Please can you help my understanding about these services?
For streaming I have SN2, NDX2 and an iPhone (nothing else ie NO network storage, No Roon etc)
I simply stream from Tidal using the Naim app on my phone which means I cannot access Tidal Hi Def music. I see from this site that many feel Qobus offers better sound quality Hi Def music compared with Tidal.
My questions are embarrassingly basic…
If I took out a subscription for Qobus Sublime+ do I get access to Hi Def music with my existing set up? (ie can I do this without adding other pieces of hardware/software?).
On the Qobus website the Sublime+ offer is £249 per annum. Is there a way to get a better deal than this as some on here appear to be getting a discount on this.
I don’t understand why What Hifi’s view of Qubus is clearly at odds with the experiences of many on here. This from their review:
“But when it comes to hi-res streams, Qobuz is distinctly second best. In our previous review of the Sublime+ tier, we noted “a lack of unity to the sound, compared to the same recordings delivered by Tidal Masters”, and that remains the case.”
If you do go for a Qobuz trial, spend some time comparing the music catalogues of both services, and in particular make sure that you won’t be losing some of the favourites you have identified when using Tidal.
I recently considered moving from Tidal to Qobuz, but discovered that Qobuz had limited content of quite a few of my favourite artists. Enough to prevent me from making the shift.
I am sure that this would also potentially be the case the other way round as well, but I simply didn’t want to lose my access to albums by these particular artists.
Most people suggest that Qobuz has a more comprehensive classical catalogue, and perhaps a slightly more comprehensive Jazz catalogue. What are your musical tastes?
Qobuz Studio is a fiver a month cheaper than Tidal HiFi (in the UK anyway) and gives far better sound with the hi res streams than Tidal HiFi at CD quality so what’s not to like? When my Qobuz trial is up I’ll be signing up and Tidal will be getting binned
Search MQA on this forum. I understand reconstruction not bitperfect - however whatever it does to the sound some people like, but not everyone. Perhaps the What HiFi people are in the ‘like’ camp, whether through unbiased preference, or through having been convinced by the MQA makers.
(The differing views of MQA are reminiscent of the quite unrelated effect where RF entering a DAC can cause artefacts in the analogue audio, e.g. noise floor modulation which apparently some people hear as making the music seem ‘brighter’ - which to some people is positive, to others negative, but either way is not a faithfull reproduction of the music as recorded in the original file.)
Ignore most hifi mags, in my view just full of self righteous hifi buffoons trying to listen out for what’s not there, out do each other with audio descriptive wordology and brainwash readers into upgrading when there is really no need to. Trust your ears and your own kit and room,something the hifi reviewers do not have.
I used Tidal for 2 1/2 years when Qobuz introduced to the US a couple of months ago I did a free trial and on the last day I canceled my Tidal Subscription and signed up for the Qobus $14.99 a month plan. The Hi-Res on Qobus sounded a lot better to me than what I was listening to on Tidal.
I also have no interest in looking at MQA so Tidal was heading in a direction that I was not interested in going.
I’ve been flip flopping between Tidal and Qobuz for some time taking advantage of the offers available. I had settled my mind on Qobuz (particularly after the price drop) as I prefer the UI and also the sound quality. However, I just cancelled to take advantage of Tidal’s £4 for 120 day offer (again). Whilst I don’t think it’s as good as Qobuz it’s not massive for me. In all likelihood I will end up back on Qobuz when all the offers end.
Thanks for responses so far.
I am after best quality and I am taking the Qobuz one month free trial.
To my ears Qobuz is noticeably better. I am absolutely loving it!!
Qobuz is clearer, has a wider soundstage. improved bass and treble.
Both Cd quality and HiDef quality is better than Tidal - you just want to listen to the music and forget everything else. Wonderful.
The Smiths first album sounds absolutely astonishing in HD.
However, accessing Qobuz via the Naim app is proving to be a faff. It’s not nearly as easy to use as native Tidal. The app often defaults to connecting to my iPhone (rather than the NDX2) so I have to manually uncheck it and manually reconnect to the NDX2 which is killing me.
I have also found Qobuz (within the Naim ap) to be glitchy.
Is anyone using Qobuz directly from the Qobuz app?
Am I doing something wrong here?
The way I use it is I use the search icon from the Naim app home screen. That searches everything so I then tap on the Qobuz button that turns green and filters out just Qobuz search results
If you are using the Qobuz iOS app, you are presumably using Airplay to send the stream to the Naim streamer, in which case you will not be getting a 24 bit stream, as Airplay is limited to 16 bit.
qobuz sounds better to me and if you listen to classical it has pdfs of many of the cd booklets (libretto etc) - tho not on naim app so you have to access those via qobuz own app.
coverage is noticably less than tidal especially for world music and for older albums.
Good advice here - also you may find that certain albums have different releases between Qobuz and Tidal - I assume to one being more US oriented and the other more European, so when migrating lists you may need to search for the alternate album - this was the case for me moving from Tidal to Qobuz.
If you have a tool like Roon it can make this task an awful lot simpler and really easy to compare catalogue differences and you then see the differences for Rock / Pop for albums between the two is marginal, and as said either way. There are greater differences on compilations and singles/EPs
For me the limitation of relatively constrained resolution of 44.1/16 was the real drawback with Tidal. Qobuz offers hidef and much new content now is 24 bit - which I assume is then decimated by the distributor for Tidal or transcoded to the MQA codec.
Thanks for taking the time to send the screenshots. It prompted me to think why my app didn’t
look like yours and then the penny dropped; I have not done a software update and hence the problems. Update now done and I am currently ‘having a play’. I am loving the improvement to the sound (moving from Tidal to Qobuz) which has surprised me, although I also think its testament to the NDX2 that the differences can be so clearly heard.
I am absolutely loving listening to the HiRes albums I love. I will most probably ditch Tidal. I am definitely staying with Qobus.
Cisco switch + BJ cables + SN2 + NDX2 + Powerlines + SL cables = one hell of a two box system.
Its been many years since I bought What Hifi but I was researching Qobus reviews and WHF claims Tidal sounds better. I am totally mystified by this . . . but mainly I am just loving the better sound quality.
Hi Hmack
Yes, I have seen others saying this (catalogue) and it’s clearly an issue.
I’m going to see how I go with the one month trial. I may end up keeping both T and Q.
Music is mainly contemporary and jazz
Beatles, Velvet Underground, Scott Walker, Paul Simon
Stevie Wonder, Nick Drake, Blonde, Chic, The Clash, Kraftwerk, Curtis Mayfield
Suzanne Vega, The Blue Nile, Smiths, Prefab Sprout, Bunnymen, Go-Betweens, Talk Talk
Stephen Duffy & TLT, David Sylvian, Massive Attack, Aim, Scritti Politti
Jon Hopkins, Sufjan Stevens, LTJ Bukem, MBV, Low, Christine & The Queens
Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, Canonball Adderley
Is there any way you can search albums that are HiRes?
