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Tidal Hifi+ sounds much much better than Spotify

Riv_Ian

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That the R1T had a Meridian sound system was a selling point for me. I would consider myself an audiophile and have a Meridian 818.3 digital preamp in my home system which serves as a Roon endpoint for streaming stored music and Tidal, Qobuz etc. It is an MQA renderer meaning it can do the MQA unfolding in hardware at the endpoint. MQA can alternatively be rendered in software (Roon can do this) then streamed in hi-res. Meridian Audio developed MQA when Bob Stewart (one of the founders) was still running the company. He has subsequently left with the spin out of MQA to run that. Meridian have been at the forefront of DSP since the advent of CD. They brought out what many consider to be the first audiophile CD player, developed MLP, the tech behind DVDA now owned by and used in Dolby Digital. Bob Stewart has a very solid record of sound science and peer reviewed publications in audio journals behind his claims.

The original “perfect sound forever” claim of CD - that everything we can hear can be reconstructed from digital sampling at 20 kHz and 16 bit was challenged by many analog fans’ ears. It turns out that aliasing effects of the sample reconstruction was creating digital harshness audible to those complaining about digital sound. This can be somewhat ameliorated by filters such as Meridian’s apodising filter, but the effects can’t be removed within the audible 20 Hz to 20kHz range unless the sampling is increased to 24 bit 96 kHz (like DVDA). Personally, I can hear the difference between CD done well and DVDA on the same system, but I’d say the difference is fairly subtle. People claimed to be able to hear improvement in higher sample rates like 192 kHz which others were initially skeptical of given that DVDA resolution removes any aliasing effects beyond the audible range. What Bob Stewart subsequently discovered was that there was information above 96kHz sampling rate that has audible effects for timing reconstruction. Apparently, we can here timing differences between each ear as low as 50ms (needed to determine the direction sounds are coming from).

MQA does multiple things. It takes the high resolution information above CD resolution and folds it in below the noise floor of the CD standard. This makes it compatible with the CD standard and makes the same size, but allows equipment that’s MQA compatible or software to render that information. Full MQA also encodes information about the original A to D recording equipment so the D to A rendering can reverse the bias of the original encoding.

I don’t know if the R1T’s system has a hard or software renderer, but even if it doesn’t, there’s potential for an MQA file to sound better than CD.

Personally, I must say I’m very happy with the Tidal integration and sound quality through the Meridian system. It’s significantly better than Bluetooth streaming Apple lossless files from my iPhone. I can hear the differences between CD, DVDA and MQA versions of the same music on my home system, but the differences are somewhat subtle. To my ear, the sound becomes progressively more relaxing at the same time as increasing in detail, naturalness of the soundstage and rhythm. I do think these kinds of difference will be difficult to discern in the car, even if stationary and listening carefully. I do agree with the earlier comment that the bass response is a little lacking in depth. The bass that’s there is accurate and taut; I wouldn’t want more bass volume at the expense of accuracy, and accurate deep bass is difficult and expensive to do.
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Jay565

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Tidal is better, the integration needs a lot of work, but whats the point of good speakers with so much freakin wind noise :(
 

strykerwsu

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I must have won the lottery as my R1T is super quiet. do they get louder over time or was yours loud from day 1?
 

cjust2006

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Not entirely related to just Tidal, but, is anyone else noticing that the embedded audio apps have to be cranked up way high to get good jamming volume out of the system, vs the Bluetooth streaming audio? I comfortably listen at level 15 when using Bluetooth and have to crank all the way to 20 when I'm not for the same volume...

I wish they had YouTube music... I know they're not the most incredible, but when YouTube Premium gets me ad-free videos on YouTube PLUS their music library, hard to find a reason to have another additional music subscription. Not to mention, when LTE goes "subscription" based, I'm just not gonna have LTE. There's nothing the truck offers with LTE besides "native" music apps and OTA updates. That's fine with me, jokes on Rivian for letting my outdated software roll around.
 

TheHedgehog116

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Tidal is better, the integration needs a lot of work, but whats the point of good speakers with so much freakin wind noise :(
I don't want to take away from the main post, but I had a lot of wind noise near the top corner of the passenger seat/glass roof. I put in a ticket and had them take a look at it. Took a Tech on a quick drive and it took him less than 2 mins to determine the roof applique (part between the windshield and glass roof) is the issue. They don't have the part readily in stock, so they set up a future appt. Hopefully it fixes my problem. You should put in a ticket if you already haven't done so and see what they say.
 

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CommodoreAmiga

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Does Alexa+Tidal work for ANYONE?

It does not work for me, at all. If I request "Alexa, play Song XYZ through Tidal" Alexa says they will do so, but then it does not actually play. Also, if I'm already listening to a Tidal playlist the commands "Alexa, next/previous track" it doesn't work, either.

I've reported this to Rivian via both phone and mobile app and they have insisted, multiple times, that this should be working and I simply need to reboot the infotainment system. I've rebooted many times and it NEVER works.

