Tidal Offers High-Quality FLAC Audio Streaming to HiFi Plus Subscribers
Tidal, the music-streaming app, has started introducing high-resolution FLAC streams throughout its platform, as confirmed by CEO Jesse Dorogusker in a Reddit post. FLAC streams, which utilize the free lossless audio codec, provide superior audio quality of up to 24-bit/192Hz. Due to their larger file size, approximately four times that of a regular MP3, the format is not commonly found on widely-used streaming platforms.
The feature is rolling out early to iOS users, and the company says listeners can choose from more than six million tracks in high-res FLAC format, which are added every day. All you have to do is update the beta app if you have access and select “Max” quality in the settings. Dorogusker says Tidal is waiting for user response before making the tools more widely available. The CEO notes that the new streaming option will be available to all users in August, for Android fans and those not tied to the company’s early interface.
Previously, Tidal used MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) audio for high-res streaming, but this is more of a scaling technique than an actual file type. Dorogusker hasn’t addressed the continued use of MQA, but has said the company “supports multiple formats” for high-resolution audio.
Better access to high-resolution audio comes with a high-resolution price tag. You need a HiFi Plus subscription to access the FLAC stream, which costs $20 a month. Tidal recently raised the price of standard subscriptions from $10 to $11 per month. There are rumors that Spotify, the industry leader, is preparing its own hi-fi level.
