I’m not aware that Qobuz does DSD via my iPhone or iPad. I don’t own a PS Audio streamer so am unable to upsample from PCM.
I think the problem is with the Directstream DAC (DSD) and the way it’s currently programmed to fade in during sample rate changes. Somehow the DSD sees each song change as a gap. At least that’s how I read the issue as described by @badbeef.
Thanks for posting your initial impressions. Hopefully their song catalog will expand as they get closer to full launch.
That’s how I see it as well. Even though it is simply playing “contiguous” tracks on the same album in the same resolution, it seems to be doing a short buffer thing (independent of settings - tried anything that looked like it might have an effect in many combinations) which the DS is seeing as a new clock source or some such.
IMHO Qobuz is far better than Tidal. The MQA streams from Tidal are a huge red herring and will lead you down to a brick wall. Just ask any dac designer like Ted Smith or Rob Watts who if memory serves have both criticised MQA.
Qobuz’s hiRez is genuine HiRez above cd standard.
I must point out that I have no connection, financial or otherwise with Qobuz.
Yes, it is sonically better, and at this point offers actual hi-res streaming. The questions at this point about the US version are, does it work well? Same library as UK or France? Cost structure?, etc.
I just ran across a bum upload I’m reporting to them. Looking for the Rutter Requiem per Paul’s Post, Qobuz US only seems to have the King’s College version at this point. A minute and 36 seconds into “Pie Jesu” it drops out, then is digital hash for the rest of the track. Did exactly the same thing in the same places three times in a row. Have not had that sort of thing happen on the UK site.
I was selected for the US beta a few days ago. So far not impressed via the MAC app. Only 320kbs. Nothing I do seems to change that. Songs skipping to the next after 20 seconds…buggy so far
DONT PANIC, I had exactly the same problem when I 1st tried but that was when Qobuz in UK was on beta. Resolved when Qobuz addressed issue from UK servers.
If you can, try logging on to the UK site via a different vpn. Don’t forget to use a different e-mail.
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That may have to do with the account level you signed up for? You need to have selected and subscribed to a high-res account. That sounds like you are Signed Up to Qobuz but have not selected a Subscription Plan, which are separate things.
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Just checking - not sure who you are replying to?
I have a UK Sublime+ account. The 320kbps and 20 seconds sounds like a track which is marked as an ‘extract’, for which you do not have the rights to listen to in full. I sometimes encounter these when you have to purchase the album before you can listen to it in full. I normally have my profile set not to list these. I suspect that Qobuz have to handle a range of terms and conditions from their various suppliers.
Thanks Clive/badbeef - I’m going to message them about it
That was it badbeef. Thanks. All set now.
Now the evaluation begins. Very happy with Roon/Tidal integration but always a bit disappointed with the Tidal sound quality. I’m almost exclusively streaming to my DS Jr via my Innuos USB output so MQA is not a factor. If Qobuz beats it I may switch when available in Roon.
Thanks for the reply. I’ll look forward to doing my own a/b testing when Qobuz officially launches. However, I can already tell that Qobuz sounds better. There’s no question. However, if it doesn’t have the music library my family ultimately needs then I can’t justify a subtle improvement in sound quality - at least in my case - trumping what music we actually listen to.
To give you an idea…I’d say of all my playlists I imported Qobuz only has approx. 60-70% of the music I have on Tidal. That’s a lot of music to give up that my family enjoys. Hoping Qobuz comes through though!
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Got a nice response from Qobuz which included this info:
"We are aware of an issue with gapless playback working properly on the US service, bear with us as we get it fixed as well.
Unfortunately I can’t tell you the exact length of the beta, we are hoping to fully populate the catalog within a matter of weeks."
Non-Gapless playback should be what is causing the DS volume ramps.
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FWIW…not a fan of the volume ramp in general. I preferred the very minor and rare tick and pop.
Same here - I think it is generally accepted as an inelegant solution. Since I listen to a lot of quiet jazz these days, I mostly don’t notice it. But with the US Qobuz gapless issue, it was Every Track. I felt the pain of those with massive playlists.
Do I need my ears cleaned, or does David Solomon of Qobuz (at around the 1 minute mark) say, “We do everything FLAC”?
Yup FLAC!
