Can we talk about Qobuz for a minute

customer service was a nightmare from Qobuz

It's great to hear that you've found a new music streaming service that you enjoy. Tidal and Qobuz are similar in terms of their song selections and ease of use, although pricing can vary depending on the subscription plan you choose. It's worth checking out both to see which service offers the best value for your needs.

Regarding sound quality, some people may prefer the sound of Qobuz over Tidal due to differences in how the music is encoded and streamed. However, this can be subjective and may depend on personal preferences, as well as the equipment being used to listen to the music.

If you're interested in transferring your music library from one streaming service to another, Musconvtool is a great tool to consider. It allows you to easily transfer your playlists and music files between different streaming services, including Spotify, Tidal, and Qobuz. This can save you a lot of time and effort if you decide to switch to a new service in the future.

• Kgveteran...this is Qobuz’s selection...from Blusound app

New Albums
Recommended Playlist
Popular Albums
Genres 
Favorites

Along with playlist you may create.

The Recommended playlist are never ending. Literally. Never ending. Artist even share there seasonal playlist. Record labels -there releases. Hirez new releases, 192hz group selection and on and on forever it seems. If you enjoy exploring new artists and songs you will love the “ recommended playlist. Believe me it is worth more than 14.99 per month if you like exploring new artists and music. Hope this is a positive suggestion! 😁

a troll is a person who posts inflammatory, insincere, digressive

You just described yourself, and what I posted up is fact with proof and truth, but!.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMzd40i8TfA

Like I said it’s going to ruffle some feathers, and looks like starting with YOU!!!😖

BTW Get Real!! all your album links are nearly all noted "audiophile/jazz hi-end recordings", 
Of course they won't compressed those anywhere near as much, they wouldn't dare, even with newer releases, Jethro Tull "Thick as a Brick"🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️  

There are plenty of great sounding albums currently available on streaming or downloads (along with bad one’s just like great and bad recordings on other formats like CD’s or Vinyl). But sadly folks like georgehifi who have invested considerable $$$ in physical media will never accept that! Heck, they do not even stream or have any intentions of streaming. They conjure up BS like “What audiophiles need is if they want to stream or download - "Audiophile Streaming/Download Service" ….LOL!!!

They will continue to cascade info that supports their hidden agenda by conveniently overlooking to post examples of streaming content available without any or minimal compression.
https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Muddy+Waters&album=Folk+

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Dave+Brubeck+&album=Time+Out

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Leonard+Cohen&album=You+want+it+darker

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Diana+krall&album=Turn+up+the+quiet

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Herbie+Hancock&album=Crossings

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Norah+Jones&album=Come+away+with+me

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Kenny+Burrell&album=Midnight+blue

Wikipedia says..

a troll is a person who posts inflammatory, insincere, digressive,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses, or manipulating others’ perception. This is typically for the troll’s amusement, or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival’s online activities or manipulating a political process.

This is the "Bruce Springsteen" "Born to Run"
That Quobuz streams/downloads that you pay for.

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/58448
It’s the worst compressed version of all 28 re-issues/originals.

And here is the original 1982 uncompressed CD. (which would you prefer?)
https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/98918

Cheers George

Some of these comments are flat out ridiculous. So much bias, you start to believe your on BS. First of all all music is equalized weather in a studio, at a concert or anywhere else. Just because you may not like Tidal or Qubuz, that’s your choice. In order to be honest with others you should be honest with yourself. Very difficult I suppose. Both sources has their plus and minus. I can’t stand music being dropped. That’s annoying. I use both but it depends on the album. I don’t get into the political nonsense about who gets paid. I could care less because it has nothing to do with the sound quality in my rig. Take a step back and think about what the question was about in the first place, geeezzzzzz!

Qobuz was a lot better for Classical Music.  Yesterday however I spent an hour at a dealer auditioning some speakers and using his Roon/Tidal setup, and Tidal now seems pretty comprehensive.

@reidfleming -- Yeah! Qobuz is the proverbial Aladdin's Cave. Happy listening. I also give you special dispensation to ignore the Spelling Police.

