Hi
Is anyone using both Tidal and Qobuz? If so why? Sorry just interested not meant as a criticism, I’m just interested why ? I’m trying to make my mind up. I like the idea of the Higher res offerings on Qobuz.
Many Thanks
D
There are countless threads on this subject.
Have you searched and read through existing comments?
I found a lot of topics re Qobuz and a lot relating to Tidal, but not anyone using both, maybe your search criteria was better than mine, what did you search for to find the users using both?
Really?
‘Tidal Qobuz comparison’ throws up 50 plus hits..included several threads titled Tidal v Qobuz or similar.
With respect, I didn’t ask for a comparison between the two, I was asking if anyone uses both. Or just one if both:-why?
1 Like
He doesn’t want to know how they compare, but if there are people who uses both.
2 Likes
The 50+ hits on examination are largely unrelated. Mostly people who tried one and then the other and all sorts of vaguely related stuff.
I’ve been using both for nearly 5 years. Very specific reasons.
I didn’t start streaming, bar having the very irritating Spotify app on my iOS devices, until 5 years ago. The offspring on the other hand was streaming for several years before that on their phone. I was keen that they heard decent sound so Mrs. H. agreed to pay for a Tidal sub for them. When they were gifted a QB about 7 years ago it became even more relevant. Having the app login became essential in terms of monitoring usage as she didn’t realise the access to videos and all sorts of other dodgy sh1te and that became very relevant during a period of very poor mental health.
When I finally moved to streaming, having found something with sound as engaging as my CDX2, it was natural to use the logon for Tidal on there too. There being an Innuos. I wanted to try Qobuz, having heard so much about it, and so signed up for a trial. I found loads more on Qobuz than Tidal that I’d been unable to source on CD when I moved from vinyl so it made sense for me to retain Qobuz as there were many not on Tidal at all. Equally, Tidal has 34 albums of mine not available on Qobuz so…
This Summer the DAC has been in for repair and, at this point, the amp should be in Poland so I’ve been using the Tidal and Qobuz apps rather than Innuos Sense and have scaled down my listening and TV viewing and gone out to do other stuff. When I have listened to music on my iPad or added new albums from new releases I’d say the Qobuz app is ahead of Tidal in terms of search basics and a few other things besides.
Hope that helps.
3 Likes
Yep I use both. Have been using Tidal for years but found Qobuz used be a little more clunky and some things appeared on Tidal but not Qobuz.
The latter still occurs from time to time but the Qobuz experience is now significantly improved and their various suggested listening type leads are very good. Like the magazine too. So nowadays I subscribe to both. Hardly crippling financially and I like the options of the two.
If I had to ditch one now it would be Tidal though.
3 Likes
I would agree with that in full, including which one I’d ditch if I had to.
3 Likes
Thanks Mike and Jamie for your reply’s and also to French Rooster for the understanding.
4 Likes
I once used both for a bit. I cancelled TIDAL in favor of Qobuz, which I still have. At least to me it is pointless to waste money subscribed to both.
The only reason I was subscribed to both simultaneously was to see what I liked better. The MQA thing made the decision easy for me. After that Qobuz dropped prices so that reinforced my decision.
3 Likes
I don’t use either, but my understanding is that their catalogues are different, so that could very well drive choice including choosing both.
1 Like
I guess it depends on what you listen to. I play jazz and classical primarily, and there wasn’t a lot of differences I found at the time. Some but not enough to pay double the cost.
1 Like
Indeed, though your observation is interesting as I’ve read quite a few people saying Q is better than T for classical.
2 Likes
I use both and have for a few years now. Mainly because there are some artists or albums you can get on one but not the other. I also am somewhat biased at this point in that I cannot help but feel that Qobuz has a slight edge in sound quality, and Hi Res sounds amazing on most recordings.
1 Like
I should add that. using a Chord DAC meant I didn’t have access to MQA so if there was comparing to be done it was between CD quality on both. I could never nail it down to a specific thing but my ears preferred Qobuz. There is clearly some bias in there because the very nature of Tidal having only 34 albums I couldn’t find on Qobuz means I naturally listen to Qobuz more anyway but I guess what I identified was that albums very familiar to me sounded closer to how I remember those albums on vinyl or CD when using Qobuz.
I don’t think it’s especially helpful to get into the whole high res thing because, frankly, contrary to one of the perspectives above, not all high res does sound amazing and they key factor there is more the mastering than the service. In my early days of streaming I purchased a few high res albums of things I loved. It took quite a while before I found one where my jaw dropped and that remains the case even today. I will often be listening and think “gosh that sounds so good” etc. only to glance at my DAC and see that what I’m raving about is red book cd quality.
The catalogue thing is fascinating to me. I simply don’t think it’s as presented by many. Certainly Tidal is by far the better place to go for various forms of dance music but that doesn’t make it worse on other genres. There’s lots of talk as those of you’re into jazz or classical you’re going to be hugely disappointed but in reality this alleged chasm is really no more than some small gaps.
There is of course someone always willing to come along with an anecdote about x, whom they love, and how albums 1 to 5 are there with albums 20 to 40 but there’s a gap in the middle. That’s usually accompanied by the “has everything but this one album, which is disgraceful/extraordinary”. No matter how many times people do this I think the reality is that the plural of anecdote will never be evidence and if you go into streaming thinking that the stuff about “everything” being there is true or that you’re going to be able to reconstruct your vinyl or CD collection then you’re always going to be disappointed. There’s a reason why streaming remains a useful adjunct for some people and the only means of listening for others.
I’ve found gaps in both. Having both reduces the gap a tiny bit but not that much. The harsh reality is that expecting streaming services to have constantly perfect licensing arrangements is unrealistic as expecting them to have your favourite 1947 classical performance. Being critical of such absences seems to me to be both harsh and entirely oblivious to commercial realities.
2 Likes
I started with Tidal, later added Qobuz and eventually kept Qobuz (and Spotify).
This is my personal perception:
- Tidal has a slightly different sound than Qobuz. It sounds slightly less detailed with more bass.
- I prefer the Jazz and Soul catalog of Qobuz. Tidal seems to have a bias toward modern R&B etc.
- The algorithms of Tidal would feed me recommendations that did not match my taste. Qobuz is better in that sense. Spotify recommendations are better than Qobuz.
Now that Spotify Lossless is here, I see myself using Spotify more for casual listening (playlists) and Qobuz for more serious listening (albums). So, Spotify Lossless is maybe a third contender.
1 Like
I’ve been using both for a few years. I started out with Tidal, added Qobuz and never got round to cancelling Tidal.
The big change for me is Qobuz connect which means I really should ditch Tidal now. The similarities are far, far bigger than the differences these days - SQ, catalogue & curation. The best reason for choosing Qobuz over the alternatives is their commitment to fair payments for artists.
3 Likes
Yes and no. Whilst Qobuz theoretically shell out 5x more to rights holders than other platforms, artists don’t really get their plays on Qobuz and the overall streaming economy remains dismal with many well played artists seeing nothing at all.
The argument that it’s the best reason falls down further when you look at artists contracts and the need to recoup upfront costs. New artists may see nothing from streaming for many years.
I’d rather choose on catalogue and give my money to artists at venues.
1 Like
Having declined Qobuz’s not so generous offer to stump up 3 years in advance, I’m still playing with both Tidal and Qobuz (3 years Qobuz is quite a bit of dual subscriptions) although I’m increasingly tempted by a Qobuz Sublime subscription, assuming I can master their downloads process….
ATB, J
1 Like