Similar to streaming video, it takes more bandwidth to stream higher quality music. The service is paying more to host these files and send them ... SkiptomaincontentBackchannelBusinessCultureGearIdeasScienceSecurityPodcastsVideoArtificialIntelligenceClimateGamesNewslettersMagazineEventsWiredInsiderCouponsLast-MinuteGiftsFortheHomeOfficeForStressReliefViralTikTokGiftsGiftsUnder$25WishList2021AllGiftGuidesGadgetLabNewsletterHere’sariddle:Ifhigher-qualityaudiosoundsbetter,andbetter-soundingmusicismoreenjoyable,thenshouldn’tyoustreammusicinthehighestpossibleaudioquality?Theanswerisyes.Listentomusicinthehighestpossiblequality.You’lllovetheshimmeringdrumcymbalsthatkeepsingingoutlongafterthey’vebeenhit.Hearingfingersslidingontheneckoftheguitarwillbringanewdimensiontotheacousticballadthatmakesyoutearupeachtimeyouhearit.Listeningtothebest-fidelitystreamsmeansyou’llfeellikeyou’reintheroomwiththeartists.Theanswertotheriddleisalsono.Streamingsongsatthehighestpossibleaudioqualitycostsmostpeopletoomuchmoneyandefforttojustifyit.Andthereinliestheconundrum.There’snoinitiationsequenceormember’scardtobecomeanaudiophile.Ifyoulovehearingthefinerdetailsofasong,thendivein.JohnFarrey,labelrelationsmanagerforAmazonMusic,describesaspecificexampleofthelevelofdetailthatispossiblewithhigh-resolutionaudiostreamingat24bit/48kHz.“PharrellWilliam’sproductiononKendrickLamar’s‘Alright’trulyshinesinUHD,”alsoreferredtoas“AmazonHi-ResAudio,”saidFarrey.“Heusesanacapellagroupasthesampleandalthoughtheyarereallytight,youcanactuallyhearthestartsoftheindividualvocalists.TerraceMartin'stwo-notesaxlinefrom1:28to2:08ismuchquieterthanboththebasslineandthevocal,yetyoucanheareverynote.Itlivesinitsownlaneanddoesn'tgetovercrowdedwithinthemix.”Noteveryone,evenmusicfans,mayneedthatlevelofdetail.Theinformationbelowwillhelpyoufurthersortoutwhat’sneededtogetthesetypesofaudiodetails,andwhetherit’sforyouornot.CanIHeartheDifferenceinQuality?First,therearenostandardtermsaroundaudioquality.Thatcanmakeitalittledifficulttodiscuss.Thedividinglineherefor“highquality”willbelosslessaudio.Ifastreamdoesn’tdropanydataorfrequencysoundsfromitsstream,thenitislossless.Today,streamingmusicisalmostuniversallylossy,meaningitdoesn’tcarryallthesoundsfromtheoriginalrecording—therearetinypiecesmissing.Thecruxoflosslessversuslossymusicishumanhearing.Thereasonyoumightneverknowwhethersoundsaremissingfromthelatestradiobopisbecausecomputersaresmartaboutwhichsoundsareomitted.Onlythemostaggressivecompressionisnoticeabletothemajorityofpeople.Ifyou’recuriousaboutyourhearingability,pausehereandtakeaquickaudiotesttoseehowmuchyounoticethemissingbits.Thisisachancetobehonestwithyourselfabouthowdetailedyourhearingisandhowmuchyounoticethedifferences.DoINeedSpecialEquipment?Let’sassumeyouhaveawesomehearing.Theparadoxisthatyouneedcapableequipmentfromoneendtotheothertogetthefull,lossless,andhigh-resolutionaudio.“Mostsmartphonesreleasedafter2014(includingiPhonesandiPads)cansupportplaybackat24bit/96kHz,”saysFarrey.