I opened a Quobuz account this spring and its completely changed the way I listen to music. Having an enormous library at the touch of a button has been wonderful. One of my new hobbies is reading The Absolute Sound or Stereophile each month and sampling every song that's mentioned in each issue just to expose myself to new music. Boy have I been missing out!
I'm also using a Bluesound Node 2i and am considering an external DAC (most likely a Schitt Bifrost) just to see if I'll be able to hear the difference. 
I've stopped watching all pro sports and now spend my time listening to music instead. I'm also starting to upgrade my modest system. I've been hi-fi curious all my life and recently purchased a pair of Magnepan LRS along with the Bluesound. Next will be an integrated amp although tubes are an itch I've always wanted to scratch even though I've never even heard a tube powered system.
I'm completely happy with Quobuz and have had zero issues in the 5 months I've been using it.

Listen to “Birds” by Dominique Fils-Aime and Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen, if you haven’t already! Definably better with Qobuz when I compared Tidal. Filled my entire room all the way back of my head. I also love searching for new sounds and streaming allows that. For room filling enjoyment try...Empty Seat At The Table by London Elektricity. HR delivers here.

@oldschool
After reading your MP3 comment, I dusted off the iPod and it wasn’t bad. Listenable for sure but thinner than hi-res streaming. 

My wife aslo said no difference. So much for the wife test.

@rdk777, Qobuz themselves have several times stated that it is pronounced kō-buzz.  That is the official way to pronounce it.

First, I had a Node 2 with Tidal, which I have enjoyed for a couple of years. I really couldn’t tell much differences from MQA and their not MQA music. I actually preferred others than MQA sometimes. Then I thought now was a good time to start my DIY cable making, since I was a little bored with the music.  But, don’t get me wrong really enjoyed Tidal and I appreciated the veteran discount 11.99 per month. An excellent deal!! I was thankful. Adding the cables really helped, but I heard good news about the Node 2i. So....yeah had to have it. Much improvement with the new cables. But, I had been reading about Qobuz and that so many really like the quality. So I took the plunged and canceled Tidal, for now! With new node 2i, the new DIY Cables Qobuz really shined and I was delighted! As the node 2i broke in, so to speak, my setup now with Qobuz is more enjoyable. So, yes I believe Qobuz is better for me and my setup!

Haven't used Tidal yet, but just signed on to Qobuz this week - quite good selection and the sound quality is as good as my CD's. I understand that Tidal is better at recommending other music you might like than Qobuz, where you seem to need to know what you're looking for. I'll probably end up using them both with Roon.... 

I currently use Qobuz streaming through a Bluesound Node 2 into a Chord Qutest DAC.  I switched almost two years ago from TIDAL after comparing during my Qobuz trial period and determination that Qobuz sounds better to my ears.  That being said, I have been very frustrated with Qobuz for the past four or so months because of its poor interaction with both the Bluesound App and the Sonos App.  Previously, my Bluesound app and Sonos app both indexed my favorite artists alphabetically.  Suddenly, for no reason I have been able to ascertain, that stopped.  (I do have my preference set for alphabetical on the Qobuz app).  I reported the issue to all involved (Bluesound, Sonos and Qobuz) and all fault points to Qobuz.  I can’t believe that they can’t fix the interface or that they simply refuse to do so.  I’m hesitant to sign up for Roon because I felt it cumbersome during my trial.  That’s my two cents.

TIDAL SUCKS - QOBUZ ROCKS! 
PERIOD - END OF STORY 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRjsu9-Vznc    Saw this link on previous forum re: MQA is a scam.
Bailed on Tidal and went Qobuz.
Qobuz sounds more natural on my system. MQA is an advantage only if you have limited bandwidth.

I'm running both Tidal and Qobuz through Roon, seems I prefer sound quality of Qobuz, more long term satisfaction, not necessarily poor sound quality from Tidal. I also prefer Qobuz greater focus on European and/or international music vs. Tidal hip hop focus. Never ever have drop outs with Tidal, Qobuz or Roon.
On the other hand, at work, listening directly through Tidal or Qobuz with Android phone, Tidal always has dropouts, Qobuz never.

