This is niche even by niche standards. First a smidgen of background. I dumped Tidal because it’s started getting glitchy. I resurrected my Qobuz account as a replacement and was pleased to see that Qobuz were finally getting around to implementing a Connect feature so I applied to beta test it and was accepted to do so due to my having the requisite kit. I ‘m pleased to be able to inform any Qobuz users here that the feature is very robust and to all intents and purposes flawless, it’s certainly quicker and more reliable than Tidal Connect.
Anyhoo the point of this post is to inform any Qobuz users here that may be interested that the Connect feature is going to be rolled out to all subscribers on 5th May. Look for an app update.
Wasn’t that exciting? I can sense the euphoria coming at me through the force.
Qobuz Connect.
by 50 Comments
Well, I liked it!
Please excuse my ignorance – but what does the “Connect” feature do?
Are you sitting comfortably?
It’s a function that allows one to use the native app installed on phones or tablets rather than the app that’s embedded in a streaming component such as a Bluesound Node, a Wiim device or an Eversolo DMP-A6. As the UI in most if not all native apps is far superior to an embedded app it makes for a far more pleasant and often easier experience. Spotify and Tidal have had this feature for some time and it’s been top of Qobuz users wishlists for a very long time and it’s finally very nearly ready. Huzzah!
Air black with hats!
In terms of data flow, many phone apps pull the audio data from the internet over WiFi, then push the data (usually over BlueTooth) to the “renderer” hardware.
Connect turns the phone app into a remote control. The hardware pulls the audio data from the internet. No audio data goes to or from the phone. Major bonus in bandwidth, power consumption, battery life, etc.
It might seem obvious, but is harder to implement than you might think.
Thanks Steve. I can’t explain the techy stuff just the dumb stuff so that’s useful.
Renderer hardware. The most geeky phrase I’ve heard all week and I work in IT.
Well played sir.
Renderer Hardware- TMFTL
No idea what you are talking about but it sounds way too complicated for me.
Nah. If you can hold a vaguely sensible conversation with the Baron (formally of this parish) as I know you can then this crap is easy.
Sensible conversation with the Baron?
Not sure I remember that!!
Now you mention it me neither.
Do you have to make fiendishly cryptic links between the platforms whilst staring at Victoria Coren-Mitchell?
I’m up for giving that a right good go.
Did you know the new Rialto album is available on cassette?
I didn’t but it’s certainly brightened my day up no end.
I aim to please!
I wish I understood all this techie talk though my ears are so worn out I’m happy with a bog standard Pure cd/dab/streamer thingy. With Dobly .
I wish I understood it better. I just want it to work faultlessly with a minimum of effort.
If I change from Tidal, will they transfer my playlists?
Yes that can be done. Qobuz has better sound quality too, not by much but discernible.
Interesting (no really). I have recently been giving Tidal a go with a view to transferring over from Spotify. The sound quality is certainly better but its tendency to drop out for no apparent reason has been driving me nuts. Is Qobuz better? Also haven’t yet been able to transfer playlists so any advice on the best application with which to do this would be gratefully received.
I switched from Tidal because of the increasing number of dropouts. It used to be very stable but since they sacked a lot of people it’s grown worse. I haven’t had a single problem with Qobuz, of course that can be dependent upon various factors such as kit, bandwidth etc but I’m delighted with it and glad I switched provider. As for moving playlists, when I switched to Qobuz I was immediately offered the option to move my playlists in a pop up from Qobuz, as I don’t really make any playlists that I can’t live without I declined but I assume it would be a pretty pain-free operation.
Me too, albeit at glacial pace.
Interesting, no seriously.
How do you compare the user interface and the catalogue with Tidal, Pencil?
It’s not as slick in some respects as Tidal but I find it far more customisable. One can select genres and discard ones that are of no interest. One thing I do like a lot is being able to search by label, I find that really useful. Unlike Tidal there are no videos and I haven’t found any option for Atmos or spatial audio but those things don’t interest me anyway. What it does offer is articles on music and hifi which are a nice distraction but the most important thing is the sound quality is slightly better than Tidal and it doesn’t drop out on me. The catalogue used to be somewhat less than Tidal and Spotify but I think they’ve caught up now at least I’ve not found that I haven’t been able to find what I want. They are exceptionally good with Jazz, Classical and World music. All in all it feels more like it’s being run by people who put music first and care about it rather than the more corporate feel of Tidal. Two other things, there is an option to pay a little more and in return you get the ability to buy digital files at a reduced price and they pay artists more than Tidal. Oh and they are French not American which in the current political climate all I will say is Vive la France. I know that’s three things but I’m an artist and me no good at sums.
Does it have track notes, who the players are etc? That annoys me about Spotify – almost no info.
Yes it does. Album & track data. Artist history and label info etc.
Just trying out Qobuz (free month’s trial ending in a couple of weeks), having used Tidal for the past couple of years. The interface is different in a few ways but I think it’s better, mostly.
Definitely an improvement in sound quality on the high resolution files. Great selection of Classical music and good for jazz too. I think I’ll be sticking with Qobuz now and dumping Tidal.
Connect will not be of use to me, I think, as I don’t have that kind of kit here.
Do they have The Beatles?
No but they do have Les Beatles.
Deal breaker 😣
Très triste.
If only there was some other way one could hear this band.
🤔
Been a Qobuz user for 3/4 years. I do think the sound quality is superior to its competitors and I haven’t experienced any problems using this service that I can think of.
Been waiting for Connect for ages. May 5th for the roll out. Huzzah !
