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Review: Spotify vs Tidal for C4


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Thought I would post my leanings after a few months of subscribing to both and testing it with C4. Disclaimer:***** These are my views from testing, maybe different to other installations or experiences.

Off the bat - 

  1. Integration into C4 - Tidal Note: it integrates but isn't that great. The interface is slow (well on T3 and Neo). Example when you pick up the T3 and if the screen is off the bottom bar where it shows you what A/C is on lags a bit to show it.
    1. Spotify - terrible, the reason its terrible there is no in navigators, navigation. You have to go to Listen> Spotify> then open Spotify and then connect to that device (which is your room).
  2. Choice of music - both really much of a muchness I did find though Tidal has a great selection of local artists (from where I live). Average for every 1 song I can't find on Tidal there are three or four I can't find on Spotify.  
  3. Ecosystem out of the C4 environment:
    1. Spotify win's with more integration into other systems, TV's, Car's, Fridge etc etc. Also where there is Tidal and Spotify on a device the Spotify app wins. Example, Apple CarPlay Spotify client allows you to add songs to your Liked list straight from the interface Tidal doesn't.
  4. Quality of music: No doubt here if you a audiophile then: Tidal
  5. Price: Spotify is slightly cheaper but then again it doesn't have the music quality (khz) that Tidal has.

My decision between the two for every day music consumption: I actually don't know the two are so similar but yet have specific features that I need and one has it the other doesn't. For now I just have both and use a sync service in the cloud to keep my playlists the same. 

Anyway I know I was struggling with this so thought I would post this after some testing I did.

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A very useful review, only place where I disagree is on Tidal’s integration to C4. I don’t experience any lags on my T3.  My guesses as to possible differences in setup include my director being a CA10, OS version (I am on OS3), type of T3 (mine are in-wall) or luck!

As a consequence of the above, Tidal wins the head to head for me.

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:) could be controller but with a EA5 highly doubt it cant handle the tidal interface. Internet maybe but I have a 1.5gbps line.

I have table top T3s but interface is slow on Neo as well.

Wireless is not an issue given the spread I have. You gonna make my OCD nuts now :) need to find out what it is :)

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18 minutes ago, ILoveControl said:

:) could be controller but with a EA5 highly doubt it cant handle the tidal interface. Internet maybe but I have a 1.5gbps line.

I have table top T3s but interface is slow on Neo as well.

Wireless is not an issue given the spread I have. You gonna make my OCD nuts now :) need to find out what it is :)

Good luck! 

i have now tried Tidal on my Neeo (for the first time ever) and my comments are:

1. It is OK, but I will stick to using my T3s or iPad for accessing Tidal.

2. Using the channel hard buttons to change songs is much more satisfying than the soft buttons.

3. The response was slightly slow. About 1 second to change a song.

4. The response time for getting album artwork was much slower (5 or 6 seconds) and was the only item that really irritated me.

5. O yes, and too many menus to go through on the Neeo (5 or 6 button presses) to get to the song / album / playlist one wants... but I guess no different to other navigators just felt more annoying.

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Thanks for this review.   I've been an early subscriber to Tidal even before the C4 integration and have been very happy with it.   In C4, i agree with the speed of menu comment but its manageable.    I think the real comparison for a lot of folks is going to be Amazon Music vs Tidal which will be interesting to see how it plays out.

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3 hours ago, ILoveControl said:
  1. Integration into C4 - Tidal Note: it integrates but isn't that great. The interface is slow (well on T3 and Neo). Example when you pick up the T3 and if the screen is off the bottom bar where it shows you what A/C is on lags a bit to show it.
    1. Spotify - terrible, the reason its terrible there is no in navigators, navigation. You have to go to Listen> Spotify> then open Spotify and then connect to that device (which is your room).

You don't have to go to Listen->Spotify and then open Spotify.  If you're on your phone, you can bypass the C4 app and go directly to Spotify to start playing in any C4 zone.

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On 1/25/2020 at 9:26 AM, ejn1 said:

I think the real comparison for a lot of folks is going to be Amazon Music vs Tidal which will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I agree that for C4-controlled music, Amazon Music, Tidal, and perhaps Pandora, are the most similar.

For externally-controlled music, I see more commonality between Spotify, ShairBridge Airplay, and Sonos. They are require using separate apps for full control. (I realize Sonos isn't really a music streaming service, but given its popularity and how it only partially integrates with C4, I put it in the same group.)

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On 1/25/2020 at 11:15 AM, ILoveControl said:


Does C4 then pickup that you have activated that zone and display the song ?

This assumes that each zone has its own Spotify Name, correct?  What are the pros/cons of having multiple Spotify Connect's defined by Room (i.e.: "Living Spotify", "MBR Spotify") vs by User ("Dad's Spotify, Mom's Spotify?)

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17 minutes ago, Christopher Hudel said:

This assumes that each zone has its own Spotify Name, correct?  What are the pros/cons of having multiple Spotify Connect's defined by Room (i.e.: "Living Spotify", "MBR Spotify") vs by User ("Dad's Spotify, Mom's Spotify?)

No - I have one Spotify Connect driver per room (Master, Kitchen, etc).  It's a matter of personal preference as to which method works the best for you and your family.  Try them both?

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