Hifiverse

TIDAL (Music Streaming Service)

TIDAL is a subscription music streaming service that delivers lossless and high-resolution audio. For Hi-Fi owners it matters because many network streamers, DACs and players stream from it directly, so it often acts as the main source of a digital system.

John Makovsky

John Makovsky

Audio

TIDAL x BUGATTI MA1 – Flagship Monoblock Delivering up to 1,500 Watts and Weighing 110 kg

TIDAL has introduced the new TIDAL x BUGATTI MA1 flagship monaural power amplifier, part of the Royale Collection. Positioned as the successor to the Assoluta Monobloc, the new model combines extremely powerful circuitry with a massive mechanical construction. Particular attention has been paid to the power supply: inside are three 1,000 VA toroidal transformers with magnetic shielding and mechanical isolation, while the total capacitance of the power-supply filter reaches 800,000 µF.
John Makovsky

John Makovsky

Audio

Tidal Piano Classic – an Entry Ticket into the World of Tidal Audio

German company Tidal Audio, long established in the ultra-premium High End segment, has introduced the Piano Classic loudspeakers – a model that symbolically brings the brand back to its roots. Although only limited details about the new product have been revealed so far, its very debut already appears significant for a manufacturer whose reputation was built on an uncompromising approach to audio engineering.
John Makovsky

John Makovsky

Audio

2026 Hi-Res Streaming Services Compared: The Ultimate Analysis

Although all modern streaming services share broadly similar transmission algorithms and codecs - FLAC, ALAC - the same recordings can sound noticeably different from one platform to the next. Mastering choices, post-processing, server infrastructure, loudness normalization, and bitrate all influence the end result, and it is these small distinctions that separate a presentation that is merely good from one that is genuinely audiophile-grade. In this article we examine and compare the leading music streaming services and attempt to determine which one comes out on top for sound quality.

Hifiverse Editorial Team

Audio

TIDAL AP1 – Extra Class Active Loudspeakers

German company TIDAL presented the floorstanding active acoustics TIDAL AP1. The idea of ​​the new model was born with the launch of the TIDAL x Bugatti project - TIDAL AP1 is designed to transfer the quality of the company's top speakers to a slightly more affordable High End segment.

What TIDAL is & why it matters

The service streams tracks in FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), so files reach the DAC without data loss. Apps on phones and computers handle search and playlists, while many network players run the service in their own firmware. Roon can browse the TIDAL catalogue inside its own library, next to music files stored at home. Support differs between devices, so the spec sheet of a streamer shows which routes it offers.

What you'll find in this tag

On topic here is a side-by-side test of hi-res music services. It sets TIDAL against competitors on maximum resolution, catalogue size, metadata, Dolby Atmos content and playlist generation, and records the change in how its hi-res files are delivered. Several other items in this tag concern the Dutch loudspeaker and amplifier maker Tidal Audio, which shares only the name.

Key services & formats to know

FLAC at 24-bit/192 kHz sets the upper limit of TIDAL playback, and high-resolution files now arrive in native form. Dolby Atmos tracks carry spatial mixes for multichannel setups and need an Atmos-capable processor or device. MQA, the folded format the service used before, is no longer supported. TIDAL Connect is the casting route built into many streamers, with the phone app acting as a remote.

Related topics & where to go next

Go to Streaming for network playback news and Hi-Res for high-resolution formats. The Roon tag covers the player software that integrates the service. Network streamers in the catalogue list which services each model supports.