The date of 5th May was let slip to me in an exchange of emails with Qobuz. I’ve been beta testing the Connect function along with others and it’s pretty flawless. Hopefully that date doesn’t slip, I can’t think why it would my experience would suggest that it’s fully cooked and ready to roll out.
Please correct me, but essentially qobuz are releasing an app as a front end? As news it doesn’t seem that groundbreaking.
Having said that, as a Bluesound user I’d almost prefer it if they didn’t make you access it through an app. It’s… not great.
You’ve misunderstood which is completely understandable. Connect functionality means that instead of having to use the app for in your case a Bluesound * device you’ll be able to use Qobuz’s own proprietary app instead. This is already available to Tidal and Spotify users. Without a Connect feature people who employ a streaming device are stuck with using the app that’s bundled with the device to access streaming platforms, Connect frees users from that often less than ideal situation.
* This is assuming that Bluesound are implementing this function into their devices. I would imagine that they have been consulting with Qobuz about this and will have already implemented it in anticipation of the Qobuz Connect rollout.
I thought that was exactly what I said? 😐
And Bluesound does offer the connectivity. I don’t have or need a Qobuz streaming account though so it wouldn’t matter either way.
Then I misunderstood. My apologies. Enjoy your day.
For those who may be interested.
The update to the Qobuz app is now ready for installation. Roll out is gradual and it needs to have been green lit on your streamer of choice. I’m streaming from an Eversolo DMP-A6 with an external DAC from the Android app.
Thanks @pencilsqueezer for the update. I’m considering going back to Qobuz again (currently using Tidal). However, it seems that Qobuz Connect doesn’t work with my streamer yet (Bluesound), although Bluesound does have Qobuz as one of its music services on its own app. I also use Sonos throughout the house and, again, it seems that Qobuz Connect is unsupported as yet. Might have to wait.
Qobuz are working with Lenbrook Industries the parent company of Bluesound, NAD, PSB and Dali to get this implemented into BlueOS but they are dragging their feet. They bought the rights to MQA when Tidal rid themselves of it and the rumour is they are looking to launch their own streaming service at a future date. Why they are so wedded to MQA is a bit of a mystery as it was mostly disliked amongst the purest audiophile community and yet another streaming option seems to be a bit redundant especially with MQA at it’s heart. Perhaps all this nonsense is causing Lenbrook’s tardiness in getting Qobuz Connect done.
As for Sonos that is a different kettle of confusion. I don’t use Sonos so I have no first hand experience of it but it seems they are similarly being awkward. Qobuz are working with them but a completely seperate app may be required to get this done. Maybe these delays are due to both Bluesound and Sonos being multi-room systems? I lack the technical knowledge to delve into that but I can tell you that Qobuz Connect is working flawlessly and is far more robust than Tidal Connect at least for me. Tidal Connect became so flaky that using it became a complete pain the posterior. As an aside Qobuz definitely sounds better than any of the other streaming platforms I’ve used. It’s not a night and day difference from Tidal but it is discernible. (See also Apple Music, Amazon, Presto and of course Spotify).
About a decade ago, I bought a new “once in a lifetime” hi-fi system based around Naim amplification, including a preamp/DAC/streamer. It includes Tidal connect.
Unfortunately for me, Qobuz connect requires more logic than the hardware (in the form of a FPGA chip) can provide, so to listen to Qobuz I either need to upgrade to different Naim kit (I’m not rich enough for divorce) or buy an additional hardware from Bluesound/Eversolo/etc.
In a bizarre twist, all this faff has driven me back to vinyl…
I’ve been following some of the comments over at Qobuz Club and Naim users are mentioning that they are currently unable to use the Connect function. Hopefully Naim will eventually sort this out. It is the hardware manufacturers that are dragging their feet not Qobuz. The Chinese kit manufacturers are across it so Eversolo and Wiim for instance have implemented the firmware upgrades with aplomb. Perhaps some others see Qobuz as too niche a platform to bother with overly much. That would be a shame. Speaking purely for myself and having some experience of using more than one or two of the streaming services on offer I can only say that Qobuz has rapidly become my favourite. Better sound and certain features that I can now access easily due to Qobuz Connect have won me over. Having said all of that I still find myself spinning CDs more than streaming files but having a streaming service as an adjunct to my listening is a definite boon.
This has been the case for several years, for my particular kit – roughly when Qobuz Connect (although implemented by Naim not by Qobuz) launched on the newer generation of Naim streamers.
I work in tech, and listening to music has become a more analogue process over the years. I just want to hear tunes, without having to restart NAS servers, etc.
Thanks pencilsqueezer for the information. Sounds a bit frustrating. Given the major cockup Sonos has had with their app, and their ongoing efforts to get it back to where it was before they ‘upgraded’ it, I can’t imagine Qobuz Connect is top of their to-do list.
I know little about Sonos. Qobuz are reporting without going into any detail that Sonos have a particular way of going about things and that poses difficulties that require extra work. It is being reported by Qobuz that it will be implemented into Sonos but it’s going to take a little longer. Similarly the subject has been addressed by management at Bluesound, they are saying that they will be adding Qobuz Connect functionality but again it’s going to take some time to get it done. The advice is to contact Sonos and Bluesound and badger them to get it done not Qobuz as they have done their bit now it’s up to the hardware manufacturers.
Having had first hand experience with Bluesound support regarding product enhancement suggestions, I’d advise against breath holding.
I agree. Bluesound are not quick to ‘fix’ stuff.