Thoughts and suggestions please

@ronboco 

"One thing I don’t understand is if I wanted to switch to say tidal and import my playlist from Qobuz how does a high rez song from Qobuz remain the same high rez song from Qobuz when it goes to tidal?"

Qobuz has a global setting (inside the software in your profile setup, I believe) where you specify the resolution you prefer when listening via wifi or mobile. Tidal will have the same setup, I would think.  So when you transfer from one service to another the resolution preference you set up  in the software will determine the resolution of what you hear, given the resolution the music is available in.  Tidal doesn’t have one "version" of music while Qobuz has another.  If you transfer your music to a non-high-res service, like Pandora or Spotify, then you’ll see a wholesale change to low- res in anything you listen to.

..and saving your list in a an offline format (XLSX, CSV, TXT..) eliminates the need for "streamer storage" and therefore the need for a new streamer with storage.  If you want a new streamer, then that's a separate decision unrelated to backing up your playlist.

@nogaps 

Thank you for your input. The reason I asked about the version is I find the same song on tidal sounds different from the same song on Qobuz and I prefer the Qobuz song. 

@ghdprentice 

"Streaming is the future... so, I can't see it going away. Owning music is going away."

That does seem like the general norm nowadays and I'm not singling you out, but it's one depressing viewpoint.  I'll never understand the mentality of not buying an artists music they spent god knows how long constructing, recording, editing, logistics, the expense etc....  

I understand streaming isn't going away,  but the current model royally screws the artists.  Basically spend a few bucks on a streaming service and you get everything for free - the monthly sub doesn't amount to anything in the scheme of things, so yes all this music is free once you break it down.  I hope someday the stream model changes.

I do stream mainly for discovery, but I do purchase the music I listen to either dig download or CD etc.. so I suppose I'm the minority in that regard. Yes it does take some effort to maintain a local library but I own it.  To each their own 

Physical media is a very niche market at this point targeting old school audiophiles. It’s the reality. If you use streaming for discovery only and you’re buying and listening to CDs and or vinyl it means your streaming is not on the level and or you choose to buy physical media and it’s purely your choice. Vinyl album costs are in double and triple digits. If you are a serious collector and add up your yearly spend it will begin to look like one hell of a streaming front end if you spent this money on components. That’s just the reality. Landscape for recording industry has changed tremendously. They need to adopt. And with AI becoming part of everyday everything, who knows…we might witness a new Elvis Presley or The Beatles albums released soon. Keep this in mind. May be time to up your streaming game. 

audphile1

Physical media is a very niche market at this point targeting old school audiophiles. It’s the reality ...

Intuitively, that would seem true. But if you go visit a record store or two you'll likely find younger people outnumber "old school audiophiles." Further, if you consider that brand new record pressing machines are back in production, and pressing plants have been acquiring them and adding capacity, it seems unlikely they'd commit to such an expense for a customer base that's dying.

Vinyl album costs are in double and triple digits.

So?

If you are a serious collector and add up your yearly spend it will begin to look like one hell of a streaming front end if you spent this money on components.

But it isn't an either/or proposition. An audiophile can buy physical media. And stream. And enjoy both at very high fidelity. And talk and chew gum at the same time.