I wonder if bassbuyer is onto something about resolution changes on the same album streamed on Qobuz. I used to own a dCS Rossini DAC/Streamer and I remember if the album on Qobuz contained hi-res and Redbook tracks on the same album, Qobuz would play the hi-res tracks and skip all Redbook tracks. An example of this was Genesis' 'Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'. I now have a Wadax Studio Player and I can't test this as Qobuz seemed to remove the Redbook tracks from that album.
Qobuz Connect
I was enthusiastic about Qobuz connect when it became available. I have been using Qobuz with Roon and liked it, but Qobuz connect would offer a simpler, more direct connection.
However, I find that Qobuz connect intermittently will stop in a tract mid-stream, provide a notice that it cannot connect to that tract and move on to the next one. I have had this problem with several different high end streamer/dac/preamp setups on several different networks, including in a high end dealer store. The experts there, who are top notch, think that it it is perhaps that Qobuz connect is new and they have not worked out the bugs yet. There have been several updates, but the problem persists.
Anybody else have this problem? Has Qobuz commented on it?
Thanks everybody!
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I find the whole Qobuz ecosystem extremely confusing, and I think some of the confusion is deliberately done by the French! I find your statement confusing too. It seems to me that Qobuz Connect does not have to use WiFi - hardwired Ethernet is equally valid. What does 'connects directly to streamers' actually mean? Seems to me Qobuz transmits music digitally between Qobuz servers and endpoints. The endpoints must run Qobuz software (an app) and may be streamers. Many hardware vendors include a Qobuz app in their software, or you can run a Qobuz app on your Apple or Android phone, and Apple and Microsoft PC.. Qobuz Connect seems to run on top of Qobuz and will keep playing the same track when you change your endpoint device. Am I wrong? |
It is extremely simple. Qobuz has long had its own app to run on Windows, iOS, and Android. Many audio streamers have also incorporated the ability to stream Qobuz within the software on their devices, and that interface and functionality ranges from fairly crude to fairly slick. Qobuz Connect is the latest innovation and is installed on your streamer. It will likely offer a much more rich experience because it uses the Qobuz app rather than your streamer’s native Qobuz interface for control. For Qobuz Connect to work, your device manufacturer will have to modify its software. Many already have. |
For me, the most interesting thing about Qobuz Connect is its ability to switch end-point players mid-stream. For example, I'm playing a track on my phone using my headphones while out for a walk. Then I go through the front door while halfway through the song and switch playback to my main stereo without missing a beat. I could even go to a friend's house, who does not have a Qobuz subscription, and play my Qobuz tracks on his stereo if he has a QC compatible streamer connected to the internet. While interesting, I really don't have a big use for this feature. I also don't hear any difference between QC and my other playback program options -- the digital music stream still has to travel over the internet direct to the player. QC is a nice way to select and play music, but it is limited to only that. It has no way to play from your local collection. |
@cleeds Maybe I am simple!
My guess is that there are at least three different Qobuz end-point apps, though they may share some code and have similar user interfaces. If Windows, iOS and Android users want to run external DACs, the data communications links to those DACs are outside the Qobuz ecosystem, and outside any claims that data is perfectly transmitted because TCP is used end-to-end. Writing a Qobuz app to run on each DAC makes sense because it can extend TCP error detection and recovery to the box containing the DAC. What about streamers that run a Qobuz app but with external DACs? |
Yes, that's what I said: Windows, iOS, Android. Details here.
The software is in the streamer, not the DAC.
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No, you said "its own app" when there are multiple implementations. You and Qobuz imply there is a single app. I am trying to find reasons why people might hear differences, and having multiple implementations allows the possibility of different bugs in each implementation! When I said "Writing a Qobuz app to run on each DAC makes sense" it was because it gives TCP a chance to deliver bit-perfect transfers to the device that does the final digital to analog conversion. (TCP does not stand a chance if network congestion or dropouts exceed local buffer capacity) Delivering to a streamer which then has to communicate digital to an external DAC creates more opportunities to introduce uncorrected digital errors. For example, I2S does not have any error detection or correction ability. There is no guarantee the DAC receives the original digital. USB has a special mode for streaming which has no error correction. Forgive me for not trusting Qobuz but their website states
This is a gross oversimplification as anyone familiar with Fourier analysis can attest. Arbitrary repeating waveforms can be represented by the sum of an infinite series of sine waves, being the odd harmonics of the fundamental. |
I got an email from Qobuz support today. A real person, not a bot. The company is aware of the issue with QC and will address it coming updates. As noted, it is fairly complicated as QC must be addressed and shown to work reliably on each streamer/DAC. As misstl noted, an advantage to QC connect is that you can use it with endpoints anywhere. Roon ARC is supposed to do this, but I have not been able to get it to work reliably. Qobuz limits streaming to AC, while Roon allows multiple sources and saved music. It is difficult for one service to provide eveything one might want. That being said, Qobuz is a good company, best there is for streaming classical music. I look forward to it being more reliable. |
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I use Qobuz through Roon and it works well. Particularly if I reboot every few days, which seems to reduce the delay between tracks. I would like to use QC because I don’t tend to use DSP features on roon and could cut out a layer of software. I’ve been a little hesitant to download the firmware update for my streamer because even though the chances are slight, there are horror stories about bricking your equipment, so I tend to only download what is absolutely necessary. After reading this thread, maybe I’ll wait a little longer to let them get the issues worked out. It occurs to me that this might be why there were so many delays in releasing QC, and maybe they released it before it was ready, which wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened |
