I have been reading elsewhere that Qobuz is apparently more analog sounding than Tidal (according to some), more detailed with better separation, etc. I think there is the newness effect going on and expectation bias.
I hear no difference between the two.
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Do you think dknk is experiencing expectation bias given he posted he didnāt expect any difference in sound quality between tidal and Qobuz. 
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In general between the two sources CD quality streams, I couldnāt tell any difference. It was comparing Hi-Res vs MQA first unfold I could tell the difference and I preferred Qobuz. Just my experience using both sources for well over a year.
In the end I found myself choosing Qobuz over Tidal since I sought out Hi-Res content. Now that Tidal will soon drop MQA I may revisit my decision but I do like the option to buy downloads direct from Qobuzā¦ Whatās that expression? āFirst world problemsā
Good question.
All I can say is that based on the hype and marketing, I was expecting Qobuz to sound better. I even really wanted Qobuz to sound better!
I gave it many chances, but alas, it is the same as Tidal to my ears. YMMV.
You have to have in mind what kind of system people have when comparing to. I do favour Qobuz in my system. But their apps are horrible indeed. Will likely move to Tidal when they soon launch lossless hi res and put MQA to sleep.
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Yes, itās bias. I canāt tell any difference from local 16/44 flac strams to the Tidal 16/44 streams. I did expect Qobuz to be no different, and in my setup I find no difference with Qobuz.
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Iām not aware of anyone claiming that Qobuz sounded any better than Tidal when comparing the same material, i.e. 16/44.1 FLAC. It certainly sounded the same to me when I was comparing them before moving to Qobuz. I did find Qobuz 24 bit to sound a little better than 16/44.1 Tidal, and MQA a little worse.
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After a 30 day side by side comparison years ago when Qobuz was introduced into the US I found Qobuz to sound superior. My room, My system, My ears. At that time it was also less expensive so was an easy decision. Moving to an annual account the price was down to $10.83 per month.
I have never found a problem with their app on my iPad or iPhone when controlling through the NAIM app. Also use their web app on my laptop to search for artists and along with a pair of headphones to listen to music when traveling.
Once TIDAL finishes restructuring, then perhaps another side by side could be in order. For the time being quite satisfied staying where Iām atā¦
Making it into my 70ās one thing I have learned is that change is constantā¦
Life is sweet!
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I am also in Canada. I have been using Tidal for several years. I subscribed to Qobuz this weekend. I did some A-B testing and Tidal CD-quality is a little denser than Qobuz. First impressions the low frequencies with Qobuz are lighter than Tidal. The High Freq register with Qobuz are more present than Tidal. The presentation is different and interesting too. Tidal sounds more frank and Qobuz more airy to my ears with ND5xs2 + Supernait3. Instruments, voices etc. do not seem balanced in the same way between the right-left speakers too. It is āpresentedā differently.
I will listen to my playlists to hear and appreciate the newcomer Qobuz more in the coming days.
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