So their sublime pricing is what? Roughly the combined cost of Tidal and Roon annually? Looks like this is going to be a proper dog fight. But can they win if they don’t have legal access to the US? I very much doubt it. So what are the issues keeping them out of that market?
They try to win subscribers with huge discounts on HD audio buys.
Some 30 to 60% less than other shops if you subscribe to their Sublime offer.
@Cantodea Two questions/ comments for you:
1 - When are you "coming " to the US of A?
2 - Since you posted on a Roon message board, do you have any plans on integrating with Roon, just like Tidal currently does?
Thanks
Qobuz Sublime+ (24bit streaming - annual fee - HiRes purchases same price as 16/44) -> €350/year
Qobuz Sublime (16/44 streaming - annual fee - HiRes purchases same price as 16/44) -> €220/year
Qobuz HiFi (16/44 streaming - monthly fee - no discounts on purchases) -> €20/month
so… yes
but I would not, myself, take a decision based on your Roon+Tidal sum 
For me, there is no doubt that Qobuz offers an excellent streaming service for all music types. Even their download service is great, prices are okay, and discounts for hires purchases for Sublime subscribers are awesome.
Their biggest flaw, however, is sticking to their Qobuz Desktop app instead of providing Roon integration (like Tidal). Roon has the infrastructure that I want: a server with audiophile endpoints and a great interface. Qobuz (Desktop) does not deliver this, not even close. But most importantly: their Desktop App requires a DAC directly connected to the PC/Mac, which is a dealbreaker for me. I don’t want a mouse, keyboard and computer in the living room to listen to music!
I have no idea why they are sticking to developing their propriety desktop app; it must cost a fortune to develop and maintain. Whereas Qobuz could easily piggyback on other platforms.
So, I’ll bite my lip and forego the hires streaming Qobuz offers and stick with Tidal. The day, however, that Qobuz integrates with Roon, I’m all in!
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For me soundquality was key when choosing. I really like the functionality and interface of Roon. Not so that I have to run the software on a separate computer or NAS btw. But when comparing Tidal to Qobuz, the choice was easy. Qobuz won hands down. The 24 bit streaming of Sublime+ sounds even better. As long as Qobuz isn’t integrated in Roon, I just don’t see the advantage of using Roon.
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I am testing Qobuz Sublime now for a week.
I dont connect a PC to my Hifi.
I use the BubbleUPnP App on a Pixel C tablet to play Qobuz 24 bit via the Sonic Orbiter directly into my DAC.
Its not Roon, but does the job for a week.
Another Connection without PC could be a Raspberry Pi with a HifiBerry Dac card and the new Volumio2 software installed there. This combination can also be used with the BubbleUPnP App.
I tested that combination too.
Hi Johan,
I would suggest editing and putting a header on that post, like “Below is the response I got from Qobuz:”. As it is now, people are assuming that whole text is from you, not, to you from Qobuz.
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I will keep the sublime + subscription.
My savings from downloads in the month of May sum up to about € 140, compared to prices I had to pay in other stores. And I usually bought at other stores more or less the same amount of music downloads.
For me Qobuz sublime + streaming is free after max 3 month.
Now, how can we get that into Roon as streaming service?
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I believe the ‘buying discounts’ are the same with Sublime as they are with Sublime+, aren’t they?
Hmmm… Redbook for streaming, Highres with discount for my collection. Let me think about that for a minute.
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Yes, Discounts are the same.
High Res Streaming is the interesting stuff if you count the discounts.
I was never interested in the sublime subscription, because i still subscribe to Tidal and there you have that fantastic MQA option.
plus you get anyway HiRes streaming of stuff you purchase
Another option to Play Qobuz 24bit is the Audirvana Software on a Mac.
You can use it together with Dirac and if u wish with HQ Player.
That same Mac serves me as a Roon Endpoint ( Roon new Speak: Zone player)
So it is all in one package and easy to handle.
It’s a bit of a conundrum…
I’ve got a free Spotify Premium account (grandfathered into the account with my internet supplier). I like the apps, the custom playlists and it serves me well for away-from-home use. It integrates well with my Bluesound Nodes and wife + 5 y/o are happy with it.
I could easily use Qobuz through the Bluesound app, but the skeleton API integration is meh. Qobuz’s own apps are OK – and I could plug a Chromecast Audio into my Node to tie me over until Bluesound incorporates Chromecast natively. At 30% discount on buying, the Sublime account would basically be free – but it would limit my music buying to Qobuz only (or mostly) and come down to whether I trust them enough to fork over 12 months upfront. Not sure about that.
I like MQA – but wading through the discovered Masters albums, there’s next to nothing yet that I’m interested in for my daily listening fare. I guess I’ll check back in a year or so.
I think I’m fine for now. So much music, so little time…
A few of years ago I discovered a workaround that would allow me to subscribe to Qobuz with a Canadian credit card despite the fact that it was not available in Canada. I actually live in Brasil, and although I loved the Qobuz selection, their streaming was horrible here. I assume this was because they had no CDNs in this part of the world, I have two internet providers (50 and 60 megs) and Qobuz was terrible with both. I cancelled after a year of constant struggles. Subsequently I have subscribed to both Tidal hi-res and Deezer Elite, with absolutely no streaming problems in Brasil. Spotify also presents no problems. Same with Netflix for video streaming. This was prior to the “financial rescue” of Qobuz, so I have no idea whether everything still streams from France or whether they now have a decent global content distribution network. I also recall that Qobuz indicated it would be sold in Canada, but to my knowledge this never happened.
Briefly tested Qobuz Sublime+, and found that:
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Qobuz classifies any 24-bit music as Hi-Res, so 24/44.1 is also Hi-Res.
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Owing to licensing restrictions, a few Hi-Res albums available for purchase from Qobuz may become 16/44.1 during streaming.
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Owing to licensing restrictions, a few Hi-Res albums may not be allowed to stream at all. These are meant for you to purchase from Qobuz via Qobuz website or Qobuz app.
For those who can use Lumin app (for OpenHome compliant network players such as Lumin and Linn), version 6.0.9 displays a Hi-Res logo when browsing the Hi-Res albums.
sure: 16/44 is CDQuality and 24/44 is HiRes
and there’s an audible difference
re your point 3… yes: none of ECM albums is available for streaming on any streaming sevice
plus some from other labels
How do you use Qobuz sublime+ ?
DLNA (through Bubbleupnp for instance - like myself and I can tell it works very well - or USB ?
The drawback with Bubblupnp is that the IOS/Android apps to use with (Linn Kazoo or Lumin) aren’t so great compared to Roon.
And I confirm that Roon+Tidal even MQA is not as good compared to Qobuz Sublime+ (HiRez), … or even Simple Sublime (CD quality).
However … important to notice that the downloaded Hirez albums on an NAS/HD sound much much better with Roon than Sublime+ HiREZ streaming : so the discounted price on Hirez album purchase with Qobuz when you have a Sublime subscription is still usefull.