2. digital
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Tidal vs Quobuz

Yes I realize the Qobuz is misspelled in the title but I can’t figure out how to update it.  Relax.  
I’ve been a die hard advocate of MqA and Tidal for the last few years. All of my source, preamp, and dac purchased had the prerequisite that they must be MqA compatible. Today, I tried Qobuz for the first time and I’m blown away by the selection of 24bit 96khz files compared to Tidal.
Here’s an example: Was very excited that the band Tool FINALLY added their collection to streaming services. All of the albums on Tidal are CD quality. So I was going to purchase them in higher fidelity on HD Tracks, but learned that Qobuz had them at the highest fidelity. Couldn’t believe it. Same with many other artists/albums I love.

Now is there an improvement in sound quality? No not really. Is the Qobux UX any better? No, in fact it’s slower. But do I get the best quality content for the same price? Yes. Will I subscribe to both? Yes.
System:

Lumin D2 -> Parasound P6 -> Elac Navis ARF 51’s. Fully balanced set up (Nordost) with AQ power cables.
helloitsben

Showing 1 response by vinylshadow

vinylshadow
402 posts
 
For my car, I absolutely love Tidal. Just bought the Best Buy yearly subscription. Admittedly, I have an aces car stereo system and it sounds incredible. I have Android Auto and my phone is plugged into a USB port to my head unit. Very important mention that a hard wired USB connection sounds considerably better than bluetooth. 
The TIDAL user interface is very good...While my display will show "MASTER" my head unit only can play "HiFi" Redbook 16/44.1 which for a car is fine. 
At home, I stream using my phone to a USB to SPDIF converter into my Classe's DAC. I get the first MQA unfolding and it sounds good. But I definitely am curious of Qobuz's Hi Res.
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