Pros & Cons
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- High-quality lossless and studio-quality audio streaming
- Streaming and purchasing options
- Includes album liner notes in PDF form
- Background articles, guest playlists, and Interviews
- Well-designed apps for all platforms with Qobuz Connect multi-device control
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- No free account level
- Lacks social components
- Missing live stations and podcasts
- Doesn't support smart speakers
Qobuz Specs
| Hi-Res Audio | |
| Non-Music Content |
It's not enough for music connoisseurs to access nearly all recorded music with just a few clicks: many listeners also want the highest possible sound quality. Qobuz caters to that group by offering the highest streaming quality available, even surpassing CD-quality lossless. The music streaming service also allows you to buy and download music, so you own it outright. Qobuz doesn't have quite as extensive a catalog and lacks some features available with our Editors' Choice winners, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music, but its album brochure PDFs, versatile hardware integrations, and unbeatable sound quality make it a top option for audiophiles.
Price: Par for the Course
Qobuz's prices are comparable with those of its high-resolution competitors. It offers just two plans, both of which include the highest-resolution audio quality available anywhere. The Studio plan costs $12.99 per month (or $129.96 per year), and it delivers 192kHz, 24-bit FLAC streaming for available titles, which is considerably higher resolution than standard CD-quality FLAC (44.1kHz at 16 bits). The Sublime account costs $14.99 per month (or $179.88 per year) and offers significant discounts on music download purchases, up to 60%. This is a good option if you prefer to download and own DRM-free music, particularly DSD content, which typically costs around $30 per album. Duo, Family, and Student versions are available for each plan.
Unlike Idagio, SoundCloud, and Spotify, Qobuz does not offer a free account option. A 30-day trial is available; however, you must provide a payment method.
For comparison, Tidal charges $10.99 per month for an Individual plan, with a DJ Extension option for an extra $9 per month. Amazon Music Unlimited, which now encompasses the former Amazon HD Music, offers up to 24-bit, 192kHz streaming for some tracks, is $11.99 per month. Apple Music, which also has hi-res audio tracks, costs $10.99 per month.
Interface: Attractive and Easy to Use
The Qobuz desktop app (available for macOS and Windows) shows five tabs across the top (in order): Discover, Magazine, Playlists, Favorites, Purchases, and Offline. An always-at-the-ready search box and an icon to access account settings are to the right of those menu items. You can easily choose your preferred genres from the Discover view, after which you see relevant curated playlists, editorial content, and new releases. A section below, called 'The Taste of Qobuz,' offers an Ideal Discography and Qobuzissime—basically, top picks from emerging artists.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)As with most online music streaming services, Qobuz persistently (in a good way) shows what's currently playing at the bottom of the screen; tapping on this bar opens a song view. Standard controls let you rewind, pause, and fast forward, while a a scrubber lets you zip to the point you want to play from. You can also loop a song or album and adjust the volume.
Qobuz is unique in displaying the exact quality specifications for the currently playing track, along with the Hi-Res Audio logo if the content meets that level. Tidal simply displays a HiFi icon, while Amazon Music shows one indicating HD or Ultra HD, allowing you to click to view the actual specifications. Apple Music doesn't display sound quality information on either the web player or iOS.
Next to Qobuz's quality indicator is the audio output device chooser, which the service refers to as Qobuz Connect. This is similar to a formerly unique feature in Spotify, which lets you switch the audio output device wirelessly from the device you happen to be on. For example, if you're using the mobile app on your phone, you can change what's playing on your PC, streamer, or any other output device you have.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)If you click the album art, you get a pleasantly presented track list with a gradient background in a color that echoes that of the album art, which sits to its left. That's called "full-screen" view (though it doesn't have to be maximized on the desktop), and it looks like this:
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)Clicking a track title opens a text window of credits. The ability to view the actual booklet that you would get if you bought the physical CD, either in the app or as a PDF, is a big plus for fans of libretti and liner notes. Idagio and Native DSD Music also include these. It might disappoint pop music listeners that Qobuz doesn’t offer any karaoke-like lyrics display while you play a song.
Catalog: The Largest Hi-Res Selection Around
Qobuz claims to offer "the biggest catalog of CD lossless and hi-res albums in the world, both for new releases and specialized genres," and it puts the size of its catalog at 100 million tracks. Not everything is available in hi-res format, which is mostly relegated to more recent releases. Everything on the service is available at least in lossless CD-quality format. The occasional new release might show up elsewhere (though sometimes not in hi-res), but I've had good luck requesting such music to the company; in fact, the mobile app has a Report Missing Content option, and there's a dedicated email address for the purpose.
You might miss some contemporary indie releases (stuff you're likely to find on Bandcamp, for example) on Qobuz. I couldn't find the album The Errornormous World by Reflection or any music by Manu Shrine, which were both available on Spotify. But the misses are getting fewer: Arapaima and Nujabes are available, as well as recordings on the Wulf and Pork Recordings labels.
For classical fans, none of the generalized services are as good as Idagio when it comes to finding works based on composer, forces, genre, or period, but Qobuz serves these listeners exceedingly well, too. Just about every classical label is available on Qobuz. It now includes the high-quality Linn label and even longtime holdout Hyperion Records' catalog. I found the label's most recent release, De Profundis' moving performance of Spanish Renaissance master Cristobal de Morales' Requiem. I'm impressed with some of the obscure labels I was able to find in testing; for example, it carries Avie Records and Pro Organo. Qobuz also offers more background info than most—including full credits as well as the aforementioned PDF disc-jacket materials—than Amazon Music Unlimited, which features a massive catalog, too.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)Qobuz is an excellent choice for listeners of classical music since it clearly shows composers, in addition to performers and soloists. The ability to view brochures and detailed credits also contributes to its excellence here.
