So, allegedly, Amazon HD is supported on Sonos.
How does one know what songs are in HD and what are not? I don’t see any of this indicated on the Sonos app. Is every song in the upgraded HD format and we should just presume we are getting that quality?
Thanks in advance
Best answer by ratty
View originalBack and forth with Qobuz customer support.
First of all, I am stuck with this service for the next year. They kind of hide the details on their main page but the 30-day trial is not available with the annual plan. The annual plan essentially gives you two months free but you pay upfront.
The custom support team did tell me that their Carplay support is in beta. They hope to roll out a finalized version in the near future, however, had I known this before purchase, I would have waited to buy.
Still, I suppose, all is not lost. I do like the abundant amount of music and member curated playlists.
It sounds phenomenal on my Sonos system and more importantly in my vehicle. The only drawback is that until the iOS app is out of beta stage, there is no music display information on the car screen.
It’s quite possible to hear a difference that has nothing to do with the higher resolution. Sometimes the higher resolution files are remasters, which would sound exactly the same if they were released at CD quality. It could also be the service is degrading the CD quality track.
Is that unscrupulous? Why yes, but High Resolution audio is filled with stories about companies being unscrupulous. Failed Neil Young venture Pono was proven to be rolling off the highs when their player was set to CD quality, thus making the Hi-Res output sound better. Other Hi-Res vendors were found to be upscaling CD’s to 24/96 and charging a premium for “Hi-Res” content that wasn’t Hi-Res at all.
I did write customer support about the charge after starting the trial and after 24 hours I have yet to hear back. I am certain I eventually will and I can easily dispute the charge on my credit card.
I had the opportunity to listen to Qobuz in my car, which remarkably is my most critical and favorite place to listen to music. Despite advice I was given here, I did set the streaming to one notch above CD quality. I am really amazed at how clean the audio is in my vehicle. I have decent audio in my Lincoln and it just sounds so much better than anything else before it. I miss the days of cars having DVD-A access and this is just the replacement I needed.
I am still tracking the data usage but I have a 75GB per month plan with Verizon.
The problem with Carplay? It works if you plug your iPhone into the head unit. It’s just that the interface does not. The interface will not connect. I can skip music and go to the next track using my steering wheel control, but I can’t see what song/artist is playing unless I open my phone and look at the app.
I will try and get this straightened out with their tech team (thanks for the link). I am just angry these guys charged me for an alleged first-month trial.
As much as I love Qobuz, it looks like I am going to have to cancel it.
First, I signed up for a free month and immediately received a solid $150+ charge on my credit card. This is not a pending charge.
Second, I can’t log into Quboz via CarPlay even if I am logged into the app on my iPhone.
So, I wrote the company and told them if they are going to charge me right out of the gate and I can’t even log into Carplay, to cancel my account
Uh-oh. Hmmm… Not sure about the charge. I know I didn’t select annual when I first signed, but rather 30-day free trial which would have defaulted to monthly at $15 after the 30 days, but there was no initial charge. However after 3 or 4 days I was ready to sign up and had to switch my plan to annual for that discount price (and it warned me my trial would expire). Best I can think is the annual, if chosen at onset, might just have a 30-day money-back sort of arrangement and/or your subscription would wind up being for 13-months perhaps? I really don’t know.
Re: Carplay, have you gotten in touch with their support? Unfortunately that’s not a topic I’ll be of any help with (Android land over here). I wrote them about an issue with track metadata (definitely not a mission critical problem) and they were pretty responsive. https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/help/contact
As much as I love Qobuz, it looks like I am going to have to cancel it.
First, I signed up for a free month and immediately received a solid $150+ charge on my credit card. This is not a pending charge.
Second, I can’t log into Quboz via CarPlay even if I am logged into the app on my iPhone.
So, I wrote the company and told them if they are going to charge me right out of the gate and I can’t even log into Carplay, to cancel my account
I’m always fascinated by when this happens to me, trying to figure out what in my posts triggered the ‘filter’. In a few instances, I think it was links, but not always. InSided, the provider of this forum’s software claims it’s a ‘smart’ filter, but sometimes I have doubts.
I just had a third blocked 10 minutes ago. Quite short and no links. We’ll see if this one I’m typing in reply makes it out. Seems to have something to do with frequency and length of posts as well… but I dunno. I have doubts as well.
I’m always fascinated by when this happens to me, trying to figure out what in my posts triggered the ‘filter’. In a few instances, I think it was links, but not always. InSided, the provider of this forum’s software claims it’s a ‘smart’ filter, but sometimes I have doubts.
Thanks, Ratty. You saved me a lot of excess data usage.
I will set it to CD quality.
