Qobuz Discussion Thread

[Bunno77]

Started the trial this afternoon. Really liking it natively via my Linn.

The first 24/192 album I found is the Supremes - Where did our love go

 

Didn't expect much from this classic as a few other oldies sounded poor but this is quite good.

[Tobes]

1 hour ago, Gambit 1870 said:

Interesting the comparisons between Qobuz and Spotify, audio quality wise it's a no brainer until Spotify Hifi drops later in the year. 

I'm actually surprised that Spotify has not gone down the high quality audio path a lot sooner, I think they have really dropped the ball there.

I wouldn't bother writing up a Spotify/Qobuz  comparison on my big rig. Spotify doesn't stand up and frankly it's not a fair comparison.

However I was surprised that Qobuz was so audibly superior using my phone and $25 headphones.

 

I'm  not surprised that Spotify is dragging the chain on 16/44 - I suspect only a tiny, tiny fraction of their users care about audio quality. It doesn't really add up for them financially. A great many Spotify users believe streaming music should be free - how many will pay extra?

[Kinda Deaf]

My 2 cents. I've been using Tidal and I like the music suggestions it produces, which Qobuz doesn't seem to do. But the bugs in Tidal can get annoying, especially when using it on my Kann Alpha portable DAC, which can bug out and simply not work at all for 6+ hours straight! Qobuz has worked flawlessly on my pc and on the Kann Alpha. I can't see myself continuing with Tidal.

[Grizaudio]

On 16/04/2021 at 9:06 PM, PassionForSound said:

 

I'm having that issue too with Roon showing almost all albums as 16/44.1. During playback you can open the signal path and see the correct resolution, but it would be nice to see it on the album listings too.

 

Haven't noticed any albums not showing up though.

 

One other challenge I've found is that adding an album to your library in Roon favourites the album in Qobuz which means I can't rely on the favourites function to sort my favourite albums for when I'm out and about. Qobuz has a 1,000 track playlist limit too so I can't make a favourite albums playlist either

I just refer to my DAC, which doesn't lie.

Roon is still importing data.

 

 

[Nada]

In terms of file choices,  sampling theory  predicts that

 

1. PCM eg 44.1/16 can sound better then compressed files like Spotify or MQA.  If testing this out be aware to level the volume as MQA can up the volume, which is a great way to sound better. Im not suggesting MQA do that to cheat.  If you cant hear a difference be happy,  get your ears cleaned or listen to a mates system.

 

2. PCM 44.1/16  encodes more then humans need. So "high res" like 24 bit or 96 kHz is only indicated for blue whales or bats.  If testing this out be aware some high res files are better engineered and some DACs can sound better with high res files but expectation bias is powerful.

 

Conclusion

Qobuz 44.1/16 might be best for most.

 

 

[awayward]

11 minutes ago, Grizaudio said:

Roon is still importing data

How do you know that?

[Tobes]

4 minutes ago, awayward said:

How do you know that?

Here's what Roon are saying over on the Roon community forums:

"it could take a week or even two or three for this all to flush out. Qobuz is reprocessing its catalog and even when it’s finished, there is a lag of up to a week for Roon Cores to pull down the new metadata. But we are delivering updates from Qobuz daily."

[awayward]

4 minutes ago, Tobes said:

Here's what Roon are saying over on the Roon community forums:

"it could take a week or even two or three for this all to flush out. Qobuz is reprocessing its catalog and even when it’s finished, there is a lag of up to a week for Roon Cores to pull down the new metadata. But we are delivering updates from Qobuz daily."

I hope you are correct. I’m finding that if Qobuz has one HI-Def album the sample rate displays correctly, more than one sample rate displays them all the same, time will tell.

[Guest]

Just made the move and left tidal for Qobuz. It’s a smoother sounding service. 

[Tobes]

Well you could just use the Qobuz app like I do - and quite like it, sort of a Roon lite.

 

[Grizaudio]

46 minutes ago, Tobes said:

Well you could just use the Qobuz app like I do - and quite like it, sort of a Roon lite.

 

The issue is you need a Chromecast end point. 

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Grizaudio

[Kevy]

It’s a great app ... Roon does pull a reasonable interface into it. But the wifi and multi room functionality of Roon is hard to beat. 
 

(Lifetime Roon subscriber ...)
 