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If you're looking for music videos, Qobuz is not for you. Qobuz also lacks the social aspect of Apple Music and Spotify. You can share a link to an album or tune from the app to email, Facebook, or Twitter, but you can't follow other users or shared playlists as you can on Spotify—it's fun to see what your friends are listening to. You can, however, click a heart icon to add an album, performer, or track to your Favorites.
Other things it lacks are podcasts and live DJed stations. You find those in apps like Apple Music and SiriusXM. I prefer just choosing the music and genres myself.
Audio Quality: As Good as It Gets
Other streaming music services offer hi-res audio, notably Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, and Tidal. Spotify finally has lossless-quality music, but that still doesn't match what you get with the aforementioned services.
As mentioned, CD-quality audio has a sample rate of 44.1kHz at 16 bits per sample. High-Res or Studio Master audio in these services is between 48kHz and 192kHz at 24 bits. The desktop apps for each let you choose a DAC as an output device using WASAPI in exclusive mode, which delivers bit-perfect output—something you can't do with Apple Music, Spotify, or Deezer. I listened to Qobuz using my new Cambridge Audio MXN10 streamer, which includes Qobuz as a direct source. This was connected to a preamp and power amp from Conrad-Johnson and Bowers & Wilkins DM601 speakers. I also listened on a pair of wired Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro headphones. Lastly, I used the Qobuz app on a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra paired with Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)One recording I listened to to test sound quality was Muse, works for cello and piano performed by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason. Samuel Barber's 2-minute masterpiece, Sure on This Shining Night, sounded intimate enough to make your reviewer's eyes water. When I played the same recording through Apple Music, it lacked the spacious, lifelike sound of the other hi-res services, probably because it doesn't offer a WASAPI exclusive-mode player app. Amazon does, but its app upsamples to the highest setting rather than passing the bits through to the DAC; so, my DAC's display showed the same 192kHz even if I was playing lower-resolution content.
I listened to other genres, including songs by the sonically masterful Lil Uzi Vert and folk singer David Haerle's Death Valley album, and some music by electro-chill performer Carbon-based Lifeforms. Tidal has a slight edge in depth and realness compared with the also-excellent Qobuz. That didn't hold for every recording, however. The only music source that seems more lifelike than Qobuz to me is DSD, but that involves downloading huge files and using special audio equipment rather than streaming. Of course, you can buy DSD music on Qobuz.
Autoplay: Adequate Recommendations
Qobuz offers auto-created "radio" stations based on your tastes and listening history, a feature pioneered by Last.fm and Pandora. Sometimes I want to hear a particular album or track, but sometimes I just want a background soundtrack that I don't have to program manually.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)Other streaming music services have long done something similar. Previously, Qobuz would play what you chose, and that was it. My tests of the Autoplay feature were not wholly satisfying. I set up a play queue of nothing but Elizabethan consort music from the likes of Fretwork. The Autoplay started somewhat acceptably, adding a movement from a Beethoven piano concerto—not in the same subgenre, but acceptable. The next few songs, however, were complete misses: music by the Doors, Stone Temple Pilots, and Neil Young. What was Qobuz thinking? I'd never played those artists on the service before. Then, I discovered a fix: I added three albums' worth of tracks to my queue, and bingo, all the Autoplay selections were right in line with the subgenre. I discovered this by myself, but Qobuz should add tooltips or other help to make it clear.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)Unfortunately, Qobuz no longer offers My Weekly Q, a playlist consisting of music related to your listening history. It does, however, include a Magazine, accessible from a dedicated button in the main toolbar at the top. This includes articles about audio gear, interviews, monthly release roundups, and Panoramas (articles focusing on a particular artist).
Purchasing Music: Could Be More Straightforward
One Qobuz capability not available with many competitors is the ability to outright purchase and download songs. You can buy high-res music without a streaming account, but if you get a Sublime membership, the prices are significantly lower, and you also get unlimited streaming. You can buy pretty much any track you can find in the service. As you can see from the screenshot above, you get different quality choices, depending on the recording.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)If you want to buy directly from within the app, you need to add funds to your Qobuz wallet. Otherwise, when you click the button to buy a track or album, it takes you to your web browser to complete the purchase. After that, you can download the music in the app or from the browser. (Note that streaming subscribers can download DRM-protected tracks for offline listening without having to purchase them.) The files arrived in WMA format on my Windows PC, but you can also download tracks in the AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, or WAV formats.
Mobile Apps and Extras: Functional and Well-Designed
Qobuz’s revamped mobile apps (available for Android and iOS) now feature a dedicated radio button and redesigned playlists. I tested it on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and an older iPhone, and the interfaces are identical. The app offers a dark mode and a standard interface that closely tracks that of the desktop app, though the menu buttons are along the bottom. It doesn't give you the option to download music purchases to local storage, though it does allow you to download tracks for offline listening.
(Credit: Qobuz/PCMag)Several high-end streaming devices support Qobuz, including Chromecast speakers, as well as a who's-who of high-end audio hardware from Anthem to Linn to MacIntosh to Vitus Audio. You can consult the entire list of these partners on Qobuz's partner page. Missing from this list are smart speakers, however.
Unlike with Amazon's, Apple's, and Tidal's services, you don't get support for Dolby Atmos spatial audio. This tech can create a more immersive listening experience, but the resolution isn't as detailed as you get with Qobuz's hi-res options.
Final Thoughts
(Credit: Qobuz)
Qobuz
Qobuz impresses with a large, hi-res music catalog for streaming or purchase across sleek, cross-platform apps with valuable extras such as album liner notes and editorial content.