Top 12 'Lossless-Listening' Music Apps to listen to at home for upgrading your setup to studio-quality sound in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
Are you still listening to those grainy, compressed MP3s from the early 2000s? In the world of high-definition video, we’d never settle for a pixelated 240p stream. So why do we settle for the audio equivalent? The truth is, for years, convenience trumped quality. But the game has changed. Welcome to the era of lossless listening, where music is delivered with the depth, clarity, and emotional impact the artist intended in the studio.
Upgrading to a lossless music service is the single most significant—and often most affordable—step you can take to elevate your home audio setup. It’s the foundation upon which everything else is built. You can have the most expensive headphones or speakers in the world, but if your source file is a compressed mess, you're just listening to a high-fidelity version of a low-fidelity file. As we here at the Goh Ling Yong blog often say, you can't build a magnificent house on a shaky foundation.
So, if you're ready to unlock the true potential of your audio gear and hear your favorite albums like it's the first time, you're in the right place. We've curated the definitive list of the top 12 'lossless-listening' music apps for 2025, each with its own unique strengths. Whether you're a casual listener curious about better sound or a seasoned audiophile looking to optimize your digital front-end, there’s an app here for you.
1. Tidal
Best for: The Mainstream Audiophile & MQA Enthusiast
Tidal has been waving the high-fidelity flag in the mainstream for longer than anyone. Co-owned by artists, it has always put sound quality and artist compensation at the forefront. Its library is massive, and its user interface is sleek and modern, making it an easy transition for anyone coming from a standard streaming service. Tidal's signature feature for years was its "Tidal Masters," which used MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) technology to deliver high-resolution audio in a smaller, streamable file size.
While the wider audiophile community has a love-hate relationship with MQA, Tidal has recently embraced open-standard FLAC for its HiFi Plus tier, offering users a choice. Now, you can access millions of tracks in up to 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res FLAC, alongside the existing MQA catalog. This move makes Tidal more versatile than ever. The service also excels in music discovery, particularly in genres like Hip-Hop and R&B, with expertly curated playlists and exclusive content you won't find anywhere else.
Pro-Tip: Make the most of Tidal Connect. Similar to Spotify Connect, it allows you to control playback on a wide range of compatible hi-fi streamers and devices directly from the Tidal app. This ensures a bit-perfect signal path from the server to your DAC, bypassing your phone or computer's potentially noisy audio processing.
2. Qobuz
Best for: The Purist & Digital Collector
If Tidal is the stylish mainstream choice, Qobuz is the purist's darling. This French-based service is built from the ground up for the discerning listener. Its key differentiator is a steadfast commitment to unadulterated, open-format FLAC files. There’s no proprietary encoding like MQA here—just pure, high-resolution audio, exactly as it was delivered from the studio. Qobuz offers a massive catalog of music in both CD-quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) and true Hi-Res (up to 24-bit/192kHz).
Beyond streaming, Qobuz integrates a high-resolution download store directly into its platform. This is a game-changer for those who believe in truly owning their music. You can purchase your favorite albums and have a permanent, DRM-free copy for your personal library. Qobuz also shines with its editorial content, featuring in-depth articles, artist interviews, and detailed digital liner notes that enrich the listening experience and bring you closer to the music.
Pro-Tip: Explore the "Grandangolo" and "Taste of Qobuz" playlists. They are fantastically curated and a great way to discover new music in stunning Hi-Res quality while testing the limits of your system.
3. Apple Music
Best for: The Apple Ecosystem User
When Apple flipped the switch on lossless audio for its entire catalog at no extra cost, it changed the industry overnight. Suddenly, over 100 million tracks became available in CD-quality and Hi-Res Lossless, making high-fidelity sound accessible to the masses. If you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem—using an iPhone, Mac, or Apple TV—Apple Music is an almost unbeatable value proposition. The integration is seamless and the user experience is second to none.
Apple uses its own Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which is a fantastic open-source lossless format. The service offers standard Lossless (up to 24-bit/48kHz) and Hi-Res Lossless (up to 24-bit/192kHz). It's important to note that you'll need an external DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) to listen to true Hi-Res on your iPhone or Mac, as their built-in hardware can't decode the highest sample rates. Apple Music also features an enormous catalog of immersive Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos tracks, which offers a completely different, albeit not "purist," listening experience.
Pro-Tip: To enable lossless on your iPhone, go to Settings > Music > Audio Quality and toggle on "Lossless Audio." From there, you can select different quality settings for Wi-Fi streaming and downloads. For true Hi-Res, you'll need to connect a DAC like a Dragonfly Cobalt or a Chord Mojo.
4. Amazon Music Unlimited
Best for: The Value-Conscious Prime Member
Much like Apple, Amazon democratized lossless audio by including it as a standard feature in its Music Unlimited subscription. For Amazon Prime members, the pricing is often highly competitive, making it another fantastic value. The service boasts a massive catalog of what it calls "HD" (CD-quality, 16-bit/44.1kHz) and "Ultra HD" (better than CD-quality, up to 24-bit/192kHz) tracks, all delivered in the standard FLAC format.
