[BobSmith8901]

Regarding the non-playability of DAPs/Smartphones in the new Tidal FLAC app (2.87XX +), the common element seems to be that most players that won't play are below Android 10.

I think it's safe to say that Android 11, 12 and 13 have no problem with the new Tidal playing all FLAC at MAX audio setting. My experience is that my phones and tablets in 11, 12 and 13 all play the new Tidal 100% whereas my Shanling M6 Pro 21 DAP at Android 7.1.1 will not.

Android 10 is possibly OK too, as there are recent reports that two Android 10 DAPs play the new Tidal fine and one that plays that's Android 7.

My Shanling M6 Pro 21 will not play any 24/96 FLAC MAX tracks but for some reason will play 24/192 FLAC MAX (w/heavy buffering due to slow internet) . The 24/96 FLAC will not play at all; the quality button on the player stays at LOW, and there is no response from the play button/arrow when trying to play these tracks. Masters (MQA) tracks still play normally. I know it's an MQA track if it successfully plays in the latest app, and I will see the 16X MQA unfolding/up sampling evidence at the top right sample rate readout (705.6 or 768). I've also tried the Shanling with the very latest 2.88XX app and no change.

 

[rlw6534]

So, my current list, anecdotally culled from here and Reddit, of all of the DAPs/Phones that won't/will play FLAC MAX (with some exceptions) in the latest Tidal Android app (2.87 and 2.88 +) are as follows:


WON'T PLAY FLAC MAX w/Android 2.87XX (and higher) Tidal app (new Tidal Android FLAC app.):

DAPs:

1. Shanling M6 Pro 21 -- Android 7.1.1 /DAC: ESS 9068 x2 w/MQA 16X /CPU: Snapdragon 430

2. FiiO M9 -- Android 7 /DAC: AK4490EN×2 /CPU: Exynos 7270 (reported: Albums at MAX resolution end up crashing the app after severe stutter)

3. Cayin N6ii -- Android 8.1 /DAC: varies w/motherboard, AK4497, ES9038PRO, etc., w/MQA 4X-8X depending /CPU: Snapdragon 425

4. Hiby RS6 -- Android 9 /DAC: Hiby R2R w/MQA 16X /CPU: Snapdragon 660

5. Hiby R6 -- Android 8 /DAC: ES9028Q2M /CPU: Snapdragon 425

6. Hiby R6 2020 -- Android 9 /DAC: ES9038Q2M w/MQA 16X /CPU: Snapdragon 660

7. Hiby R5 Gen II -- Android 8.1 /DAC: ES9219C x2 w/MQA 16X /CPU: Snapdragon 425

8. Cayin N8ii -- Android 9 /DAC: BD34301EKV w/MQA 16X /CPU: Snapdragon 660


Smartphones:

1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro -- Android 8.1 (planned upgrade to Android 10) /DAC: Unknown /CPU: Snapdragon 636

2. Android OnePlus 3T-- Android 6.0.1 upgradable to Android 9 /DAC: Unknown /CPU: Snapdragon 821


WILL PLAY FLAC MAX w/Tidal app 2.87XX (and higher) -- new Tidal Android FLAC app):


DAPs:

1. FiiO M11 Pro--Android 7.0 /DAC: AK4497 x2 /CPU: Exynos 7872
(two independent reports of this DAP playing the new Tidal FLAC MAX 24/96 and 24/192 with no issue and it is Android 7.0).

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I'm sure this is an incomplete list, subject to change, and is from anecdotal reports. There may be other errors. If anyone has any further info or corrections please post.

The common condition seems to be that most players that won't play are below Android 10.

I have not yet seen any evidence that Android 10 specifically won't play MAX FLAC. It's just that there has been debugging info that Android 11 and above only provide the necessary programming to allow the players to process the new FLAC (see Joe Bloggs' posting earlier in this thread). But I have not seen an anecdotal report that claims an Android 10 won't play them.

