Looks like NAIM and LINN played the long game here? This is a cut and paste from Darko.Audio hopefully doesn’t breach forum rules? As an owner of a nonMQA DAC this is good news.
" At the end of last week, Tidal CEO Jesse Dorogusker posted on Reddit that ‘HiRes FLAC is almost here’. With MQA now in administration, the Norwegian-based streaming service will soon break from its MQA-only stance on hi-res audio delivery to offer streams in open-source FLAC: up to 24bit/192kHz. HiFi Plus subscribers can expect to see these FLAC streams appear sometime in August.
Here is Dorogusker’s statement in full:
“Today, we’re rolling out HiRes FLAC (free lossless audio codec) to our Early Access Program (EAP) users on iOS. HiFi Plus subscribers have always had access to our highest resolution audio, and now we are offering hi-resolution content in FLAC format, up to 24-bit, 192kHz. Try it now by updating your beta app, and selecting “Max” quality in the new Audio & Playback settings screen. We appreciate your excitement and want to hear from you before rolling it out more broadly.
We’re choosing FLAC as our preferred format for high resolution audio, and we’ll continue to support multiple formats to make sure we have as much hi-res content as possible. It’s open source, allowing greater access for artists and fans, and aligns with TIDAL’s support for open platforms. Pairing accessibility with best-in-class audio quality directly aligns with our purpose of empowering artists to run thriving businesses in the economy.