For those who love music and love to stream in the highest quality, TIDAL has been a great alternative to Amazon Music and Apple Music. In addition to lossless HighRes Audio (Up to 24-bit, 192 kHz) and MQA, TIDAL supports immersive audio music mixes in the form of Dolby Atmos music and Sony 360 Reality Audio. But to get the good stuff, customers have had to pony up $19.99/month for the HiFi Plus tier, which is a bit steep compared to competitive streaming services Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. Qobuz offers audiophile quality streaming but lacks any immersive audio options like Dolby Atmos or Sony 360RA. Spotify has been promising a HiFi tier for years but has yet to deliver on that promise.
As of next week (April 10, 2024), TIDAL customers on the HiFi and HiFi Plus (HiFi+) tier are automatically getting a 45% reduction in monthly streaming fees. The HiFi Plus tier will be lowered to $10.99/month for all subscribers and the new plan is simply called TIDAL. The new plan includes everything from the old HiFi Plus tier except the DJ feature for pro DJs. Those who have used the DJ feature within the last 90 days will remain on the $19.99/month plan unless they manually change tiers in their TIDAL account.
The bad news is that TIDAL’s free tier is being discontinued. “Starting April 10, 2024 users who were on the Tidal Free tier will need to switch to a paid Tidal subscription to continue enjoying Tidal’s services,” according to a company rep. A discounted plan for students is still available at $4.99/month, but the military/first-responder discount is also going away. For new TIDAL users, a free trial is available at https://tidal.com/try-now.
I personally use TIDAL extensively as it allows me to listen to thousands of immersive audio tracks encoded in Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio. Played back through a full surround sound speaker system, these formats can bring home a much more engaging and immersive music listening experience. You haven’t heard Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” or Deadmau5/KX5’s “Alive” until you’ve heard these in Dolby Atmos over a multi-channel speaker system. The music surrounds and envelops you, literally bringing you closer to the artist. Even “Take on Me,” the 80’s ditty from A-Ha, takes on a new dimension in Dolby Atmos. For more of my Atmos favorites, check out my Dolby Atmos TIDAL playlist.
TIDAL’s $10.99/month fee now matches that of Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music, both of which also include immersive audio options on certain platforms. The TIDAL app is ad-free and is available on Android and iOS devices as well as popular streaming platforms such as Roku, Amazon FireTV, LG Smart TV (WebOS), Samsung Smart TV (Tizen) and Google TV. TIDAL Connect allows you to stream directly to compatible HiFi streaming devices and powered speakers including those made by McIntosh, Naim, NAD, Blue Sound, Cambridge Audio, KEF, Bang and Olufsen and many more.
The Bottom Line
Music lovers who care about getting the best possible streaming quality and the largest selection of immersive audio tracks just got a break with TIDAL’s 45% subscription fee cut on their premium HiFi Plus tier. At $10.99/month, TIDAL is now priced exactly the same as Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music. It’s also priced the same as Spotify but offers high resolution lossless streaming options and a huge selection of immersive audio tracks, both of which are still notably absent on Spotify.
Related Reading:
Podcast: Spatial Audio – the Next Big Thing or Just Another Cash Grab?
WTF is Sony 360 Reality Audio?
Amazon Music Unlimited Just Got a Price Hike
Spotify Raises Prices, Still Fails to Deliver on HiFi Sound or Immersive Audio
ORT
April 4, 2024 at 11:15 pm
I have paid for and enjoyed Pandora for over a decade now. It is my favorite. I have the Familyy Plan. I also hav the Family Plann for Amazon UHD and 3 Subs for SiriusXM. I cannot hear a diference in bit rate but can wth some Atmos stuff so perhaps that would make Tidal Bowl somtheing I might enjoy now? THoughts and comments on that aspect would be appreciated please.
You’re a daisy if you do. (That is a COMPLIMENT!)
All errors are mine as I am having physical problemstoday, LOL! No I dont drink alcohol and am too lazy to try to fix them all now and am alone so no help on it! I am, apparently , mortal. 😉
Thank you.
ORT
Chris Boylan
April 5, 2024 at 2:24 am
Ah, Sir ORT of typo-land. I have visited your domain many times, and always blade, I mean BLAME the damn Samsung phone keyboard which is the plague of my very existence.
I’ve used most of the streaming services and have found TIDAL to offer the best quality and selection of immersive audio tracks. It is also the most flexible in terms of the hardware that supports it. On HEOS, of which I know you are a fan, you can even get TIDAL tracks in High Resolution tovyour Denon receiver(s). But alas, the immersive good stuff (e.g. Dolby Atmos) is not yet supported through HEOS. To do that you’d need to use your mighty stick of reckoning (FireTV Stick that is).
Your humble servant in audio foolery.
-Chris
P.s. I’m your huckleberry
ORT
April 5, 2024 at 2:59 am
Hi Chris!
And thank you. I will probably wait as I would want Tidal primarly for the Atmos stuff and hopfuelly HEOS willdo that this year. I am giving a new Denon Home 150 to a seasoned citizen friend next week. She speaks fluent Italian and I will try to get her some good station for that stuff as she said she really enjoys it!
Thanks again and I hope to see you and te rest of the folks at the THE this summer.
ORT
Chris Boylan
April 5, 2024 at 5:35 pm
“Seasoned Citizen” – I love it. That’s my second favorite typo of the year. My favorite is the “Untied States of America” – but that one hits a little too close to home lately. Not sure yet about THE Show. I’m sure eCoustics will have people there but I don’t know if I will be making the trek across the country personally.
ORT
April 5, 2024 at 7:15 pm
🙂
Over at Head-Fi in the Schiit thread I use “Schiitizen” although I no longer have any Schiit of my own. I am waiting and hoping the new Valhalla 3 will look nice enough for my personal taste.
The Valie 3 is nice but it still is not a “Vali of Thee Toad” with TwiinTube Power. I gave my Valhalla 2 to my son.
Take care, brother!
ORT