Quality
The numbers, without the mysticism
We are not going to tell you that cables have a sound. Here is what each format is, what it costs in bandwidth, and where it genuinely matters.
Formats we stream
| Format | Bitrate | Per hour | Share of catalogue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLAC 24-bit / 192 kHz | 9.2 Mbit/s | 4.1 GB | 14% | where the label supplied a 192 kHz master |
| FLAC 24-bit / 96 kHz | 4.6 Mbit/s | 2.1 GB | 38% | the most common hi-res delivery |
| FLAC 24-bit / 48 kHz | 2.3 Mbit/s | 1.0 GB | 19% | typical for modern studio masters |
| FLAC 16-bit / 44.1 kHz | 1.4 Mbit/s | 640 MB | 29% | CD-equivalent, bit-perfect |
Ingest
What we refuse
A lossless service is only lossless if the ingest pipeline is strict. Ours rejects more than it accepts on first submission.
- Upsampled files — detected by spectral analysis, rejected
- Lossy sources re-wrapped as FLAC — rejected
- Files whose declared bit depth exceeds the actual content
- Masters that clip on more than 0.1% of samples get flagged back to the label rather than published
Format questions
We store DSD64 and DSD128 where a label delivers it, and stream it natively to devices that can take it. Everything else gets a carefully converted 24/176.4 PCM version, and the album page says so.
It requires a decoder we do not control and a chain we cannot verify. We would rather ship the unfolded file.
Yes — per network type. Most people run 16/44.1 on cellular and full resolution on Wi-Fi.