The user interface is straightforward and functional, and its integration with Alexa and Echo devices is, unsurprisingly, the best in the business. If you use Alexa for voice-controlled music playback around your home, Amazon Music is the most seamless way to get high-quality sound. While its music discovery and curation might not be as celebrated as Spotify's or Tidal's, the sheer size of its lossless catalog and its aggressive pricing make it a heavyweight contender.
Pro-Tip: On the desktop app, enable "Exclusive Mode" in the audio settings. This gives the Amazon Music app exclusive control over your DAC, bypassing your computer's system mixer to ensure a bit-perfect, unaltered audio signal is sent to your audio equipment.
5. Roon
Best for: The Ultimate Music Library Organizer
Roon is different. It’s not a streaming service itself, but rather a sophisticated music player and management platform that acts as the "brain" of your entire digital audio setup. Roon aggregates your personal music library (your FLAC files on a hard drive or NAS) with your Tidal and/or Qobuz subscriptions, creating one unified, beautifully organized, and searchable library. Its metadata is the best in the world, automatically finding high-resolution artwork, artist bios, album credits, reviews, and lyrics, and linking them all together in a "discoverable" digital magazine.
The magic of Roon lies in its architecture. The "Roon Core" (the server software) runs on a dedicated computer or device, and you control it with Roon apps on your phone, tablet, or laptop. It streams bit-perfect audio to any Roon-compatible endpoint on your network, from high-end streamers to simple Raspberry Pi devices. It also features a powerful DSP engine for room correction and equalization. Roon is a subscription-based product and requires a significant investment, but for serious audiophiles with large, complex systems, it's an indispensable tool.
Pro-Tip: Use the "Roon Radio" feature. It's an AI-powered discovery tool that analyzes your listening habits and the specific track you're playing to create an endless stream of fantastic, relevant music from both your local library and your linked streaming services.
6. Audirvāna
Best for: The Computer-Based Audiophile
Think of Audirvāna as a supercharged music player for your Mac or PC. Like Roon, it can integrate your local files with streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz, but its primary focus is on optimizing the audio playback from your computer. Audirvāna is designed to take exclusive control of your computer's audio output, bypassing the core audio mixer to deliver a pure, unaltered signal to your external DAC.
Audirvāna offers powerful features like high-quality upsampling algorithms, VST3 plug-in support for advanced equalization, and remote control via a mobile app. It's a more lightweight and affordable alternative to Roon for those whose listening is primarily done from a single computer connected to a DAC. If your goal is to extract the absolute best possible sound quality from your desktop or laptop setup without the network complexity of Roon, Audirvāna is a top-tier choice.
Pro-Tip: Experiment with the different upsampling (r8brain vs. SoX) and dithering algorithms in the settings. The sonic differences can be subtle, but tuning them to your specific DAC and personal preference can be a rewarding "tweak" for dedicated listeners.
7. Deezer
Best for: The International Listener & Sony 360 Reality Audio Fans
Deezer has been a major player in Europe for years and offers a compelling high-fidelity option globally. Its "Deezer Premium" tier includes "HiFi" quality, which provides its entire catalog in CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC. While it doesn't offer Hi-Res tracks like Qobuz or Tidal, its CD-quality streaming is pristine and a massive step up from standard compressed audio.
Where Deezer carves its own niche is with its excellent "Flow" feature—an AI-driven personal soundtrack that mixes your favorites with new discoveries—and its extensive support for Sony's 360 Reality Audio format. Similar to Dolby Atmos, this is an object-based immersive audio format that creates a spherical sound experience. If you own compatible Sony headphones or speakers, Deezer is one of the best platforms to experience this new audio frontier.
Pro-Tip: If you have a multi-room audio system from a brand like Sonos, Bluesound, or Yamaha, Deezer often has excellent native integration, allowing you to stream FLAC-quality audio throughout your home with ease.
8. Idagio / Apple Music Classical
Best for: The Classical Music Aficionado
Listening to classical music on a standard streaming service can be an exercise in frustration. Poor metadata makes it nearly impossible to find a specific recording of a certain piece by a particular conductor and orchestra. Idagio was built to solve this. It's a dedicated classical music streaming service with a data model designed around classical music's unique structure (work, composer, conductor, orchestra, soloist, etc.). It offers lossless FLAC streaming and a user experience that is a revelation for classical fans.
In 2023, Apple acquired a similar service (Primephonic) and launched Apple Music Classical. It leverages Apple Music's lossless catalog and is included with a standard Apple Music subscription. Both platforms offer a vastly superior search and discovery experience for classical music lovers. For anyone who spends more time with Beethoven and Bach than with The Beatles or Beyoncé, a dedicated classical app is non-negotiable.
Pro-Tip: In either app, use the powerful search filters. Don't just search "Beethoven's 5th." Search for it, and then filter by conductor (e.g., Carlos Kleiber), orchestra (e.g., Vienna Philharmonic), or even recording year to pinpoint the exact legendary performance you're looking for.
