I currently use Spotify Premium and considering trialling Qubuz? I have been hanging on to my Spotify subscription in the hope that the promised HiRes upgrade would happen, however I don’t think it ever will!
Is Qubuz that much better? I mostly listen to Prog and Rock and was wondering if their catalogue is very extensive, especially the obscure stuff.I do find Spotify very easy to use, is Qubuz just as good?
Yes the quality is that much better. At least 4x the resolution.
In terms of interface Spotify is better than Qobuz. There is no Qobuz connect yet and in terms of apps Spotify is miles ahead in terms of user experience.
BUT Qobuz has native Naim integration so you can play it from the Naim app and you can use Roon with Qobuz if you want. Spotify you HAVE to play from the Spotify app.
I use both. Technically Qobuz is better sound. I wouldn’t like to bet I could pick out qobuz flac from spotify maximum quality in a blind test. Spotify is more heavily featured, some of which is good and some, like smart ai playlists, and ads for right wing podcasts, I could really do without. Spotify has a bigger range of music, where qobuz has some odd blind spots and omissions (Tortoise, for example).
It’s my understanding that Qobuz pays artists a bit more per stream. Spotify in general is a really bad company in terms of ethics and supporting artists. I am pretty certain that if Spotify could gain a monopoly position over YouTube music, Apple music, Tidal, and Qobuz it would waste no time at all in raising prices, exploiting artists even more, and providing worse customer service, so using an alternative might help keep streaming as good as it is now for longer…
You can only cast from the Qobuz app using Airplay or Chromecast. There is no Connect function like there is with Spotify or Tidal, although Qobuz have said that they will add this at some point.
Depending on what streamer you use, there may be integrated Qobuz support, or not.
I just have Bluesound Node 2 I find it has decent SQ for the money. I am pretty much old school and not that tech savvy. From your comments I am guessing the Qubuz isn’t so user friendly, however I am only interested in the SQ so might go for the free trial
I believe the Node 2 doesn’t support Airplay, so you would need to use the BluOS app to browse and control Qobuz.
You may find that browsing music in the Qobuz app is preferable to doing so in the BluOS app. I would suggest getting a trial subscription so see if any sound quality improvements are worthwhile for the loss of some convenience compared to Spotify.
By the way if you want better quality with Spotify like functionality, you could consider Tidal. It also offers Connect functionality like Spotify and their app is a LOT better than that of Qobuz.
I have trialled Tidal when I bought the lounge Muso I got a 3 month free trial. I had thought about tidal but based on this forum I get the impression most of you have Qubuz and thought it was better quality
There are a lot of opinions about it but you must see what works best for you.
Recently it apparently came to light that Qobuz digitally changes all files, but I only read it here so cannot confirm or deny.
Tidal is moving to high-res FLAC and the support for Naim devices have been stated to be in the planning. I read online and it says your Bluesound will support Tidal MAX already.
I personally cancelled my Qobuz account and have only Tidal now and I am really happy. The integrations are a LOT better than Qobuz if you don’t use the Naim app or Roon.
If you play Qobuz via Chromecast or Airplay you wont benefit from the hi res anyways. And it was mentioned on here somewhere (I cannot remember exactly where) that running Qobuz through Chromecast really stresses the stack and memory available for that in the NAIM devices.
The only way you’ll know exactly is if you compare all three on your devices and listen if you hear a difference.
But Tidal will give you a very similar user experience to Spotify and a much better one than Qobuz if you want to use the app.
Thanks for the quick feedback. From your comments I am leaning more towards Tidal now as I have already trialled it and found it great to use. My main source is vinyl anyway but I am just trying to get the best SQ possible from the Bluesound before I consider upgrading in the future. thanks for your replies and insight a great forum to be part of.
I recently moved my family account to Tidal after finally losing patience with the wait for Spotify to deliver higher res.
Tidal is cheaper, sounds better on my modest system (I have convinced myself of this through extensive testing… hmm ) and the app is pretty similar without some the slick Spotify features that only my 13 your old daughter used (collaborative playlists…)
I’ve enjoyed the music its algorithm has suggested and assume this will get more focused over time.
Not too many complaints from my family - so it’s keeping a jazz guy in his forties happy and a pop-centric daughter happy too.
I suggest that adding a quality dac to your node (if you don’t already have one) will improve sound quality significantly more than swapping out Spotify. The Node is a great streamer but the built in dac is pretty low quality.
Has anyone had any experience of the Topping D90 Dac at around £900? Gets great reviews on the Audioscience review website. Could I connect my Bluesound Node to it easily?
Not my money to spend but I would say that if you are considering spending this on an DAC for the Bluesound, perhaps hanging onto it as a start for saving up for something like an Atom HE (assume you are running the bluesound through some decent amplifier?).