Based on information I received, Tidal HiRes FLAC requires new API support from Tidal, and that won’t happen until later this year.
Later this year, again.
HiRes FLAC support is initially meant for Tidal app on mobile phones, desktop and web only.
This is unexpected. I’m afraid I won’t be able to confirm this soon, but this is likely too good to be true.
This is not necessarily true for third party API or Tidal Connect.
Thanks for the update. So perhaps as @Simon_Arnold3 suggests, I may be listening to un-decoded MQA files, despite the Lumin app identifying my stream as 48kHz, 24 bit.
Without MQA authentication they will present as just 48/24 or 44.1/24 as that’s how they are encapsulated it just ignores the material in the noise floor, where they extra MQA data lies.
This is about the way the player facilitates the stream, not the player’s ability to play Hi-Res FLAC.
That’s MQA I think you’re missing the point. But none MQA hires Flac will work to when they release it to the 3rd party vendors, when ever that will be
The question I have here is if you are a Hi-Fi subscriber will Roon still pay to have everyone access Hi-Fi Plus hires material? Kind of like they did with MQA?
What do you mean about Roon paying they don’t pay anything on your behalf so your post doesn’t make sense. The tiers will work the same as they do now based on your subscription. Hifi sub limited to 16bit material for pcm flac and MQA and hifi plus will get you 24bit material and as such the hires pcm flac and 24bit MQA. Unless they change their subscription model again.
No. You (as a Tidal customer) pay. I believe you need upgrade to HiFi Plus after Roon gets Tidal HiRes FLAC.
That’s different. Roon needed to pay MQA Ltd. for MQA decoder. FLAC decoder is free by definition.
Even though roon supports hires FLAC, it will still need an update to choose the Max setting in the Tidal menu. Sounds like that might not be ready by August rollout. Also looks like Tidal Connect on the streamer side will need an update as well.
So what you will end up with is something similar to Apple Music if want to play hires to your dac, a wired connection. I’ll hold off trying Tidal again until this is all sorted out. And by then Spotify lossless might be out and heard Spotify Connect has been already updated a while ago for lossless. They were just waiting for Spotify to release it.
For Roon and streamer firmware, more than that is required.
That is correct (in case of Roon, I assume they have even more work to do than me once Tidal provides the necessary technical resources).
I really hope so. (I’ve not received any info on this other than public news.)
I had the lower tier of Tidal and I still got MQA on Roon. Just not the iOS app. I did hear Roon covered MQA for everyone.
The lower tier covers all 16bit files this includes 16bit MQA but not masters been discussed to death many times. This works on any platform that has support and access for MQA. Hifiplus gets you all 16bit and all 24bit MQA including masters.
Are your MQA albums in your library automatically converted to the new FLAC?
For a Tidal Beta user on the highest tier, I believe the only way to play hires FLAC before the mass rollout is to use your iOS device with the bespoke app to a compatible DAC. It seems it won’t work currently with Roon or the Lumin app.
I believe this is correct at this moment, until they roll out Hi-Res to Android and desktop apps - I don’t know when that will happen, but I assume it needs to happen before August.
But just to confirm, if you use Tidal Max setting on an iOS device with Tidal Connect, it still won’t play hires content?
Tidal Connect and third-party API integration (including Roon and streamer firmwares) need update as well, at a later time.
Kind of surprised Tidal wasn’t already working with their clients behind the scenes the way Spotify was. So it would already work when they rolled out the release. But maybe they just needed to quickly shift away from MQA as soon as possible.
I’m assuming the immediate benefit would be at the lower tier level when they swap out the MQA files for true lossless files. Although that doesn’t sound like it will be completed by their Aug rollout.
Are you ready for this…
I tested 10 albums using my Innuos ZENith Mk3. This is how they appeared on my DirectStream DAC Mk2:
Tidal through Roon - 48/24
Tidal through Innuos Sense app - 96/24
And you could hear the difference in SQ. To my ears, 96/24 on my equipment sounds better than MQA, so I don’t miss it in the least.
