Verdict
An splendid streaming service for audiophiles and music lovers who appreciate high quality audio frequency . It is one of the best - sound music service available , though its method acting of curation could bear to be a small more intimate .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
As digital music boomed in the early null , it move from quality to convenience . of a sudden sustain 100 if not thousands of MP3s in your pocket was the expectation , and swelled , massive files were considered quaint and bothersome .
The move towards streaming did n’t really resolve that with smartphones popping up on the scene and data caps rear their heads , the likes of Spotify with their gloomy turn - rate became the go - to apps .
Qobuz is a music pelt service of process that puts ‘ quality ’ sound at its heart . It was the first service to pop the question 16 - act / CD character files for streaming , as well as the first to extend 24 - bitHi - Ra files .
Pricing
Qobuz has distilled its streaming offer into two program : Studio and Sublime .
studio apartment offers access code to over 100 million tracks , offline listening , editorial cognitive content , and stream up to 24 - bit/192kHz FLAC for the price of £ /$10.83 per month ( if you pay for the intact yr ) . compare to Tidal , Qobuz is around half the Mary Leontyne Price .
Sublime is the same away from offering up to 60 % rebate on Hi - Res downloads from the Qobuz store . That costs £ /$15 per calendar month , again cheaper thanTidal .
There ’s the alternative of signing up to Solo , Duo , and Family subscription . Studio Duo and Family subs are £ /$14.99 and £ /$17.99 per month respectively , with a Family sub capable to be shared with six others as long as they have Qobuz accounts .
Sublime Solo andDuo accountscost the same ( the latter if you pay up for an one-year subscription ) , so if you ’re on Sublime you may want to consider a couple account over a Solo one and share it with another someone . There ’s a also a 30 - day gratis tryout to give the avail a tryout drive .
If your subscription elapses , you are kick downstairs down to Qobuz member . You ’ll have approach to editorial content and can listen to samples of tracks . There ’s also the Qobuz Club where members occur to discuss music , with accession to Qobuz stave and music experts , exclusive content , and residential district - force good word .
Sound Quality
Recent years have seen an upward trend towards better timber streaming and Qobuz is at the head of that get-up-and-go with its max answer of 24 - bit/192kHz . Qobuz sound really respectable , in fact I ’d say it ’s good than Tidal orAmazon Music , both of which offer streams at CD calibre and eminent .
hear with aSivga Robin , Lenovo laptop ( no external DAC ) , as well as sample the services through an iPad , Qobuz comes out on top in most comparisons . Noah ’s Stand Still sounds clearer , more detailed , and features a hint more depth than it does on Tidal , which by comparing sound warmer in tone .
It ’s a similar outcome with Kendrick Lamar ’s United in Grief , though Tidal feels more upfront in how it deals with his vocalism , give Lamar ’s rhymes a little more weighting and wallop . But listening to it on Qobuz does exhibit a better horse sense of separation and clarity across the soundstage , and that soundstage is wider on Qobuz too , though Tidal offer a better sense of bass weight in the track .
With Jon Baptiste ’s Naima ’s Love Song there ’s that warmth to the Tidal current , with not the same degree of crispness and particular to the mellow frequencies that Qobuz can apply , as the shiver of tambourine is picked out with more definition on the Qobuz stream . Amazon Music extend a big basso performance and takes a dissimilar shade to the tambourine which does n’t sound as detailed or defined . Throughout examination , Amazon Music often come in third , Tidal 2nd and Qobuz at the top with its clearness and heroic soundstage .
Of course , using dissimilar equipment can pay different results – Qobuz and Tidal were far more even streaming via aniPad Prowith an MQA - compatibleTHX OnyxDAC – but the tier of detail , definition , depth , and clarity were often higher hearing to Qobuz .
Interface
Qobuz ’s approach to its interface is consanguineous to an online magazine rather than the myriad recommendations that fill the homepages of Spotify and Tidal . It ’s less about pummel the user with playlists and new suggestions and more selective about its demonstration .
The look of the port is clean and glossy and it is ordered across smartphone , screen background , and tablet . There are six tab at the top : Discover ( the home Thomas Nelson Page ) , Magazine ( editorial capacity ) , My Playlists , Favourites , Purchases , and Offline Library . On the smartphone app that ’s squeezed down to five ( My Qobuz swallow up playlist , favourites , and purchases ) ; with ‘ Imports ’ replacing Offline Library .
Discover breaks down into a roundabout at the top ( new albums , playlists ) ; postdate by two rows of seven fresh release . Then a ‘ sew for you ’ section , pursue by Qobuz playlists and then ‘ The Taste of Qobuz ’ , which is filled with curated cognitive content mixed with editorial that dive back into an artists ’ discography , album reviews or Qobuzissime ( which I wo n’t even bother trying to say even in my head word ) that spotlights an artist ’s first or 2nd album .
I quite like the look and smell of Qobuz ’s interface . It ’s a rather relaxed approach with most of the space conduct up by record album artwork , and it does n’t take too retentive to scroll through . In fact , you could press the page down button on the desktop app twice and be almost at the bottom . I imagine having fewer rows further multitude to jump into a surgical incision and pop back out when done .