I think it's safe to say that Android 11, 12 and 13 have no problem with the new Tidal playing all FLAC at MAX setting. My experience is that my phones and tablets in 11, 12 and 13 play the new Tidal 100%.

The notable exception to the below Android 10 possibility is the FiiO M11 Pro w/ Android 7 as above.

Personal note: my Shanling M6 Pro 21 will not play any 24/96 FLAC MAX tracks but for some reason will play 24/192 FLAC MAX (w/heavy buffering due to slow internet) . The 24/96 FLAC will not play at all; the quality button on the player stays at LOW, and there is no response from the play button/arrow when trying to play these tracks. Masters (MQA) tracks still play normally. I know it's an MQA track if it successfully plays in the latest app, and I will see the 16X MQA unfolding/up sampling evidence at the top right sample rate readout (705.6 or 768). I've also tried the Shanling with the very latest 2.88XX app and no change.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Reddit threads:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comm...p_not_working_in_hiby_hires_players/?sort=new

https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comm...cks_wont_playback_as_max_on_android/?sort=new

https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comments/15x44q4/tidal_max_quality_songs_not_playing_on_the/

AS ALWAYS YMMV AND THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY THE LAST WORD!

Adding a couple of others:

Won't play:
Hiby Original R5 and R5S - Android 8.1
Shanling M3X - Android 7.1.1

Will play:
M11 Plus ESS - Android 10
iBasso DX170 - Android 11

 

[BobSmith8901]

Adding a couple of others:

Won't play:
Hiby Original R5 and R5S - Android 8.1
Shanling M3X - Android 7.1.1

Will play:
M11 Plus ESS - Android 10
iBasso DX170 - Android 11

Thanks for the info! Nice to see that an Android 10 DAP works, possibly re
moves that mystery!

 

[UrbanAnimism777]

@Joe Bloggs , is there a way for Hiby to update our devices at least to Android 10 then? I've only had my R5 Gen 2 for a year, and since Tidal is my main service and I do use it a lot outdoors, it's making me consider selling it as it's basically useless right now

 

[BS5711]

My FiiO M11 Plus LTD (Android 10) will play anything on Tidal with no problem including 192 FLAC.

That said, as I said on the previous page, it won’t display MQA on some MAX albums that are still MQA as indicated by other DACs displaying MQA on the same album.

Are others seeing MQA indicated on some DACs but not others ? Is that not an indication that Tidal are intentionally hiding MQA behind some code that fools some DACs but not others ?

 

[Joe Bloggs]

@Joe Bloggs , is there a way for Hiby to update our devices at least to Android 10 then? I've only had my R5 Gen 2 for a year, and since Tidal is my main service and I do use it a lot outdoors, it's making me consider selling it as it's basically useless right now

I do not believe that Android 10 will work natively. According to my research, the missing CCodec is an Android 11 &+ thing. Yes there's that FiiO that works at Android 10, but they also have Android 7 devices that work. We'll see, if it is possible to retrofit CCodec to all our DAPs. But this really shouldn't be a thing, if Tidal is pushing the latest version to all these Android versions.

 

[BobSmith8901]

My FiiO M11 Plus LTD (Android 10) will play anything on Tidal with no problem including 192 FLAC.

That said, as I said on the previous page, it won’t display MQA on some MAX albums that are still MQA as indicated by other DACs displaying MQA on the same album.

Are others seeing MQA indicated on some DACs but not others ? Is that not an indication that Tidal are intentionally hiding MQA behind some code that fools some DACs but not others ?

On my Shanling Android 7.1.1 DAP the only indication when on Tidal 2.87 and 2.88, that a given track was MQA, was the track would actually play (I'm thinking in particular about ZZ Top Tres Hombres (2006 expanded version which is/was still MQA) along with the DAP sample rate display at the top showing 705.6 or 768 kHz, indicating MQA 16X.

For my other desktop DACs that do MQA, in the new Tidal desktop app, they'll display the purple, green, blue, etc., lights indicative of an MQA stream if they encounter an MQA track instead of a straight FLAC. This is desktop mode in the latest Tidal FLAC desktop app.

