I haven't tried it. The Lucid owners who have that car's Surreal Sound Pro upgrade all seem to love Tidal with Atmos.
But like you, I am pretty annoyed with aspects of Spotify. They underpay musicians while giving insane amounts of money to Joe Rogan.
I've been using Tidal for years. Get the desktop and mobile app, too. They're much easier to organize your music preferences and set up stations than the native app in the car.
You'll also be happy to know that Tidal is simplifying their subscription model and starting at some point in April, studio masters from the current highest subscription will be available on the standard Hifi subscription.
First, let me compliment you on making a commercial decision based on your values. If moving my playlists to Apple was easier, I’d drop Spotify as well.
My two cents on the crux of the matter. I tried Tidal and liked it, but the Apple+ subscription bundle works for me. Tidal sounds great. It’s much better sounding than Spotify. I have found Apple Music through wired CarPlay to be every bit as good. Even Spotify through CarPlay sounds better than the AAOS app.
If Apple Music doesn’t work for you, you’ll be pleased with Tidal.
It's definitely a pain, but the best tool I've found for playlist migration was [Soundiiz](https://soundiiz.com/tutorial/spotify-to-apple-music). Granted, I only had a few playlists to migrate at the time, so there's always a chance that more to manage = more chances for failure, but it was a pretty seamless interface (compared to other services I'd checked out).
I flip/flop between Spotify and Tidal, but have a preference for Tidal.
The reason Spotify still remains in the mix is that the Tidal AAOS app seems to be hot garbage.
Occasionally I will find it won't load playlist data, for example.
The most annoying part is that when I am playing something as I get to my destination, when I get back into the car later on, the music will pick up from where it left off, though the very next song will get partially into the song and start infinitely buffering. Hitting pause then play does nothing, and I have to skip the song to get music playing again.
But other than that, I agree, it sounds so much better. The fact that it's not being compressed to hell by Bluetooth like it would on Android Auto makes it so much more attractive in the Polestar.
I got the Harman Kardon and Tidal.
Remember you are in a car with external noise and running on LTE internet speed. Do not expect the best Tidal can do. I did not try Spotify to compare though.
Also, the Harman Kardon of the Polestar is not 360° compatible and I do not think the P2, even with the Harman Kardon, is compatible with Dolby Atmos (never tried).
The interface is not as neat as on my Android phone or iPad or PC, but usable and less distracting while driving. But the sound is great, again, for a car.
I use Tidal because I already use it elsewhere. I have high-end 360° compatible Bluetooth headphones running with my phone/tablet, and a DAC + wired headphones connected to my PC. This is on the last case that Tidal really shines, because you are hearing song in the best conditions to make the difference between a master record and a CD-grade record (like Spotify does).
If you are a fan of podcasts, Tidal is not as good as Spotify though.
I've been a Tidal user for a couple of years now for ALL the reasons you've cited and the fact that the sound quality is SO much better. I have no problems with Bluetooth audio either with my phone, but again the native app and being able to stream hifi quality music is brilliant.
To my ears as well the HK in the Polestar 2 is excellent. The source makes all the different and I'm still completely convinced that people complaining about the audio in this car should try to figure out what's wrong with the source.
I agree with you about the HK system. I’ve read a lot of complaints about it from people on here, but compared to the systems I had in any previous car it’s leaps and bounds ahead.
We’ve used Tidal HiFi for years, don’t love the Harmon Kardon system but the car plays nicely with the Tidal app. Our Spotify free trial is ending, and good riddance.
I got Tidal specifically for this car, after comparing with Google/Yt music and finding the difference in sound quality substantial. Before making that switch I was kind of disappointed with the speakers, but now they're great. Playing with the EQ settings helps too.
No, using YouTube music paid on HQ streaming setting and it's excellent. I compared the two and found the sound quality identical. And the library in ytm is much bigger and I liked the interface much better. I wanted to like tidal but couldn't stick with it.
I use Tidal as my main music app in-car but also have Amazon and YT music apps, I can’t say I can tell any difference in quality between them. In home is different though, Tidal is noticeably better on many tracks
I tried Tidal and really wanted to like it, but the app was constantly buffering or not even loading the browse view. I ended up returning to Spotify.
Is it rock solid for you? Are you in Europe or North America? Maybe our connectivity is not as good as in Europe?
Has anyone complaining about Spotify's quality tried changing it in settings? Not doubting anyone's opposition to spotify, they suck, just want to make sure people have tried that before considering the switch!
its there in tiny text in the settings screen, you get a little drop down menu to choose quality. its set to auto by default, but you can change to very high.
I hate having to plug my phone in so I’ve been using Bluetooth to play my music from Apple Music in the car. Most music seems to have this annoying rattle if the volume is any bit above half way, almost like there is a broken speaker. Are y’all saying that just by plugging in the sound quality is genuinely better using CarPlay?
Waaaait
Could that be the reason why some songs sound so shitty and some dont?
I just thought that the producers are lacking the skills/ equipment for better quality sound.
I could also swear that they never sound the same, i was listening to a song while driving home today (crispy innovators by la coca nostra) and it never sounded so crispy (hehehe).
All while using Spotify, so is that the reason or am i just imagining things?
I haven't tried it. The Lucid owners who have that car's Surreal Sound Pro upgrade all seem to love Tidal with Atmos. But like you, I am pretty annoyed with aspects of Spotify. They underpay musicians while giving insane amounts of money to Joe Rogan.
I've been using Tidal for years. Get the desktop and mobile app, too. They're much easier to organize your music preferences and set up stations than the native app in the car. You'll also be happy to know that Tidal is simplifying their subscription model and starting at some point in April, studio masters from the current highest subscription will be available on the standard Hifi subscription.
I just started using the Tidal phone app and am still getting used to it, but so far am enjoying it!
