And so, I forgot about streaming for a long time.įast-forward to the present where, thanks to the lure of Roon-integration, I have started to use Qobuz Premier (Hi-Res streaming + download) on a regular basis. Although Qobuz sounded much better than Spotify, local playback sounded even better still. Not because of a lack of convenience or catalog size but because the service is streaming heavily compressed files. After that review, I lost interest in Spotify and to this date, it has not come back in my favor. In the meantime, a lot can happen and indeed, a lot has happened.Īt the time of the earlier review, I compared Qobuz to Spotify as well as to local playback. That would be especially true for people who like to stream in a tablet or smartphone-based hi-fi set-ups.įor me personally, Qobuz better meets my needs, and it will be my choice for streaming audio.I wrote my initial Qobuz review almost 6 years ago. Qobuz digital streaming and downloads should appeal to anyone who is into CD-quality or Hi-Res streaming. You have to remember, though, Tidal has far fewer Hi-Res albums available than Qobuz. The longer I listened, I would say that more Hi-Res albums sounded better on Tidal, and most CD-quality recordings sounded much better on Qobuz. What I can say is that every good recording sounded really good when streaming on Qobuz. I didn’t buy any downloads from Qobuz so I can’t say how they would sound. On some, it sounds just as good and on others not quite as good. I’m disappointed to admit that it’s hard to say. The other question I asked myself was how does streaming Qobuz sound compared to files downloaded to my Innuos Mini. I found this disappointing because I really don’t want to pay to have both services. However, when I played Duke Ellington’s Masterpieces, it definitely sounded better on Tidal. Harry Belafonte, Sarah Jarosz, and Alison Krauss all sounded better on Qobuz. Rob Wasserman’s album, Duets, sounded very good, and better than it did on Tidal. I had no problem finding any of the albums I use most often for reviewing or setting up equipment. Let me just say, if this 65-year-old vinyl junkie can navigate it so can you! Sound I found the interface a joy to use both on my MacBook Plus and on my Innuos Mini music server. Hi-Res albums are flagged with the familiar ‘Hi-Res Audio’ logo, both in the library interface and the playback bar where you can click to change the stream quality. There’s now a balance with pop, rock, and bluegrass well represented. Qobuz has been known in Europe more for classical and jazz genres and French artists. Hi-Res streams for Sublime+ members are available on Web, desktop and mobile platforms, as well as for several networked products with Google Chromecast or DTS Play. There are also iOS and Android mobile apps plus support from and integration into a wide range of audio products such as my Innuos Mini music server. You can access Qobuz’s web player online at, or you can download their PC or Mac desktop apps. I love this feature and will talk about it more below. They also offer their subscribers the ability to purchase and download files up to their Hi-Res Quality. Instead, they stream files at MP3 Quality (320 kbps), CD Quality (FLAC 16-bit / 44.1 kHZ) and Hi-Res Quality (FLAC 24-bit up to 192 kHZ). They use a different approach from Tidal, the service I have been using from time to time. Now available in the US, Qobuz offers more than 40 million tracks and over two million of them are stated to be Hi-Res. Anyway, Hi-Res Streaming is available with its Qobuz Sublime+ subscription. In fact, in the summer of 2015, they were the first online music service to offer 24-bit Hi-Res for as much of their catalog as possible since some distributors/labels only provide CD-quality max. In 2009, Qobuz offered the first catalog of CD-quality downloads, and in 2011, the first CD-quality streaming service. Qobuz, the French subscription digital streaming and download service, was started in 2008 and is on the cutting edge. However, since the DAC I fell in love with only plays files up to 24/96 kHZ, my system may seem a little limited to those of you who are really into Hi-Res music. This little combo is the most musically satisfying digital gear I’ve ever heard in my system. Yes, I reviewed some digital systems that cost over $40,000 when I was writing for Dagogo, but the first system to tempt me in the last 15 years has been the Innuos Mini music server paired with the Border Patrol DAC. In fact, those of you who read my reviews regularly know, for years I had no digital system of my own. If you know me, you know I’m an old vinyl guy, so it may surprise you that I’m writing this review about Qobuz, digital streaming and download service.
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