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The issue with Quobuz

R

RoA

pfm Member
As a long time subscriber to Quobuz HiRes and Tidal Hifi, the former has worked out more unreliable than the latter. I am specifically talking about the phone app as this is mostly how I use the services, either on the go or casting at home (latest Series Galaxy)

I don't want to make too much a thing of it, as 99% it works but it defo had its share of little niggles and bugs which are largely absent from Tidal which makes me think these issues are with Quobuz rather than Android, in my case anyway.

From the odd occasional total freeze which required a re-start to longer start up and buffering to related features in Android not working. The latest one is that Android media volume control doesn't work anymore with Quobuz. It could have something to do with recent Android update but even so, it still works with Tidal which largely seems imune to bugs.

I like Quobuz, it's catalogue and sound but continue to be somewhat unimpressed with it's suggestion AI and app behaviour in direct comparison to Tidal.

Do you have a similar experience?
 
I’ve only used the Qobuz app while out and about, but have never experienced a problem. I’m in the US, so possibly talking to different servers.

I don’t think the Qobuz app is very good. At home, I use Roon instead. Been meaning to try Roon Arc for mobile, but haven’t got around to it.
 
I only use the Qobuz app when I'm away from home but as yet haven't experienced any difficulties.
At home I access Qobuz through the Innuos Sense App which works very well.
 
I actually prefer the Qobuz app to Tidal's app. I find it easier to navigate, and easier to find new music. I love the "panorama" essays on Qobuz - really well written essays on various artists, labels, or genres.

One of my complaints is that Qobuz's servers seem to be much slower (I'm in the US, if that makes a difference.) If I download a 16/44 track simultaneously on Qobuz and Tidal (not a hi-res or MQA file - just a standard CD-quality track), the same track will take much longer to download on Qobuz than on Tidal. The other and more common complaint is that there are still a lot of albums I want to listen to that are only on Tidal, and not on Qobuz.
 
I used the Qobuz app on a pretty recent macbook pro a few times and it was total junk, really slow and laggy, just awful. Fortunately I don't have to deal with it because Auralic make a much better app for my streamer so happy days. If I had to use the native app I'd probably question my sub to be honest, as it was barely useable. Maybe it's better for iOS, I don't know.
 
I prefer the Qobuz app to Tidal. I never have problems listening to Qobuz offline. This is not the case with Tidal. Most of the time I can't connect to downloaded content unless I am online. When I can there are issues with the volume.

I am only using Tidal alongside Qobuz because of the 60 days for £2 promotion. I will cancel before it expires. I slightly prefer Qobuz for SQ and am put off by the smoke and mirrors surrounding MQA.
 
I’ve recently switched from Tidal to Deezer and prefer it. Seems to be a much overlooked alternative, might be worth a look.
 
I used Qobuz for years, then the app became glitchy. The customer service was a disgrace. I don't use it anymore.

I'll tell a more detailed story at some point. Still hoping they sort things out with their app.
 
dannyboy2010 said:
Roon is your answer to this particular problem.
Click to expand...
Yep, Roon improves Qobuz enormously. But the crappiness of the Qobuz app is worrying in that I can’t see how they can survive long term, and Qobuz is now the main source of nearly everything I listen to.
 
The user interface is quirky, to say the least, and the catalogue isn't the best either, but the SQ is the closest match I've heard to the CD transport in the Accuphase DP450 player/DAC. The latter is still quieter, in terms of perceived noise floor, but I don't exactly rush to find the CD version.



Hi-res formats (24-bit recordings) can sound richer and more involving.



Tidal sounds a little flat in terms of dynamics, in comparison.
 
At home I use Qobuz via Roon, so don't seem to get any issues. On my iPhone 13, things seem ok. I get the odd 'Qobuz is being used by another device, please restart' message - seems to have started happening in the last couple of weeks. I have the family subscription option anyway, so not sure why this happens. I do like the offline library. I have a 256gig phone, so storing stuff isn't an issue.

Not used Tidal, so can't comment. But I am generally happy with Qobuz, so won't change/try until the next freebie Tidal trial comes out.
 
Audirvāna Studio is excellent with Quboz and also a good way to play locally stored music with one convenient package. Audirvāna also sounded better than Roon when I did the comparison.

I’ve also been enjoying lossless Apple Music/ iTunes recently as well, pleasantly supplied at the sound quality
 
I found the Qobuz via the Cambridge StreamMagic app to be glitch free via Android. However on its own Qobuz does suffer dropouts.

The only issues I have with Qobuz are the unavailability of some un-remastered music. To compensate the sound quality is generally superb.
 
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