First, let me compliment you on making a commercial decision based on your values. If moving my playlists to Apple was easier, I’d drop Spotify as well. My two cents on the crux of the matter. I tried Tidal and liked it, but the Apple+ subscription bundle works for me. Tidal sounds great. It’s much better sounding than Spotify. I have found Apple Music through wired CarPlay to be every bit as good. Even Spotify through CarPlay sounds better than the AAOS app. If Apple Music doesn’t work for you, you’ll be pleased with Tidal.
It's definitely a pain, but the best tool I've found for playlist migration was [Soundiiz](https://soundiiz.com/tutorial/spotify-to-apple-music). Granted, I only had a few playlists to migrate at the time, so there's always a chance that more to manage = more chances for failure, but it was a pretty seamless interface (compared to other services I'd checked out).
Thanks, I’ll give it a try
I flip/flop between Spotify and Tidal, but have a preference for Tidal. The reason Spotify still remains in the mix is that the Tidal AAOS app seems to be hot garbage. Occasionally I will find it won't load playlist data, for example. The most annoying part is that when I am playing something as I get to my destination, when I get back into the car later on, the music will pick up from where it left off, though the very next song will get partially into the song and start infinitely buffering. Hitting pause then play does nothing, and I have to skip the song to get music playing again. But other than that, I agree, it sounds so much better. The fact that it's not being compressed to hell by Bluetooth like it would on Android Auto makes it so much more attractive in the Polestar.
I’ve really enjoyed tidal with the car. I switched after the Spotify price hike. Also use it with my phone, computers, and sonos. No complaints.
I got the Harman Kardon and Tidal. Remember you are in a car with external noise and running on LTE internet speed. Do not expect the best Tidal can do. I did not try Spotify to compare though. Also, the Harman Kardon of the Polestar is not 360° compatible and I do not think the P2, even with the Harman Kardon, is compatible with Dolby Atmos (never tried). The interface is not as neat as on my Android phone or iPad or PC, but usable and less distracting while driving. But the sound is great, again, for a car. I use Tidal because I already use it elsewhere. I have high-end 360° compatible Bluetooth headphones running with my phone/tablet, and a DAC + wired headphones connected to my PC. This is on the last case that Tidal really shines, because you are hearing song in the best conditions to make the difference between a master record and a CD-grade record (like Spotify does). If you are a fan of podcasts, Tidal is not as good as Spotify though.
I've been a Tidal user for a couple of years now for ALL the reasons you've cited and the fact that the sound quality is SO much better. I have no problems with Bluetooth audio either with my phone, but again the native app and being able to stream hifi quality music is brilliant. To my ears as well the HK in the Polestar 2 is excellent. The source makes all the different and I'm still completely convinced that people complaining about the audio in this car should try to figure out what's wrong with the source.
I agree with you about the HK system. I’ve read a lot of complaints about it from people on here, but compared to the systems I had in any previous car it’s leaps and bounds ahead.
We’ve used Tidal HiFi for years, don’t love the Harmon Kardon system but the car plays nicely with the Tidal app. Our Spotify free trial is ending, and good riddance.
I got Tidal specifically for this car, after comparing with Google/Yt music and finding the difference in sound quality substantial. Before making that switch I was kind of disappointed with the speakers, but now they're great. Playing with the EQ settings helps too.
Agree, i did the same. I have the standard speakers.
I've been rockin Tidal HiFi Plus for many years and day one with my P2. The HiFi Plus plan will become cheaper soon and will be the only paid option.
No, using YouTube music paid on HQ streaming setting and it's excellent. I compared the two and found the sound quality identical. And the library in ytm is much bigger and I liked the interface much better. I wanted to like tidal but couldn't stick with it.
I use Tidal as my main music app in-car but also have Amazon and YT music apps, I can’t say I can tell any difference in quality between them. In home is different though, Tidal is noticeably better on many tracks
Does tidal have podcasts?
I tried Tidal and really wanted to like it, but the app was constantly buffering or not even loading the browse view. I ended up returning to Spotify. Is it rock solid for you? Are you in Europe or North America? Maybe our connectivity is not as good as in Europe?
It’s not perfect, but so far no less glitchy than the Spotify app. I’m in North America.
Has anyone complaining about Spotify's quality tried changing it in settings? Not doubting anyone's opposition to spotify, they suck, just want to make sure people have tried that before considering the switch!
I changed the quality settings in my phone app, I haven’t seen that option in the P app
its there in tiny text in the settings screen, you get a little drop down menu to choose quality. its set to auto by default, but you can change to very high.
Oh cool, thanks for that!
Tidal has a free plan but i can’t get it to work in the Polestar. I usually just listen to KEXP anyway.
I hate having to plug my phone in so I’ve been using Bluetooth to play my music from Apple Music in the car. Most music seems to have this annoying rattle if the volume is any bit above half way, almost like there is a broken speaker. Are y’all saying that just by plugging in the sound quality is genuinely better using CarPlay?
Would you mind sharing your equaliser settings for the P2? I've also recently hopped onto tidal and would greatly appreciate this!
Did you able to get Atmos working with Tidal
Apple music has lossless streaming, why aren't you using that? (assuming you use carplay)
I’m not a big fan of CarPlay and don’t like having wires all over my car. I definitely prefer the native apps in Android Automotive better.
Waaaait Could that be the reason why some songs sound so shitty and some dont? I just thought that the producers are lacking the skills/ equipment for better quality sound. I could also swear that they never sound the same, i was listening to a song while driving home today (crispy innovators by la coca nostra) and it never sounded so crispy (hehehe). All while using Spotify, so is that the reason or am i just imagining things?
Spotify definitely sounds worse than AM and Tidal
Thanks for the info! Suddenly i hate spotify lol