Many music streaming services now offer a lossless audio tier. But is it really worth paying extra money every month so that your tunes aren't compressed?

On paper, yes. However, there's a listening test that you should take before handing over the cash to the likes of Tidal or Spotify.

The test will determine if you can hear the difference between lossy and lossless audio. And you might be surprised at the result.

Take a Test to Compare Lossy vs. Lossless Audio

In February 2021, Spotify announced a new lossless tier called HiFi, joining the likes of Tidal and Deezer in offering CD-quality audio streaming.

Spotify Premium currently offers up to 320kbps bitrate, while CD-quality sound is 1,411kbps bitrate. So, can you really tell the difference?

There's one great way to find out. Take the ABX High Fidelity Test.

Click Do The Test, then check out the Instructions & Hotkeys. Once you're ready, choose the length of test you want to take (based on how much time you want it to take and how accurate you want it to be).

The site presents you with two reference samples (A and B) and a target sample (X). One matches Spotify's Premium audio quality, the other its HiFi lossless quality. It's your job to determine whether sample X is the same as sample A or B.

The more trials you take, the more accurate your results will be because it'll reduce the skew that comes with accidentally choosing the correct answer.

Can You Hear the Difference Between Lossy and Lossless?

Whether you can hear the difference will depend on a number of things, but primarily it comes down to your hearing and your audio equipment.

If you're using throwaway earbuds, the chances are it will all sound the same. Then again, try some expensive speakers and you still might not be able to notice the difference.

That's because, for most people and on most setups, the difference between Spotify's lossless and lossy audio is virtually indistinguishable.

The most ardent audiophiles might take issue with that statement, but take the test and see how you fare.

If you can't tell the difference, or if you really need to focus to figure it out, there's no need to subscribe to a lossless audio subscription, unless it comes with other benefits.