Interesting development at Qobuz (not for the better)
They offer two versions:
An CD quality version.
A “Highres” one, costing more, is labeled as 24/176.4kHz. It streams as 16/44.1kHz MQA CD (expanding to 352.8kHz in Roon).
I have not bought the 24/176kHz, so I do not know what you actually get when you download.
I have made them aware of this and am awaiting their response.
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This was on Facebook today
We’re happy to announce that our 2L catalogue is now complete and up-to-date with the Qobuz Music service, streaming the full 24-bit MQA from our original production sample rate. The Qobuz application plays core sample rate at 24-bit resolution. Audirvana, SonicStudio Amarra or Roon Labs will provide the first unfold to 88.2/96kHz in software. Consumers with an MQA enabled DAC will enjoy our original sample rate. For the majority of our albums that would be 352.8kHz.
Our files offered for purchase in the download section of Qobuz is the same MQA files as in the streaming service.
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The music captured by 2L features Norwegian composers and performers and an international repertoire reflected in the Nordic atmosphere. The immersive recordings not only transform the entire listening experience, but also - more radically - these innovative recordings overturn some very basic concepts regarding how music is composed and performed. 2L emphasize immersive audio with Pure Audio Blu-ray and HiRes file distribution, and have garnered no less than 36 American GRAMMY nominations, 28 of these in craft categories Best Engineered Album, Best Surround Sound Album and Producer of the Year. This year the album LUX won the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs for Best Immersive Audio.
The beauty of the recording arts is that there is no fixed formula and no blueprint. It all comes out of the music. Every project starts out by digging into the score and talking with the composer, if contemporary, and the musicians. It is not our task as producers and engineers to try to re-create a concert situation with all its commercial limitations. On the contrary; we should make the ideal out of the recording medium and create the strongest illusion, the sonic experience that emotionally moves the listener to a better place.
2L record in spacious acoustic venues: large concert halls, churches and cathedrals. This is actually where we can make the most intimate recordings. The qualities we seek in large rooms are not necessarily a big reverb, but openness due to the absence of close reflecting walls. Making an ambient and beautiful recording is the way of least resistance. Searching the fine edge between direct contact and openness - that’s the real challenge! A really good recording should be able to bodily move the listener. This core quality of audio production is made by choosing the right venue for the repertoire, and by balancing the image in the placement of microphones and musicians relative to each other in that venue.
There is no method available today to reproduce the exact perception of attending a live performance. That leaves us with the art of illusion when it comes to recording music. As recording engineers and producers we need to do exactly the same as any good musician: interpret the music and the composer’s intentions and adapt to the media where we perform. Immersive Audio is a completely new conception of the musical experience. Recorded music is no longer a matter of a fixed one- or two-dimensional setting, but rather a three-dimensional enveloping situation. Immersive Audio is a sculpture that you can literally move around and relate to spatially; surrounded by music you can move about in the aural space and choose angles, vantage points and positions. Rather than reproducing a concert situation we consider the Recording Art a discipline on its own. It gives us the possibility to place the listener in an ideal position and become an actual party to the event. Thru a dedicated production of the music we can maximize energy, reveal all the small nuances and avoid disturbing distractions. The emotional impact can be made massive. The conductor’s position is the seat no audience can afford — until now with these dedicated recordings.
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Bill Withers has died. His song, “Use Me,” was either playing in Roon or being hummed in my head every time I read the long threads arguing the merits of MQA.
MQA, you can use me up.
Recommend something you like from their catalog, please!
This is pretty special
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Thanks. Added… I will test this out on my MQA rendering Bel Canto e.One Stream.
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Roon needs to update Qobuz’s tagging for Magnificat. Just says this is a 44k 24bit file but when you play it is still a MQA file that outputs at 88k.
Not going to argue the merits of MQA but don’t like that 2L is not even supplying the true hires version to Qobuz. For many dacs, having the non MQA sounds better. For many albums Qobuz even offers the same albums in a range of hires resolutions so seems strange not to give users any choice. But also have it mislabeled in roon doesn’t help things.
Edit: within Qobuz app it claims the album is a true hires 44k 24bit file. So not sure what’s going on. Think before it was only shown as cd quality and then was actually MQA but the cd MQA quality.
I didn’t think Qobuz supports or streams any MQA.
Well it kind of goes against Qobuz’s hires philosophy but not sure they have much choice if want to carry the 2L label. But they really should label the files as such. You can see for yourself if you check the signal path when you play the file. Also, the article posted pretty says this is what’s happening if played thru roon.
It actually does.