Will Tidal fix the Android app bug? Will I find the superior sound so satisfying as to pay more when I can otherwise similar benefits for free? The drama! We shall see.
Photo Credit: Alan Levine