2023-08-11 15:47:00
Tidal began making music available in FLAC “Hi-Res” format (96KHz/24-bit or higher) in August 2023, as announced the previous month. At the end of June the company conducted tests with “FLAC Hi-Res” through the iOS beta version of Tidal, but said it would make the novelty available in August to the general public on Android, iOS, desktop and web platforms.
Tidal officially launches FLAC “Hi-Res” on its platform
FLAC Hi-Res comes to Tidal and brings changes to the app. Source: Vitor Valeri
This is a new phase for the lossless streaming service, since previously the company’s focus was on the MQA format, which ended up being left out due to the bankruptcy of the company responsible for its creation.
With the official release of the Tidal app update that brings the songs in FLAC “Hi-Res” (96 KHz/24-bit or more), the company sent an email to subscribers saying the following:
Always listen to the best
With over 13 million songs available in HiRes FLAC and MQA, you always get the best quality available on TIDAL when you select Max.
The arrival of the new Tidal update was noticed by Oficina da Net on some platforms. On Android, the new version of the app was released on August 9th, while the Windows desktop update was made available on August 2nd. On mobile phones, the streaming service displayed a notification saying the following:
HiRes FLAC has arrived
Best-in-class music experience that reveals every detail of the music. Tap to update your app.
What changes with the arrival of FLAC “Hi-Res” on Tidal?
The big change that took place in the Tidal application was the resources related to the transmission of songs on the streaming platform. The first thing we notice is the change in the name “Master”, displayed on the playback screen of the tracks, to “Max”. According to the company, this indication means that a file in FLAC or MQA format is being executed, but that there is the following rule:
Max quality will choose FLAC Hi-Res as the source file if available. If not available, MQA will be the source file. If neither is available, the source file will be FLAC.
When accessing the Tidal app using a mobile phone, an Android DAP (Digital Audio Player) or a computer, there is no way to find out which source file is currently being used. On the playback screen there is no indication of the format and on the playback settings (transmission in the desktop app or audio and playback in the mobile version), with only three options:
Low (96 kbps or 320 kbps)
Alta (16bits/44,1 KHz)
Max (Up to 24bit/192KHz)
Quality options in the audio streaming/playback settings in the Tidal desktop app. Source: Vitor Valeri
However, there is a way to tell if the format played back is MQA or FLAC. Using an external DAC with MQA support that has a display or an LED to indicate when an MQA song is playing. Usually, in the case of LED DACs, the color magenta (“purple”) is generated when an MQA format track is played, although the color can still vary depending on the manufacturer. As for DACs with a screen, just look at the MQA or PCM description (in the case of FLAC).
Growth of FLAC “Hi-Res” music catalog on Tidal
A reader of Oficina da Net (Adrian Borges) reported that “some bands in the K-pop and J-pop genre have already upgraded from MQA to FLAC Hi-Res” while “others are still in MQA (example: Stray Kids)”. He also says that “much of the FLAC Hi-Res has been updated by the availability of Sony USA and BR labels and some albums by Universal Music, by making the tracks available in FLAC Hires” and that “Warner Music has not yet made as much available as Sony or Universal Music”. In case you want to test for yourself some FLAC “Hi-Res” songs that were previously in MQA format, a playlist (playlist).
Users miss information about the track played on Tidal
There’s no denying that there are fans of both the MQA and FLAC format and with this shift from Tidal, many have been curious to know when one or the other is playing. As you can see, the “Max” indicator, which appears on the application’s playback screen, does not indicate the format of the track being played and the company itself has stated that it could be MQA or FLAC “Hi-Res” . A reader of Oficina da Net (Danilo Medeiros) expressed his displeasure with this saying:
It would be interesting for the application itself to show the track information on the playback screen. I understand that MQA is discontinued and canceled by TIDAL. But this exchange and lack of information about the files is confusing.
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