Does this work for ANYONE???

I want to ditch Spotify, but the touch UI for both Spotify and Tidal are garbage. Alexa is also garbage but it at least makes it moderately safe to interact with while driving. And it's the #1 reason I can't convert exclusively to Tidal in the R1T.

Side question: Why do some text boxes have a "clear" option but others I have to machine-gun-tap the backspace key?

Second side question: Does the "Recent" pane on Tidal actually work for anyone? Mine filled up with maybe 5 playlists but now it doesn't update. Anything I've listened to recently is not showing and I think it's just the first 5 that I listened to.
 

electruck

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@CommodoreAmiga regarding Alexa+Tidal, have you linked your Tidal account to Alexa (your Amazon Alexa account, not the vehicle) through the Alexa app on your phone?
 

CommodoreAmiga

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@CommodoreAmiga regarding Alexa+Tidal, have you linked your Tidal account to Alexa (your Amazon Alexa account, not the vehicle) through the Alexa app on your phone?
Yes. Tidal+Alexa linked in my app.

Are you saying you've successfully used this in your R1T???
 

electruck

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Yes. Tidal+Alexa linked in my app.

Are you saying you've successfully used this in your R1T???
No, I haven't taken delivery yet. Just wanted to rule out any potential user issues since those would be easiest to fix.
 

Blueassassin

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I think Tidal sounds better yes. But im not sure I will keep using it I like the way the music comes to me or gets searched more on Pandora and amazon music. Not sure how explain it exept I find im skipping to the next song all the time where I don't on the other platforms.
 

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Zoidz

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TLDR: Tidal is great, but there is more work to do.
...
  • I’d like Dolby Atmos support, this is an object-based audio stream where sounds are encoded with location in three-dimensional space around the listener, Atmos playback devices resolve the encoded location to a driver, or combination of drivers, that best match the encoded position. This is an elegant solution that enables all of the various drivers in the Rivian to be used to best effect. Atmos is also being implemented by Mercedes, Volvo and others for precisely this reason. It is a much better option than the pretty lame surround enhancement on the current system.
According to this article, Tidal HiFi+ includes the Atmos library.

Based on this article, it appears that Rivian could probably implement Atmos with existing hardware and "assistance" from Cinemo. That looks like it would be additional cost to Rivian, so Rivian will probably have to monetize it via a subscription or one-time fee.
 
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Jay565

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Does Alexa+Tidal work for ANYONE?

It does not work for me, at all. If I request "Alexa, play Song XYZ through Tidal" Alexa says they will do so, but then it does not actually play. Also, if I'm already listening to a Tidal playlist the commands "Alexa, next/previous track" it doesn't work, either.

I've reported this to Rivian via both phone and mobile app and they have insisted, multiple times, that this should be working and I simply need to reboot the infotainment system. I've rebooted many times and it NEVER works.

Does this work for ANYONE???

I want to ditch Spotify, but the touch UI for both Spotify and Tidal are garbage. Alexa is also garbage but it at least makes it moderately safe to interact with while driving. And it's the #1 reason I can't convert exclusively to Tidal in the R1T.

Side question: Why do some text boxes have a "clear" option but others I have to machine-gun-tap the backspace key?

Second side question: Does the "Recent" pane on Tidal actually work for anyone? Mine filled up with maybe 5 playlists but now it doesn't update. Anything I've listened to recently is not showing and I think it's just the first 5 that I listened to.
Alexa doesn’t work with Tidal, it recognizes the song and Tidal, but plays like a second and stops and the song doesn’t come on the screen. This will be fixed I’m sure. Recents update for me but only sometimes, but only has I think 5 recents. Rivian has got to fix the music apps asap. I know I’m a techie and understand the process, but as the more general public takes delivery they won’t be happy. Music and apps we integrate with everyday leaves a strong impression for many, often stronger than the actual quality of the car. For instance my wife will never notice a slightly misaligned door or a little panel gap, but will definitely notice little issues accessing her preferred music.
 

mrfari

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Basic question, I have Tidal account, I select the icon on my infotainment display, and it provides me with a code to link the device, only issue I can't quite seem to find the area to type in this code. I logged into tidal via the app, laptop phone browser, help! I'm lost haha.
 

harkco

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So... I've read through this entire thread and am still unsure if Rivian supports HiFi+. Can anyone confirm?
 

jffkm

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Is the assumption that Tidal/Spotify/etc. will require a subscription to Rivian Membership when it sunsets at the end of the year? If so, does anyone have any idea how much this will cost? Signed up for Tidal b/c the bluetooth connection in the car was very bad (unlistenable with my iphone due to poor connection/static pops/stopped music. multiple service requests haven't been able to identify the cause of the issue or fix it.) but realized that it may be an expensive proposition if we need to double up on both a Membership and streaming music service. The lack of USB audio or car play or reliable bluetooth connection makes it the only option unfortunately.
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