 

[Guest Eggcup the Dafter]

I know my tastes are a bit eccentric sometimes - but at least half of what I've looked for is missing on Qobuz, including a lot of my Tidal favourites. And the Albert Fuller Rameau harpsichord album is missing the Gavotte variations just like on all the other streaming services. I guess that's one I'll have to buy  if I can find it.
On the other hand Qobuz appears to have a bigger classical selection and sounds fine on my PC setup, so plenty to explore which is what I use streaming for - rather than just playing stuff I own or should own.
I'm not hearing that much difference between standard res tracks and Tidal. Less bass on a couple of tracks. I'm getting better cymbals and more precise drum placement on some of the high res tracks against Tidal MQA. Or at least, I think I am. I found Exclusive mode gives better sound in the PC app as well but that might be system dependent.
 

[mmv]

Been testing it today - roon on antipodes/Dave/pre/power/gryphon speakers etc. 

 

Quobuz doesn't quite have the library of songs that I like as compared to tidal (e.g Annette askvik, Carolina eyck). It is smoother overall -  which helps for certain songs, but maybe sounds less dynamic?/airy? for certain recordings. Especially when comparing same resolution files.

 

Would certainly think there's a different eq curve happening as compared with tidal. 

Will keep doing some back and forth testing!

 

*Edit* - then I go listen to Tool -Invincible in high res and I'm wondering if I need to pay for both....

Edited April 18, 2021 by mmv
Extra info

[Tobes]

46 minutes ago, Dr_Kevy said:

It’s a great app ... Roon does pull a reasonable interface into it. But the wifi and multi room functionality of Roon is hard to beat. 
 

(Lifetime Roon subscriber ...)
 

 

Roon is great for access to my purchased library around the house, Roon radio and the additional artist info etc.

But my purchased digital library isn't that extensive.

 

I've been a Roon Lifetime member for years, so I'll continue to run it in tandem.

The question is would I purchase Roon now given recent issues and having the free Qobuz app (which I find sounds better)? Maybe not.

Ultimately I'll use whatever sounds best (to me). 

 

[Kevy]

Finding the Qobuz app on my DAP (m11 Pro) significantly laggy compared to tidal. It’s not as polished either with search and usability. 
 

My thoughts are that Tidal is upsampling to MQA Bitrates so whilst there’s a perception of increased gain and quality, particularly with forward mids and dynamics, I’ve subjectively formed the opinion it’s not as clean. 
 

 

[Guest]

It’s laggy here on all formats (app and Node2i) and the disappointing thing so far is that a lot of my favs on tidal arn’t on Qobuz. 

[Grizaudio]

9 hours ago, mmv said:

Been testing it today - roon on antipodes/Dave/pre/power/gryphon speakers etc. 

 

Quobuz doesn't quite have the library of songs that I like as compared to tidal (e.g Annette askvik, Carolina eyck). It is smoother overall -  which helps for certain songs, but maybe sounds less dynamic?/airy? for certain recordings. Especially when comparing same resolution files.

 

Would certainly think there's a different eq curve happening as compared with tidal. 

Will keep doing some back and forth testing!

 

*Edit* - then I go listen to Tool -Invincible in high res and I'm wondering if I need to pay for both....

 

I also listened to Tool last night, Invincible sounds awesome in 96khz!!! but I already very much enjoyed the 44.1khz version.

I think we all need to ask ourselves as music lovers whether MQA is good for the music industry, vendors, musicians and 'us' as consumers.  

I personally find MQA marketing, its claims to be lossless and its ultimate sound quality disingenuous. 

 

MQA's response to consumers seeking more information or testing the standard, is often met with aggression and attack. 

This is not a position which reassures best intent. 

 

From a sound quality perspective Qobuz wins IMO, and this is enough for me to make the switch. 

It was a real pain seeking out non MQA tracks, now I don't need to worry. In most cases Qobuz serves up 96khz tracks which sound leagues better than MQA Masters. 

Qobuz's stream detail, clarity and tonally density/richness is clearly apparent in direct comparison.  

 

I agree the catalogue still needs some work, especially in indie rock/alternate/electronic genres, but as more and more subscribers support Qobuz, libraries will improve. 

I think we need to back the horse that is backing our preference for lossless, and great sounding audio. 

Spotify will soon come to market, with lossless (and hopefully no MQA) and we can all re-evaluate our streaming options. 

 

I wonder where Roon sits in all of this? Its value proposition is severely degraded. 

Spotify for instance natively supports Spotify connect, Spotify iphone control etc.

 

Interesting times for the audiophile/music lover. 

