[wdh777]

in the Qobuz apps, if you go into New Releases you'll find categories like "Top Releases" and "Still Trending". I prefer the categories in third-party streaming apps like UAPP and LMS/Squeezebox, where I see "Most Streamed", "Bestsellers" (downloads), and other lists which are not exactly the same in apps from Qobuz. I'm willing to bet Roon and A+ offer those too.

This is still a young and developing service, and maybe they're experimenting with those lists right now, but I hope they'll learn from what third-party licensees are still pulling from their own API. Meanwhile if all else fails, on the website you can sort the download store's bestsellers by genre. https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/shop

As I'm sure you know, you can use the genre filter in the desktop and web apps for New Releases and Playlists. But Qobuz is not a Top 40 kind of service, so their playlists tend to drill down deep into specific genres which is why there is a "Trending Singles" playlist for World, monthly "Jazzwise" playlists for Jazz, and other unique stuff but nothing related to Billboard. There are also user playlists that can be published on the web for public view, and those will launch the player app. For example, https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/1911074 I hope these will be further integrated directly into the app in the future.

Thanks. I can’t find how to sort new releases by most streamed, best sellers, top releases, still trending. But I’m using the iPad app so maybe I need the desk top application for it. I like it better than tidal so far so could see myself dropping tidal. And I have a Apple Music family plan for my kids so can also search up top charts for top 40 on apple if need be. Roon is interesting. Is the search ability and interface vastly superior on it? The issue is I think roon requires a computer as a services and then you can use an iPad from there. I guess I could do that, however, I would never use the computer as a source and only use the iPad. Also, will roon let you use your iPad to stream over cellular when you are out of your house or in a car? Thanks

 

[Left Channel]

Thanks. I can’t find how to sort new releases by most streamed, best sellers, top releases, still trending. But I’m using the iPad app so maybe I need the desk top application for it. I like it better than tidal so far so could see myself dropping tidal. And I have a Apple Music family plan for my kids so can also search up top charts for top 40 on apple if need be. Roon is interesting. Is the search ability and interface vastly superior on it? The issue is I think roon requires a computer as a services and then you can use an iPad from there. I guess I could do that, however, I would never use the computer as a source and only use the iPad. Also, will roon let you use your iPad to stream over cellular when you are out of your house or in a car? Thanks

I don't have the iOS app so can't advise you, but in Android under "New releases" if I scroll down I find see "Top releases" and "Still trending". At this time I think other categories are only in the third-party apps or on the download website.

Roon is a server project for a home network. Yes you could then use your iPad as a Roon endpoint for playback in the home, and maybe via VPN from out of home, but Roon is primarily for in-home and expensive audiophile setups.

For your needs I'd stick with just the Qobuz app on your iPad. I only mentioned the other solutions because Qobuz offers clearer categories via their API for third-party developers, while offering newer and vaguer lists in their own apps now. This could change.

 

[dbturbo2]

@dbturbo2 sounds like Windows driver issues. My sympathies, as this may require hours and hours of experimentation to figure out. Windows has always been like this.

I don’t doubt that I may have some windows driver issues, but I’m still having dropouts on both my iPhone and iPad with the same 24/192 files.

 

[Left Channel]

I don’t doubt that I may have some windows driver issues, but I’m still having dropouts on both my iPhone and iPad with the same 24/192 files.

I'm not seeing many other complaints about that, but there are some, so it may well be (also?) problems on the company's end. A year so ago there were many complaints about similar issues on Tidal, but at this point those problems have mostly gone away. I'm sure Qobuz will get a handle on this too before the end of their beta.

 

[rkw]

I just received my invitation and started my beta trial. I had previously done a 60 day preview trial last year, from trial codes Qobuz gave away at an audio show. My earlier observation was that the Qobuz apps on all the platforms (Mac, Windows, mobile) were more buggy than Spotify and Tidal. The Windows app seems to have gotten even worse, with very slow, laggy UI response while music is playing (sometimes a few seconds delay before responding to a scroll or click). The Mac app doesn't have this problem. A problem they haven't fixed in the desktop apps is high CPU usage (20-30%) while playing music, and it even continues to consume CPU after the play queue has finished and nothing is playing. I need to manually clear the play queue before the CPU goes down.

The biggest benefit I've found with Qobuz is the lack of UMG watermarks, which can add very audible distortion. Many albums on Tidal and Spotify are crippled by the watermark distortion, but so far I haven't heard it on Qobuz.

Here is a particularly bad case of watermark distortion that you can compare between services:

Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/5387443
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7LnbDcqUlWJaBtYaP08qDy
Qobuz: https://play.qobuz.com/album/0002894778140

 

[llamaluv]

Here is a particularly bad case of watermark distortion

I used the first track on that album as a test as well (CD rip vs Qobus vs Tidal). Just in the first 30 seconds of the first track, the warbly, hashed quality of the sustained piano notes of the Tidal version when compared to the unmolested version sounds offensive.

