#Tidal hifi how to
#Tidal hifi driver
#Tidal hifi software
#Tidal hifi trial
#Tidal hifi windows

That’s all you need to do in JRiver Media Center, so let’s go back to the Tidal Desktop App.

#Tidal hifi driver

Go to General – Features and select WDM Driver.(Only if you control the volume on an external device I suggest you enable Maximize device volume during playback.) Under Device Settings select Exclusive Mode.Under Audio select your DAC in WASAPI mode.įirst, we need to check some settings in Media Center.

#Tidal hifi trial

If you don’t have a copy, you can download a free trial at. Although the output is not bit-perfect, this will not change the sound quality. When your DAC is 24-bit it will output the 16-bit stream (in case of non-MQA tracks) to 24-bit by adding 8 empty bits to it. Output through JRiver Media Centerĭoing this using JRiver Media Center there will be a direct path from the Tidal App to JRiver Media Center.

#Tidal hifi software

However, you can use certain software like JRiver Media Center v21 or above to send the audio stream to. Essentially this means you can only listen to 24-bit MQA tracks. Therefore if you have a DAC that only operates in a certain bit mode, you cannot use this with Tidal’s Exclusive Mode for songs that are 16-bit. Some DACs like the Audioquest DragonFly v1.2 only operates in 24-bit. This means you’ll have to change your sound output settings to the appropriate settings. Remember, Tidal uses 16-bit 44.1kHz for everything except 24-bit MQA tracks and by using Exclusive mode, the audio cannot be altered. It is possible you get the following message when marking Use Exclusive Mode: This issue seems to be solved with the latest version of the Tidal Desktop App, but I will leave it in the article for people who would still like to output the Tidal stream through Jriver Media Center. This ensures you get the best sound quality out of your Tidal HiFi subscription. That’s all there is to it! Tidal is now operating in WASAPI exclusive mode. This makes sure that your DAC will do the decoding instead of Tidal (Hardware Decoding = faster!). If you have a DAC like the Dragonfly Red or Black that supports MQA, then you want to mark Passthrough MQA.

Enable Exclusive Mode and only enable Force Volume if you control your volume on an external device.

Select your DAC (I have the Dragonfly Red v1.0) and click on More settings.

Start Tidal Desktop App and go to Streaming settings by clicking on HIFI or Master on the bottom right (or via Settings).

If you don’t have a Tidal subscription you can get a 30 days free trial for either Premium (320Kbps) or HiFi (lossless) at. Also, if you want to take advantage of the MQA tracks, the desktop app is the only way to go. The desktop version is the only way to make a direct audio path via WASAPI exclusive mode.

#Tidal hifi windows

That’s right! Although Tidal advocates the use of Chrome as the only browser option capable of lossless streaming, it still must go through the Windows mixer. This also means that you’ll get no sound out of any other application as long as Tidal is active. This makes sure Tidal is talking directly to the DAC without being affected by the various Windows mixing stages. To keep the audio “bit-perfect” (none-altered) you can use WASAPI in exclusive mode. Therefore there’s the chance the audio is altered (resampling, volume control, filtering). When you use the browser version of Tidal, the audio is put through the Windows mixer before it goes to the DAC. It’s about what happens to the audio before it gets to your DAC.Īlthough this guide is primarily written with Microsoft Windows in mind, it also applies on Apple MacOS. Why wouldn’t the audio signal be clean when playing music through your computer? Even when you’ve hooked up an external DAC to your system so the audio isn’t subject to electrical noise from the internal computer parts. Wait…!? What are you talking about?Īlright, this might sound confusing right now. Otherwise, you’re better off paying $9.99 for the Premium (320Kbps) subscription. When you’re paying the extra for Tidal Hifi it’s important that the signal is kept as clean as possible when going from source (Tidal) to your DAC.

#Tidal hifi how to

How to get the Best Sound out of Tidal HiFi? The music streaming service owned by Jay-Z and a variety of other successful music artists distinguishes itself by offering uncompressed (lossless) 16-bit 44kHz audio quality and a selection of MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) albums in 24-bit up to 192kHz to its subscribers if you’re willing to pay the $20 monthly fee. You could call Tidal the Spotify for audiophiles. MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) Tracks