Qobuz vs. Tidal

I have both but I should really cancel Qobuz. Tidal has got some incredible features that I use regularly, such as My Mix. I need to figure out what is in my library specific to Qobuz. If it is not too much, I am dumping Qobuz.

In my opinion, Qobuz sounds cleaner and more refined to my ears. While both streaming services don't quite match up to a locally stored file on a correctly copied hard drive, Qobuz stands out for its superior high-resolution files. On the other hand, Tidal tends to feel more confined and less expansive. Depending on the album, I perceive Tidal to be somewhat rougher and less smooth overall, whereas Qobuz offers a clearer and slightly better clarity.

@greg_f  I'm a metal head.  I find Qobuz to have a more hi res  choices.  In the other hand Tidal does have a few more obscure bands if you're into extreme metal. 

If you use Roon it at least equalizes the UI part, so you can make a decision more based on SQ. I personally like Qobuz just a tiny bit more but it's not as obvious to me as what some people say.

Also keep in mind all streaming services have an issue with not being very obvious about which master is involved. Not a big deal for some music but things like classic rock has quite a few versions out there. When comparing two streaming services, we may actually be hearing different masters which will impact the conclusion.

I've used both, but prefer Qobuz. There's more space,  nuance,  detail,  etc.  That said,  Tidal is more user friendly. 

I quit Tidal years ago and went to Amazon HD and Qobuz  I’ve been wanting to stop Amazon, but the wife really likes it and finds it much easier to operate than Qobuz. They each have their pros and cons. With having two music suggestions, it’s gonna be a while before I try Tidal again.

At first, I thought that SQ alone was what should decide.

Qobuz won right away for having a default player that finally actually doesn't sound bad compared to even the average local-file player.  After that, Qobuz won, even while playing both on the best player that supports both streamers also, Audirvana.  The reason is because Tidal was busy screwing customers by charging double for a false invisible bandwidth saving technology that makes stuff sound worse than the original 44.1khz versions, MQA.

Except after Qobuz winning by sounding the least broken, Qobuz had new music browsing that was the same only around two pages for my whole 6 months with them.  On top of that, and a point on which Tidal destroys ever other streamer, is that my Qobuz personalized playlist never offered anything I cared about.  Tidal gives me 8 different smart playlists all separated by music types, which also rotate every few days.

That turns out to be the actual winning point in the streaming services war, how good are my personalized playlists.  Although if they didn't also offer the best playback copy of that track, I would complain.  Since Audirvana supports Tidal and Qobuz streaming for their users, the only thing to desire is downloading the FLAC file, decompress it onto a temporary hard drive wav file, and then play that file instead of having any streaming overhead, either.  If you're a believer in FLAC still sounding like it's all there, and is also inaudibly altered for playback, try seeing if you can hear the disappearing brass instrument effect of uncompressed original playback, which you have to admit is required for reference playback quality.  Too much gets played back by lossless compression playback, you're supposed to be able to fall asleep compared to lossless compression playback, if it's a good track.

So, Tidal proves to me that 8 smart rotating playlists wins first, and then whichever service runs through Audirvana, so that I can only complain about the isolated compression and even worse streaming issue, that could be defeated, as above.

I still have to get more into pressing favorite whenever a track is better than the rest, to work the system most effectively.  I think we need a number out of 100 to really help with the custom playlists, not just favorite or nothing.

Anyways, Tidal is (for some reason not all as one batch file that could be finished in a day) reverting all their tracks to normal, non-MQA,  Their player remains disappointing only when compared to Qobuz's, and especially compared to normal local file players, but their browsing and customizable playlists are way ahead of the rest.  But $10 per month for an Audirvana subscription allows both Tidal and Qobuz streaming also through the #1 local file player.

Also, after Jay-Z got out of the Tidal business, they made higher res streaming included in the regular recently lowered subscription cost.  That makes up for me sticking with them through the MQA scam, just to get my 8 smart playlists.

As it stands, I only have to suffer with less than stellar audio quality if I want to hear sound from a game at the same time, when I'll have to use the default streamer's player.  Audirvana locks my audio device into the only "not adding any problems to the output" ASIO output mode.

I currently have Qobuz annual and Tidal on a 30 day trial. April 10th Tidal is lowering it's price where the 2 services are competitive. I stream through a Node and modded Node 2i using the coax pass through to my Anthem receiver and Peachtree integrate which both have superior DACs.

It's fairly easy to A/B between the streaming services and I find Qobuz to sound better on same songs.The interface with Tidal is better and I wish Qobuz had the very convenient Tidal Connect feature. They both sound good through Android Auto on my car. In the end SQ trumps features. I will be re-upping with Qobux.

Qobuz absolutely sounds better, with a vastly superior collection of high resolution files, and if you choose to upgrade to their premium plan, you have the added benefit of being able to purchase the files for half off of the regular price, which is another great bonus.

As for their customer service, it does suck and is admittedly slow, but if there is ever an issue, they do ultimately respond  but there are rarely issues  

I have both Qobuz and Tidal and listen primarily via Roon.  When mobile, I use Tidal alone rather than Qobuz or Roon's ARC.  I find the Tidal interface to be easier for mobile. 

