Tidal may not be as popular as Apple Music or Spotify, but it is he Reference streaming platform for lossless and high-resolution music. It has more than 110 million tracks that you can listen to in CD-quality sound, along with 650 thousand videos and a lot of exclusive content (e.g. live streamed concerts, podcasts). No music app matches this level of curation, nor offers better pay for artists than Tidal (up to $0.015 per stream). Then there’s the unparalleled audio quality.
Tidal is known for its high-resolution MQA format. At the time of its release, MQA allowed high-resolution audio files containing large amounts of data to be “packaged” in such a way that they could be easily transmitted from music servers over digital networks with limited bandwidth and ” unpack” via compatible MQA playback. devices in our homes.
However, as digital networks and infrastructure improved, Tidal began phasing out its support for the MQA format and, in June 2023, began making its shi-res library available in FLAC format. With support for surround sound technologies like Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, and some of the best streaming features, Tidal is a fantastic service for listening to songs the way artists and studio engineers intended them.
Read our full Tidal review to find out why this is one of the best music streaming services out there right now.
Tidal Review: Price
Tidal pricing plan options through April 10, 2024
To align with its competitors, Tidal is set to streamline its subscription plans by combining its high-resolution ‘HiFi’ and ‘HiFi Plus’ lossless audio tiers into a new ad-free inpidual plan for just $10.99/£10, 99 / AU$12.99 per month. This will include access to its full high-resolution audio library, as well as Dolby Atmos and Sony360 Reality Audio spatial audio content.
The new plan will simply be called Tidal when it launches on April 10. Tidal’s HiFi and HiFi Plus tiers will cease to exist after that date.
Tidal’s current subscription plans are available at the music platform home page and there are many benefits that make Tidal even more worth it.
Family plans start at $16.99 per month and allow you to add up to 6 additional accounts. Students get a significant discount and the service costs $4.99 per month.
Tidal does not currently offer an annual plan. Registering automatically gives you a 30-day free trial at no cost, which can be canceled at any time before the end of the trial period.
Tide Review: Availability
Tidal comes as a mobile and web application. Apple users can download it on their iOS (iPhone, iPad) or OSX (MacBook, Mac desktop) devices through the App Store. Android users can do the same through Google Play. There is even a PC version available for download at microsoft store for use on Windows operated machines.
A host of devices are compatible with Tidal, including many of the best wireless speakers, the best phones, the best smart TVs, the best streaming devices, and the best smartwatches. Mercedes-Benz owners can also stream Tidal content in the highest quality via Portal Mercedes me via Bluetooth or the Mercedes me adapter (for models after 2002 without connected functionality).
Tidal Review: Features
The features are what make Tidal a sonic streaming giant. The highlight is its lossless audio capabilities and high-resolution master tracks, which are currently only available to HiFi Plus subscribers, but will soon be included in a new Tidal subscription. Two other features included with this package are 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmosspatial audio integration.
Tidal has the largest high-resolution catalog available. Not everything on the platform is a master recording, but you can still get CD-quality sound at 1411kbps by setting HiFi as the streaming option. CD-quality audio comes standard with all paid Tidal subscriptions.
There are several features worth checking out on the platform; Tidal just hasn’t marketed them well. For example, exclusive mode allows the music program to take control of your device’s DAC and automatically adjust frequencies based on song selection. There’s also Tidal Connect to instantly activate the service on wireless speakers for high-resolution playback via Bluetooth, AirPlay, or Wi-Fi. These are just two of the many ways to improve your listening experience with Tidal.
Tide tracks and videos can be downloaded to your phone for offline listening, in any streaming quality. More attractive is the amount of exclusive content available, consisting of concerts, curated mixes, discovery radio stations, podcasts and shows. It would have been nice if Tidal allowed you to transfer music libraries and playlists from other streaming services. Fortunately, there are third-party applications for that (we recommend Soundiz).
No platform does curation better than Tidal. The recommendations generated by the algorithm are accurate; More personalized music and video mixes helped my listening habits. The Explore tab simplifies searches thanks to a beautiful interface and seamless navigation. Categories and menus are assigned correctly and are not cluttered. My Daily Discovery is another solid tool for finding new artists and songs.
Other standard features worth mentioning are playlist creation and social sharing.
Tidal Review: Sound Quality
Tidal music app offers great sound on all platforms. Mobile users can stream content over their cellular or Wi-Fi plan at different streaming speeds. Normal (96 kbps) and high (320 kbps) streaming via AAC, which is supported by most devices. HiFi (1,411 kbps) achieves CD quality.
However, Master (2304 – 9216 kbps) is the best way to experience Tidal, extracting every bit of information and detail from a recording and packaging it into FLAC tracks. I felt the vibration of the drums and percussion instruments. The strings demonstrated exceptional reverb that gently extended in and out. Most importantly, Masters’ tracks highlighted subtle nuances in complex recordings; the cowbell of Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” and the heavy breathing in the intro of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” were very transparent.
Tidal will automatically switch to HiFi when playing non-high-resolution recordings, maintaining the highest possible streaming quality.
Of course, you’ll need high-quality headphones to fully appreciate the lossless audio files Tidal can offer, and we recommend browsing our best audiophile headphones to choose the best models for superior sound.
However, you’ll most likely listen wirelessly via Bluetooth. Therefore, investing in the best wireless headphones or the best wireless headphones will ensure the starting point of the highest audio quality before compressing it into an audio codec that can be driven via Bluetooth wireless to the headphones. Remember to make sure your playback device is set to output the highest output resolution.
My iPhone 14 and MacBook Pro offered high-resolution goodness, although music sounded better on Android devices. Support for the LDAC codec probably played a role, but I noticed a cleaner music presentation when listening to it on my Google Pixel 6 Pro with the Sony WH-1000XM5.
You can still get satisfying audio with some of the best budget wireless headphones, depending on the model. In fact, our audio editor Lee Dunkley recently tested the $50 EarFun Air 2 with LDAC support and found it to be a great budget-friendly option for high-quality listening.
Surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos and spatial audio are nothing new for music streaming services. Apple Music does both incredibly well. I would put Tidal below.
The Dolby Atmos tracks delivered an emphatic sound. The lows, mids, and highs were clearer and more impactful on orchestra-heavy tracks. A Dolby Atmos compatible device is required to listen to this content. Switching to my Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G got better results, especially after enabling these tips to improve Samsung Galaxy phone sound.
360 Reality Audio gave more authenticity to the instruments and voices. Apple Music has the advantage with spatial audio, as the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro 2 support dynamic head tracking for fuller 3D sound. Sony headphones and earphones do not.
The HiFi and Master tracks contain a lot of information, and streaming over your cellular plan will gobble up data. Streaming over Wi-Fi will limit buffering and remove as much detail from the tracks.
Tidal Review: Verdict
Nifty features, stellar support for audio formats, excellent artist pay, and the largest collection of high-fidelity tracks available put Tidal atop the throne of music streaming apps. Audiophiles and casual listeners alike get a lot for the subscription price, which, while high, is better overall value compared to most other rival plans.
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