9. Presto Music
Best for: Classical and Jazz Connoisseurs
Emerging as a formidable competitor in the classical and jazz niche, Presto Music has a long history as a respected retailer of classical CDs, vinyl, and high-resolution downloads. They have now expanded into a full-fledged streaming service that leverages their deep expertise. The service offers a vast catalog available in CD-quality and Hi-Res lossless FLAC, just like the big players.
What sets Presto Music apart is its incredible editorial content and meticulous metadata, which is arguably even more detailed than its competitors for certain recordings. The platform includes full digital booklets with every album—a feature audiophiles have been clamoring for. If you appreciate detailed liner notes, expert reviews, and a curated experience that feels like browsing a high-end record store, Presto Music is a must-try.
Pro-Tip: Check out their "Editor's Choice" and award-winning album sections. It's a fantastic way to discover critically acclaimed new recordings in pristine high-resolution quality, guided by true experts in the field.
10. Plexamp
Best for: The Self-Hosting Music Collector
Do you have a massive, personally curated library of FLAC files and other lossless formats sitting on a hard drive or Network Attached Storage (NAS) device? Plexamp is for you. It's the dedicated, audiophile-focused music player app for the Plex Media Server platform. With Plex, you become your own streaming service. You organize your media on a home server, and Plexamp allows you to stream it in its original, bit-perfect quality to any of your devices, anywhere in the world.
Plexamp is a beautiful and powerful app packed with features for music lovers: a sophisticated sonic analysis for creating smart playlists, gapless playback, loudness leveling, and a gorgeous user interface. It also offers offline downloads for when you're on the go. For the listener who has spent years meticulously ripping CDs and collecting high-res downloads, Plexamp provides the ultimate way to enjoy that personal collection with a modern, slick, and high-quality streaming experience.
Pro-Tip: Explore the "Sonic Sage" feature, which uses AI to create unique playlists from your library, and the "Guest DJ" feature, which lets you explore your own music through different lenses like "Time Travel" radio or deep cuts from your favorite artists.
11. Spotify HiFi / "Supremium" (The One to Watch)
Best for: The Patient Spotify Loyalist
For years, the number one request from Spotify's massive user base has been a lossless-quality tier. The company announced "Spotify HiFi" way back in 2021, but its launch has been perpetually delayed. As we move through 2025, rumors of a new, top-tier "Supremium" plan that finally includes lossless audio continue to swirl. While it isn't here yet, it remains the elephant in the room.
If and when Spotify launches its lossless tier, it will be a monumental moment for high-quality audio. For the millions of users who love Spotify's unparalleled music discovery algorithms, massive podcast library, and ubiquitous "Connect" feature, the ability to upgrade to CD-quality sound without leaving the platform is the holy grail. We're including it on this list because its potential arrival is one of the most significant events on the audio horizon for 2025.
Pro-Tip (For Now): In the current Spotify app, go to Settings > Audio Quality and set "Streaming quality" to "Very High." This still uses a compressed Ogg Vorbis format, but at 320kbps, it's the best quality Spotify currently offers and a noticeable step up from the default settings.
12. Neil Young Archives
Best for: The Die-Hard Fan & A Glimpse of the Future
This one is unique. The Neil Young Archives (NYA) is an artist-specific streaming service dedicated to the entire life's work of a single musician. But what a service it is. NYA presents Neil Young's complete catalog in stunning high-resolution quality, often streaming at 24-bit/192kHz. The interface is a virtual filing cabinet, letting you explore his music chronologically, complete with unreleased tracks, concert recordings, and detailed information on every single song.
The NYA is more than just a music app; it's a living archive and a testament to an artist's commitment to sound quality. It serves as a brilliant proof-of-concept for what the future of artist-fan connection could look like. While it's obviously only for fans of Neil Young, it's worth exploring just to experience its incredible dedication to presenting music in the best possible fidelity. It's a reminder of what all this is about: getting closer to the artist's original vision, a principle that my friend Goh Ling Yong champions in all aspects of audio reproduction.
Pro-Tip: Use the timeline feature to explore different eras of his career. You'll find hidden gems and alternate takes of classic songs that aren't available on any other streaming platform, all presented in pristine Hi-Res audio.
Your Journey to Better Sound Starts Now
The world of lossless audio is more vibrant and accessible in 2025 than ever before. Gone are the days when high-fidelity was a complicated, exclusive club. Whether you're seamlessly integrating Apple Music into your daily life, meticulously organizing your library with Roon, or diving deep into the classical archives with Presto Music, there is a perfect platform waiting to unlock a new level of detail and emotion in your favorite songs.
Remember, the app is your source—the first and most critical link in your audio chain. Choosing the right one is the first step on a rewarding journey. Pair it with a decent pair of headphones or a quality DAC, and you'll be well on your way to building a setup that rivals a professional studio.
Now, we want to hear from you. Which of these lossless apps is powering your listening sessions? Did we miss your favorite? Share your setup, experiences, and recommendations in the comments below
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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