There shouldn't be a difference in SQ unless they are different masters.  In general, the only difference to me is the different libraries of music.  Occasionally Qobuz seems to have their servers at capacity. 

I have Spotify Premium, which to my ears, doesn’t sound too bad at all.  Wondering how much better QoBuz will sound?

@lou_setriodes Well, they offer a free trial so why not just give it a try and see what you think?

Anyone using QoBuz or Tidal with a Bluesound Node 2i?  

Just curious because that’s what I’m using with an Audio-gd NFS-1C DAC.  I have Spotify Premium, which to my ears, doesn’t sound too bad at all.  Wondering how much better QoBuz will sound?  Thanks 🙏 

Which one of the two has a larger metal / alt rock library ? I can find almost all I want on Spotify but the quality is not that good.

I had a very strange experience when comparing Qobuz to Tidal a couple of years ago, when I was trying to decide which service had the best sound quality.  I pulled up "Jack of Speed" from Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" album. 

There is a prominent trombone phrase throughout the song which sits fairly upfront in the mix on the original CD and on Tidal.  When hearing it on Qobuz, it sat much lower in the mix. It was as if someone did a re-mix (not just a re-master), and really lowered that individual track.  I don't think it had been re-released at that time, so it left me scratching my head and thinking WTF.  That made my mind up to go with Tidal.  

Qobuz is preferable due to larger hi-res catalog but does not offer as many titles as Tidal. Many songs in my playlists cant be found on Qobuz. The Tidal Android app is also superior (for on the go listening). So....I compromise and subscribe to both.

I have found that Qobuz has a much larger classical library.  Tidal has a better interface.  Spotify has great algorithms for passive listening.  I keep all three and listen almost constantly. 

in my car & in my home... Qobuz sounds best to me. 
i ran them both for a year. then cancelled Tidal. 
even MP4s on my ipod sounded better than Tidal. 

I wish I knew why Tidal is reducing their prices.  I can add my wife to a family plan and still pay less that what I was paying.

As far as customer service they're both about the same, I've had issues with both. Used Qobuz  exclusively for several years, now that Tidal has reduced prices a change may be coming.

Qobuz via Roon

@soix Thanks, although I didn’t get this email I did receive one when they had an outage a couple of weeks back where other didn’t. Who knows. I still enjoy the service though! 

OP

I am in the same boat right now.  I use the Innuos Sense app for my streamer and the Qobuz app direct from my phone, when using my simple music bar and through from connections music will pause and stop playing.  The music selection to find a decent playlist is less than desirable. I found not to bother with any QB playlists. Does Tidal have stations?  I hate to say this, but I find myself going back to Pandora for variety and for free. QB customer service response a day later.  My last email about the music cutting out has gone unanswered. 

Second, usually when you have an annual subscription, you get an email that you are about to renew and they will be charging you card for the renewal. Not the case with Quobuz. got this email from Qobuz two months!!! before my subscription was due to auto renew.  Maybe your notification went to spam?

@dinov I received this email two months!!! before my subscription was due to renew.  Maybe your notification went to spam?

@audphile1 Thanks for the heads up on pricing.  Since they moved from MQA to FLAC I was thinking about doing a trial.  When I saw the monthly fee for Tidal I said forgeddabout it!  I'll give Tidal another look. Tidal has the advantage of the "connect" feature if you want to use it on the go like in your car/ bluetooth speaker etc.

+1 Quobuz, great selection, sound quality, never any issues with streaming except buying and downloading music from them. In this area I agree with the poor customer service problems. First, every time I’ve downloaded purchase music I’ve had an issue and it’s was virtually impossible to get any help, so I ultimately figured it out on my own. Second, usually when you have an annual subscription, you get an email that you are about to renew and they will be charging you card for the renewal. Not the case with Quobuz. So I’m a little leery about that and if I ever wanted to cancel or make my changes what that process might be like. Other than that I’m satisfied.

I've tried to get help from Qoboz and can't get a response. Many users of Qobuz have indicated their CS leaves a lot to be desired. 

Qobuz needs no customer service. 

Given the choice between Qobuz charging all customers another $2 a month to hire 4 people for customer service for perhaps 1% of the customers who find a reason to contact them, I prefer keeping it the way it is. I have never had a need to contact them for anything.

I was with Tidal for 6 years before Qobuz entered Canada and never had a reason to contact them either. 

I've had Spotify for years and recently tried both Tidal and qobuz.

Easily transferred my spotify songs with both services.

The only reason I'm sticking with qobuz is that it seems to automatically keep all songs at same sound level during playback. With Tidal I either had to volume up or down between songs. I may have missed where you can do that on Tidal but it was automatically done on qobuz.

I don't here much differences in sound quality between the 2 formats. Using avm 90 and eversolo dmp-a8. 

Qobuz needs no customer service.  It's your app for the streamer that might be your problem. CD's have a slight edge in SQ compared to Qobuz streams played through the same DAC. In a blind test you are hard pressed to tell the difference.