“Asmartphoneconnectedtoadecentpairofwiredheadphones,somethingyoumightuseforworkorgaming,willgiveyouagreatlisteningexperience.”Planonusingwiredheadphonestodoyourhigh-qualitymusiclistening.Bluetoothheadphonesandearbudsjustdon’tsupportthehigherfidelityinanymeaningfulway.Justtobeclear,spendingmoremoneyonbetterheadphoneswon’tfixtheissuehere.EvenbuyingApple’s$550AirPodsMaxheadphonesandthenwirelesslylisteningtosongsusingAppleMusiconyouriPhonewillnotdelivernothighquality,losslessaudio.Itwillsoundgoodandyou’llgetthefullestpictureofthat256KBAACaudiostream,butthat’sit.Also,alotofphonesarejacklessnow(althoughtherearestillsomeleft).There’snowheretoconnectwiredheadphones.Inthiscaseyouneedadigital-to-analogconverter,knownasaDAC.Thesecanstartatabout$60andgoupfromthere.AnotheroptionistobypassthephoneentirelyanduseWi-Fispeakers.BrandslikeSonos,Bluesound,orKEF,tonameafew,willsupportlosslessstreaming.Inthiscase,thespeakerwillpullinthemusicfromtheinternetitselfwithoutusingBluetooth.Makesurethespeakeryouselectsupportsthehighqualitystreamingserviceyouwanttouse.WhereCanIStreamIt?Themusicisthenextpieceofthepuzzle.Thenumberofstreamingmusicservicesthatofferhigh-quality,losslessstreamingisgrowing.That’sgreat.Spotifyaddingahi-fistreamingtierin2021meansthatmostmajormusicplatformsofferthisoptiontolisteners.Tidalisoneofthemostwellknownlosslessstreamersbecauseitusedhighaudioqualitytodifferentiateitselffromthebeginning.ATidalhi-fisubscriptionprovidesaccesstostream70+millionlosslesstracks,alongwithMastertracks(high-resolutionaudio)andimmersiveaudio(DolbyAtmosor360RealityAudio).AmazonMusicchoosestousethesameterminologyasvideo,ideallytohelpconsumersdifferentiatebetweenhigherandlowerquality.“HD”isthelosslesslevelthatincludesmorethan70millionsongswithabitdepthof16-bitsandasamplerateof44.1kHzandabove.“UltraHD”orUHD,isevenbetter,streamingupto24bit/48kHZ(or96kHzto192kHz).“3Daudio”istheimmersiveoneandincludesDolbyAtmosand360RealityAudioformats.QobuzisanewentranttotheUS,buthasbeenalongtimepioneerinhighqualitystreaming.ItmostlysimplifiesthingsaroundaStudioPremiersubscriptionthatoffers70+millionlosslesssongswithFLAC24bitupto192kHz.Readingbetweenthelines,SpotifyHiFi,availableinlate2021,willofferacomparablecatalogof70+millionsongsforlosslessaudiolistening.HowMuchDoesItCost?Assumingyou’restillinterestedinstreamingcrystalclear,robust,andfullaudio,youneedtopayforit—eachmonth.It’smoreexpensive,sometimesdoublethatofthestandardstreamingmusicplan.Tidalbreaksdownitscoststoshowthatitmakesagrossprofitof$5.30forits$19.99amonthhi-fiplan,comparedtomaking$2.30foritsstandardPremiumplan.Similartostreamingvideo,ittakesmorebandwidthtostreamhigherqualitymusic.Theserviceispayingmoretohostthesefilesandsendthemtoeachlistener.ThepriceofAmazonMusicHDvariesonwhetheryouarealsoanAmazonPrimesubscriber.Ifyouare,itcosts$12.99amonthversus$14.99amonthfornon-Primesubscribers.Qobuz’sStudioPremierplanis$12.49amonthifyoupayannuallyor$14.95amonthifyouwouldrathernotcommitthatfarinadvance.SpotifyhasnotannounceditspricingforitsSpotifyHiFitieryet.Chancesareitwillbecompetitiveandfitrightinwiththerestoftheseotherservicesaswell.MoreGreatWIREDStories📩Thelatestontech,science,andmore:Getournewsletters!Thebuzzy,chatty,out-of-controlriseofClubhouseInBrazil’sfavelas,esportsisanunlikelysourceofhopePhysicistslearntosuperfreezeantimatter(hint:pewpew!)AIcouldenable“swarmwarfare”fortomorrow'sfighterjetsBedtricks,cod,andthehiddenhistoryofcatfishing👁️ExploreAIlikeneverbeforewithournewdatabase🎮WIREDGames:Getthelatesttips,reviews,andmore📱Tornbetweenthelatestphones?Neverfear—checkoutouriPhonebuyingguideandfavoriteAndroidphonesTylerHayesisawriterobsessedwithbothmusicandtechnology,includingthewaystheyintersect.ContributorTopicshomeentertainmentMusicstreamingHeadphonesaudio