Qobuz HiRez streaming has finally hit the U.S. and it’s really really good

I did not activate a trial. I will wait until the Roon integration thing is worked out before I give it a try.

I do see on their Facebook Site that they are offering Free Preview Accounts.

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The drive is a bit much for free Qobuz, but I would have been all over that if I had been there. :D Although they are still saying "preview," so it doesn't seem like they are launching yet.

Keep an eye on your DirectStream, since I know Paul is enthused by the sound quality and I am pretty sure they are working on making Qobuz an option. I need to get a manual or something from them, as I want to see how all of this works before I drop money on a DS/BII or DS Jr..
 
Are you comparing to Tidal lossless?
I have my issues with Tidal but sound quality hasn't been one of them .
I'll have to look into this. Tidal looks like it's on the way out.
Always, good to have a go to.
The word is Tidal has no more than 48 hours of operating capital on any given day. The end is nigh, and how sad. It was a botched “business” idea from the start, and then new ownership, partnerships etc didn’t end up helping...much to the detriment in fact. Management tried running it like an old school label driven service, you know big album payouts for bringing in big names, exclusives, etc. Problem is, no one consumes in the same manner as in the olden days.
I look forward to Quoboz doing it right.
 
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The word is Tidal has no more than 48 hours of operating capital on any given day. The end is nigh, and how sad. It was a botched “business” idea from the start, and then new ownership, partnerships etc didn’t end up helping...much to the detriment in fact. Management tried running it like an old school label driven service, you know big album payouts for bringing in big names, exclusives, etc. Problem is, no one consumes in the same manner as in the olden days.
I look forward to Quoboz doing it right.
Still having connectivity problem wit ap. iPhone keeps playing, even after casting to CCA.
 
The word is Tidal has no more than 48 hours of operating capital on any given day. The end is nigh, and how sad.
It seems that yearly, we get a news item saying they are deep in debt and/or close to bankruptcy. Since they are not really one of the major streaming companies (not like McSpotify, which everyone seems to use), and consumers see (or hear) no difference between one or the other, I don't see how they can stay afloat. A lot of audiophiles were using them for lossless, but Deezer offers lossless also. I think once Qobuz comes along with its "pure" high-res, many audiophiles won't see value in sticking with Tidal and will bail out. (It could also take mqa down with it...for which not many tears will be shed. ;) )

Qobuz has been around since 2007. And I'm sure they had their rough patches as well. I'm good with a few more weeks or months delay if they can do their launch correctly, both on the music and technology side, and on the financial side also. They are going to have to lease a lot of bandwidth to cover the US market properly.
 
It seems that yearly, we get a news item saying they are deep in debt and/or close to bankruptcy. Since they are not really one of the major streaming companies (not like McSpotify, which everyone seems to use), and consumers see (or hear) no difference between one or the other, I don't see how they can stay afloat. A lot of audiophiles were using them for lossless, but Deezer offers lossless also. I think once Qobuz comes along with its "pure" high-res, many audiophiles won't see value in sticking with Tidal and will bail out. (It could also take mqa down with it...for which not many tears will be shed. ;) )

Qobuz has been around since 2007. And I'm sure they had their rough patches as well. I'm good with a few more weeks or months delay if they can do their launch correctly, both on the music and technology side, and on the financial side also. They are going to have to lease a lot of bandwidth to cover the US market properly.
Indeed on most points, and my hope is that Qobuz rolls out here smoothly. With any luck, they’re already stable, having been around for 11 years or so. I agree that I’ll take a slower rollout for a better product.
Tidal has been floating on cash infusions from the parent, and from SoftBank (which pretty much uses it as a write down.) No one wants to buy the shell, and with no further interest, there’s nowhere to go but...
 
Indeed on most points, and my hope is that Qobuz rolls out here smoothly. With any luck, they’re already stable, having been around for 11 years or so. I agree that I’ll take a slower rollout for a better product.
Tidal has been floating on cash infusions from the parent, and from SoftBank (which pretty much uses it as a write down.) No one wants to buy the shell, and with no further interest, there’s nowhere to go but...
Replace "Tidal" and "SoftBank" with Sears and Eddie Lampert... ;) Funny, that's the first thing that came to mind.
 
So I’ve started the process of transferring all of my music from Tidal and adding it to Qobuz, this is a painful process but I’m sold on Qobuz so hopefully this is my last time doing this . I was given 3 months free tidal HiFi for a mistake they made so there trying to make it right by giving me the 3 months free , however after the 3 months I won’t be reup ing with them and I’ll be all in with Qobuz .

Audiofreak71
 
Interesting...

I just downloaded an update to the Android version. Now, the free trials are shown in the US$ denomination. Still can't sign up since it errors out on the payment selector. But, the price is no longer showing in Euros.

This makes me think it is imminent and ready to launch...finally!

