Thanks to increasingly faster internet connections and the elimination of data caps that were common just a few years ago, the advantages of using all kinds of streaming services have been steadily increasing. The latest is related to audio quality, and in the coming months we'll witness a boom in high-resolution music streaming . But what does this really mean, and which are currently the best services for enjoying this experience? Let's find out.
What does HiFi sound or high resolution audio mean?
To understand and appreciate why the advent of high-resolution sound will be so important, you must first know what all this HiFi or HiRes sound means. So let's go in parts.
HiFi or HiRes sound refers to high-resolution audio. A qualifier that, unlike high-resolution video, does not obey a single standard. In other words, we all know that high-resolution video starts from an image with a total pixel size of 1920 x 1080. From there, we have ultra-high-resolution video, which would be the 4K we all know with 3.840 x 2.160 pixels. and then 8K with its 7.680 x .4320 pixels.
However, this isn't the case with audio. There isn't a single, universally accepted value for any service claiming to offer high-resolution audio. Therefore, the best way to define it is as offering lossless audio.
What does lossless audio mean? Well let's see, when an analog recording is made, the sound generates a waveform. That wave must be passed to digital and that is something that is done using a sampling technique. That is, it is divided into small sections that are analyzed and stored. The greater the number of samples, the more faithful the representation of the original wave or of the captured analog signal will be.
The importance of bitrate in streaming music
The problem is that to have a wide sampling rate, the amount of data or bitrate needed skyrockets compared to what we have normally used until now for streaming content or even for those files that we wanted to handle in digital players.
Until now, the standard bitrate was 320 kbps at best, although some exceptions were already available. Therefore, this bitrate, along with compressed formats like MP3, AAC, OGG, etc., allowed users to enjoy high-quality content via streaming without making intensive use of their internet connection.
Since right now both the storage capacity and the speed of the connections themselves have improved significantly, more services are beginning to join this trend of offering high-resolution audio. And that's good for the most demanding users in terms of audio quality.
Who was the first to offer streaming HiFi music?
One of the first companies to raise the bar for streaming HiRes sound was Apple. Apple Music debuted directly offering HiFi sound. As usual in these cases, the market did not take long to detect that those from Cupertino were offering a service far superior to that of their competition for a great price. For this reason, it was a matter of time before the rest of the services joined the high-definition music bandwagon. Until then, some of these platforms sold the possibility of accessing HiFi music as a supplement within their standard memberships. In a matter of a short time, this has changed. Now, almost all platforms already offer HiFi quality even in their input modes. Of all the great services, the great exception is Spotify, which continues to offer its catalog with quality limitations.
Requirements to enjoy HiRes or HiFi sound
Now that you know what all this HiFi or HiRes sound means, what do you need to enjoy it? Well, logically it's not enough to pay for a music service capable of offering such quality, you also need adequate equipment and even have a trained ear to notice the differences, sometimes subtle, that you'll find between one material or another.
To begin with, it is essential to have a device capable of handling the different formats used to broadcast content without loss of quality. These are usually FLAC, ALAC, WAV, and DSD. Without this capacity, it will be useless to have access to said material, since it will not be possible to manage it. Luckily it is something that most devices with an audio player offer today.
Just in case you wonder what the main formats for audio tracks are, here we list them and quickly explain each of them:
- MP3: this format is not high resolution, but it is the most popular. It applies compression to the information and that affects the quality, but in its favor is being much more manageable when it comes to being sent over the Internet or stored
- AAC: It's also not a high-resolution format, but for many it's more efficient than MP3. Apple is one of the companies that is most committed to it and they have been using it for years for the content that is purchased in its iTunes store as well as in the current Apple Music service.
- WAV: We start with the first high resolution shape. It is the one that is used in all CDs and although it offers great quality, it has the drawback of not applying compression, so the file size is important and that makes it difficult to use it over the Internet. Although it also has other disadvantages compared to more modern formats
- AIFF: It could be said that it is Apple's alternative to WAV and with improvements such as greater support for the use of metadata that adds information such as covers, song lyrics, etc. It is a lossless and non-compressed file, so advantages on the one hand and disadvantages such as file size on the other would be a good summary of its qualities.