 

[Jim Johnston]

I think I will wait till the dust settles and it’s been up and running for awhile, then try the free trial.

 I listen to a lot of electronica and I’ve never had any issues with lagging or dropouts with Tidal. 
And it sounds great to my ears.

[PassionForSound]

13 hours ago, Nada said:

In terms of file choices,  sampling theory  predicts that

 

1. PCM eg 44.1/16 can sound better then compressed files like Spotify or MQA.  If testing this out be aware to level the volume as MQA can up the volume, which is a great way to sound better. Im not suggesting MQA do that to cheat.  If you cant hear a difference be happy,  get your ears cleaned or listen to a mates system.

 

2. PCM 44.1/16  encodes more then humans need. So "high res" like 24 bit or 96 kHz is only indicated for blue whales or bats.  If testing this out be aware some high res files are better engineered and some DACs can sound better with high res files but expectation bias is powerful.

 

Conclusion

Qobuz 44.1/16 might be best for most.

 

 

 

Hi Nada, hi-res music formats aren't designed to capture more audible information, but to allow shifting of the filtering noise further outside of the audible band and therefore give more room for the roll-off of those filters to be less aggressive (i.e. there's more room between 20kHz and 48kHz (half the sampling rate of 96kHz) than between 20kHz and 22.05kHz (half of 44.1kHz). There is also an argument to be made for better capture of spatial information due to the rapid variations of the sound waves in a complex piece of music as compared to sine waves. More frequent samples may assist the DAC to rebuild the exact musical waveform with slightly better timing accuracy.

 

For the record, most of my collection is redbook FLAC and I am quite happy with it, but if I can get an equivalent hi-res version, I'll always take that over the 44.1/16 version

[John0001]

If you own Audirvana there's a link provided (code) in the preferences where you connect your account that gives you a 3 month free trial of Qobuz.

[Bunno77]

Really enjoying not having to sift through mountains of hippity hop and rap suggestions like in tidal

Also seems to be a few Hifi manufacturers playlists like McInotsh, Classe, Cyrus and Chord

Edited April 19, 2021 by Bunno77
.

[nowallet]

16 hours ago, 08Boss302 said:

I am still on my US Qobuz and just earlier had a chat with a mate who has the AU Qobuz trial There was an album he couldnt find on the AU Qobuz that is on the US Qobuz.  Its an obscure metal album but interesting its not on the AU version.

Has anyone else that has the US or UK based version done any comparison with mates on the AU version.  If there is a few differences I assume these would be down to geographical licensing rights?

FWIW, that same album is not on Tidal AU or Spotify either.

 

I'm keen to hear more on this as I'm still on the U.S. version too. Will eventually move over to the AU version then copy all my Tidal library over.

[figjam]

On 14/04/2021 at 1:31 PM, captain starlight said:

Has anyone tried the qobuz iOS app on CarPlay yet?  If so, did it work for you?  I also note the app is rather slow on my old iPhone 6s.

Yes, it works well, but as far as I can tell it will only let you play music you have downloaded? Although it did continue streaming the album that I already had playing previously.

[ray4410]

Five Things to Know About Spotify HiFi

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

•  
•  
•  
•  

Artists and fans have told us that sound quality is important to them. We agree, and that’s why today at Stream On we announced Spotify HiFi. 

Beginning later this year, Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality to Spotify HiFi and listen to their favorite songs the way artists intended. 

Read on for five things you need to know about our new high-quality music experience:

1. High-quality music streaming is consistently one of the most requested new features by our users.
2. Spotify HiFi will deliver music in CD-quality, lossless audio format to your device and Spotify Connect-enabled speakers, which means fans will be able to experience more depth and clarity while enjoying their favorite tracks.
3. Ubiquity is at the core of everything we do at Spotify, and we’re working with some of the world’s biggest speaker manufacturers to make Spotify HiFi accessible to as many fans as possible through Spotify Connect. 
4. HiFi will be coupled with Spotify’s seamless user experience, building on our commitment to make sure users can listen to the music they love in the way they want to enjoy it. 
5. Spotify HiFi will begin rolling out in select markets later this year, and we will have more details to share soon.  

 i for one can't  wait for spotify hifi,has all the albums i need,shows similar  music choices, keeps playing music in the same genre when your last selection has finished , i am sure there will be some who will disagree but going back through this thread it seems qobuz has it's downside,maybe it is teething problems as it is early days for australia,when spotify does start streaming hifi in oz at least we have more choices.