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Streaming: Which Platform?

Quboz Studio or Tidal hifi for Node 2 into Chord Qutest

  • Total voters
    61
webster said:
I still don't think that's particularly good value when for £2 a month more you can get hi res files with Qobuz.
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Swings and roundabouts, horses for courses etc. By way of comparison, I don’t see much value in higher than CD resolution, and do like the automated recommendations etc which are better with Tidal. (Spotify may be better still, but Tidal is actually better at recommending stuff for me than Apple Music, which was surprising).

And Tidal pay the best royalties to artists AFAIK. It may have changed since, but it was around double Spotify’s rate last I saw. So on balance £10pm for CD quality Tidal is a great fit for me.
 
narabdela said:
I've heard that said several times. I use a Wiim mini, and Amazon HD works seamlessly at full resolution.
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Wiim mini user as well,I like Amazon HD because of the price,and there’s a hell of a lot of music on there which is certainly not on Spotify,unofficial bootlegs etc
 
unclepuncle said:
Tried Qobuz twice seduced by the Hi-Res claims.:oops:

To my ears Hi-Res sounded no better than standard CD or Tidal and there were too many gaps in the catalogue for my tastes.
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Exactly. I suspect a lot of bandwidth could be saved with so many fake HD files too.
Who can really hear significant differences on most music between hi-res and compression I wonder too.
I bet Spotify Hi-Fi will never see the light of day in this context.
 
RoA said:
Just use their cheaper Hifi plan without MQA.
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Mmm. .. but since one of the selling points of MQA was that it gave distributors a single inventory I would probably get MQA screwed over files without the possibility to unpack them to slightly less unscrewed over files. Qobuz gives me up to 24/192 master files without any chicanery, doubt, confusion or uncertainty. And I can use any DAC I choose. Easy decision for me.
 
Paul_Riordan said:
The main reason for me selecting Qobuz was that if you have a sublime subscription you get discounted downloads.... For music I want to listen to regularly I download..... for things I'll probably listen to once I stream... The discounts cover the cost of the subscription - so I see it as free streaming :)
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But!!! Qobuz lets you download stuff to use offline anyway, so there’s no need to pay for a download!
 
AndyU said:
But!!! Qobuz lets you download stuff to use offline anyway, so there’s no need to pay for a download!
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I get the idea of using Qobuz only (and I do use it, including the offline download when I am out of the house)... Personally I prefer to use downloads as it means I can maintain the metadata and also ensure that I always have access to the music I want, irrespective of the licensing via the streaming platforms... there are a number of cases where artists and record labels remove their music from certain streaming platforms. It also means that if I stop subscribing to the streaming service I still have access to the music.
 
Paul_Riordan said:
I get the idea of using Qobuz only (and I do use it, including the offline download when I am out of the house)... Personally I prefer to use downloads as it means I can maintain the metadata and also ensure that I always have access to the music I want, irrespective of the licensing via the streaming platforms... there are a number of cases where artists and record labels remove their music from certain streaming platforms. It also means that if I stop subscribing to the streaming service I still have access to the music.
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I agree. But I’ve only lost streaming access to a Qobuz album a couple of times, which is certainly irritating, but then I could always pay to download it if I wanted to. Same if I stop subscribing. But streaming lets me explore and enjoy so much music. Also I feel it is kind of right to pay for each listen, albeit a paltry amount, rather than go for a one off purchase. Be honest, how many cds have you bought that you’re never going to listen to again? And how many others will be part of your life till you pop your clogs? Why should they both cost the same?
 
So I signed up to the ‘free’ month with Qobuz….and now flip flopping between that and Tidal….
My first impression is that the Q app is not as intuitive as the Tidal one although I am prepared to admit that it might just need me to get used to using it so happy to be wrong on that one.
As @webster has already noted…more interested in the SQ than anything else….but also how the apps play in the car….
I’m finding the Q car play a little on the clunky side but again is probably just familiarity.
However as far as the SQ goes I am getting the fairy lights on the chord with the Q which is nice and just getting the solid Red 44.1 on the Tidal.
But I’ve got to say that I can’t really notice any difference in the sound Q which is a huge surprise to me. Perhaps I need more time with the flip flop so just going to be listening to some music randomly selected from either of the platforms and see how it goes….
 
Seochris said:
So I signed up to the ‘free’ month with Qobuz….and now flip flopping between that and Tidal….
My first impression is that the Q app is not as intuitive as the Tidal one although I am prepared to admit that it might just need me to get used to using it so happy to be wrong on that one.
As @webster has already noted…more interested in the SQ than anything else….but also how the apps play in the car….
I’m finding the Q car play a little on the clunky side but again is probably just familiarity.
However as far as the SQ goes I am getting the fairy lights on the chord with the Q which is nice and just getting the solid Red 44.1 on the Tidal.
But I’ve got to say that I can’t really notice any difference in the sound Q which is a huge surprise to me. Perhaps I need more time with the flip flop so just going to be listening to some music randomly selected from either of the platforms and see how it goes….
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Do yourself a favour. Download a free trial of Roon and hook it up to your Qobuz and Tidal. Way better interface and remote control options to both. It’s Christmas. You’ve survived the pandemic. You deserve it.
 
After using Spotify premium for about 12 months I tried the Tidal free trial for 30 days. I forced myself to complete the trial then immediately went back to Spotify. I’m sure many are getting some benefit from Tidal and Quobuz but for me in a similar way that some find benefit in expensive cables. There’s just not enough in it for me Imoh.
 
I use Tidal on my node 2i then Chord DAC, sounds great as do Spotify and Deezer. I don’t really hear any differences although not tried Qobuz yet.

What sort of stuff is missing on Tidal? Seems to have most things I have searched for.
 
If it were a battle of apps then Tidal. A battle of catalogue then Spotify. A battle of sound quality then Qobuz. Your mileage may vary.

Our household shares Qobuz and Tidal. Teenager prefers Tidal for downloads to the phone and for streaming to a Muso QB. I prefer Qobuz for catalogue but found around 25 albums on Tidal that are not on Qobuz. Using an Innuos I also have downloads from Digital 7, HDTracks and Bandcamp And 1,725 CD rips. Yes, there are gaps but there were always gaps in the CD collection. Overall streaming has filled more than it has created.

We have no MQA by virtue of having a Chord Hugo TT2. Don’t really feel the loss. CD quality is more than good enough. I enjoy the lights changing on the DAC but only rarely prefer an alleged high definition product over the CD quality version.

As I’m using Innuos the sound quality remains superior to Roon. The interface of the former is more than good enough and vastly superior to the various apps. With other streamers you may prefer Roon. There is rarely middle ground. You’ll either love it or hate it.

An opportunity has been missed. Qobuz offered a decent Black Friday deal via gifting which further lowered the cost.
 
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