So if I want to transfer my Tidal playlist to Qobuz I can do that now? Do the Tidal songs stay in the same format they were in Tidal? On a side note I was listening to Tidal the other day and all the MQA songs still played. 

I have the Eversolo DMP A8. I couldn't figure out how to delete tracks on my Qobuz phone app. Right clicking on the Qobuz desktop app allow me to delete tracks. It's much easier to edit playlist on the desktop app.

I've used both Tidal and Qobuz, and have stayed with Qobuz for the SQ. However content curation and the recommendation engine of Tidal are MUCH better. In my view it's fair to say Qobuz offers the best SQ and the worst content curation.

I have both and prefer Qobuz because I think the SQ is a bit better and it offers more high res cuts. SQ is subjective and I find the difference slight but noticeable. 
I think the Tidal interface is better and maybe it has a greater selection 

In my opinion both are really good- millions of lossless tunes available at the press of a button for a modest monthly charge 

it’s a long way from the record clubs of my youth 

@soix and @arnold_h for me thru the conductor 4 app it’s been the opposite. For example if I search for Patricia Barber on Qobuz, I get her albums that are available along with the Live A Fortnight in France where not a single song is available for streaming. I ran across a similar search results for other artists. But I’ve not seen albums not show up. Overall it’s pretty solid though. 
 

I have Tidal, Spotify & Qobuz. I had a major computer problem & lost both Qobuz & Tidal. Tidal CS worked with me for over half an hour getting it back. Great service. Qobuz never answered my email. I finally deleted my QB account for a week & opened a new one because I think it sounds a little better than Tidal. Lucky I had Spotify to save all my music. I used Tune My Music to transfer all the playlists back to Qobuz & Tidal. I'll keep all three now...just in case. 

I have both Qobuz and Tidal.  For me, on my system I find the sound on Qobuz to be better; however, I do use both via Roon. I will add that I am very impressed with the latest update that Qobuz did just a few weeks ago allowing for easy import of playlists from any other service into their platform. I also prefer Qobuz remotely.  I primarily listen to Jazz, Classical, and Rock. I did have an issue on Tidal once and they resolved it …. eventually. 

Lately I have seen tidal bandwidth lacking ,not even Flac files on some recordings 

not good . On average QObuz I feel sounds better.

Many thanks to all for your thoughtful comments and suggestions.

I switched back to tidal from Qobuz because they dropped their price. I couldn’t be happier. Way more user friendly. 

I use Qobuz.  IMHO better SQ and seamless integration with Aurender Conductor. 

Don’t have search issues with Tidal, Qobuz, Roon or Auender Conductor 4.   What are the examples of an issue you’re running into with search?

@audphile1 Have a look at the post abov@arnold_h — his experience and frustrations mimic my own exactly.

I have used both Tidal and Qobuz over the past 6 months streaming through my Aurender N 200.  Both work well and no hiccups on Conductor with either streaming service.  Based on my music preference - jazz, female vocals, R&B - I am finding Qobuz to offer a wider selection.  To be honest I can't tell the difference in sound quality between the two.  

Re the pronunciation of Qobuz -  its " Kow - buhz "   At least thats how I am pronouncing it! 

I tried them both and could not tell a difference in SQ so I went with The Qobuz cause I didn't care for the history of Tidal the way it came to be.

Qobuz user here.

I liked it better than Tidal as I can get a year membership and not have to deal with monthly charges.

No issues with searches, and I like much of the music it will pick out after my album ends.

B

Don’t have search issues with Tidal, Qobuz, Roon or Auender Conductor 4. 
What are the examples of an issue you’re running into with search?

soix

... With the level of tech today you wouldn’t think it’d be too hard to have someone fairly easily implement a decent search function ...

That's a function of the software you're using to stream Qobuz, e.g. Conductor if you're using an Aurender, or perhaps Volumio if you're using a Raspberry Pi.

@cleeds I wasn’t using software, just direct on the Qobuz site.  It just sucks. Period. 

@lalitk I went over to Agon and tried sending you a message w/ some more playlists but that was flittered!  Ugg...I sent off a query to Tammy. A while back ago I posted this (some gone like 12.5) and that worked. Hynm.

@soix  & @arnold_h Yes the native app or web browser search function in Qobuz is so-so w/ too many variables to be nuanced at times to find something that's not even esoteric. 

I currently have both Tidal and Qobuz but I do prefer Tidal over Qobuz. For me, Tidal just seems to be more user friendly and also provides the user with more music selection options than Qobuz. There’s no noticeable difference in SQ between the two.  So, if I had to keep just one, it would definitely be Tidal.

I am using version 4.

OP,

So the issue is with the Conductor app. Are you using version 3 or 4?

Aurender introduced the new Conductor 4 app a few months ago. There have been some problems for some folks, it was a major upgrade. I have introduced new software to large groups most of my life. There are always problems, some organizations are better at it than others. It seems to have created some problems. They are working on them. You can just go back to version 3 and stay there for six months or so as Aurender irons out the bugs.

I have been fortunate not to experience any significant issues.