Tidal has confirmed to What Hi-Fi? the streaming playback hierarchy now that hi-res FLAC files have been added to its library.
When Tidal CEO Jesse Dorogusker announced in April that the service would add hi-res FLAC streaming to the existing hi-res MQA streaming catalogue, he stated that Tidal was “choosing FLAC as our preferred format for high-resolution audio” over its MQA-powered Masters. It makes sense, considering FLAC is an open-source format whereas MQA requires specific hardware decoding to unlock its optimum quality and is therefore not as accessible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that preference for FLAC (or 'HiRes FLAC', as it's being called) is now being reflected in the service's playback priority.