I use both Tidal and Qobuz.  I started with and kept Tidal because, for the most part, it has more of the old school R&B classics that I like; and I like it's interface better. 

In my system, Qobuz HiRes sounds a bit better than Tidal MQA.  But it doesn't blow it away.  Maybe its because my DirectStream DAC supports MQA.  For serious listening, I use Qobuz.  Streamed CD quality from either sounds the same.  I've long since ripped my CD collection to a Zenith MKII streamer.  Playing from it sounds better than streamed CDs.

To be honest, MP3s don't sound bad on my main system.  I can hear a clear and distinct difference between it and everything else, but my wife says she can't.  In the end, I guess it all depends on what you are listening on and for.  

I have had them all at one point.  I as with Deezer for a few years which was good.  I then switched to Qobuz.  Didnt like the corporate history behind Tidal although I did trial it. Luckily My Bryston Pi supports Qobuz.  I have tweekatized my system until now Qobuz sound pert near as good as CD.

With respect to streaming SQ, I'll offer another vote for Qobuz. One hi-res listen on Qobuz to an album titled "A Little Driving Music" by Brian Bromberg will win you over. Qobuz has become my streaming choice for critical listening. I also subscribe to Deezer and enjoy that service very much for its curated playlists. Deezer currently provides "only" CD-quality streaming, but I consider it more than adequate. Between Deezer and Tidal, I'd choose Deezer, but for best quality, Qobuz is my pick.

kgveteran,
" Is it pronounced   ko-buz"

I was speaking with Dan Mackta, Managing Director of Qobuz USA, at
RMAF '19.  And he pronounced it exactly like you are showing.
Possibly because he's a New Yorker?

At any rate, that is all really just minutia.  Call it whatever you like.

Regards,
barts  

The streaming services are at the mercy of the record label or artist as to which albums they receive.

One thing streaming is missing IMO is the option to choose between different 'masterings'. This is an advantage physical media currently retains.

MQA filles are smaller than Qubuz full HiRes. Tidal is very good if you Wifi or cellular speed is not fast or on the road. To me Tidal SQ is already as close as CD but if your home setting is HiRes, I will go Qobuz.

I listen to mainly classical, so I find the selection and quality of Qobuz to be excellent. Every day there are new albums added.

Here's the downside of streaming, we don't choose which version of an album release is available by each service. This mainly applies to rock. The album release may be the original flat transfer or a remaster. It could be a remaster which improved the recording, or it could be a remaster with heavy compression made during the years of the Loudness Wars. 
Many artists like the Stones or Zeppelin may have 3 or 4 different remasters, I know this because I was duped into buying the latest greatest CD version of these bands multiple times.

This is where physical media beats streaming, having the choice to hear an album of the highest SQ.

Full disclosure; I leave my system set up for streaming.

I have both Tidal and Qobuz.  

Qobuz has more albums to choose from (especially classical), but I do not notice much of a difference in sound quality. Since I use Roon, I have the ability to choose between various versions of streamed and/or saved music files.

When MQA first hit the market a few years ago, I was very impressed with their new concept - especially their claim to authenticate master files. As you know, HR could just be a 44.1 standard red book CD with a fancy name. Unfortunately, Tidal does not fully support classical so there is a limited MQA library.

If I had to choose one - it would be Qobuz. The premium version and paid annually. 

I've found that sound quality is generally more dependent on the source material than on the hardware that delivers it to me. And that if the music itself is compelling enough, my zeal for experiencing the best sound quality becomes just that little bit less important. In any event, I find streaming to be an absolutely marvelous innovation. For a reasonable monthly fee, it puts the musical universe at my fingertips.

Well have to agree that physical media sounds best BUT listening to new, unheard music has widen my musical enjoyment. 

@hgeifman 
@lowrider57 

Thank you for the info 

Ronboco,
I was running Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz on the Bluesound app (BluOs).

SACD 9/10LP 9.5/10
CD 8/10

Qobuz 8/10Tidal 7.5/10Sportify 6/10
A good SACD/CD player system is still better than streaming.