I think on a DAP running the new Tidal app the only indication you'll get if you encounter an MQA, unless it's a DAP with a color changing LED, is your DAP sample rate readout on the player as above. Apparently Tidal are planning to incorporate a specific file type indicator at some point in the future that will indicate what you're streaming. I would assume that will be for both Android and desktop.

As far as is that an indication that Tidal are intentionally hiding MQA behind some code that fools some DACs but not others I can't really say. It's probably just a byproduct of the messy changeover to the new FLAC regime as they did say that MAX, for now, would group together MQA and FLAC and, depending on ones hardware, you'll either be able to see it directly or have a harder time--I'm thinking mainly of smartphones with no indication whatsoever of the bit/sample rate or LED color change.

 

[BS5711]

For my other desktop DACs that do MQA, in the new Tidal desktop app, they'll display the purple, green, blue, etc., lights indicative of an MQA stream if they encounter an MQA track instead of a straight FLAC. This is desktop mode in the latest Tidal FLAC desktop app.

As far as is that an indication that Tidal are intentionally hiding MQA behind some code that fools some DACs but not others I can't really say. It's probably just a byproduct of the messy changeover to the new FLAC regime as they did say that MAX, for now, would group together MQA and FLAC and, depending on ones hardware, you'll either be able to see it directly or have a harder time--I'm thinking mainly of smartphones with no indication whatsoever of the bit/sample rate or LED color change.

I just compared the behavior of my iFi Gryphon versus iFi Diablo.

On no tracks, even those that my Gryphon shows as MQA, does the Diablo show magenta, green or blue. If I only had the Diablo and believed what its light says I would think I was getting CD or Hi Res PCM throughout all of Tidal and yet that is clearly not the case.

If I turn off MQA pass through on a known MQA track the light will indicate hi res PCM and if I turn pass through on the light will show CD quality PCM.

Logically if one MQA capable DAC shows different playback information to another MQA capable DAC there seems to be something happening with the data that the DAC is reading.

Hopefully as you say it is just teething problems but I have my doubts, previously on the HiFi tier some songs was apparently hidden MQA with the Gryphon showing MQA even though I was not technically able to get MQA since I was only paying for CD quality on the HiFi tier.

I wonder if possible code manipulation is what is creating DAP issues where some are fine and others are not ?? Perhaps some get tripped up on the code they are receiving and don't know what to do with it ??

 

[BobSmith8901]

I just compared the behavior of my iFi Gryphon versus iFi Diablo.

On no tracks, even those that my Gryphon shows as MQA, does the Diablo show magenta, green or blue. If I only had the Diablo and believed what its light says I would think I was getting CD or Hi Res PCM throughout all of Tidal and yet that is clearly not the case.

If I turn off MQA pass through on a known MQA track the light will indicate hi res PCM and if I turn pass through on the light will show CD quality PCM.

Logically if one MQA capable DAC shows different playback information to another MQA capable DAC there seems to be something happening with the data that the DAC is reading.

Hopefully as you say it is just teething problems but I have my doubts, previously on the HiFi tier some songs was apparently hidden MQA with the Gryphon showing MQA even though I was not technically able to get MQA since I was only paying for CD quality on the HiFi tier.

I wonder if possible code manipulation is what is creating DAP issues where some are fine and others are not ?? Perhaps some get tripped up on the code they are receiving and don't know what to do with it ??

Yeah, that's really interesting as, to my knowledge, both of your iFi products are MQA full hardware decoders that should light up exactly the same when encountering the same MQA file as long as pass-through is selected. For that matter they should react exactly the same for any file as far as I can tell. As far as getting MQA indications in the Hi Fi tier, I don't know what to think.

There's no doubt that your DAP and amps and the totally non-FLAC-playing DAPs are getting tripped up on some part(s) of the code they're being sent. Per Joe Bloggs post 5,090 the total non--FLAC-players may just need a code adjustment on the Tidal side to at least play FLAC in the new Tidal app. It must be more than that per your findings and I hope they can figure it all out.