EDIT: The US site is also acting a little differently tonight. Still can't get the trial (it gives a cart error) but, at least it is acknowledging a US site.

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Interesting...

I just downloaded an update to the Android version. Now, the free trials are shown in the US$ denomination. Still can't sign up since it errors out on the payment selector. But, the price is no longer showing in Euros.

This makes me think it is imminent and ready to launch...finally!

EDIT: The US site is also acting a little differently tonight. Still can't get the trial (it gives a cart error) but, at least it is acknowledging a US site.

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You should write tech support and find out why you aren’t able to get up and running, I would think if it allowed you to get that far then you should be up and running right now .

Update on my Qobuz experience is that it is still excellent imo , very steady quality streaming , large selection of artists and I’m finding new ones daily that I enjoy listening to and I have almost all my tidal music transferred over to Qobuz thanks to the AKer who suggested the app that transfers music . Still highly recommended for those who are serious about quality streaming.

Audiofreak71
 
I won't pester them--from what I've seen, compared to yesterday, they seem to be in the process of transitioning their web site, their computer-based player and the mobile apps to work in the US. Work in progress, in other words, and it probably will take a day or more to activate all the new US bits and pieces. My guess is it's ready and they're right now changing everything over to support US subscribers. :thumbsup:

Any day now, in other words!
 
I won't pester them--from what I've seen, compared to yesterday, they seem to be in the process of transitioning their web site, their computer-based player and the mobile apps to work in the US. Work in progress, in other words, and it probably will take a day or more to activate all the new US bits and pieces. My guess is it's ready and they're right now changing everything over to support US subscribers. :thumbsup:

Any day now, in other words!
Awesome, I’m still perplexed at how I got in and have been using it for over 2 weeks .

Audiofreak71
 
I figure I've lived without it for my entire life. Missing a few more days or weeks won't kill me. :D
 
I will definitely check out Qobuz. I'm glad that with Tidal there were enough of us to prove that there was a market for Hi-Fi streaming. I never understood the naysayers. I've been more than happy with Tidal Hi-Fi but I'm always open to options. Tidal has been a game changer for me and I was an early advocate.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....-here-high-res-coming-later-this-year.669761/

This is the way I prefer to consume music nowadays. The amount of quality high fidelity music I've been exposed to and had at my finger tips is unprecedented.

It's incredible how much my catalog, as well as what I've been exposed to, has grown over the last few years. To do the same, it would have taken me several lifetimes under the old distribution method - and best of all the sound quality is all there.

As for MQA, all I can say is that in most cases the lossy "Master" versions they use sound better than the "lossless" non-MQA versions they offer (or in many cases what I have on CD).

I hope Qobuz will sync-up with Roon because otherwise I think I will stick with Tidal/Roon.


.
 
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I will definitely check out Qobuz. I'm glad that with Tidal there were enough of us to prove that there was a market for Hi-Fi streaming. I never understood the naysayers. I've been more than happy with Tidal Hi-Fi but I'm always open to options. Tidal has been a game changer for me and I was an early advocate.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....-here-high-res-coming-later-this-year.669761/

This is the way I prefer to consume music nowadays. The amount of quality high fidelity music I've been exposed to and had at my finger tips is unprecedented.

It's incredible how much my catalog, as well as what I've been exposed to, has grown over the last few years. To do the same, it would have taken me several lifetimes under the old distribution method - and best of all the sound quality is all there.

As for MQA, all I can say is that in most cases the lossy "Master" versions they use sound better than the "lossless" non-MQA versions they offer (or in many cases what I have on CD).

I hope Qobuz will sync-up with Roon because otherwise I think I will stick with Tidal/Roon.


.
I too was an early adopter of Tidal and have grown a substantial music library from it . I agree about Tidal Master Quality, to my ears it sounds better than the non MQA and that is one of the problems I have with Tidal there isn’t enough MQA albums and the sound quality can be inconsistent . So far with Qobuz the sound quality has been consistent and is on the same level of quality as Tidals MQA and has many more high quality albums to choose from . The price is higher than I pay with Tidal HiFi due to me receiving the military discount and that is a plus with Tidal. So the big question is,is the $25 for Qobuz justified over the $11 for Tidal HiFi? , well I have been satisfied with it so far all around so I say yes.

Audiofreak71
 
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My oddity today was an email from Qobuz, thanking me for signing up for an account (I created a new one, US-based vs. UK based as my old account was), with a link to their trial offers. But it goes right to the same "404" page as before.

I hope Qobuz will sync-up with Roon because otherwise I think I will stick with Tidal/Roon.
One of the US managers for Qobuz is definitely aware of the audiophile market, and Roon support was something that was well underway. (Wish I could remember where I had read it, but this is one of the discussions where there is at least mention of working on an integration: https://community.roonlabs.com/t/qobuz-integration-again/47145/40 .)
 
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