Qobuz, Tidal, etc. claim another victim...

[aKnyght]

DSD downloads are a pain to download particularly if downloading greater than DSD64. Moreover, MOST of the albums sold as DSD were not recorded in high resolution; they were recorded in analog (tapes) or PCM.

If you like the ‘sound’ of DSD, using a computer and appropriate software, you can convert *ANY* music to DSD512 on the fly. At no extra cost other than using the proper equipment and software.

all of the DSD titles i have downloaded (mostly jazz titles) are analog tape recordings that have been digitized to SACD/DSD ...and, most if not all of those are from analog productions.

i also have a couple of DSD titles from HDTT (high definition tape transfers) which are similar in that they are 2 or 4 track open reel tapes that are digitized in DSD format, either 2x or 4x. i have been quite happy with the SQ of these files.

if available, if figure why not own files digitized directly to the the format that sounds best from my DAC.

...for all other files (downloaded or streamed) i convert to DSD512 via roon DSP before sending to my DAC.

 

[mep]

I totally agree, apples and oranges. The issue with Tidal is a financial one. They continue to pay most artists but some they do not pay, probably due to cash flow issues. The artists that catch up with them force them to remove their music from the service. Anyone with a Tidal playlist has witnessed this through the absence of numerous albums from the playlists they’ve created. Nevertheless, I continue to enjoy Tidal as a means to fill some gaps in my music collection.

Ken

I have subscriptions to both Tidal and Quobuz and I hope they both stay healthy. If one bites the dust, I hope it’s not Quobuz.

 

[Alpinist]

I have subscriptions to both Tidal and Quobuz and I hope they both stay healthy. If one bites the dust, I hope it’s not Quobuz.

Maybe I should consider switching from Tidal to Quobuz. How does Quobuz’s jazz catalog compare to Tidal’s? Jazz is mostly what I listen to these days.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[TheOctopus]

I have subscriptions to both Tidal and Quobuz and I hope they both stay healthy. If one bites the dust, I hope it’s not Quobuz.

Tidal owner and genre bias is so deep into RAP music that if I had to place a bet on one vs the other, I'd have to go with the masses and say Tidal would win. Just by sheer volume of listeners. I prefer Qobuz but it caters to a smaller audience with its platform. Don't have the latest figures but Tidal had over 3 Million subscribers last year and Qobuz barely broke 200,000 last year.

 

[JohnJ]

The Truth About High-Resolution Audio: Facts, Fiction and Findings - Audiophile Review

Very interesting Serge.

I actually participated in his studies and quite frankly could not hear much of a difference between the standard and higher rez formats. We have to remember that his Hi-Rez stuff was actually recorded in Hi-Rez. Bottom line IMO is that if improvements are heard from various Hi-Rez formats it's more about the re-mixing/engineering than putting the same stuff in a bigger bag.

John

 

[TheOctopus]

Very interesting Serge.

I actually participated in his studies and quite frankly could not hear much of a difference between the standard and higher rez formats. We have to remember that his Hi-Rez stuff was actually recorded in Hi-Rez. Bottom line IMO is that if improvements are heard from various Hi-Rez formats it's more about the re-mixing/engineering than putting the same stuff in a bigger bag.

John

Absolutely. Recording and mastering always first. The human ear is less of a connoisseur as the high resolution folks would have us believe based on blind studies with even professional sound engineers involved. I'll take a Reel To Reel tape with all the flaws over any high resolution file of a poorly mastered original file in a digital format of any resolution without even pondering over such things. It was a scam to upsample the files and charge money for them.

 

[JohnJ]

Each year streaming subscribers climb and downloads get lower. the 2020 numbers are not out yet, but 2019 shows just how big music streaming has become. Interesting on this basic US report ( cost $50 a month for a detailed report) that Tidal and Qobuz are not even listed since their customers base doesn't meet the top ten. Also a global account. IN all pretty much spells doom for some music downloads companies.

Thanks for posting Chris!
Bottom line is most folks are more concerned with convenience than sound quality and listening from a Google or Alexis Mini speaker is just fine for them.
As someone once said to me, "it's not your system's sound but for $50 I'm half way there."
Well...

 

[Kingsrule]

Very strange that they didn't make a huge announcement about shutting down to give everyone a chance to buy....maybe they have a deal in place to sell all their IE......

 

[CPP]

Tidal owner and genre bias is so deep into RAP music that if I had to place a bet on one vs the other, I'd have to go with the masses and say Tidal would win. Just by sheer volume of listeners. I prefer Qobuz but it caters to a smaller audience with its platform. Don't have the latest figures but Tidal had over 3 Million subscribers last year and Qobuz barely broke 200,000 last year.

Qobuz, well in the US its tiny. Hi-Res Streaming Service Qobuz Says Its Has 200,000 Global Paying Customers — 25,000 In the U.S. Qobuz Says Its Has 200,000 Paying Customers — 25,000 In the U.S..

