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Tidal vs Quobuz

Yes I realize the Qobuz is misspelled in the title but I can’t figure out how to update it.  Relax.  
I’ve been a die hard advocate of MqA and Tidal for the last few years. All of my source, preamp, and dac purchased had the prerequisite that they must be MqA compatible. Today, I tried Qobuz for the first time and I’m blown away by the selection of 24bit 96khz files compared to Tidal.
Here’s an example: Was very excited that the band Tool FINALLY added their collection to streaming services. All of the albums on Tidal are CD quality. So I was going to purchase them in higher fidelity on HD Tracks, but learned that Qobuz had them at the highest fidelity. Couldn’t believe it. Same with many other artists/albums I love.

Now is there an improvement in sound quality? No not really. Is the Qobux UX any better? No, in fact it’s slower. But do I get the best quality content for the same price? Yes. Will I subscribe to both? Yes.
System:

Lumin D2 -> Parasound P6 -> Elac Navis ARF 51’s. Fully balanced set up (Nordost) with AQ power cables.
helloitsben
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,002 posts
 
@highpeakrider

I use Qobuz in my (not new) cars with Bluetooth. Don’t have to sign in ever. Car controls let me skip/repeat a track. Easy peasy.

Don’t know if “apple play” sound is better? Don’t know how it could be?

Add “Tunein” and you have radio with Qobuz. It’s that simple.

Radio does not appear on phone app so no radio link for car but does on iPad for home use.
geargrinder's avatar
geargrinder
6 posts
 
@highpeakrider I use Qobuz in my (not new) cars with Bluetooth. Don’t have to sign in ever. Car controls let me skip/repeat a track. Easy peasy.

Don’t know if “apple play” sound is better? Don’t know how it could be?

A wired Apple Carplay connection would let you play files at a higher bit rate than Bluetooth. A Bluetooth connection will always be lossy. There are a few exclusions to this rule but in general whenever you use Bluetooth for streaming you may as well be playing a lossy MP3 file.
geargrinder's avatar
geargrinder
6 posts
 
@aeschwartz  I have both Tidal and Qobuz. I more often use Qobuz. I don't really understand MQA with first unfolding, second unfolding, MQA hardware, MQA software. I'm not sure if MQA is a scam or not.

I'm sure there have been many discussions about MQA. Below are my thoughts, anybody feel free to correct me / point me in the direction of some good information about this format.

I fail to see any advantage investing in the MQA format. 

The only benefit I ever saw was smaller file sizes. But if you have a good enough phone plan or home internet that is fast enough to stream a Full Res 24/192 FLAC file why mess with MQA?

To me the marketing department has done a good job of trying to convince us that we need MQA but I'm not convinced that an MQA is the same as a regular uncompressed High Res FLAC file. I even find the Wiki page confusing.

At the end of the day even if MQA is the same as an High Res FLAC file what is the advantage in making sure the whole chain of your music ecosystem supports it vs simply using a regular FLAC file in the first place?


highpeakrider
43 posts
 
@wsrrsw I mean radio as in the automatic selection of random tracks as in Roon, not actual radio stations that TuneIn delivers.
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,002 posts
 
@highpeakrider

Well does your name refer to snow, ski or bike riding?
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