In the last few years, there’s been a significant shift in the ubiquity of a product that had spent decades on the fringes: High-resolution digital audio. More specifically, hi-res audio refers to recordings where the bit depth (number of bits per sample) and/or sample rate rises above the “Redbook” CD standard of 16-bit/44.1kHz. Once the domain of failed physical media formats like DVD Audio and niche download sites such as HDTracks, it’s now a key selling point for big name subscription music streaming services like Tidal, Apple Music, and Amazon Music Unlimited. (Spotify has been promising hi-res and losslessly compressed streaming for years, but it’s still unavailable.) The jury is out as to just how much of this difference is audible, but there are also studies that suggest the higher frequencies captured by hi-res (and analog) could still influence how our brains respond to the music.
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There’s one problem for adoption, though: Until 2023’s Android 14, Android devices didn’t natively support better than 24-bit/48kHz playback, even using outboard digital-to-analog converters (DACs). This required developers to find workarounds to produce Android apps that could fully harness the power of hi-res DACs, and even since the update, some hi-res streamers still don’t support bit-perfect playback through their official Android apps. As someone who’s spent years navigating this issue to get the most out of my Android devices, let’s look at which apps ensure you get every bit and sample you’re paying for, based on both documentation and testing on my phones.
