Loud cracking sounds on TIDAL via Node Icon
Answered
I’m halfway through my month free TIDAL subscription and have encountered something concerning. Playing John Williams’ The Collector’s Edition Soundtrack - Main Title And First Victim of Jaws there are multiple loud cracks from the speakers during the many peaks. Turning down the amp volume doesn’t reduce them. First time I’ve heard something this bad. It sounds as though the streamer is being overloaded. I have Fixed Volume selected. Streamer is Bluesound Node Icon with Naim XS3 amp and Spendor D7,2 loudspeakers. This is playing it via the link in the Icon rather than with TIDAL’s own app. I then tried turning off Fixed Output but irrespective of the volume setting these loud cracks continued. I then played the same track via the TIDAL app. It was absolutely fine. There appears to be a problem when playing some music on TIDAL using the link in the BlueOS app.
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Official comment
Log a support ticket, I am sure Bluesound will investigate further for you.
As a test you could try the headphone socket on the ICON to see if it’s reproduced there.
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After posting this problem on another site I have the solution and a request.
First, the solution. Disabling Replay Gain solved the loud cracks.
The request? I need RG enabled for my own NAS-sourced music as it comes from two different sources - vinyl to DAT to FLAC and ripped CDs. But it now needs disabling for TIDAL.
Can you make it configurable for different sources please? I’m sure I won’t be alone in having this problem and having to keep setting RG will be a pain.
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Hi Ray, you might want to check your Replaygain tags to make sure they are not increasing the level above 0dB or close to. I have few loud albums and if a quieter track is made loud using Replaygain (any hardware platform) to level it then it will “distort” or crackle.
I currently use a reference of 89dB but use Album gain so I still get the Album dynamics and manually using a Tag editor tweak any tracks Replay gain tags that exhibit unwanted noise, it’s a bit moot really as soon as I use a streaming service the levels are all over the place.
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Hi Seppi. I use Smart Gain for my own stored music. That isn’t the problem. The problem is with streaming music from TIDAL. Enabling Replay Gain in any of its modes causes the cracks. I agree that volume levels vary significantly on streaming services.
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Sorry, not experienced that via Tidal but must admit not used the service for over a year now.
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Okay, understood. But I need someone to play that particular track to confirm it's nothing to do with my system. I'm positive it isn't since turning off Replay Gain solved the problem.
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Same issue on a Roksan Atessa streaming amp with...BlueOS. Turning off "Replay gain" solved the problem for me. Thanks for sharing the solution !
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Luc, what I do now is use the BlueOS for my own music but for TIDAL I use the TIDAL app. It saves having to remember to switch Replay Gain on and off depending on the source of music played.
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