I’ll be curious too.
If they differ, one would have a choice of which content to subscribe to, unless they cut off US access to overseas accounts.
They actually already do that. The work around is a VPN at account creation only, then you can simply login and stream sans VPN from then on out.
I did a workaround like many other did, and quite a bit of the music I listen to is not on Qobuz UK. So I’m hoping the USA version has more of what I listen to, or I will be staying a Tidal subscriber - regardless of the improved sound quality (it’s subtle from what I can tell, but nonetheless definitely noticeable). I hope Qobuz comes through with a great variety of music similar to Tidal!
This is the very reason I still subscribe to BOTH Qobuz UK and Tidal. Many besmirch Tidal, but I caution those, the selection amongst the providers is not congruent thus I’m personally obliged to maintain my Tidal subscription.
I’m keeping Tidal if and when Quobuz gets released in Canada. I’ve heard some good music from Tidal and some not so good but Tidal is always always convenient. I’m always amazed at what music I can find. My monthly costs are inconsequential when I look at the cost of my system. Who can have too much music?
I appreciate your feedback, and I’m concerned this is indeed going to be the reality. I thought about subscribing to both as well, but I’m in a position to only afford one.
Yes, this will be quite the dilemma for those that are actually paying attention.
Um, no, they don’t.
I use my UK-based account, established via VPN, from the US, and they do not cut off US access to my overseas account. They could do so, but haven’t.
Semantics. Technically, they have always cut off US access to Qobuz UK, hence the need for the VPN upon account creation. The reason we can still stream in the U.S. is due to the fact that people travel and should not have their paid subscription neutered when abroad. How awful would it be for an English subscriber traveling to L.A. for a week not able to stream their paid subscription in their hotel room? The fact of the matter is Qobuz has not exercised a technical ability to discern a traveling subscriber to a hacker subscriber. I have to believe that doing so would create more of a problem than what this effort was intending to solve. At the end of the day, money is being made by these hacker subscribers. The record labels would be the entity to create the push back.
But I misinterpreted the intent of your post, so yes, I too can still stream in the U.S. with my Qobuz UK account.
The thing I’m not sure about is if anyone who was given subscription links at shows, etc. is listening to US servers. Have any of you who have recently (in the last couple of months) gotten a link from them at a show sorted out where it’s coming from?
They just sent out the email the other day asking for those who have shown interest to complete a questionnaire and that they would decide in a week who is in the US beta. So not sure if anyone can answer your question yet?
Interesting, I thought there were some currently using Qobuz USA in beta. I too got an invite and am waiting for a response to see if I’ve been invited. I’m assuming I got an invite because months ago I signed up on Qobuz USA’s website to be made aware of future info on release date, information, etc.
Same here - I had responded with my interest multiple times over a year or more, and never heard from them until now (leaving aside recently subscribing via the UK).
I’m fishing here to see if anyone reading this in the US has participated in some sort of beta or “pre beta” or a show invite code, where they know they were using US servers (which I think is the question posed above), as opposed to simply doing a “how do you like Qobuz” sort of thing.
I think a few of the questions many of us have are: Are the music libraries going to be different in any way, will it work more reliably (particularly for Hi-res) via US-based servers, and will the pricing structure be different?
I was able to secure a beta code through an audio society here in New York City. Sorry, I don’t know for sure that I was using US servers, but in case this input helps, here are answers to your questions.
I found that yes, the library was different from Tidal’s, but not significantly. For the most part, I found what I was looking for (mainly jazz, rock, indie, electronic). Notably, the search function on Qobuz is much better than Tidal’s. Reliability was very strong. I had no issue playing songs through MConnect on my DSJ, nor did I have issues downloading albums/tracks to play offline during my morning and evening subway commutes. Sorry, I can’t comment on the pricing.
I should note that, despite better SQ on Qobuz, I eventually stopped using it and went back to using only Tidal because of the lack of Roon integration. It was just too much work to manage two databases. To me, Qobuz only sounded marginally better and only on some albums. Then again, once integrated with Roon, I will likely rely mostly on Qobuz since I’ll have the benefits of both SQ and convenience.
Let me know if you have any other questions, and sorry if this was all spam because of the US server ignorance.
Meant UK Qobuz library vs. US Qobuz library. Not sure why it would be different, though there was talk/speculation about US label licensing issues delaying the intended RMAF 2018 start date, so they may in fact differ. That may be a better explanation of what the Question is.
I agree, and hopefully some of us will be receiving invites to the beta program this week along with some impressions and answers to these questions.
High end audio truly is one of the bizarre consumer sectors I have ever encountered. In most competitive market spaces, a product launch needs to be handled with care so as to not alienate/frustrate/piss-off its potential customer base. In the case of Qobuz, they seem to doing just about everything to bungle their introduction into a very large market (U.S.). I’ve heard of all the mantras about “failure as a necessary part of success” but this is new territory. They seem unable to communicate clearly with their audience and have no sense of transparency. Yet, everyone is waiting with baited breath. I wish I could run my business this way 
I think we as audiophiles are willing to put up with quite a bit if it means sound quality will be great! Though to be sure there aren’t many options in this segment either which is also a factor.
If you’ve ever spent time in France, there is a certain “je ne sais quoi” approach to business and life in general. One learns to roll with it. In their perspective, we Yanks are an impatient lot.
I was considering going the VPN route, but figured I’d just wait it out. What interests me is improved SQ and the ability to download hi res. In the meantime, there’s more on Tidal than I can digest, anyhow.
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I think you mean laissez - faire.
Or, to quote Doris Day, Que será, será. (In French, Qui sera sera)
Heh, not exactly but “laissez-faire” works just as well