A system (and corresponding method) to identify the quality of two related market feeds, when there is no definitive sequence number or identification that would make explicit comparisons possible is provided. The innovation establishes a unique waveform representation of market tics within feeds, compares the waveforms between feeds and is able to determine which feed was received later. This information can be provided to a trader to make informed decisions or to an algorithmic trading application to ensure utilization of the most reliable data available.