I have mine on (the phone app) set to 320kbps for streaming over mobile network, but I download in CD quality for offline (when I’m on wi-fi). Helps with bandwidth/data out and about when just streaming (avoids consumption as well as drop-outs) but can still listen to CD version in the car from off-line albums (without having to go into settings and switch to that “mode” as you do in some apps) just by selecting “Offline Library” from the main ribbon at the bottom of the app.
Hey
Moderator Note: Posts flagged as Spam in error have been restored.
Good suggestion by Ratty. 192khz makes zero sense except on the best of systems and even then is debatable. And data usage/data storage needed on a mobile device is silly comparatively.
On the Qobuz phone app (as you’ve found) you can specify different settings “on wi-fi” and “on mobile network” (or some similar verbiage) for max res. On my phone in general I’m only using CD quality for wi-fi and 320kbps on mobile-network (as mentioned). You can also specify those same settings for downloaded off-line content (which is really easy to do in the Qobuz app, e.g. grabbing albums for off-line).
The only time I’m allowing full res is on my main streamer at home - though I’ve noticed very little content is available at 192kHZ; the bulk is usually 24/96, or more commonly 24/44 or 24/48.
Getting into hearing difference in hi-res is the most tired of tired topics and I won’t do that here. I do believe some can and some cannot, but it’s a giant diminishing return regardless and CD quality 16/44 is usually more than good enough (personally or generally).
Thanks, Ratty. You saved me a lot of excess data usage.
I will set it to CD quality.
Anyone have an optimal setting?
Don’t want MP3 quality.
There’s CD-16bits/441,kHz
24-Bit H-Res/up to 96 kHz
24-Bit Hi-Res/up to 192 kHz
This will be for the car. I have a Lincoln with a top-end Revel audio system. So, quality audio is a must
For a car? CD 16/44.1, though arguably you could simply use 320 MP3 and not notice any difference.
24/192 is nonsensical, especially as it would require 6 times the bandwidth of 16/44. You’ll never have an ambient noise floor low enough to appreciate 24-bit or superhuman hearing able to make out 40kHz ultrasonics in the content.
I am interested to see how much I start burning through at lossless settings.
3 to 4 times as much as with a lossy service.
Anyone have an optimal setting?
Don’t want MP3 quality.
There’s CD-16bits/441,kHz
24-Bit H-Res/up to 96 kHz
24-Bit Hi-Res/up to 192 kHz
This will be for the car. I have a Lincoln with a top-end Revel audio system. So, quality audio is a must
Thanks
I am interested to see how much I start burning through at lossless settings.
3 to 4 times as much as with a lossy service.
An Update…
Installed Qobuz.
Signed up for their yearly ($149) plan with this first month being free.
At first, I wasn’t too certain about this music service and it’s suggested music.
Where the real magic can be found is PLAYLISTS
I like 70s-90s music so all I had to do was put that in a search and then look under PLAYLISTS. It was there I found customer lists curated by members that I was able to subscribe to.
I am really looking forward to seeing how much data this app will eat on the Verizon network at the highest setting. I can play Apple or Amazon music all day and not eat a lot of data. I am interested to see how much I start burning through at lossless settings.
I saw your entire message before it got pulled, though I have no idea why it was.
Going to look for the special offer for the annual plan.
Thanks again
Ron
Okay. Wow! You sold me!
I will get rid of Tidal after the 5-month trial ends and go with Qobuz. Thank You!!!
Hahaha. No worries - I don’t even work for them.
I typed another reply with a bunch more info - but it got snagged by the spam filter. Fitting. :D Maybe I was sounding too much like a sales pitch. (Hopefully Ryan and co. comes along releases it.)
Okay. Wow! You sold me!
I will get rid of Tidal after the 5-month trial ends and go with Qobuz. Thank You!!!
Hahaha. I sound like I work for them. I don’t. I’ve just been loving it very recently. :)
I should add, their app and integrations are all “younger” than Tidal’s and it still has some kinks as far as I’ve heard. But they seem to be ironing it all out as time goes on, particularly since I’ve come across very little to complain about at all compared to notes I’d read about missing features from this past year. It definitely leans more eclectic in the catalog than Tidal… all the pop and mainstream titles are there, along with quite bit of more obscure jazz and classical cuts, similar to how Tidal leans in that way toward R&B and Hip Hop. But if numbers are to be believed, Qobuz has roughly double the number of Hi-res titles available, and to my understanding ALL of their catalog is 16/44 FLAC at the very least because a couple months ago they entirely dropped their lower tier that was for 320mbps streaming. (EDIT: You can still stream in MP3 if needed for bandwidth reasons, they just don’t have a tier for MP3 only any longer.) Now they have just two tiers, both with hi-res (the more expensive one gives you ½ price discounts on purchasing albums for download/ownership).
One thing to note though, is they have a promo right now that makes the main “Studio Premiere” tier $12.50/mo if you buy annually (or $15/mo month-to-month) which was supposed to be for the first 100,000 new customers and have a hard-stop date on January 31st. They must have extended it - seems like it’s still available as now.