I especially hope they resolve the non-players as I have a flagship (for me) DAP that, for now, won't play the new Tidal FLAC (at least any 24/96 which is most of them and the most easily stream-able for me). Glad at least Tidal 2.86 is still working.

I'm already starting to mentally game plan for a world in which Tidal FLAC is possibly never fixed for those with under Android 10 (or 11). I think I would change my Tidal plan to Hi Fi (just to keep the great musical discovery and all of my albums/playlists) and get a Qobuz subscription for the Hi-Res. I'd end up paying only slightly more with the change and at least have Hi-Res available for my Shanling M6 Pro 21. I'm not aware of any Android restrictions in Qobuz for Android 7, for now anyway.

 

[Ferdinando1968]

I just compared the behavior of my iFi Gryphon versus iFi Diablo.

On no tracks, even those that my Gryphon shows as MQA, does the Diablo show magenta, green or blue. If I only had the Diablo and believed what its light says I would think I was getting CD or Hi Res PCM throughout all of Tidal and yet that is clearly not the case.

If I turn off MQA pass through on a known MQA track the light will indicate hi res PCM and if I turn pass through on the light will show CD quality PCM.

Logically if one MQA capable DAC shows different playback information to another MQA capable DAC there seems to be something happening with the data that the DAC is reading.

Hopefully as you say it is just teething problems but I have my doubts, previously on the HiFi tier some songs was apparently hidden MQA with the Gryphon showing MQA even though I was not technically able to get MQA since I was only paying for CD quality on the HiFi tier.

I wonder if possible code manipulation is what is creating DAP issues where some are fine and others are not ?? Perhaps some get tripped up on the code they are receiving and don't know what to do with it ??

Have you tried to perform comparative tests (always relating to the identification of MQA) on the same tracks, but from the smartphone?

 

[BS5711]

Have you tried to perform comparative tests (always relating to the identification of MQA) on the same tracks, but from the smartphone?

No I haven’t, the above was from a HP Z Book laptop with the Tidal app.

I will try from my iPhone today and add an edit to this post with the outcome.


iPhone results added:

I tried my iPhone X with Gryphon and Diablo and the results are exactly the same.

The Diablo never shows an MQA file is playing and the Gryphon does, of course it shows OFS not MQA because the MQA decoding is done on the iPhone app because it doesn't allow pass through of MQA.

 

[BS5711]

I had a Shanling M3 Ultra delivered today.

Android 10

Tidal app version 2.88......

MQA displays as a high sample rate 705.6 kHz etc

16/44, 24/96 or 24/192 FLAC play with no issue.

 

[UrbanAnimism777]

I don't know if you guys have gotten the update for version 2.89 (I'm a Beta tester), but I just downloaded it and FLAC files are still not playing on my Hiby DAP with Android 8.1. This is not looking good at all

 

[BobSmith8901]

I don't know if you guys have gotten the update for version 2.89 (I'm a Beta tester), but I just downloaded it and FLAC files are still not playing on my Hiby DAP with Android 8.1. This is not looking good at all

Try the latest beta 2.91 if you haven't already, it's reported as now FLAC-playable in -10 Android and another poster claimed his R5 Gen 2 is now playing FLAC in the latest beta Tidal with no problem.

I'd be particularly interested to know if your R5 Gen 2 can still successfully stream MQA content as well as the pure Hi-Res FLAC, as my Shanling M6 Pro 21 can now do the FLAC (w/2.91) but won't play MQA.

 

[peterinvan]

Try the latest beta 2.91 if you haven't already, it's reported as now FLAC-playable in -10 Android and another poster claimed his R5 Gen 2 is now playing FLAC in the latest beta Tidal with no problem.

I'd be particularly interested to know if your R5 Gen 2 can still successfully stream MQA content as well as the pure Hi-Res FLAC, as my Shanling M6 Pro 21 can now do the FLAC (w/2.91) but won't play MQA.

FiiO M11 Pro, Andoid 7
Updated to Tidal 2.90.0

"FLAC" shows up