Qobuz Streaming Services Launch In The US

February 14, 2019

Tidal is no longer alone in the high resolution streaming space. As of today, the Qobuz private beta is over and the doors have been flung open for the France-based service. Competition is usually good for consumers, and while Tidal offers MQA options on the upper registers of resolution, Qobuz does deliver up to 24/192 files for stream and download.

Qobuz’s launch titles boast over 40 million tracks, something which it has had a little time to prep since its European launch in 2007. Also available at launch is Roon integration, which peaked its head out into our demo software just a few weeks ago. From today’s PR Release:

“Qobuz is on all app stores, and a summary of its features is below.

Streaming in up to 24-bit/192 kHz true Hi-Res FLAC (about 29x the audio quality of MP3) with compatible gear.

The option to stream and offline download an unlimited amount of music on all devices-including both mobile and desktop.

A parallel Hi-Res download store with files for purchase allowing for options that flow substantial revenues back to creators- premium pricing for Hi-Res masters is a growth area for record labels.

Exclusive, curated, and in-depth editorial content. Deep metadata, complete digital booklets, interactive articles, reviews, and playlists in-app on every platform.

Library spans all genres, including specialist areas like jazz and classical

Unique dynamic interface allows user-selected genre focus. Qobuz’ experts highlight music of interest based on user choices.

Full Roon version 1.6 integration available.”

US Pricing plans:

Sublime+: $299.99/year for full Hi-Res streaming and substantial (40-60%) discounts on purchases from the Qobuz Hi-Res (up to 24-bit / 192 kHz) download store.

Studio: $24.99/month for unlimited Hi-Res (24-bit /up to 192 kHz) streaming ($249.99 annually).

Hi-Fi: $19.99/month for streaming including 16-bit CD quality streaming ($199.99 annually).

Premium: $9.99/month for 320 kbps MP3 quality streaming ($99.99 annually).

More info: http://www.qobuz.com/