Okay. Wow! You sold me!
I will get rid of Tidal after the 5-month trial ends and go with Qobuz. Thank You!!!
Just briefly looked at Qobuz.
Very happy to hear you have found a Hi-rez service that may be better than Tidal.
I looked at the compatibility list and did not see Sonos listed under supported manufacturers.
I did look quickly, so I may have missed it.
Is there integration into the Sonos app?
One thing that puts TIDAL in my favor is the Apple Carplay integration whereas I can easily play it in my automobile. I have a very good system in there and spend most of my music listening time while driving.
Yes, Qobuz is one of the streaming services within the Sonos Controller. I’ve used it there a number of times, but I do most of my listening to it on a different streamer (fed sometimes to a Connect as well) and even more via desktop/DAC. Their desktop app is great.
It’s supported in Apple Carplay as well incidentally:
http://blogsv2.qobuz.com/qobuz-blog-en/2019/02/14/qobuz-is-now-compatible-with-carplay/
I’ve been literally lost inside Qobuz in all my free time for the better part of two weeks now. Much moreso than any other service before. It’s much deeper than it appears at first glance.
Just briefly looked at Qobuz.
Very happy to hear you have found a Hi-rez service that may be better than Tidal.
I looked at the compatibility list and did not see Sonos listed under supported manufacturers.
I did look quickly, so I may have missed it.
Is there integration into the Sonos app?
One thing that puts TIDAL in my favor is the Apple Carplay integration whereas I can easily play it in my automobile. I have a very good system in there and spend most of my music listening time while driving.
You’ll tend to find this with most lossless services. The bulk of the tracks are in the advertised format, but there are some which for historical reasons have been left in the catalog at a lower quality.
I don't believe Amazon is any better or worse than the others. However right now you’d have to inspect the track in the native Amazon Music app to view its format.
Deezer HiFi can display the format within the Sonos controller.
...and of course TIDAL is lossless across the board as well.
Looks like if I truly want lossless music on Sonos it is either going to be Deezer or Tidal. Need to see which is better.
Again, thanks for your assistance.
I used Deezer Elite for many years, before anyone else was streaming FLAC in the U.S. via Sonos. I’ve always quite liked Deezer. Their catalog is extensive and I like the UI of their apps. Tidal I’ve never cared for for reasons multiple reasons I won’t bother to go into.
I just began with Qobuz not quite 2 weeks ago and I’m quite in love with it. They’re annual pricing at the moment is a comparative bargain - it’s just gravy that I’ve wound up liking the service more than the other by a large margin. They’re not much for “radio” style play, but the curated playlists and “panoramas” (essentially excellent editorials ala Paste or Rolling Stone in a way, with album and playlist links within) are outstanding to me. The experience is (as with any other) much more bare-bones when via Sonos, but everything is delivered at CD-quality.
You’ll tend to find this with most lossless services. The bulk of the tracks are in the advertised format, but there are some which for historical reasons have been left in the catalog at a lower quality.
I don't believe Amazon is any better or worse than the others. However right now you’d have to inspect the track in the native Amazon Music app to view its format.
Deezer HiFi does display the format within the Sonos controller.
As does Qobuz, I think: at least it adds '(FLAC)' after song names in the Sonos queue and Now Playing displays. I assume this display tells me I am getting my 16/44 I've paid for... There does remain the issue on my version of the Sonos controller (7.3) that when a whole album (or the remainder of the album is dumped in the queue when a track is tapped - thanks Sonos), the FLAC info is not displayed. Started to take this up with Qobuz but decided my controller version was too dated to be representative. CR100 shows FLAC too; ho-hum.
The entire Qobuz catalog is available in FLAC at 16/44 so it doesn’t terribly matter in this case, particularly since that’s the most Sonos can render. If you’re streaming from Qobuz on a Sonos system, that’s what you’ll be getting.
You’ll tend to find this with most lossless services. The bulk of the tracks are in the advertised format, but there are some which for historical reasons have been left in the catalog at a lower quality.
I don't believe Amazon is any better or worse than the others. However right now you’d have to inspect the track in the native Amazon Music app to view its format.
Deezer HiFi does display the format within the Sonos controller.
As does Qobuz, I think: at least it adds '(FLAC)' after song names in the Sonos queue and Now Playing displays. I assume this display tells me I am getting my 16/44 I've paid for... There does remain the issue on my version of the Sonos controller (7.3) that when a whole album (or the remainder of the album is dumped in the queue when a track is tapped - thanks Sonos), the FLAC info is not displayed. Started to take this up with Qobuz but decided my controller version was too dated to be representative. CR100 shows FLAC too; ho-hum.
...and of course TIDAL is lossless across the board as well.
And, when I last checked it -- which admittedly was 5 years ago -- it also delivered some tracks in lossy format.
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