[alpovs]

Low capacitance, great shielding. I've looked at measurements (from a reputable source elsewhere) for the Belden LC-1 and a few other cables, the LC-1 looked better. Given how much the rest of my gear costs, LC-1 for a short run seems reasonable. Rather do that than spend my life messing around with cable upgrades.

I think low capacitance at low frequencies (sound - up to 20 kHz) is not important. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Rensek]

Qobuz is still in beta in the US.

If Qobuz in the US is still in Beta then why are they charging me 20 bucks a month after my trial ended?

 

[Ableza]

If Qobuz in the US is still in Beta then why are they charging me 20 bucks a month after my trial ended?

Yes, you get to pay to finish the beta test.

 

[Rensek]

Yes, you get to pay to finish the beta test.

Oooo, I "get to" , lucky me. Now I feel special....

 

[jmimac351]

I tried Qobuz for a month recently. It was very clear to me there would be a monthly fee at the end of the first month, which was free. I was happy to try it for free but the lack of playlists was a deal breaker. I’m sticking with Tidal. Amazon Music is also excellent. For me, the number of curated playlists in Amazon Music based on simple keyword searches is great. Tidal doesn’t have as many as Amazon, but it does have far more than Qobuz.

 

[RickB]

If Qobuz' indie/alternative catalog fills out I'll subscribe.

 

[shultzee]

If Qobuz' indie/alternative catalog fills out I'll subscribe.

They have a "new in indie" playlist that is pretty darn good.
https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/2136915

 

[judson_w]

My understanding is that they are still filling out their catalog. By the time they are out of Beta, they should have a better selection.

 

[Rensek]

Yeah, it was clear I'd be charged. I didn't realize it was still in beta though. Playlists are getting better. I tried it on my kindle the other day. I like their kindle app much better then the one on Google play. I find the regular Android app very buggy. Anyone used it with iOS? If Spotify would ever roll out lossless I'd never think of leaving, or paying for a second service.

 

[rkw]

Qobuz is still in beta in the US.

I like a comment on another forum, which said Qobuz has been in beta for the past 7 years.

I consider the Mac and PC apps to be beta quality. People have been reporting that Qobuz works much better with Roon and Audirvana than the apps, but I don't use those services.

 

[mp29k]

I love Qobuz. I find their catalog comparable to Tidal, but with A LOT more high res stuff. Any additions from here would be gravy for me. I will be cancelling Tidal once my Qobuz subscription kicks in in 3 weeks or so.

 

[golfbravobravo]

Yeah, it was clear I'd be charged. I didn't realize it was still in beta though. Playlists are getting better. I tried it on my kindle the other day. I like their kindle app much better then the one on Google play. I find the regular Android app very buggy. Anyone used it with iOS? If Spotify would ever roll out lossless I'd never think of leaving, or paying for a second service.

We use Quobuz mainly through Roon, where it is a little slow bringing up albums but streaming is fine. Jody uses the app on iPhone at work and loves it.

Cheers

 

[mp29k]

I like a comment on another forum, which said Qobuz has been in beta for the past 7 years. I consider the Mac and PC apps to be beta quality. People have been reporting that Qobuz works much better with Roon and Audirvana than the apps, but I don't use those services.

Roon is pretty incredible. It is expensive, but works really well and has a team behind it that is dedicated to continuous improvement.

 

[ashirin]

Tidal recently updated their iOS app with MQA support (what they refer to Master quality). This means that all of the necessary decoding (up to 24/96) is done in the app itself, and will thus work with any DAC. This means you don't need an MQA enabled DAC to use it. Once it's decoded by the app, it sends a "regular" 24/96 signal to the DAC.

There is a good amount of debate as to how much quality there really is in an MQA file vs a real native hi-res file (like Qobuz does) or even just a 16/44 file. But the nice thing with Tidal is it doesn't cost any extra over the HiFi tier. In fact, when I downloaded the update, I was pleasantly surprised by how many of the albums I already had in my library had Master quality support. I haven't had time to do a comparison between the Master tracks and regular 16/44 tracks to figure out if I can hear a difference yet.

I'm glad Qobuz is around because competition is always good, and I definitely think there is merit to native hi-res streaming. But with the new updates to the app, I think Tidal makes a decent case for itself. At regular pricing, especially if you are willing to purchase one year at a time with Qobuz, the costs end up being pretty similar. But Tidal offers more ways to get discounts. For instance, students can get the HiFi tier (which again, includes MQA hi-res) for $10 a month. Military members can get it for $12 a month. If you are not in either of those groups, Tidal also offers a family membership for $30 a month, which lets up to 6 people use it with different accounts (so if you find people to split a subscription with that's another way to save a lot of money).

My point is that there isn't one service that is always better for everyone, so look around to see what's right for you. One thing that's for certain though is that hi-res audio is more accessible than ever.

I will try Qobuz at some point to evaluate it for myself; But for now, I'm really enjoying feeding both the Modi in my car and the Modi 3 in my stereo hi-res versions of the albums I listen to from Tidal via my iPhone.

 

[earnmyturns]

I think low capacitance at low frequencies (sound - up to 20 kHz) is not important. Correct me if I am wrong.

It depends on cable length, but I can't find right now the measurements I came across some years ago that show the effect on high-frequency rolloff of length x capacitance. In any case, what I like most about the LC-1 cable is its relative noise rejection, which helps in the congested wiring of my single-ended DAC>headamp setup.