Qobuz vs Airplay

FWIW the current Airplay2 specs max out at CD quality 16/44 which is < hi rez

Over the years, I've tried them all and Qobuz turned out to be the absolute best, then Tidal.  I stream all Qobuz, unless an album is only available on Tidal.  If you want the absolute best sound quality that any streaming service has to offer, then you'll have to go with Qobuz.  Happy listening.   

I have tried both Tidal and Qobuz using my Aurender X100L music streamer connected via USB audio to a Oppo BDP 105. I can safely say that Qobuz does sound very good (the best) but Tidal has a way better selection and a lot if not the majority of the music is available at Studio quality and the rest is CD quality sound which is a slight compromise in my opinion, Tidal is the best of both worlds ,selection/SQ. Go with Tidal. 

And YES do not Airplay anything. 

@badger_erich 

+1

Overall, really appreciate this discussion. I tend to think that I’m a 2-channel analog guy. That’s where my time and investment have been. It’s been a great experience. I think I have a pretty good system, etc.

But over the past few years, I’ve done a lot more simple streaming over my devices. I’ve gone back-and-forth on getting into headphones and explored “desktop” near-field systems. It’s been eye opening. 

I think this is where the real action is. It seems to me there’s (way) more innovation in this broad space of digital. Importantly, I don’t think you need to spend a small fortune to get high satisfaction out of it. Those two things (innovation, less expensive) are going to drive music/audio/experience. 

I’m not trying to derail this convo. Again, appreciate the insights on the main topic.