bits is bits

“If two different hi-res streaming services, say Qobuz and Tidal, have the same track available, why would one sound different from the other, let alone better?
@russbutton 

Possibly because the labels may provide different masters to each platform. This isn’t unique to streaming — the same thing happens with physical media too, where variations in mastering can lead to noticeable differences in sound quality. 

In case of physical media like vinyl, you can usually trace the provenance of a recording. With streaming, though, we’re left guessing. They don’t disclose which master or source file we’re actually hearing. As @ghdprentice pointed out, Qobuz in general, have a better SQ. These differences are more apparent in well appointed audio systems. 

Cheers! 

The only problem I see here is that the OP is using an HP laptop to Use as a streamer. Until you’re ready to jump into the deep end of the pool, you are always going to have this kind of conversation of bit is bit. Getting a dedicated streamer from any of the big three InnuOs, Aurender or Lumin You’re just spinning your wheels. I have no clue what Tom foolery these guys are doing, but they’re smacking the heck out of a laptop streamer. 

there has to be an explanation why a 20K streamer sounds better than a $200 one. 0s and 1s is not it. (I am not doubting, I am asking for an explanation.)

@gkelly  The reason I brought up this question is that I saw someone else making the claim that Tidal was better than Qobuz.  So I was just curious.

I donʻt do any streaming myself.  I just play back digital files from a hard drive.  I have a miniPC running Ubuntu Linux and JRiver, which feeds into a Peachtree DAC.  I have far too much in my collection to ever consider streaming.  I just donʻt need it.

Being a boomer, Iʻve gotten to the age where I want less clutter and stuff.  Nixon was president when I began my audiophile journey.  Iʻve done most all of it over time - FM tuner with a yagi antenna on a rotor, Revox open reel deck I used for location recording, a number of very nice tables (Kenwood, Linn, VPI, Rega),  1300 records in the collection at one point. My CD collection got up to about 600 I think, all of which I have since ripped to hard drive.  My first hi-fi cassette deck was so early, it didnʻt have Dolby in it.  I had to use an outboard Dolby unit from Teac at the time.  I also did dbx later. 

Iʻve done all of that, but now, I just run the Linux PC for my collection on hard drive.  I do stream some things off of YouTube and Internet Radio, but thatʻs not for critical listening.  I sold off the records, table and table wall mount earlier this year.  Just the PC and monitor in the corner with the amp stack and speakers.  

https://russbutton.com/Russ/photos/Living_Room_2025.jpg

I would love to know how audio streaming is done by different services. What is being done to the files by Qobuz and Tidal. I don’t know. Does a streamer process Qobuz and Tidal streams differently? How are the files stored…compression methods, delivery, decoding by streamers. It clearly can’t be the same as Tidal sounds different from Qobuz. What sounds better is debatable. I know some hate Tidal MQA but my DAC sounds amazing playing MQA from Tidal. I believe it’s more dependent on how the streamer and DAC process this data. But there’s not enough information to draw any conclusions. 
As to laptop streaming, yeah it works. But it’s not an ideal set up. Noise, USB implementation not optimized for high performance music streaming will result in sub optimal sound. Get a dedicated streamer or a dac with a good built in streaming card.