[GoldenSound]

I'll be testing shortly to see if the new hifi tier is genuine lossless or still the same mqa but with mqa flagging removed that they previously used

 

[MrWalkman]

Tidal in low quality (AAC 96kbps) sounds really nice when streaming audio via BT to one of my Walkman players, so 160kbps for the free tier should be really ok. This proves how the audio source matters when down-converting, by the way.

The only thing with the free tier is the ads, but they're understandable.

 

[boxster233]

I wish they had brought down price of hifi plus family plan to compete with apple. Double the price is a big ask.

 

[hmscott]

I wish they had brought down price of hifi plus family plan to compete with apple. Double the price is a big ask.

Bestbuy sells the Tidal Family Plan at a discount:
TIDAL - HiFi Family Music, 12-Month Subscription starting at purchase, Auto-renews at $179.99 per year [Digital] - $14.99/mo
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tidal-...9-99-per-year-digital/6431968.p?skuId=6431968

That is why I was chuffed to find Bestbuy's deal on Annual Tidal Hifi for $89/year, and I've already renewed once @ $119.99, both a big savings over 12x$19.99=$239.88

TIDAL - HiFi Music, 12-Month Subscription starting at purchase, Auto-renews at $119.99 per year [Digital] - $9.99/mo
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tidal-...9-99-per-year-digital/6407163.p?skuId=6407163

BTW, normally I'd recommend creating a Bestbuy account and login to see the discount, but either way, logged in or out the price is still $119.99.

Bestbuy hasn't changed the name to Tidal Hifi Plus, and it isn't at the sometimes $89/$99 sale price, but it's still a great deal saving 50%!.

 

[rkw]

I'll be testing shortly to see if the new hifi tier is genuine lossless or still the same mqa but with mqa flagging removed that they previously used

I think this is just the rollout of the mid tier to the US market. I would be surprised if it's different from the initial countries.

 

[jlemaster1957]

Some Tidal news came in the mail, and as Release notes in the Tidal Windows App, here's the release notes summary:

Spoiler: Windows App Release notes about the Tidal Membership Tier changes

Release November 17, 2021
TIDAL reintroduces TIDAL HiFi and launches TIDAL HiFi Plus.

TIDAL Premium is now TIDAL HiFi:
* TIDAL Premium subscribers are upgraded to TIDAL HiFi at no extra cost.
* TIDAL HiFi includes music streaming in high-fidelity sound quality.

TIDAL HiFi is now named TIDAL HiFi Plus:
* TIDAL HiFi subscribers are upgraded to TIDAL HiFi Plus at no extra cost.
* TIDAL HiFi Plus is the only tier that includes all premium, immersive sound formats like Master Quality audio, Sony 360 Reality Audio, Dolby Atmos, and HiFi.
* It also includes Direct Artist Payouts, with as much as 10% of your subscription fee being directed to your most streamed artist.

And, I received an email from Tidal about my annual membership (through BestBuy).

Spoiler: Tidal Membership Tier changes email

Welcome to TIDAL HiFi Plus
Great news, Scott! You’ve been upgraded to TIDAL HiFi Plus at no extra cost to you.
We are introducing My Activity, which allows you to track your listening habits and share your activity with friends.
As always, you have access to immersive and innovative audio formats, exclusively on HiFi Plus.

Hear the Difference
TIDAL HiFi Plus delivers sound at peak performance – with HiFi quality of 1411 kbps and up to 9216 kbps for Master Quality audio

Immersive Audio Formats
Be immersed in a field of sound with Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos.

My Activity
Get a breakdown of how artists are impacted through your streams, track your listening activity, and share what you're listening to with friends. (Coming soon)

Listen to music the way it’s meant to sound
We continue to put the artists and fans at the center of everything we do through new subscription tiers, royalty transparency, and more ways for fans to support artists.

