Lossless Streaming Service you use (Poll)

[Alexis64]

Sound quality os streamin - as already confirmed by others - is currently „still“ THE USP of Qobuz. However, my Sublime contract with Qobuz, that allows me to purchase music albums with discounts around an average of -5 to -20% compared to other competitors, is not making me happy anymore.

Main reasons:
- artists or music albums not available (too much focus on mainstream?)
- music covers often only CD quality but not high resolution flacs (so I have to purchase albums on other platforms e.g. Bandcamp, etc.)
- extremely poor service quality (service staff is not onboarded/trained at all and so there is no support)
- technical issues that cannot be resolved over multiple weeks (most recent download issues)
- Qobuz is unable to maintain mid-/long term agreements with artists/labels and so albums/titles that I have integrated via streaming suddenly disappear

Bottom line, I am watching the market carefully in order to make the right decisions in terms of my music source(s).

 

[bfreedma]

I don't like hqplayer either. Without DSP it's a standard player with standard sound.
The main feature of hqplayer is in sound processing. The main feature of Roon is in the output of additional information. I don't need either. I prefer to listen to original releases in the best quality. Information about serious albums is quite enough in the accompanying booklets. And I don't need to read his biography every time I listen to Bach.

Roon isn't altering the sound if not using DSP though. If you're playing the same master, it will sound the same as other players running without DSP.

Try a level matched blind test between Qobuz or Tidal through their app and the same Qobuz or Tidal master played through Roon. Or the same FLAC played through the player of your choice and Roon

 

[AlexMa]

Or the same FLAC played through the player of your choice and Roon

I have conducted comparative tests with different players. And not only fleeting ones, with one file, but also long ones - up to two weeks with one player, then the same amount of time with the second, third, and so on. I did this several years ago, when I switched to high-resolution music. There is a difference between the players, they do not sound the same. At least for me and many of my friends and acquaintances.

 

[bfreedma]

I have conducted comparative tests with different players. And not only fleeting ones, with one file, but also long ones - up to two weeks with one player, then the same amount of time with the second, third, and so on. I did this several years ago, when I switched to high-resolution music. There is a difference between the players, they do not sound the same. At least for me and many of my friends and acquaintances.

Ok, but that type of sighted testing isn't really the way to determine if a difference exist. Give it a try with appropriate testing protocols and see if the results stay the same.

 

[AlexMa]

Ok, but that type of sighted testing isn't really the way to determine if a difference exist. Give it a try with appropriate testing protocols and see if the results stay the same.

I don't know what testing protocols you're talking about. If one player plays music better than another - do we need any protocols?

 

[theveterans]

I don't know what testing protocols you're talking about. If one player plays music better than another - do we need any protocols?

If you're using Windows, AFAIK only Roon (through ASIO) and Audirvana (both streaming) outside of other local playback software like Jplay, Jriver that use WaveRT Kernel Streaming (even more low-level than WASAPI Exclusive), and this yields the best sound that is only limited by the hardware implementation you're using

 

[AlexMa]

If you're using Windows, AFAIK only Roon (through ASIO) and Audirvana (both streaming) outside of other local playback software like Jplay, Jriver that use WaveRT Kernel Streaming (even more low-level than WASAPI Exclusive), and this yields the best sound that is only limited by the hardware implementation you're using

You are misinformed.

 

[theveterans]

You are misinformed.

It’s alright if you don’t hear any difference between the streaming protocols within Windows WDM lol

 

[BS5711]

I don't know what testing protocols you're talking about. If one player plays music better than another - do we need any protocols?

Volume matched blind comparison.

To tell the difference as free from perceptual errors as possible, yes you do need them, that is why such testing protocols exist.

 

[AlexMa]

It’s alright if you don’t hear any difference between the streaming protocols within Windows WDM lol

I wanted to say that you are wrong to attribute something special to Roon and Audirvana that other players don't have. It's not that.

 

[theveterans]

I wanted to say that you are wrong to attribute something special to Roon and Audirvana that other players don't have. It's not that.

Jplay, Jriver, Diretta, Ravenna, HQPlayer also have low-level WDM kernel streaming protocols too

 

[AlexMa]

Volume matched blind comparison.

To tell the difference as free from perceptual errors as possible, yes you do need them, that is why such testing protocols exist.

I don't need blind testing to hear the difference. It's more important to consider the sound over time. Sometimes you really like it at first, but over time you notice that the sound is embellished and it starts to get tiresome.
If you don't hear the difference in sound between different players, your life becomes easier ))

 

[theveterans]

I don't need blind testing to hear the difference. It's more important to consider the sound over time. Sometimes you really like it at first, but over time you notice that the sound is embellished and it starts to get tiresome.

That to me is something still not perfectly tweaked in the system. Sadly, only way to find out what works perfectly is to try out multiple software implementations and sometimes even hardware configurations to fix this fatigue without losing transparency issue

 

[AlexMa]

Jplay, Jriver, Diretta, Ravenna, HQPlayer also have low-level WDM kernel streaming protocols too

It's not just the protocol that matters, but also how it's used in a particular player.
In some cases, there's no alternative. Native DSD mode is only in ASIO

 

[bfreedma]

I don't need blind testing to hear the difference. It's more important to consider the sound over time. Sometimes you really like it at first, but over time you notice that the sound is embellished and it starts to get tiresome.
If you don't hear the difference in sound between different players, your life becomes easier ))

Incorrect. Without controlled testing, there is no way to identify personal perception vs. actual differences.

Have you even ensured that your volume is level matched?