Regarding Tidal: The company hasn’t released a subscriber count since 2016, when the number was only at three million. TIDAL Review 2020 | Is Hi-Fi Music Streaming Worth It?

 

[rbbert]

Very strange that they didn't make a huge announcement about shutting down to give everyone a chance to buy....maybe they have a deal in place to sell all their IE......

I got an email announcement; I suspect everyone who has ever purchased an item from AS, download or physical media or even hardware, received an email. Of course it may have gone into your spam folder as a mass mailing?

 

[Calvin]

Streaming will sooner or later be taken over by someone large like Amazon. When the monopoly takes over the prices will rise - esp. for top quality files like Qobuz.

Purchase media. In the long run it will be cheaper and better quality. By purchasing media you’ll always have music even if the internet goes down. IMO, there’s nothing like the real thing; i.e. vinyl and CDs.

Streaming is good for locating new artists, etc., but IMO it shouldn’t be a substitute for CDs and vinyl.

Perhaps another conversation would be, “Don’t real audiophiles own their own media?”

 

[TheOctopus]

Qobuz app allows local downloads. It's called offline library... No internet needed. Do real chefs raise their own cattle and chickens?

 

[dminches]

Streaming will sooner or later be taken over by someone large like Amazon. When the monopoly takes over the prices will rise - esp. for top quality files like Qobuz.

Purchase media. In the long run it will be cheaper and better quality. By purchasing media you’ll always have music even if the internet goes down. IMO, there’s nothing like the real thing; i.e. vinyl and CDs.

Streaming is good for locating new artists, etc., but IMO it shouldn’t be a substitute for CDs and vinyl.

Perhaps another conversation would be, “Don’t real audiophiles own their own media?”

Amazon already has their own streaming platform.

 

[nicoff]

...

Purchase media. In the long run it will be cheaper and better quality. By purchasing media you’ll always have music even if the internet goes down. IMO, there’s nothing like the real thing; i.e. vinyl and CDs.

Streaming is good for locating new artists, etc., but IMO it shouldn’t be a substitute for CDs and vinyl.

Perhaps another conversation would be, “Don’t real audiophiles own their own media?”

Totally disagree about the cheaper or better quality. If your musical taste is limited and you only plan to own a small collection of a few selected artist, then it might be cheaper. But if you are really interested in music and exploring different genres, artists, versions of compositions (different conductors in a particular classical music composition for example), you are way off the mark on being cheaper.

Saw that you created another thread posing the question on ‘real audiophiles’. I am sure that will find more points of view in response to that thread.

 

[mep]

Maybe I should consider switching from Tidal to Quobuz. How does Quobuz’s jazz catalog compare to Tidal’s? Jazz is mostly what I listen to these days.

Thanks,
Ken

Ken-I pretty much stream 100% jazz and the selection on Quobuz is great.

 

[Alpinist]

Ken-I pretty much stream 100% jazz and the selection on Quobuz is great.

Thanks MEP, I really appreciate that information.

Best,
Ken

 

[gadawg]

My biggest concern with becoming dependent on streaming is that what happens to music that we like that the service decides to stop streaming it due to low demand or licensing deal gone bad. When there are no longer high quality downloads available that music will be lost forever... at least in any quality which Apple Music is not ....

That said ... I don’t see much mention of Pro Studio Masters .... they have a decent dsd offering. Seems larger than HD Tracks on DSD for sure.

George

 

[Calvin]

Totally disagree about the cheaper or better quality. If your musical taste is limited and you only plan to own a small collection of a few selected artist, then it might be cheaper. But if you are really interested in music and exploring different genres, artists, versions of compositions (different conductors in a particular classical music composition for example), you are way off the mark on being cheaper.

Saw that you created another thread posing the question on ‘real audiophiles’. I am sure that will find more points of view in response to that thread.

I use streaming to locate different artists I may be interested in. However, after listening if I like them then I will purchase a CD. Problem is I locate very few new artists that I'm interested in.

IMO, SACDs and CDs still deliver better quality than streaming. And when a monopoly like Amazon finally does take over the streaming industry it will become more expensive. If I own my media I won't have to be concerned with the rising costs of streaming. Plus most of the songs I listen to are rather old. In time, these may disappear from the streaming options leaving me a limited streaming library.

 

[Calvin]

Amazon already has their own streaming platform.

Thanks, yes, I know. But my point was when someone large like Amazon totally takes over streaming. They haven't done that yet ... but when it does happen prices will go up!

 

[brodricj]

I use streaming to locate different artists I may be interested in. However, after listening if I like them then I will purchase a CD. Problem is I locate very few new artists that I'm interested in. .

Me to, and I said so somewhere else. But what I've found is some of the artists I like which I've discovered on Spotify are inhabiting Soundcloud and don't sell physical CD's. I did have one artist print me a copy burned to CD which they sent me for free.