TIDAL MASTERS ARRIVES ON ANDROID DEVICES
Fed up with not getting the full benefit of your top-tier Tidal subscription when on-the-go? Well, if you're an Android user, you now get Tidal Masters access.
It used to be that when enjoying music on the move certain compromises had to be made. A record player in a suitcase gave way to tape players. This meant lugging weighty vinyl or bulky tapes with you. Those personal cassette players then gave way portable CD players and then to digital audio players (DAP). DAPs were a massive leap forward as, all of a sudden, you could carry dozens then hundreds of tracks with you. Then, finally, streaming meant you didn't even have to store the music; you simply grabbed it from the ether. Unfortunately, the compromise here was quality. Bandwidth has been the main FLAC-blocker with lossless 24-bit 96kHz or greater audio files simply being too big to stream.
The British company, Master Quality Authenticated (MQA), changed all that a few years ago by developing a new audio codec. This kinder form of compression preserves the full quality of master recordings, yet simultaneously reduces streaming bandwidth to manageable levels.
Tidal, which already had a Hi-Fi subscription level that gave its customers a lossless collection of tracks, added MQA-encoded files in 2017.
The stumbling block here was that very few devices on the market at the time were capable of decoding MQA’s proprietary format. With Tidal’s MQA launch, you could hear the hi-res tracks on Windows, and devices from 14 different companies, albeit none being phones.
Now, thanks to the MQA decoder being bundled with the latest Tidal for Android update, Android users will be able to maintain an optimal audio quality experience between the desktop Mac / Windows versions and their phones, both online and offline. Hello, audiophile streaming!
This has been a long-awaited feature that I’ve been looking forward to. After all, bringing the Android version of the app in line with the desktop app has been overdue. Considering “Masters” are promoted to be Tidal’s best-quality recordings, it’s a no-brainer that a high-fidelity music streaming service would want to bring the feature to all mobile users.
Tidal’s MQA update for Android is rolling out to HiFi premium subscribers right now. I've already got it, have you?
iPhone users ... we're told it's "coming soon".
Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Headphones | Technology | Music
JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION
Want to share your opinion or get advice from other enthusiasts? Then head into the Message
Forums where thousands of other enthusiasts are communicating on a daily basis.
CLICK HERE FOR FREE MEMBERSHIP
Trending
1Audio-Technica’s Hotaru Levitates Analog Listening to New Heights
2Vertere DG-X Turntable Spins Simplicity into High-End Sound
3Stratton Shrinks the Form Not the Fidelity with Element 6 and 8
4Noise-Free Networking with SilentPower OMNI LAN
5Careful What Music You W(ai)sh For As Deezer Sounds Alarm
applause awards
Each time StereoNET reviews a product, it is considered for an Applause Award. Winning one marks it out as a design of great quality and distinction – a special product in its class, on the grounds of either performance, value for money, or usually both.
Applause Awards are personally issued by StereoNET’s global Editor-in-Chief, David Price – who has over three decades of experience reviewing hi-fi products at the highest level – after consulting with our senior editorial team. They are not automatically given with all reviews, nor can manufacturers purchase them.
The StereoNET editorial team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected hi-fi journalists with a vast wealth of knowledge. Some have edited popular English language hi-fi magazines, and others have been senior contributors to famous audio journals stretching back to the late 1970s. And we also employ professional IT and home theatre specialists who work at the cutting edge of today’s technology.
We believe that no other online hi-fi and home cinema resource offers such expert knowledge, so when StereoNET gives an Applause Award, it is a trustworthy hallmark of quality. Receiving such an award is the prerequisite to becoming eligible for our annual Product of the Year awards, awarded only to the finest designs in their respective categories. Buyers of hi-fi, home cinema, and headphones can be sure that a StereoNET Applause Award winner is worthy of your most serious attention.