MQA is Vaporware

[robi20064]

Seems Tidal is separating things even better now with a new HiFi Plus subscription. Wondering where MQA will land and whether normal CD quality FLAC is going to be an option for all labels.

 

 

[robi20064]

There is some pricing information up on the AUS site now.

 

https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-au/articles/115003662825-Subscription-Types

• • Premium - $11.99 AUD a month with standard sound quality (320 Kbps)
  • HiFi - $17.99 AUD a month with lossless High Fidelity sound quality (1411 Kbps)
  • HiFi Plus - $23.99 AUD a month with lossless High Fidelity sound quality (1411 Kbps), Master Quality audio (up to 9216 Kbps), and immersive audio - 360 Reality Audio, Dolby Atmos Music
  • Family Premium - $17.99 AUD a month including up to 5 additional family members totaling 6 on the account. Standard sound quality (320 Kbps)

• Family HiFi - $26.99 AUD a month including up to 5 additional family members totaling 6 on the account. Lossless High Fidelity sound quality (1411 Kbps)
• Family HiFi Plus - $35.99 AUD a month including up to 5 additional family members totaling 6 on the account. Lossless High Fidelity sound quality (1411 Kbps), Master Quality audio (up to 9216 Kbps), and immersive audio - 360 Reality Audio, Dolby Atmos Music

[robi20064]

Interesting statement and comments from Tidal wrt hi-res and FLAC.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comments/14m6j5o/hires_flac_is_almost_here/

 

"Today, we’re rolling out HiRes FLAC (free lossless audio codec) to our Early Access Program (EAP) users on iOS. HiFi Plus subscribers have always had access to our highest resolution audio, and now we are offering hi-resolution content in FLAC format, up to 24-bit, 192kHz. Try it now by updating your beta app, and selecting "Max" quality in the new Audio & Playback settings screen. We appreciate your excitement and want to hear from you before rolling it out more broadly.

We’re choosing FLAC as our preferred format for high resolution audio, and we’ll continue to support multiple formats to make sure we have as much hi-res content as possible. It’s open source, allowing greater access for artists and fans, and aligns with TIDAL’s support for open platforms. Pairing accessibility with best-in-class audio quality directly aligns with our purpose of empowering artists to run thriving businesses in the economy.

Starting today, there are over 6 million tracks available to stream in HiRes FLAC. We're actively working with distributors, labels, and artists to add more content in this format every day.

I’ll be back next month to share more on how the beta is going, plus give some insight into additional changes we’re looking to make. And don’t worry, if you aren’t a part of our EAP, you’ll be able to experience HiRes FLAC soon — we’re going to be adding it for all HiFi Plus users in August."