I find most of the high res stuff on both Qobuz and Tidal sound significantly better than the standard 44.1/16.
Is it possible to see the progress that Qobuz USA has made in filling the catalog? Is there a stats page or a third party that scans that? Happily streaming from Qobuz UK for now but planning to switch over to USA once the catalog is filled. Just not sure how to check that.
Not directly, but when I asked Qobuz at AXPONA, they mentioned that they had just negotiated an agreement with a large distributor, and that they were just beginning to add the tracks to their US servers. I had asked about two jazz labels (HeadsUp, which was part of Telarc, and local sensation Mack Avenue Records) and was told that they were among the labels this distributor offered.
The problem with streaming negotiations is that the back-licensing is what takes time. Given how the Qobuz reps talk about the service, they would love to have all of the music available for everyone, but the various contracts and legalities make that difficult to pull off. So we just have to be patient.
(Yep, noticed I’m repeating myself here…sorry.)
For my tastes, Qobuz still doesn’t have everything I listen to, but there is still plenty there to explore. Thing is, with the summer months ahead, I won’t be listening to the system much, and might stop my Qobuz service for the months I won’t be using it. But I do want to get the Sublime package, as there are dozens of hi-res releases of older recordings that sound excellent, and I want to take advantage of the lower pricing (it’s like 50% off). The extra $50 for Sublime pays for itself after six or seven hi-res purchases.
Anybody have a handle on whether the USA service is up to the French version so I can switch and save a few bucks.
Mark H.
If you’re a Classical or Jazz fan it probably is but not yet with the Rock, Blues Soul categories. Negotiations seem to be ongoing with some of the big boys though they have made a lot of progress in the last month.
@markh - I made the mistake of going Qobuz Sublime a month ago… yeah - great deals on downloads… I found 19 smooth jazz albums in the world, no just USA. I have over 300 smooth jazz CDs and I am a no body… I would wait a year at least, I should have just did streaming… @dawkinsj is right; however, if you are a classical jazz fan, not smooth jazz.
Anyone have any more thoughts on SQ differences between Qobuz and Tidal?
I am using both and would give a slight edge to Qobuz on Redbook CD, although not enough difference to affect listening enjoyment. The SQ variances of recording and mastering swamp the difference between the
two.
I find the improvement over Tidal obvious with hi-res files available for streaming on Qobuz.
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I’ll concur, I’m running both. Qobuz with more, higher Rez offerings, sounds better. Not night and day but definitely better. I’ve noticed some higher Rez Tidal options showing up. Not the MQA, which I don’t like, but as an alternate version.
Interesting, I did not know TIDAL offered higher-res other than MQA. Any specific titles that you recall? Thanks.
I recently came across exactly one recording and I checked the resolution it wasn’t MQA. I didn’t note the name unfortunately.
My suspicion was it that my have been an MQA file that may not have been labeled as such. I didn’t look closely as I wasn’t interested in the recording.
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I tried Qobuz a few months back but was hoping for a lot more given all of the buzz on different forums. What I found was the SQ was very varied and not enough for me to leave Tidal. I personally found some recordings on Tidal that I preferred and some on Qobuz.
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Tidal update, I just noticed an FLAC track 44.1 and 24 bits. So Tidal is starting to address higher rez, albeit slowly
I was very impressed with the SQ of Qobuz but@ $25USD a month, out of my budget. I’ve never tried Tidal as they promote too much of the “kids” music. The nice thing with Qobuz, no additional decoders are required (correct me if I’m wrong). Qobuz is PCM in/PCM out and all tracks are streamed at the maximum available data rates. There are some tracks I caught with Audacity which are casualties of the loudness wars. But that’s the fault of the available CD’s not Qobuz. MOst of the music I listened though was free of compression and super high volume levels.
Neil Young’s $20 Archives website is a real bargain if you’re into CNS, & Y, CSN, Buffalo Springfield, and of course Neil Young with and without Crazy Horse, The Stray Gators, or the International Harvestors.
I’ve had Tidal for almost three years and Qobuz for two years in August. Too my ears in both of my systems the sound quality of Qobuz is superior at every resolution. During the time I have had both I have tried multiple brands of streamers and DACs and the results are always the same. I hear an upper mid-range “grain” with Tidal that is not there with Qobuz or even Spotify plus Tidal has started playing games with the output levels I guess to satisfy the portable and car users.
You are correct. Qobuz streams PCM as FLAC files.
I decided to trial Qobuz in the form of a 1 year commitment to their “Sublime” service level, which gets access to downloads, which are quite reasonably priced. For example, I just downloaded a hi-res jazz album in 88/24 resolution for $4.75. Same album on HD Tracks was $25.00 although at 192/24 resolution.
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I sign up for Qobuz Sublime. After a month of looking at these supposed cheaper downloads, they have a lousy selection at best for smooth jazz. In addition they started charging me $24.99 monthly after I paid the $299 in May… automatic payments are very dangerous… I have no idea how I got on an automatic payment plan after subscribing for a year. Not impressed with Qobuz downloads… at best they stink and now they are trying to see if I pay attention to money I spend.
Need to really pay attention to slick vendors
That’s a bummer! I am not impressed with Qobuz customer service. I signed up for the UK based account in hopes of transferring subscriptions over to the U.S. once that service launched, which it has albeit in “beta” form. Nonetheless, they are taking U.S. subscribers.
So, the other day I emailed Qobuz to find out how to transfer from UK to U.S., because you know I moved and all 
They told me that is it not possible! Really!? So, if someone relocates, there is no way to shift the account over? I could cancel one and start the other but then I lose all my settings including playlists and favorites. Very annoying.