- FLAC: It is possibly the most popular high-resolution form today. This lossless format does offer a level of compression that makes your files half the size of WAV without affecting quality. Furthermore, it also stores metadata and is quite compatible with many players and software.
- A THE C: Finally, there is this other format that is also from Apple and is possibly the one that will end up using its new option within Apple Music to offer high-resolution sound.
- DSD: is the format used for Super Audio CDs. So its popularity is not very high among the majority of users.
- MQA: the latest lossless and compressionless format that Tidal is primarily using for its highest quality option
- SSC HIFI: or Samsung Seamless Codec, is a new format that allows wireless transmission of HIFI sound of up to 24 bits between devices, in this case, from the Korean company. The Galaxy Buds2 Pro are compatible, as well as any smartphone with One UI 4.0 or higher.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro.
Along with the player and formats, another essential element is the sound equipment you'll be using. Whether it's headphones or speakers, they need to meet certain minimum specifications to handle the high volume and frequency response. Because if you're paying for a high-resolution music service and your headphones or speakers are limiting you, that's a bad sign.
If you have everything you need, then it's just a matter of training your ear little by little to be able to notice that quality leap that occurs. Which is not always easy to recognize, but when you listen to music that you know well, you can notice how suddenly sounds appear that you did not know were there before.
The best music services with HiFi quality
If you are looking to listen to streaming music with the highest possible quality, these are the best services you will find today.
Tidal
Tidal was one of the first music streaming services to offer HiFi audio . In fact, this was one of its greatest strengths and the reason many audiophiles abandoned options like Apple Music or Spotify, among others, because it was the only service that guaranteed an experience identical or very similar to what they had with their physical recordings, where storage wasn't a major issue either.
With a catalog of over 50.000 songs, Tidal offers several different memberships to suit each user's needs. The HiFi plan offers 1411 Kbps quality. It's lossless audio in FLAC format and costs €9,99 per month. The Family plan costs €14,99 per month and allows up to 5 users. Tidal also offers Master quality, included in the HiFi Plus plan. This option allows you to listen to music at the highest possible quality. According to Tidal, the file will preserve every bit exactly as the artist intended, with 24-bit quality. In this case, the quality ranges from 2.304 to 9.216 Kbps. This subscription costs €19,99 per month. 10% of your subscription fee goes towards paying the artists you listen to most. Additionally, a family plan is available for €29,99 per month, allowing up to six people to connect. This plan also supports 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos Music. A free trial is available if you're interested . All these plans are also available with a 50% discount for students.
Amazon Music Unlimited (Amazon Music HD)
Alongside Tidal is Amazon Music Unlimited (formerly Amazon Music HD) . Amazon's high-fidelity offering isn't widely known, but it's worth keeping an eye on, both because of the company behind the service and because the file quality is truly incredible. So, if you have the necessary equipment, give it a try and see if you can notice the difference.
Amazon Music Unlimited offers uncompressed music with a 16-bit depth and a 44,1 kHz sampling rate. Some songs are also available in ' Ultra HD ' quality, offering 24-bit depth up to 192 kHz . In this respect, it's on par with Tidal. Amazon Music HD was initially launched as an add-on within Amazon Music Unlimited. It cost around €14,99 (€9,99 for Music Unlimited and an additional €5 for Music HD). In 2021, Amazon updated its pricing and added Music HD to the base Amazon Music Unlimited plan. Therefore, this plan will cost you €9,99 per month. You can start a free trial if you're interested in exploring different options before choosing one of these services.
The Amazon Music Unlimited catalog has approximately 70 million songs. Of these, 10% are in what they call 'Ultra HD quality'.
