Qobuz subscription price variations

[Dave2002]

Current page......

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/music/streaming/offers

It all depends on which plan you have..... did they promise a lossless minimum somewhere?
(BTW my Q-Studio monthly price hasn't increased since I signed up last year....)

Seems you are right - based on the current page. I thought that they had sent me an email increasing the price, but offering at least CD quality. I can't be bothered to trawl through to find out, but I will still cancel my subscription shortly as gradually surfacing from a backlog of things to do.

[Goon525]

What we haven’t yet been offered is the very significant reduction in price now available to US subscribers. But, as it happens, I’m content to pay the current price for Qobuz Studio.

[BBMmk2]

£9.99 per month is quite reasonable I think. Spotify Premium has this.

[gradus]

I tried Qobuz for a couple of months but found the search mechanism tricky however I was using my mobile phone as the search device so probably not ideal. Having said that I'm unimpressed by Spotify's search engine which I find classical unfriendly with it's irritating insistence on calling everything a 'tune'.

[Sir Velo]

I note that some (all?) tracks are still coming up as 320 kbps Stereo. I don't seem to be able to force them to 16 bit CD quality.
I thought the excuse for putting up the subscription price was that the minimum quality was going to be 16 bit CD.

For those who aren't particularly tech savvy it can be difficult to work these things out, so my sympathies to you. However, it's probably worth bearing in mind that all these websites use software which detects what subscription you have and thereby prevents you from accessing a service to which you are not entitled! As you appear to be limited to 320 kbps I deduce you are paying the basic subscription rate of £9.99 per month. CD quality is available at £19.99 and hi res (up to 24/192) for £24.99. Personally, I think it's worth every penny; one has unfettered access to an enormous library of music (among labels only Hyperion AFAIA do not have an agreement with Qobuz) in sound, which if you use the Qobuz desktop player or similar, is as good as any download or CD. Oh, and did I mention storage space?

[Dave2002]

For those who aren't particularly tech savvy it can be difficult to work these things out, so my sympathies to you. However, it's probably worth bearing in mind that all these websites use software which detects what subscription you have and thereby prevents you from accessing a service to which you are not entitled! As you appear to be limited to 320 kbps I deduce you are paying the basic subscription rate of £9.99 per month. CD quality is available at £19.99 and hi res (up to 24/192) for £24.99. Personally, I think it's worth every penny; one has unfettered access to an enormous library of music (among labels only Hyperion AFAIA do not have an agreement with Qobuz) in sound, which if you use the Qobuz desktop player or similar, is as good as any download or CD. Oh, and did I mention storage space?

Personally I don't think it's worth the extra, as I have an extensive CD collection, and other ways of accessing music, including going to live concerts and opera, as well as cinema live screenings. I did access Qobuz a day or two back purely out of curiosity about a track by Porcupine Tree - a group I'd never heard of before. I find that mostly I can find the answers to many spontaneously arising questions by looking at YouTube, or other web based source. We probably could afford the £19.99 per month, or the £24.99 per month - the latter representing nearly £300 per year, but I don't believe that we would personally get sufficient value from that. Other people may, or may make different judgements.

I also play several instruments, and play in small groups. I am not lacking access to music.

[Goon525]

Personally I don't think it's worth the extra, as I have an extensive CD collection, and other ways of accessing music, including going to live concerts and opera, as well as cinema live screenings. I did access Qobuz a day or two back purely out of curiosity about a track by Porcupine Tree - a group I'd never heard of before. I find that mostly I can find the answers to many spontaneously arising questions by looking at YouTube, or other web based source. We probably could afford the £19.99 per month, or the £24.99 per month - the latter representing nearly £300 per year, but I don't believe that we would personally get sufficient value from that. Other people may, or may make different judgements.

I also play several instruments, and play in small groups. I am not lacking access to music.

And if you’re satisfied with the sound quality you can get from YouTube, good luck to you. But for some of us being able to hear recorded music in very high quality in our homes is worth what Qobuz charges.

[jayne lee wilson]

And if you’re satisfied with the sound quality you can get from YouTube, good luck to you. But for some of us being able to hear recorded music in very high quality in our homes is worth what Qobuz charges.

Absolutely, not to mention the excitement of New Releases every Friday - and instant access to most of them!
(Already into the pre-Christmas lull now though, I think... Still not heard that Dausgaard BBCSSO Bartok yet.... maybe next up...striking Cover Art (1922, Lissitzky) references several famous releases of the past...)

