Qobuz vs. Tidal? Which one is better?

[caesar]

And does it make sense to subscribe to both?

 

[WLVCA]

I tried Tidal a few months ago and let the subscription lapse. No reason in particular, just never warmed up to it.

Just signed up for a 3 month free evaluation from Qobuz and have used it at least eight hours in the last two days, mostly with headphones.

I never thought I would pay for one of these subscription services but at this point it is very likely I will pay to use Qobuz.

 

[morricab]

I have Qobuz and it scratches my Jazz and Classical itches nicely. There is also quite a lot of sophisticated electronica on it. Not sure if Tidal is as complete...don't care as I am always finding new stuff on Qobuz.

 

[jackelsson]

Another thumbs up for Qobuz. I've had my 16/44 subscription now for three years and it really fits my musical needs in terms of finding something new quite nicely. I still consider LP my primary source but Qobuz is a perfect addition.

 

[Drikus]

Qobuz because you can stream up to 24/192 with a Qobuz Sublime+ subscription like I've got. Also got Tidal but this is limited to 16/44.1 streaming, no hi-res available. Got Tidal for free from my dealer but I wouldn't pay for it if this wasn't the case, although I've found a few albums on Tidal that weren't available on Qobuz.

Another benefit of Qobuz is that your hi-res downloads are considerable cheaper when you've got a Sublime+ subscription.

 

[dcc]

I’ve been an early adopter of Qobuz. I have a Sublime+ subscirption which gives me high res streaming as well as discounts on the purchases of high res PCM files. Not forgetting that they have a great catalogue of classical music.

 

[audioquattr]

When you decide to purchase an album (through Qobuz Sublime+), can you choose between different resolutions?
And can you see somewhere what is native?

 

[Drikus]

Album is displayed in native resolution. When you purchase, say a 24/96 album, you can always choose between these different resolutions and formats;

 

[audioquattr]

OK, thank you for this information !

 

[Dr Tone]

Qobuz sublime subscriber here. I don't need to stream more than 16/44.1. Love the discounts on purchasing as high as resolution as I want.

 

[nonesup]

I also changed from Tidal to Qobuz Sublime +. Although my Lumin does the full development of MQA, I never had much interest in it. I'm happy with Qobuz more now that the rate has gone down.

 

[audioguy]

I am trying Qobuz through Roon (already a Tidal subscriber). So far, not impressed. I wanted to compare a 16/44 album on Tidal to the same album on Qobuz at (allegedly) 24/96. It is NOT 24/96 but 16/44. It is either false advertising or someone not paying attention. If I knew a Customer Service email addressof Qobuz I would let them know.

Here is what shows up about the album:



Here is what Roon shows:

 

[kswanson27]

I noticed the same thing using Qobuz with Roon. I emailed Qobuz and they replied they were aware of the problem and it had to do with licenses not yet being granted for anything above 16/44 on certain albums. Also, I've yet to find a high res album in my library on Qobuz that's not available on Tidal in MQA.

 

[C.A.P]

Time and patience will be your friend. Tidal is in fast water as soon as Quboz fully releases !

 

[spiritofmusic]

Which is the best site for more obscure releases? Prog, fusion, electronica? I'm zero bothered about Hi Rez, for me it's all about whether I can find every eg Magma release, and as much related via Roon.

 

[asiufy]

Upon a quick look, they're equivalent, for the more obscure stuff. I've had good luck finding my oddball stuff in Tidal. Argentinian prog, anyone? Yeah it's there.

 

[spiritofmusic]

So, not necessary to have both? For me, if I can widen my exposure to Zeuhl and progressive electronica, will finally get me streaming. Good buddy Blue58 has run Qobuz, now has Tidal, I'll pick his brains.

 

[Ultrafast69]

Both have pluses, but it does seem Quboz is tilted to better sound quality at this point, despite full MQA on Tidal

 

[kswanson27]

Been a Tidal subscriber for over a year, I'm in the U.S. Qobuz Beta and I'm squarely on the fence in the MQA/Hi Res debate. So far it seems to me Tidal is equal to Qobuz in classical and jazz coverage and way deeper in pop, indie, rap, etc. I'll probably subscribe to both for a month or two and then choose one to keep.

 

[audioguy]

When I first contemplated moving to Qobuz from Tidal, I contacted Qobuz about the size of their library (significantly smaller that Tidal). They assured me they were adding "thousands of titles daily". That has not been my experience.

PS Audio had created a "Playlist", with some of the evaluation tracks they used (all of the music in Tidal), which I downloaded when I was a Tidal user. When I switched to Qobuz, a much larger number of selections than I expected were not available on Qobuz. Many, many months later, none of those songs are yet available on Qobuz. Very disappointing.

As much as I hate doing anything to support MQA (and Jay-Z), I have given some thought to switching back.