 

[Left Channel]

The Windows app seems to have gotten even worse, with very slow, laggy UI response while music is playing (sometimes a few seconds delay before responding to a scroll or click). The Mac app doesn't have this problem. A problem they haven't fixed in the desktop apps is high CPU usage (20-30%) while playing music, and it even continues to consume CPU after the play queue has finished and nothing is playing. I need to manually clear the play queue before the CPU goes down.

The Qobuz USA product manager has stated that the next Windows app update will focus on that issue.

The biggest benefit I've found with Qobuz is the lack of UMG watermarks, which can add very audible distortion. Many albums on Tidal and Spotify are crippled by the watermark distortion, but so far I haven't heard it on Qobuz.

Thanks for posting an example. Funny, for a while people were saying one of the benefits of MQA is that there are no watermarks, but of course most tracks are not MQA. And others were saying that the streaming services are victims of the labels in this, yet here is an example of some services doing the right thing for their users while others do not.

 

[dbturbo2]

I'm not seeing many other complaints about that, but there are some, so it may well be (also?) problems on the company's end. A year so ago there were many complaints about similar issues on Tidal, but at this point those problems have mostly gone away. I'm sure Qobuz will get a handle on this too before the end of their beta.

Last night I bypassed the Mojo and played straight from the PC and the issues went away, so I'm thinking the problem may be with the Mojo. Going to visit the Mojo thread to see if anyone else is having 24/192 issues with theirs. Never had the ability to play 24/192 with Tidal since it maxes out at 24/96, so I may have always had the issue without being aware of it.

 

[rkw]

I mentioned before that I had a Qobuz 60 day preview trial last year, and I just signed up for the US beta. It turns out that my earlier preview account was registered in the UK. To re-use my earlier account for Qobuz US (thereby keeping my favorites and playlists from before), I contacted them and they converted the country of my account from GB to US.

I noticed something interesting. Some of my favorited albums from before are no longer available, and it is associated with the music label. For example, most of Jordi Savall's recordings are on the Alia Vox label which is on Qobuz Europe but not (yet) on Qobuz US. When a streaming service opens in a new country, they have to sign a new contract with each music label. No doubt this is a major part of the "beta" process. I also noticed that Chesky Records is on Qobuz US but wasn't available on Qobuz Europe.

 

[Richter Di]

I also noticed that Chesky Records is on Qobuz US but wasn't available on Qobuz Europe.

Ah, nice. I am a bit jealous.

 

[Richter Di]

Maybe I’m missing it but how can I bring up the top tracks and albums by genre? I would think this would pretty easy to set up. Or a billboard top playlist of top 100 tracks by genre? Or like Apple Music just a Qobuz playlist of top tracks or trending tracks by genre that is updated weekly? Surprised you basically need to search for every artist and track?

It is a bit hidden. Here you go. This is inside the iOS app.

 

[exdmd]

If you are one of the Windows 10 users who are having problems with the Qobuz desktop app try logging in to your Qobuz account and use the web player in your browser instead. You may need to go in to advanced speaker settings for your computer and increase sample rate and bit depth to 24/192. For me at least the web player is stable until Qobuz fixes whatever is causing the desktop app to stutter for some of us.

 

[dbturbo2]

If you are one of the Windows 10 users who are having problems with the Qobuz desktop app try logging in to your Qobuz account and use the web player in your browser instead. You may need to go in to advanced speaker settings for your computer and increase sample rate and bit depth to 24/192. For me at least the web player is stable until Qobuz fixes whatever is causing the desktop app to stutter for some of us.

Have done all of the above in Windows 10 and everything works fine until I insert Mojo into the chain and play 24/192 files, then I get the static pops. Mojo plays the 24/192 files fine thru my iPhone/iPad so it must be a Mojo Windows driver issue.

 

[Richter Di]

Have done all of the above in Windows 10 and everything works fine until I insert Mojo into the chain and play 24/192 files, then I get the static pops. Mojo plays the 24/192 files fine thru my iPhone/iPad so it must be a Mojo Windows driver issue.

I can feel you. Situation likes these sucks. Took me half a year and the help of the highest level of support team member to get my Win DVD player installed an enabled to play BlueRay on my laptop. The solution is somewhere but finding it kills us.

 

[dbturbo2]

I can feel you. Situation likes these sucks. Took me half a year and the help of the highest level of support team member to get my Win DVD player installed an enabled to play BlueRay on my laptop. The solution is somewhere but finding it kills us.

Thanks for the kind words, hopefully a fix is not too far off, I’ll reach out to Chord this week. On the plus side I got Quobuz working on A+ for Windows in my main rig, streaming thru my PB Designs MPS-5 and I’m quite frankly amazed how good Quobuz sounds. Did a brief comparo of a 44.1 file to a CD, and prefered the stream. Also compared a Tidal 96k Master file to a Quobuz 44.1 file and preferred Quobuz. Not conclusive results but the SQ so far has been fantastic.