Deezer is interesting. It’s all HQ… I signed up for their 3 month free trial, but was billed immediately for the regular price. It took several “support” emails to figure that out. 

They both have about the same number of tracks. Qobuz has a stronger selection for jazz and classical lovers, Tidal better is some other genres. As Qobuz does not knowingly offer MQA tracks, if you want MQA, definitely go Tidal. If you are one of those, who, like myself, dislikes the sound of MQA, I would suggest Qobuz. Both are available as free trials, depending where you live. Ultimately, you have to decide yourself, based on your needs and listening preferences.

@ronboco, I am not familiar with the BlueSound App but am guessing it probably will play both Tidal and QoBuz. Please check your manual. Maybe other BlueSound users can comments to this question.

I have never used the App below but they claim to convert Tidal playlists to Qobuz. Please check it out. Also please search for other Apps that convert Tidal to QoBuz. There may be several other conversion options. I do not know.

https://soundiiz.com/tutorial/tidal-to-qobuz

I am using Tidal now as well. I would like to try Qobuz. So the blue sound app runs either Is this correct? Will my Tidal playlists work with Qobuz as well or do I need to copy my Tidal playlists to the blue sound app playlist section to use them with Qobuz? Thanks. 

@kgveteran, As was suggested above by @lalitk, please ORDER a QoBuz trail and listen to your favorite artists.   As I suggested above, review the playlists and listen to your favorites albums.   You might have to spend time learning to navigate QoBuz on your Bluesound App.  This is a normal process when starting QoBuz so please do not get concerned.  Accessing and using QoBuz is not that hard to learn.  I had similar issues learning to use my Aurender Conductor App.   Look for new artists and review the various tabs settings and other selections.   Have fun.

The QoBuz trail link is below:

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/music/streaming/offers?qbzs=adwords&qbzc=st-m&msclkid=932ed0880a...

The 30 comments you received above are all excellent so I strongly suggest you sign up for a QoBuz trail to see how you like it.   I also suggest you sign up for the QoBuz hi-res format.  please see us posted.  Thanks.  

I never tried Tidal and went straight to Qobuz. My reason was for the design team and the people behind Qobuz. I felt Tidal was less committed to the music quality overall and more about promoting their chosen artists. The group who started Qobuz did so with a focus on the music and what they felt they were being held back from on the other platforms. I have discovered more new artists than I could have hoped for and know there will always be some not on the service. The thing to be aware of, artist or albums you don’t find on a service is rarely the service but the artist of license holder who is restricting the access.

The dropouts I experience are nothing to do with router range. I am hardwired to my router and have a solid internet connection. I also have Tidal and Qobuz at the same time. My example was playing the same album on each at approximately the same time and having Qobuz dropout (skip songs), while Tidal worked flawlessly. So I know the internet is good. The issue is streaming server capacity on the Qobux source side.

Absolutely love Qobuz! I dumped Tidal last year. Not a fan of MQA (the MQA controversy gave me more reason to dump it) plus I wasn’t enthralled about giving my hard earned money to Jay-Z the drug dealer.

Its French - so it's pronounced like this:

Khhhhhaaa-boooze

The first part like you're about to hack a loogie.

Hope this helps.

PS

The Qobuz web interface and Qobuz app are more robust than the Lumin app (used on a dedicated iPad). 

They all work but I think the SQ is best when using the Lumin app.

If using the native Qobuz playlists, listening to albums, or Qobuz playlists the Lumin app is no problem.

However, adjusting playlists works using the Qobuz native app or web interface. That’s a PIA as playing/listening is done with the Lumin app. It’s a lot of back and forth between apps.

I have over 200 playlists I made on Qobuz. The interface (using a Lunin) isn’t tip top but it works well.


SQ is excellent.


Free trial.

I haven’t really looked into what my system is really doing with the stream of music now that my parasound is the dac, i should know this.

I wish there was a LIKE button @jrw1971.

I don't understand why so many users are experiencing Qobuz drops. Would extending the router range help?