I’ll try to have a listen tomorrow.
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I was able to listen to all of Linger Awhile. Nothing jumped out at me as distorted, and I listened a second time, closely, to the two songs you mentioned. Still nothing.
Interestingly, I did not find the aesthetic of the sound very enjoyable until I cranked it up louder than I usually listen.
However, it was over a system where I have to send the audio from an iPad via Bluetooth to the amplifier, so Qobuz was sending it to me CD quality.
I will listen to the album again later today through my system that can play the hi-res files where the entire signal path is lossless.
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Haven’t had a chance to listen on my lossless system yet, but today I listened to both Linger Awhile and Loco Cello - Tangorom from Qobuz in headphones using a different set up.
Not only didn’t I hear anything that I think of as distortion, or that matched what you described, the recording of Samara Jo’s singing sounded even better – dramatically better.
In general I much prefer Free Jazz to straight ahead stuff (especially straight ahead stuff with vocals). So yesterday it was hard going for me to get through the whole album. And extra hard because of the aesthetic of the sound.
But wow, the whole album bowled me over today. The aesthetic of the sound was completely different, fabulous and tasty to me, and I felt an emotional connection that was totally absent yesterday. Samara’s singing took my breath away, too. Totally transformed!
How much was roon and how much was listening in headphones I have no idea. I am offering deep thanks to both for now!
Yesterday: iPad running the Qobuz app > iPad Bluetooth to amplifier > loudspeakers.
Today: Mac mini running Roon > Bluetooth headphones.
I am completely psyched to get a chance to hear Linger Awhile full resolution!!! Thank you for leading me to this discovery of an artist I had not heard of, and would have leaned away from regardless because of my strong preferences, and now am a big fan. Such a delightful discovery for me.
I will be very curious to hear what you discover is going on with Qobuz for you. By chance I saw your system in another thread. I am dreaming of a Mola-Mola Makua with phonostage and DAC/streamer feeding Kii Threes. Seems an impossible dream but I’m hoping technology advances so dramatically for future state-of-the-art that used prices come down for me to enjoy some Bruno Putzeys genius!
I’ll share what I find with those two albums in lossless, even though it seems likely you are experiencing a glitch that is not affecting everyone.
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Thank you for checking these out. Interesting result. I will check them out again later on. I’m glad you enjoyed them. She does indeed have a wonderful voice, which reminds me somewhat of Ella Fitzgerald. It will be interesting to see how Samara develops since she is so young.
The Kii speakers include a DAC, so only a streamer or analog source is needed. I like the way they have separated the purchase into phases: one for the smaller speaker (and that may be sufficient for your room) and then the bass modules can be added later, if desired.
Yes, Bruno Putzeys is a genius and he likes to provide bang for the buck (and values energy efficiency and small form factor). The Makua is a beautiful piece and is available used from time-to-time.
If you are located in the U.S., Bill Parish at GTT Audio is the person to contact. He is very fair, knowledgable and knows the Mola Mola products inside out.
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I’ve never heard of this artist or album before, so I was intrigued to know what was going on.
First of all I just want to thank you for bringing this artist/album to my attention. It’s definitely pressed some of the buttons that I can’t seem to find myself! 
Thank you.
I’m listening on my KEF LS50 Metas and TBH I’m not getting any distortion or undesirable qualities. Especially on that track you mention, and yes the rest of the album is also top notch.
We just can’t have 100%, 100% of the time. Sometimes we just get 90% either way and someone else is getting that 10%!
Thank you so much for posting and sharing!
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Ella, yes, I thought that, and that’s a good thing!!
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As a contrast, my ears like the latest release by Laufey – A Night at the Symphony. That is how the voice should be recorded and the symphony sound is very good too. The music may not be your cup of tea (I was a bit surprised I listened to the whole album) but it shows that streaming can sound very, very good.