Might have posted this in wrong forum my apologies if I did. Trying it here. So I’m streaming some Chet Baker. Switching back and forth between Apple Music and Qobuz. Using a WiiM pro plus hardwired with Ethernet . Willsenton r8 tube amp to Wharfdale Denton speakers. My Qobuz subscription expires in a week or so. Honestly Qobuz sounds amazing but on the flip side I can’t tell the difference between it and Apple Music. I’m 53 and sure my ears aren’t as sensitive as they were 30 years ago. Just wondering or wanting someone to decide for me lol. Is it worth keeping Qobuz? I posted some screenshots or the comparison
Need some help deciding
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Anglepen
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If you genuinely cannot hear a difference, and you enjoy the lower bitrate stream then save the money.
Enjoyment, not critical listening is most important.
Merry Christmas.
Enjoyment, not critical listening is most important.
Merry Christmas.
Balthazar B
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In which case with the higher quality service he's a winner all around. For a single user, Qobuz is marginally less expensive than Apple Music with an annual subscription (at least in my market). One could also suggest the first of those services with a Connect feature that works well in the WiiM ecosystem should get the nod (hint: it won't be Apple).
IMHO, though, one should choose based on what's important to that person in terms of his/her priorities. Sometimes it's cost, sometimes it's library, sometimes it's UX, sometimes it's compatibility with one's audio environment, etc. Qobuz recently releasing a Radio feature in their beta channel brings them more in line with the feature set of Apple Music (and Spotify, Tidal, etc.). Connect, if implemented well, might just seal the deal for me. But Apple Music is quite a nice service itself, even if it has several fundamentally frustrating "features" that Apple shows no signs of even acknowledging, much less alleviating.
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Anglepen
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If a prime subscriber it’s no additional cost.
Balthazar B
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Amazon Prime? Or do you mean Apple One?
Anglepen
Member
Apologies, I mis read as Amazon music. My bad
It may be that I'm biased because I don't like anything about Apple, apart from the IPAD which is unbeatable. I don't like their absolutely closed ecosystem.
Even in streaming, with Apple Music you will only have the best with Apple devices. Not only that, it seems that Airplay 2 has made the situation worse, worse than Airplay 1. Limits always imposed by Apple.
I would therefore choose Qobuz without hesitation.
I have Qobuz and AmazonMusic UHD. Qobuz doesn't have Qobuz Connect yet, let's hope it arrives soon, and using Chromecast you are limited to 24/96, a limit not of Chromecast, but imposed by Qobuz, however you can override the limit and get to 24/192 using Bubble UPnP on Android or MConnect on iOS.
Happy Holidays
I like simple
That’s my understanding. I love Apple Music and Apple Music classical. But for what ever reason AirPlay down samples to 256 16/44.1. Frustrating company sometimes.
I love it too. I have several Macs in the house, Airport Expresses, Time Capsules, iMacs, you name it. But this Airplay business has me fleeing from it. I'm now using Audirvana and Wiim. For Classical music, tlhe extra resolution shows; a Mahler symphony is a complex piece of sound to record and reproduce. You don't need 24/192, but you do need 16/44.
Newb question…. What is Audirvana?
Balthazar B
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At a high level, Audirvana is in the same wheelhouse as Roon and LMS. For organizing and playing digital content from multiple sources.
I agree. Even at 256 16/44.1 it does sound very good.
Audirvana is like iTunes, but it's also a renderer, which means it's also an engine; iTunes with Airplay built in, and therefore can avoid all the Airplay problems. I open up Audivarna, select something, and it goes through the Wiim to my amp outfit and voila. It costs depending on choice, $100 per year or for a lifetime license.
Some consideration on the various streaming services 
Resolution
I am the first to admit that, at ear, I feel no difference between 14/44 and 24/192. But....my devices can reach the max resolution and I hate not having it for external limits. Even if this does not affect listening.
Services
I had Spotify Premium that I canceled because Lossy. I have Qobuz, which I always use, and Amazon Music UHD that I use rarely. Maybe I will delete the subscription. That said, these services are enough for me and advance. I have neither desire, nor need to throw money to the wind by signing all the streaming services that exist. The musical quality of the various services is practically the same. There may be a slight difference between the albums in the various libreries but really little differencies and in the end, if one or two albums are missing, I can live the same.
An exception could be Spotify where you could find even the darkest albums of Prog Rock, albums not present in any other service but, as I said, unfortunately it was and is Lossy.
For all this I chose a service, Qobuz, and I use that. Redundancy is useless and uneconomical.
Resolution
I am the first to admit that, at ear, I feel no difference between 14/44 and 24/192. But....my devices can reach the max resolution and I hate not having it for external limits. Even if this does not affect listening.
Services
I had Spotify Premium that I canceled because Lossy. I have Qobuz, which I always use, and Amazon Music UHD that I use rarely. Maybe I will delete the subscription. That said, these services are enough for me and advance.
I have neither desire, nor need to throw money to the wind by signing all the streaming services that exist. The musical quality of the various services is practically the same. There may be a slight difference between the albums in the various libreries but really little differencies and in the end, if one or two albums are missing, I can live the same.An exception could be Spotify where you could find even the darkest albums of Prog Rock, albums not present in any other service but, as I said, unfortunately it was and is Lossy.
For all this I chose a service, Qobuz, and I use that. Redundancy is useless and uneconomical.
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Yanto
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Could you explain the reasons why Tidal is ‘banned here’ “for reasons “ please?Back to serious...always a challenge for me when talking or writing about a hobby.
I would sign nearly every word from @Maurizio.
Tidal is banned here "for reasons". Amazon MHD's app is pita. So the choice is already smaller.
Spotify remains because they offer a good choice of audio books and makes (at least for me) Audible obsolete. Not so comfortable, but good enough. Beside that my Granddaughter insists in having Spotify. But I am waiting and expecting they drive their Supremium frontal against a wall.
Qobuz is in nearly every aspect my go-to-streaming service. Personally I would not need this myth-enshrouded Connect feature and still believe they will sell us CC as solution and will find reasons to stay with their home made limitations.
Apple Music and Apple Classical are for fun only. And cheap. So I'll grant myself this uneconomical useless service
Yanto
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Understood. No worries. I think it sounds much better now it is using FLAC. Hopefully MQA will be history very soonBecause of this still remaining MQA nonsense...it is banned by me
