I've almost always been a SoundCloud guy. The beginning of my audiophile transformation, I was the peon who listened on the crappy Beats by Dre headsets, listened to nothing but dubstep, and used SoundCloud to get all of my music to download for free. I loved it. Beats were the headset of choice because of their riveting bass, but it wasn't until I went though three pairs of on-site that I saw that these headphones we're crappily constructed, and the sound did not even compare to the cheapest models from bigger and better brands. It was time for a change.

Fast forward to my senior year where I got a decent set of cans (Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones) that I started to really get into music. I started to put stuff on SoundCloud and DJ and thought this was great, up until I got into an argument with a friend that said Spotify was better than SoundCloud. I was an ignorant guy, so I ignored her.

That very day I had to go to the Apple store to get my phone fixed when I saw the row of headphones connected to iPhones. I notice a pair that stood out: Master and Dynamic MH40s.

I cried.

I never realized sound could be so much more beautiful than the cans I scrounged up money to buy.

I looked at the phone and realized that the phone was using Spotify because someone switched it to that.

I was instantly sold, on both the headphones and the application.

I went home and downloaded it, but couldn't use it. I didn't have the money to pay for it.

Nor the cans, which hurt me emotionally.

I waited. I waited until college when I finally put two songs on every music store to buy into Spotify, and I used it religiously.

During that time, I heard a joke about TIDAL.

"Oh JayZ created a music service no one needs and it is soooofunny!"

I believed it, until I finally bought my next pair of headphones: V-MODAs. They weren't the Holy Grail, but they are close, but still not enough. That's not the point, however. I bought them because they were headphones designed for audiophiles, and they come with a stereo to quarter inch adaptor for amplifier connection. I cried when I saw them, but realized the sound was similar to my Sony's.

I looked up the audio encoding for Spotify.

Ogg.

Vorbis.

It wasn't FLAC, it wasn't even close! Ogg Vorbis is semi-lossless, but it is not absolute lossless audio. For the headphones I paid for, I want lossless audio that makes your ears orgasm like the MH40s do and how the V-MODAs I bought we're advertised! So I did research:

TIDAL, the joke, the meme, the crapshot: streams and downloads music for a bit more money than Spotify, in beautiful lossless FLAC.

But if you are in college, it's the same amount of money as Spotify.

I downloaded it and subscribed. I turned on their highest quality and streamed one song: Bang Bang by Green Day.

I cried.

I cried because these headphones sounded exactly like hwo they should, and that I could hear the INDIVIDUAL LAYERS of the tracks, and differentiate the ACTUAL DRUM SET PIECES instead of just hearing a crash cymbal!

The recommended tracks are a lot better. This service even allows you to stream and download music videos AND the playlists from legitimate festivals like EDC Vegas and Coachella!

I unsubscribed to Spotify.

I regret nothing.

I do regret one thing:

Master and Dynamic...

Help a brother out. I've been dreaming of your headphones... But I can't afford a one-time purchase like that. Give me the option to do something, a payment plan or discount or something and I'd praise you to the ends of the Earth.

Help me out. I still can't get the quality out of my head.

Getting back to the story, try out TIDAL if you are a true audiophile. You'll love it more.