Spotify Testing New Lossless Audio Quality Subscription Tier

Spotify is prepping the launch of a lossless audio version of its streaming service, according to The Verge. The new subscription tier is said to be called Spotify Hi-Fi and will offer higher bandwidth lossless audio quality to members.

Lossless audio is CD quality, meaning the files aren’t compressed, so users are said to hear the music the way the artists intended, though whether one can tell the difference between compressed and uncompressed tracks depends on the listener.

Anyone get this invitation for Spotify Hi-Fi? Looks awesome! pic.twitter.com/2aeYXMIHJD

— Cody Kloepfer (@Semantics) March 1, 2017

Spotify began testing the service with a small group of users on Tuesday, according to reports, offering the tier for $5 to $10 above the $10 per month price of a standard Spotify subscription.

However, users who received the invitation to sign up for the Hi-Fi service either got an error message or were told the service was unavailable in their area at the time.

Currently, Tidal is the only major music streaming service to offer an optional lossless audio tier, although other, lesser known lossless services do exist. A Tidal HiFi subscription costs $19.99. Most music streaming services, including Apple Music, offer streams at a maximum AAC 320 kbps. 

Tag: Spotify
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