Qobuz ’s advance feels highbrow , reflected by the nature of its editorial content ( there are even hi - fi verbalizer followup ! ) . It ’s quirky but I smell Qobuz ’s purpose is in train and engaging with the drug user to send them down a rabbit hole .
At the bottom of the screen are playback preferences that include playback and intensity mastery , streaming quality , speaker production ( or DAC ) , and the current playlist . It ’s perhaps the busiest part of the port , but I like the amount of control condition , tinkering , and entropy it offer .
Library
Qobuz claim to have over 100 million tracks at a lower limit of 16 - bit CD calibre . you’re able to listen up to 24 - bit/192kHz count on the track / record album .
There is also the Download Store whereby you’re able to pay to download an album in cadmium tone or Aloha State - Re . FLAC , ALAC , WMA lossless , AIFF , and WAV are options to download in , and you may even download in lossy 128bpbs MP3 quality , though I do n’t know why you ’d require to subject your ears to that .
download running is a little complicated if you buy straight from the background app . It shuffled me to the site ( where I had to sign in ) before channelize me back to the app for the download . It ’s probably better to jump on the web site and head to the app in hindsight …
Qobuz does n’t plump for podcasts although there is a selection which appear to be substance abuser upload . If podcasts are your jam , Spotify and Amazon Music are better options . There are tracks in spatial audio that have been mix inTHX Spatial Audio , which can be heed to with any span of earphone .
Curation
I ’ve used Qobuz for several months and the one thing that keep pop up in my notes is its curation . I do n’t think it ’s that great .
I should add that it does wreak . The cartroad it selects , for the most part , suit my tastes ; but Qobuz ’s Weekly Q only seems familiarise with me in a general sense , and not an intimate one with its a two - time of day play list of track it intend you ’ll like .
Some are place on – suggest Thundercats ’ Them Changes is on percentage point view I have that in playlists on other divine service but some finger like a stab in the darkness . Yes , I listen to a sight of film soundtracks , but Henry Mancini ’s The Pink Panther Theme ? Not really .
Then there are other racecourse I ’ve take heed to before ( Billie Eilish ’s when the party is over ) or Sung dynasty that you ’d half expect everyone has heard ( Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds ) . Of course , Qobuz ca n’t know what I ’ve listened to on other services , but Tidal and Spotify do a better problem of craft a playlist where I unwrap ( or rediscover ) tracks .
Qobuz call back that if I mind to The Beatles ’ White Album , I must want to hear Sgt . Pepper ’s Lonely Hearts Club Band . It ’s a sightly assumption , but also an obvious one .
Search is also a small striking and overlook . Whatever necromancy Spotify and Tidal utilisation for their algorithms , those services know what I ’m looking for while Qobuz is n’t always as fleet of foot .
Compatibility
Qobuz is n’t as freely available as the like of Spotify or Tidal , but it has been expanding its presence to more devices and platform .
There ’s Windows and Mac desktop support , as well as a web player ( by nature ) . Mobile River and tablet covers Android and iOS , while there ’s bread and butter forSamsung TVsandChromecast cyclosis – though I ’ve always found that casting to a Cambridge CXN banner from an iPad Pro unexpectedly cuts out after a few minutes .
In the automotive world it supports CarPlay and Android Auto , but the biggest supporting is with Hawaii - fi outfit . manufacturer are many from German - based AVM to Astell & Kern , Cambridge Audio , Devialet , DTS manoeuvre - Fi . Klipsch , Sonos , Naim , and iFi Audio who back up the overhaul in some means . package - based AudirVana , BubbleUPnP , and Roon are also compatible . you may check out moreon the web site .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
Not concerned in Spotify ? Not convince by MQA ? Supporting current up to 24 - bit/192kHz , Qobuz should warm the cockles of any audiophile ’s heart , though fluid hearer will want to have a looking at their datum plan .
Qobuz understands what you like , but it ’s curation skill wo n’t quite love you on an intimate level .
Final Thoughts
For a mellow - quality audio streaming experience , Qobuz is an excellent service but one that ’s also highbrow and somewhat recess . Qobuz delights in the road less travelled , give more atomic number 8 to artist you may ( or may not ) be conversant with . Do n’t expect to see the recent Lana Del Rey record album take up all the air – she ’ll be sharing it with the likes of the Buena Vista Social Club and Django Django .
It has an eclectic sense of taste that refrains from the mainstream posture of others , and it has introduced me to medicine I do n’t think I would have institute on other services like Isfar Sarabski ’s Planet . It also helps that it sound splendid : clear , crisp , and talkative , especially if you have the equipment to take advantage of its high - quality watercourse .
And it ’s not too expensive compare to the rest of the contention , specially its Studio tier . Tidal is more expensive , Spotify Supremiumis attend like it ’ll be more expensive , andApple Musicand Amazon Music are only marginally less expensive .
If you bask the range and multifariousness of medicine , as well as the high quality it offers , I ’d recommend Qobuz . If you ’re more mainstream in your tastes , perhaps stick in the console arms of Spotify and Apple Music with their deceiver curation .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every music streaming divine service we critique good over an extended period of prison term . We use industry standard tests to equate features by rights . We ’ll always narrate you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
There ’s no keep for MQA playback on Qobuz , it delivers audio in files up to 24 - bit FLAC .
