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

Decibel_116 said:
There is nothing "authenticated master quality" except in name only. There is nothing "better sounding" about it either (compared to the original HiRes file). Unless the original master recording process was done with MQA encoders (very few newer titles have been), what you are listening to is nothing but an MQA-encoded HiRes file. I don't need MQA to listen to a HiRes stream. MQA was originally marketed as a requirement to be able to stream HiRes files by compressing the data into smaller files. In this regard, MQA is a solution to a problem that does not exist. There are no issues with streaming bandwidth for HiRes files today. There are lossless compression algorithms such as FLAC and ALAC to name a couple. If you want to listen to another audio compression algorithm, OK. Not me. MQA is being sold to audiophiles as the next greatest thing when it is actually a data rights management tool for the music companies. It's all about the money. That's all it is. I'm really surprised at the number of audiophiles who are OK with another lossy compression scheme.

I don't want to start another one of these MQA debates, but I am going to defend my position on this with facts. I have no issue with data rights for the music industry, but I do have a problem with it being sold as some kind of new high fidelity discovery. It is not. I will take my digital as lossless and as bit perfect as possible thanks. YMMV
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I’m not going to start an MQA vs either because this is my thread and the purpose is to make others aware of qobuz in the U.S. but my question to you is have you listened to an MQA song and compared it side by side with another hi resolution song ? .

Audiofreak71
 
Audiofreak71 said:
I’m not going to start an MQA vs either because this is my thread and the purpose is to make others aware of qobuz in the U.S. but my question to you is have you listened to an MQA song and compared it side by side with another hi resolution song ? .

Audiofreak71
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Yes, I have and it is also one of the reasons I don't like Tidal. This is why I have been so anxiously awaiting Qobuz. I am anticipating a clean HiRes stream without MQA.
 
Decibel_116 said:
Yes, I have and it is also one of the reasons I don't like Tidal. This is why I have been so anxiously awaiting Qobuz. I am anticipating a clean HiRes stream without MQA.
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Ok I respect that. My experience with MQA has been positive but the bad outweighs the good in my book with tidal so I’ve been wanting to jump ship for many other reasons . From what I have been experiencing and hearing so far it has been worth the wait . I am already used to the interface as well as being introduced to whole wealth of new hi resolution music . The consistency is so good that it is a genuine sigh of relief, I think I have found my streaming home .

Audiofreak71
 
Decibel_116 said:
I am happy to hear of your good experiences with Qobuz! I look forward to when it is available. Keep us informed!
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Indeed I will , I just hope all of you that have been waiting like myself are able to get in and start experiencing what I am soon .

Audiofreak71
 
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Audiofreak71 said:
Did you click on the 16-44 resolution button and check the drop down to make sure you can go 24/96 24/192? Because I have those options .

Audiofreak71
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I guess you mean within the Qobuz app, correct?

Yes, I did see those options, but my understanding is that they apply only if you are using the phone for playback. Even so, one is limited by the capabilities of the lightning connector output.
  • If connecting headphones directly to the lightning connector, CD quality is the limit, per the message in the Qobuz app
  • If using a lightning connector to camera USB adapter, and then to a USB DAC, you might get greater than CD quality. However, I don't know that the lightning output from the iPhone is capable of transferring higher-than-CD rate data. I could be wrong.
In any case, I don't stream from the phone to my stereo. My method is to use my BluOS app to connect to the Qobuz account. Then, the phone basically becomes a remote-control; the Bluesound Node contacts Qobuz directly to fetch the music and plays it.

Lastly, here is a screenshot of my account page at the Qobuz website. Clearly subscription is limited to CD quality. Within BluOS, songs from Qobuz show up as CD quality only; never higher.

index.php


EDIT: Did some quick research, and it looks like the lightning to USB 3 camera adapter, and then a USB DAC can get you greater than CD quality data out of the iPhone. Remains to be seen if the subscription's limit on maximum allowed resolution will kick in or not, when going this route.
 
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Yes I was referring to Qobuz. I use my phone as a remote as well and I use my oppo udp 203 as my streamer with the Dac bypassed using my MF TriVista 21 Dac , I’m having success using it this way with very good quality music and smooth playback so far .

Audiofreak71
 
+48V said:
Ok That was quoted on your credit card confirm screen from APP Store?
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You can email there customer support if you have a question about the package, they answered me the next day when I emailed them with a question I had .

Audiofreak71
 
+48V said:
Ok. Thanks. Just wondering who will be eating the 30% App Store surcharge.
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That’s strange because I’ve been hearing people talking about the App Store surcharges and the whole time I had/have Tidal I have paid exactly $11.99 for the HiFi package (military discount) and never have been up charged .

Audiofreak71
 
Audiofreak71 said:
That’s strange because I’ve been hearing people talking about the App Store surcharges and the whole time I had/have Tidal I have paid exactly $11.99 for the HiFi package (military discount) and never have been up charged .

Audiofreak71
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Don't know about Mil discount. But anything that goes through App Store, the Dev gets dinged 30%. Usually that fee is passed on to subscriber.
 
+48V said:
Don't know about Mil discount. But anything that goes through App Store, the Dev gets dinged 30%. Usually that fee is passed on to subscriber.
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Well it hasn’t happened to me yet , hope it never does , maybe they don’t charge military that fee ? Who knows .

Audiofreak71
 
+48V said:
Don't know about Mil discount. But anything that goes through App Store, the Dev gets dinged 30%. Usually that fee is passed on to subscriber.
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The way you can avoid that fee though is to buy direct from qobuz Tidal etc then you don’t get up charged .

Audiofreak71
 
Audiofreak71 said:
The way you can avoid that fee though is to buy direct from qobuz Tidal etc then you don’t get up charged .

Audiofreak71
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Yes. I believe I mentioned that. ;)

What I'm getting at here is if your Qobuz sub includes the surcharge, then you'll want to cancel before trial expires and sign up direct. Assuming they open up their site to US before hand :)
 
+48V said:
Yes. I believe I mentioned that. ;)

What I'm getting at here is if your Qobuz sub includes the surcharge, then you'll want to cancel before trial expires and sign up direct. Assuming they open up their site to US before hand :)
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Gotcha, sorry didn’t catch that , but I know about doing it that way , thanks .

Audiofreak71
 
Audiofreak71 said:
Yes I was referring to Qobuz. I use my phone as a remote as well and I use my oppo udp 203 as my streamer with the Dac bypassed using my MF TriVista 21 Dac , I’m having success using it this way with very good quality music and smooth playback so far .
Audiofreak71
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I re-read your posts from earlier, and now understand your setup. MConnect Seems like a nice app...

With regard to my subscription itself, the price is $25 per month plus tax. I just assumed that it was the Euro to $ conversion that raised the price to $25 - forgot about Apple's surcharge.

But the key point is that the subscription tier is "Hi-Fi". Qobuz's website clearly says that "Hi-Fi" is limited to CD quality streaming. The "Studio" level offers higher than CD quality, but that wasn't available for selection in the Apple store.

Were you somehow able to sign up for the "Studio" tier?

What does your DAC tell you about the sampling frequency of the incoming data?
 
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