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/bartok-suite-no1-concerto-for-orchestra-thomas-dausgaard-bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra/us5mgytsxui3b

[Dave2002]

And if you’re satisfied with the sound quality you can get from YouTube, good luck to you. But for some of us being able to hear recorded music in very high quality in our homes is worth what Qobuz charges.

Indeed - I'm not stopping you. I don't need it right now.

[Sir Velo]

And if you’re satisfied with the sound quality you can get from YouTube, good luck to you. But for some of us being able to hear recorded music in very high quality in our homes is worth what Qobuz charges.

Odd isn't it what some people consider represents good value for money? On another thread, a 10 year old 5 CD set of the Beethoven symphonies for £27 is being trumpeted as a bargain, while unlimited access to a vast range of recordings in superb quality for less than that a month is considered excessive. Oh well, there's none so blind, (or should that be deaf)...!

[Dave2002]

Odd isn't it what some people consider represents good value for money? On another thread, a 10 year old 5 CD set of the Beethoven symphonies for £27 is being trumpeted as a bargain, while unlimited access to a vast range of recordings in superb quality for less than that a month is considered excessive.

I think it was a tad over £22 - https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...ies-ouvertures and 6 CDs - though maybe you are thinking of another set. It's good if one thinks the performances are worth having on CDs - others may not. Also, you take things out of context. I explained why I don't think Qobuz is a good deal for me. Your situation may be different. You mention superb quality, but that also depends on what equipment you use to listen to the music on.

You also assume that everyone should buy into this, and think the subscription amounts are relatively trivial. For us they are indeed relatively modest, but that's no reason to spend on things that are really not necessary. There are many people for whom an extra £300 or so a year would be an unwanted burden, though you might point out that such people would hardly be able to afford kit which could benefit from the sound quality and choice which you applaud so consistently.

Lastly, since I looked into it, withdrawing from some services - such as Qobuz, causes a complete and permanent loss of access to any downloads or playlists etc. This is made clear on the relevant pages. Some services have in the past kept one's details for long enough that restoring access to previous or equivalent services is possible if subscriptions are renewed in the future after a gap, though changes in laws may now have made that impossible or illegal. In fairness Qobuz does warn about this, and advises users to download anything they want to keep before cancellation of their subscriptions.

[Bryn]

I think it was a tad over £22 - https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...ies-ouvertures and 6 CDs - though maybe you are thinking of another set. It's good if one thinks the performances are worth having on CDs - others may not. Also, you take things out of context. I explained why I don't think Qobuz is a good deal for me. Your situation may be different. You mention superb quality, but that also depends on what equipment you use to listen to the music on.

You also assume that everyone should buy into this, and think the subscription amounts are relatively trivial. For us they are indeed relatively modest, but that's no reason to spend on things that are really not necessary. There are many people for whom an extra £300 or so a year would be an unwanted burden, though you might point out that such people would hardly be able to afford kit which could benefit from the sound quality and choice which you applaud so consistently.

Lastly, since I looked into it, withdrawing from some services - such as Qobuz, causes a complete and permanent loss of access to any downloads or playlists etc. This is made clear on the relevant pages. Some services have in the past kept one's details for long enough that restoring access to previous or equivalent services is possible if subscriptions are renewed in the future after a gap, though changes in laws may now have made that impossible or illegal. In fairness Qobuz does warn about this, and advises users to download anything they want to keep before cancellation of their subscriptions.

£27 is more like the Amazon price.

[Dave2002]

£27 is more like the Amazon price.

But why bother, when the "faster" option is cheaper?

[Bryn]

But why bother, when the "faster" option is cheaper?

Best not to, but the original price mentioned, and to which you responded, was £27. I simply sought to give it context. I got the set around the time of its release.

[Dave2002]

Best not to, but the original price mentioned, and to which you responded, was £27. I simply sought to give it context. I got the set around the time of its release.

I looked that up a few days ago - as I wanted to see if the CDs were still available. At that time (last week) there were only used versions available via am.uk. Then I spotted the Presto offer - which I posted about. I have listened to some of the performances via sites such as Qobuz, but I think it's now time to buy the discs.

Perhaps CDs will go the way of LPs and 78s, but at least as a physical entity they can be passed on, or sold. Downloads and streaming do not offer that opportunity. I have seen boxes of LPs sell at auction for £80, and recently I even saw a box of 78s sell for a tenner! It had some interesting discs, but I passed on that.