Learn more at https://tidal.com/ForMusic
https://tidal.com/tiers/hifi
https://tidal.com/tiers/hifi-plus
https://tidal.com/tiers/free

There are some articles that also came out today, here are a few:

Tidal launches free streaming and splits HiFi into two plans
Plus the company is taking new steps to get more money to artists
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/17/22787051/tidal-free-hifi-plus-announced-features-artist-payments

Tidal adds a free tier and brings HiFi audio to its $10 plan
Artists will earn more royalties from users on the $20 HiFi Plus tier.
https://www.engadget.com/tidal-free-streaming-plan-artist-paymetns-royalties-153606001.html

Tidal Launches Free Tier, Steps Into User-Centric Payments
The Square-owned Tidal is pushing to attract a wider audience.
https://www.billboard.com/business/business-news/tidal-free-user-centric-update-square-10140143/

There was also mention that the Hifiplus will add download... but I can already do that on Android (iOS?), but not on Windows which was a bit odd because Amazon Music HD allows downloads on Windows. I still really enjoy listening to Tidal over AMHD so I really do hope Tidal adds Download saves to Windows

True downloads/purchases of MQA files would be great too. As others have noted, downloads cannot now be moved to another device or saved wherever the user wants, and ‘don’t last forever’ -it seems TIDAL means us to store songs , as it were, for going on vacation and taking our devices with us when we are ‘offline’

 

[rkw]

True downloads/purchases of MQA files would be great too. As others have noted, downloads cannot now be moved to another device or saved wherever the user wants, and ‘don’t last forever’ -it seems TIDAL means us to store songs , as it were, for going on vacation and taking our devices with us when we are ‘offline’

This is a licensing requirement that the music labels impose on all the streaming services.

 

[TubeStack]

I’ll never go back to Tidal.

Apple Music has been better for me in every possible way, and I don’t even have to pay anything extra for it.

 

[peterinvan]

I'll be testing shortly to see if the new hifi tier is genuine lossless or still the same mqa but with mqa flagging removed that they previously used

I see Tidal responding to the threat from new lossless service from Spotify, Apple, and Qobuz.See Darko’s latest post on his website. He touches on the issue of Tidal not being transparant with us users. Is Tidal storing (and streaming) the original FLAC files or are they storing only the batch processed MQA tracks (and “white glove” masters processed, then throttling the MQA files down to serve the HiFi user? The only benefit of MQA, is that for smart phone users cellular data usage and offline storage benefit from the slightly smaller MQA file sizes.
one good announcement is that Tidal appears to be improving the revenue to the artists.
BTW… my downloaded Tidal playlists seem to be available ”forever” whereas downloaded albums need to be ”refreshed” before going off line, by starting the album before you leave WiFi.

 

[hash70]

I wish they had brought down price of hifi plus family plan to compete with apple. Double the price is a big ask.

Use a vpn buddy,I got billed £1.08 yesterday for tidal hifi plus using Denmark vpn

 

[Jester]

I’ll never go back to Tidal.

Apple Music has been better for me in every possible way, and I don’t even have to pay anything extra for it.

Agreed. And getting the bigger catalog is also a major factor.

 

[iamoneagain]

Agreed. And getting the bigger catalog is also a major factor.

The big issue with Apple Music is it’s only lossy over Airplay 2. That’s a deal breaker for me. Tidal Connect can do lossless and their catalog is pretty good. What I don’t like is MQA still being part of their catalog even at new hifi tier. I’m still holding out for Spotify hifi to offer best catelog and wireless lossless thru Spotify connect.

 

[Jester]

The big thing issue with Apple Music is it’s only lossy over Airplay 2. That’s a deal breaker for me. Tidal Connect can do lossless and their catalog is pretty good. What I don’t like is MQA still being part of their catalog even at new hifi tier. I’m still holding out for Spotify hifi to offer best catalog and wireless lossless thru Spotify connect.

I'm right there with you in regards to holding out for Spotify up'ing their game. Everything I've seen says by the end of the year, but there is less than a month and a half left and I just don't see it happening.

 

[iamoneagain]

I'm right there with you in regards to holding out for Spotify up'ing their game. Everything I've seen says by the end of the year, but there is less than a month and a half left and I just don't see it happening.

We’ll we’ve seen the evidence that it should be in testing due to the leaks on the setup. Not really sure what they’re waiting for. And technically do have until end of year.

 

[dirtrat]

I'm done with Apple products and services! Tidal has worked well for me. I tried Qobuz but it was constantly pausing and having streaming issues in my car while Tidal worked perfectly for me. Tidal is also cheaper for me.