Tidal is dropping MQA compatibility and banking on Dolby Atmos

Since dropping its price by a significant amount, Tidal has begun the process of removing MQA-compliant tracks from its streaming service.

MQA has long been a hot point of discussion. The standard is an acronym for Master Quality Authenticated, and it’s a format that aims to bring the absolute best out of recorded tracks for those wanting to listen the way the original artists intended. The real constraint comes down to how it’s digested, as MQA tracks require dedicated hardware to decode the packaged files. Even with that hardware, the actual benefit of listening to MQA files over high-quality FLAC files is difficult to notice.

Tidal has stood as one of the only places users could stream MQA files with a high bit rate and quality. Now, it looks like the company is dropping that format altogether, opting to shift its focus to Dolby Atmos, continuing the relationship the service already has with the audio and visual standard giant.

An FAQ page was recently updated on Tidal’s website. The page clearly indicates that MQA is going to be going away soon, and the files in users’ collections will be replaced with the highest FLAC version available starting on July 24. The streaming service cites its goal of delivering high-quality sound without a third party, which MQA technically is.

If you have an MQA track or album in your Collection – including in playlists – the track will automatically be replaced by the highest quality FLAC version that has been distributed to TIDAL.

If you have an MQA track or album downloaded for offline access, you will need to update to the latest version of the app on July 24. You will then be prompted to redownload these tracks. This will download the replacement FLAC version of any MQA track you previously downloaded.

This change doesn’t come as a huge shock. Tidal recently dropped its price from $20/month to around $10, making it the most affordable high-quality streaming service available. Some may argue that dropping MQA means Tidal won’t be able to offer the highest-end audio, but it’s yet to be seen what effect this change will actually have.