In the high-fidelity streaming wars, Tidal's HiFi and HiFi Plus tiers set the gold standard - but what's the difference? We analyze both plans' audio quality, from CD-level FLAC to controversial MQA masters, comparing technical specs with actual listening experiences. Learn if HiFi Plus' premium price justifies its "Master Quality" claims, how it stacks against Amazon Music HD, and whether either tier allows true offline files.
On November 17, 2021, Tidal announced its plans to split up what was once known simply as Tidal HiFi. The service now offers two separate subscription levels: Tidal HiFi and Tidal HiFi Plus. The difference between the services lies in their additional features, such as higher sound quality.
The free version of the Tidal service offers an entire library with limited interruptions and works much like Spotify's Free counterpart but is only available in America (for now). While the enhanced tiers offer listeners more perks including background listening capability across all devices (including phones) 24hrs per day + ad-free viewing on mobile applications.
The standard TIDAL HiFi membership costs $10.99/month. You get full access to the TIDAL catalog without interruption. You also get offline capabilities. Tidal audio contents are reproducing the full range of sound from recordings that have been mastered from better than CD-quality music sources. This makes sense as a move to match Amazon Music and Apple Music’s lossless offers at no extra cost to the consumer.
HiFi Plus can be described as a step up from HiFi. It’s the next level in sound quality, and it will give you an even better bass response for your music or movies without sacrificing anything else! TIDAL HiFi Plus, on the other hand, costs $19.99/month. You get all the same perks as HiFi members with the extra access to MQA files and immersive sound formats. Both memberships offer 30-day free trials, which may be canceled anytime.
TIDAL HiFi provides high-quality sound without any loss of original data. It is our entry-level HiFi subscription and allows you to listen to music in lossless high-fidelity audio, which means that there is no degradation of sound quality as the files are compressed. Tidal HiFi ups the ante by offering lossless, CD-quality audio streaming at a bitrate of 1411kbps or 16-Bit/44.1 kHz.
TIDAL HiFi Plus, on the other hand, is the only service that allows you to listen to music in lossless high fidelity audio, Authenticated Master Quality audio, and immersive audio formats (Dolby Music and Sony 360 Reality Audio) all in one place. Master Quality audio reflects what happens in real-time and scales up to 9216 kbps or 24-bit / 192 kHz (typically 96 kHz / 24-bit). A HiFi Plus membership guarantees that you will be the first to get the latest updates in sound technology before other members.
The main difference between the two is that the Plus plan gives you access to Master Quality Audio, which is a higher quality audio format than standard HiFi when you stream Tidal content on the Tidal app without any additional software installed.
There are plenty of places that support Tidal HiFi playback. Tidal HiFi tracks are encoded in FLAC format and can be played back on any FLAC-compatible player, including iOS devices, Android smartphones and tablets, Mac and PCs, and more.
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is more than just an audio format. It is a complete authentication system, packaging, and delivering audio straight from the studio to the listener. An artist's studio recording goes through a process known as "folding" when it is packaged inside an MQA file. It is required a piece of software or hardware with an integrated MQA Core Decoder to play an MQA file.
Having the Core Decoder inside, the Tidal app performs the first unfold of the tune when you play an MQA song from TIDAL Masters. The first unfold reveals better-than-HiFi quality audio recording up at 88kHz or 96k Hz.
To take things a step further, you will need a Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) or headphones with an MQA Renderer to unfold the core signal from TIDAL further to get the full 352kHz signal as the actual resolution of the tune.
The article TIDAL VS AMAZON MUSIC HD SOUND QUALITY has clearly explained who should be the winner.
Tidal offers the Tidal HiFi and HiFi Plus users chances to download the Music for offline playback. But to be clear, songs are cached in the mobile phone app so you can play them without an internet requirement. These downloads are not local audio files.
It is important to add that, Master Quality Audio is a new standard for music streaming that offers higher-than-CD quality audio. It's similar to the HD tracks format that has been around for a while, but it's specifically designed for streaming rather than downloads.
For Tidal users who have concerns about the listening experience offline, they can turn to download Tidal HiFi as local audio files. Many professional tools and programs are supporting downloading Tidal HiFi Music as real audio files without quality loss. Sidify Tidal Music Converter has made some progress in this field. It can flawlessly download Tidal Music in high fidelity quality FLAC format just like the original's while saving the Tidal downloads as local files onto the computer. When that happens, you are truly having Tidal Music in your place. You can transfer the Tidal HiFi downloads to multiple different streaming platforms without limitations at all. Not only that, there are optional output formats provided by Sidify Tidal Music Converter including FLAC, MP3, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, or WAV. All ID3 tags in the original files will be reserved after the audio converting processes.
Key Features of Sidify Tidal Music Converter
Sidify Tidal Music Converter
Support both Tidal Free and Tidal HiFi users.Download Tidal music to the computer.Export Tidal songs as MP3/AAC/WAV/FLAC/AIFF/ALAC files.Keep source HiFi audio quality and ID3 tags after conversion.Convert Tidal Music at 10X faster speed. 
650,000+ Downloads
650,000+ Downloads
If you want a tool to convert any streaming music (including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, DailyMotion …) to MP3, Sidify All-In-One is the go-to choice.
So to conclude, should you opt for HiFi or MQA? For many music lovers, the answer is Tidal Master Quality Audio. The higher bitrate and lossless files provide a much richer, fuller sound that can bring your favorite tracks to life. In addition, the ability to download tracks for offline listening is a huge plus. Sidify Tidal Music Converter is an expert in this aspect. If you're often on the go or in areas with spotty cell service, being able to download music in advance can be a lifesaver.
Harper North | Staff Writer
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