Tidal: Will Hardcore Audiophiles Love the New Feature?

Tidal New Feature

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The CEO of Tidal, Jesse Dorogusker, has unveiled some exciting news for the platform users. In a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, the CEO revealed that the platform would soon have Hi-Res FLAC Audio support

And with this introduction, the HiFi Plus members of the platform will have much easier access to high-quality audio. Don’t know what FLAC actually is? 

It stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. At the core, it is a digital audio format that can deliver studio-grade sound without needing a ton of storage space. 

Tidal New Feature
Source: Tidal

Now, small file sizes make a ton of difference when it comes to Hi-Res files. And the importance of small file sizes becomes more evident when you are talking about streaming platforms.

That said, FLAC is not new to Tidal. To be exact, it has been on the platform for quite a while now. Yes, the format is available to the standard HiFi tier.

If you are a member of the tier, you might have already enjoyed the CD-like quality that this tier brought.

Tidal New Feature
Source: Tidal

On the other hand, music on the HiFi Plus currently runs on MQA. And in case you didn’t know, there are a lot of controversial discussions regarding the MQA format. In fact, it appears to be a very hot topic in the AMA session too.

MQA, which abbreviates to Master Quality Authenticated, is another audio format that allows studio-quality audio files to exist in a much smaller file size than FLAC. 

The company behind all the wizardry, MQA Ltd, has recently announced that it is “entering into administration.” In other words, it is going bankrupt.

Tidal New Feature
Source: Tidal

That announcement worried Tidal users as the end of the MQA Ltd could spell the end of the HiFi Plus tier. 

And with the CEO making this big announcement in the Reddit AMA session, it is clear that the HiFi Plus tier is here to stay.

However, expect to see a lot of changes in Tidal. After all, the platform will be switching to a file format that will be larger than MQA. 

Tidal New Feature
Source: Tidal

Before the change happens, things within the platform will remain static. But will the existing MQA catalog be present in Tidal? 

According to a report from Digital Trends, the existing catalog will “continue to be available on the platform.” So, the inclusion of Hi-Res FLAC is just adding an alternative.

However, Dorogusker did mention that Tidal will offer new “controls” over the FLAC files. It could let you adjust the size by yourself. Things will become much clear when Tidal officially unveils the feature.

Slava is a man of mystery and no-one seems to know exactly where he is at any point in time. When he isn't enjoying writing about all things audio and technical he can be found researching his next project of interest. The man never rests.


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