Qobuz
If you're still looking for other options, Qobuz is another service that offers high-resolution audio. It's true that it's a lesser-known service, because it's relatively new, but its commitment to top-quality audio is significant.
In addition to a catalog made up of more than 70 million songs, where some of them are in high resolution (they say they offer the largest Hi-Res catalog), one of the attractions of the service is the curation part that they have through plans superiors.
Qobuz, with access to its Hi-Res content catalog, costs €14,99 per month. However, you can reduce the price to €12,50 per month with an annual membership . You can also try their music service for free to evaluate it before making a purchase.
Deezer Hi-Fi
Another option for high-resolution music is Deezer HiFi, which is now included in the standard Deezer Premium membership. This high-resolution audio option offers 16-bit FLAC files at 1.411 kbps, delivering CD-quality, high-fidelity sound. As for the price, it's very competitive with other options, costing €10,99 per month.
If you are interested in buying a family plan, the price will be 17,99 euros per month, and you will be able to connect a total of 6 users to the account. All memberships have a free month gift when you sign up for the first time.
The interesting thing about this proposal is that its application is compatible with a good number of audio players and devices. So it is also something important to assess when you do not want to use a smartphone or a computer to access the service.
Apple Music
Apple Music has received a major update to its music catalog and now also offers high-fidelity audio, but that's not all. Along with support for over 75 million high-resolution songs thanks to the ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) format , some songs will also support Dolby Atmos, or spatial sound.
Thus, Apple's music streaming proposal wins integers over its rivals. So if you have company devices or even if you combine them with others such as Android terminals for which the application is also available. In addition, the price of Apple Music with audio without loss of quality is the same as always, 9,99 euros per month for the individual plan. If you prefer the family plan, the price goes up to 14,99 euros per month, and can be used by a total of 6 users.
Many users ask if AirPods are the best headphones to use with Apple Music to get the most out of lossless audio . And the answer is a resounding NO.
None of the AirPods models currently on the market allow for lossless playback of this music from an Apple subscription. At the moment, wirelessly transmitting such a large amount of data in real time to headphones is complex, which is why companies are working to achieve this as quickly as possible. This includes Apple and its successful line of headphones, which could make the definitive leap forward with the second generation of AirPods Pro.
However, what we will be able to enjoy with certain AirPods models is spatial audio, that surround sound effect that places the sound source at a point around our head and that can move as we turn our head in one direction or another, or when we pick up our iPhone or iPad and change its position. The currently compatible models are:
- AirPods (3nd generation)
- AirPods Pro
- AirPods Max
What about Spotify?
The Swedish platform, for the moment, seems unfazed by the rise of Hi-Fi music in streaming apps, having frozen and indefinitely postponed its commitment to quality, which, as we recall, it had already announced it would launch throughout 2021. So, as of today, if you are subscribed to this platform, there is not even a date set for when you will have access to lossless songs, unlike almost all of its competitors.
Furthermore, it's true that they don't seem to have noticed much of an impact from such a decision in terms of paid subscribers, so apart from the most megalomaniacal and obsessive hi-fi enthusiasts, the average user isn't really in the hi-fi music battle . Or do you think they are?
An experience only for discerning ears
As you can see, there are already options that allow you to enjoy high-resolution audio. What's more, many of them offer free trials or very low prices for the first few months. So our recommendation is that you try them first to see if you're interested in paying the extra for the improved quality. Of course, to truly appreciate the difference, you'll need a decent pair of headphones or a quality sound system.
Over the past few years, we've seen many of these services not only join the trend of offering the highest sound quality, but even lower their prices to remain competitive. Deezer, Qobuz, and Amazon Music are some of the services that have expanded their memberships to include Hi-Fi in their basic subscriptions or have lowered their prices to compete with Apple Music and Tidal. With prices like these, alternatives such as Spotify and YouTube Music are falling far behind. It wouldn't be surprising if they eventually launched their own offerings if they want to continue competing in an audio market that is becoming increasingly competitive in terms of both quality and price.