Can't download from Qobuz

Yes, it’s amazing how no-one has yet to have the idea of a “download all” or similar button.

Oh hang on…

OK good point :slight_smile: Like I said, it is weird and could be better, but it’s also not an earth-shattering problem

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I have yet to find a problem on a hi-fi forum which is earth-shattering. The nature of our hobby means all discussions are very much first world problems. It doesn’t mean they’re not a problem though.

Also a good point! And if I don my software support manager hat, the moment one has to write download instructions like Qobuz’s, https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/info/Qobuz-Vous/How-to-buy-and-download-albums-on180070, is the moment one should realize that the process needs improvement.

That Qobuz “how to” guide is awful!

In the world of audio download vendors, Qobuz is very amateurish.
HighResAudio & HDTracks set the standard, one touch to download & ready to upload without further attention
Although the Qobuz .TAR is easy enough, & with 7-Zip its a simple extract here (or somewhere else) command. The added problem is the quality of the file leaves a lot to be desired, in a folder_with_artist_and_album_title_all_linked_together_with_underscore_
And don’t get me going about their customer support.

Have to compliment Naim & Linn downloads websites ease of use.

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HD Tracks is another example of poor explanations. You would think you needed their software/app from everything they write and yet… no you don’t.

Yes, amateurish feels like an apt description for Qobuz. The connection between the streaming side and the download side is a mess. Totally looks like it was done by two different teams with no common ground bar a logo.

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I prefer much more Bandcamp vs Qobuz. If albums are on both sites of course. The download process is friendlier and also the prices are lower.

I actually think they punch well above their weight.

Their fault I think lies in trying to be too ambitious with blogs/equipment reviews and their own app.

The app can act like a download manager, and although other companies also offer apps to help with downloads I get many people don’t want to install such software.

The tar archives are simple on a Mac but would need a utility on windows.

Qobuz also offer you the ability to redownload countless times in different formats - I like that even if it may be overkill for many.

Metadata has always been a bit of an issue, but folder/filenames do not necessarily translate to a bad experience streaming locally from a NAS if the actual metadata is ok .

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You cannot be serious !!! :wink:

Absolutely serious, small outfit that nearly went bust until bailed out by Xandrie.

I like supporting the ‘little guy’, always have, though appreciate Bandcamp may get more money to the artist.

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Will be the case, but as far as streaming choices go, one can apparently do worse than using Qobuz. Per stream they pay ~13 times what Spotify pays and still ~3 times Tidal’s payout.

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Windows 10 does natively support tar files but it’s command line only. There might be an opportunity here to write an application to untar the files and tidy up the metadata for you and save the new files somewhere appropriate but it would take a bit of work to complete it. And the user base is likely quite small.

Yes,seriously. It ain’t exactly rocket science. Anyone that can tie shoelaces can download a simple tar file and extract it with the instructions given by Qobuz. Even this 65 yo fart. Come on.Get serious.

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Totally missing the point that it’s so badly set up it actually doesn’t work for everybody.

Forgive me for not being a fan of responses which rush to blame and demean users in the face of detailed comments as to why these things are issues.

@Alley_Cat I presume you’re not aware that numerous other sites offer the same functionality around repeat downloads and different formats. It’s far from a USP for Qobuz.

Obviously none are perfect but having been in this game for 3 months and with a keen eye for UI and accessibility issues Qobuz I’d say is destined to be a small player at best and very unlikely to make any great leaps forward.

Fine. Whatever. Did not mean to offend somebody,if I did I am sorry.
Just found it strange that you find BandCamp vastly superior over Qobuz when their downloads are also in zip format. The format of which you say,and I quote, “Personally I don’t touch anything zipped simply because it’s dead technology.”
There is obviously some reason why you dislike Qobuz. No problem,to each his own. Last thing I’ll say about this.

An issue for me with Bandcamp is there is no indication of the resolution being downloaded so you always have to assume 16/44 or be disappointed.

Why would you need to assume it when they’re clear that 16/44 is their minimum?

https://get.bandcamp.help/hc/en-us/articles/360057504674-I-m-unhappy-with-the-audio-quality-of-my-download-What-should-I-do-

I know the minimum is 16/44. Some of Bandcamp’s downloads are 24bit but it doesn’t (or didn’t) say so on the website.
I’ve previously purchased from Bandcamp and got 16/44 even though a higher resolution was available elsewhere so I ended up buying twice to get the resolution I wanted.

There are lots of different options out there these days.

I’ve purchased music downloads for probably getting close to two decades so have tried a fair few by now.

I’ve even forgotten the name of that P2P file sharing app that caused such consternation to the industry.

The biggest annoyances are when the rights holders remove a title/track from a vendor’s catalogue. You may have had options to redownload but this can lead to titles disappearing hence the danger of streaming purchases only - uncommon but happens, particularly annoying for single songs on an album which disappear.

Unlimited downloads, potentially, but sometimes only if the title is still in the ‘catalogue’ or hasn’t changed in a subtle manner replacing the one you ‘purchased’.

If the company goes belly up then little chance of getting a repeat download.

Firstly iTunes - the early m4p AAC files were 128 kbps lossy and protected. These were replaced by m4a files with 256 kbps lossy AAC encoding but protection removed. Some of the older protected titles could be upgraded for a nominal fee, not all. Several music purchases from iTunes are no longer available to download.

Anyone remember Wippit? It may have resurfaced at some point.

Linn music downloads - it was generally a single shot at downloading only in the psst, several items I have been unable to redownload. Linn used to offer a peculiar downloader app.

Bandcamp - used them at least as far back as 2011 (not 2001), but the account is now inaccessible for some reason, maybe a GDPR thing, but several items I purchased cannot be accessed - they’re on an external drive somewhere providing I can find it.

Amazon music - I like their AutoRip service (free MP3 downloads of eligible CD purchases) when it’s available but lossy. Amazon used to offer a downloader app for these AutoRip titles too. Many of my legacy CD purchases got AutoRip files retrosepctively, but I think 50-60% are missing - have used Amazon since at least 2001. I have purchased a few MP3 albums from Amazon, AFAIK I can still download them.

7digital - liked their service as an alternative to the ‘big guys’ years ago, but am unable to redownload many older purchases which were limited to MP3 back then. Can’t recall if they zipped albums or if there was a downloader app. They’re on my NAS anyway.

Qobuz - have used them for 4-5 years - the catalogue suits or doesn’t. I really enjoy my Sublime discounts on hi-res. I have had no major issues downloading/redownloading in various formats - maybe just need a single format, but without comparing I think it’s difficult to be certain that different lossless formats will sound the same - either due to streamer architecture or provenance of the files. If Qobuz say get a ‘master FLAC’ and re-encode to other formats/quality on the fly for downloads then likely to be the same. If the different formats come from the record company they could potentially have been processed differently.

HDTRACKS, HIRESAUDIO, DEEZER etc I’ve not tried, but largely as until recently some did not have a UK site, or in other cases as redownloads were limited (probably adequate, but not unlimited).

Tidal - have a streaming subcription but never purchased a download (many people seem unaware you can buy from Tidal).

Anyhow, after all of that, whichever services you look at need to satisfy your tastes. Qobuz largely does so for me whether I download as a tar or track by track.