Qobuz metadata

Qobuz has been patchy with metadata. More unreliable than any other supplier. But in my case this doesn’t matter. I strip most or all of the meta data out and put my own tags in. There is nothing sacred about the data supplied with files. It can be full of errors, spelling mistakes, typos etc.

There are two other sources of non existent or rubbish data in my personal music collecting experiences. Naim ripped WAVs and Special editions of albums/collections that come with hires files on a DVD or BD, such as most of Steven Wilson’s remixes.

Naim rippers don’t tag WAVs. If I couldn’t tell the difference between WAV and FLAC, or preferred FLAC this wouldn’t be an issue. But indexing a folder full of rips that originally came off HDX or US (and if I understand correctly, the latest generation of Naim rippers) requires starting from scratch, as I found when I needed to tag around 800 albums, ripped by my HDX into a tag format that could be indexed and presented by Asset and Mininserver.

Ripping hires WAVs from DVD and BD can be an even bigger challenge because it can sometimes take time to positively identify exactly which version of the track you are listening to. The Steven Wilson remixes usually contain a multitude of versions of the same tracks, some difficult to identify without some auditing and head scratching.

If you want a job doing properly, do it yourself. Tag it exactly how you want it tagged. It’s part of the fun of it for me. Even if the fun occasionally has me grinding my teeth!