The difference between Qoboz stream vs purchased songs


I am a admittedly noob, so please forgive my ignorance. Recently, have had the pleasure of getting a Innuos pulse mini, what a game changer! I knew that with the mini you cant buy music, only stream. Using Qoboz, is there’s a difference in sq between the two? I live on a fixed income so I have to be frugal and am trying to figure out where it’s best spent. Thanks so much for any info on this subject.

128x128gkelly

@cleeds 

Interesting.  Do you have any way to share that test?  Because based on what I'm seeing on my own, I don't see an issue with Qobuz;  quite the opposite.

As to the original poster, I have a natural tendency to want to own songs and music I really like.   Yes, I still pay for streaming too, primarily because I like to discover new music (their newsletter is handy for this), and Spotify is great in the car and on my phone because of the vast amount of music available, since the fidelity is more than enough to support listening even on a good car stereo.

Heck, I've gotten into about 4 or 5 musical genres simply because the music is readily available to listen to.

Do you have any way to share that test?

The first test I did is detailed here. It’s easy to do, so you can try yourself.

Because based on what I’m seeing on my own, I don’t see an issue with Qobuz; quite the opposite.

I have no issue at all with Qobuz, it works just about perfectly for me. I think it’s a great service.

@gkelly - I'm a big fan of your dancing!

We all have to make our own decision about sq and how important it is to us.  The bigger question with streaming is how important permanence is to you.  Several responses argued against spending money on downloads, because there's always so much available through streaming - treating music as a consumable.  Several argued in favor of buying music to which you would not want to lose access. 

How would you describe your relationship with the music you stream?  If it truly moves you, buy it!  Don't give them a chance to take it away from you.  The artists will be grateful, and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've contributed more than a fraction of a penny to their art.

going to try to get this back on track…

@gkelly there’s only one way to answer your question - purchase a song or an album and compare. There are few variables that can potentially influence the outcome. Hear it for yourself. 
My opinion, which is largely based on testing and comparing stored vs streaming, is the money would be better spent on a second streaming service (i.e. Tidal) that gives you access to some music that’s not available on Qobuz.

I compared purchased music on hdtracks vs the same album on qobuz using Roon. The hdtracks files are in fact slightly better. Not dramatically but they are better.