Qobuz

[Anastasius]

.... (Maybe it's a question of browser - I was on Safari, which seems less and less good with various sites of late, I often have to switch to Chrome. ....

Same here. I do find it inconsistent. Sometimes switching off AdBlock will let a site work. Other times, such as with Barclays Bank website, I have to use another browser.

[richardfinegold]

I said this the other day....(on yet another tangential thread...)


[Since signing up for Qobuz hifi in 12/2016 - see link in #122]...
"My own behaviour has changed, (as I suggested it might...), insofar as I've come to use Qobuz HiFi more and more as a listening source, more akin to a radio station and a library, less as a buyers' guide and more as a listening pleasure. Especially since I love to explore whatever I'm into, so - with Chamber Music from Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn et al, it has been marvellous to roam about listening to so many different recordings for sheer musical pleasure, irrespective of potential purchase. I couldn't live without it now. But finally I did still want to buy some of them... which I did - mostly on 2ndhand CDs. But my actual purchases, whether of CDs or downloads, have certainly reduced because of the quality of Qobuz lossless streaming. (A good example would be the Marc Mellits String Quartets 3-5, which I enjoyed listening to very much, but not enough to spend more on buying them.. thanks to HQ streaming, I have listened to them now - and closely. Same story with the Haydn Op.20 from the Chiaroscuros...).
So of course I can easily conceive the possibility of falling in love with a newly discovered work or recording, but now, not feeling any compulsion to buy or own it. Which I probably wouldn't have said back in December.

Of course I already have a "Record Library" running to 1000s of CDs and 100s of downloads, so I can (emotionally) afford to feel very relaxed about "acquisition" or "library-building" now... and with Qobuz Discover for New Releases, you can listen instantly to almost anything which comes out, putting them into "favourites" for leisured contemplation, without agonising over "should I buy it?""
***

"...I think part of my own evolution this year has involved a bypass of downloads, as I move between streaming and CDs themselves. Part of that is due to my own perception of the sonic superiority of the CD over its streamed lossless equivalent (narrow, but infinitely variable of course, due to software and hardware quality - a well-built, well-maintained vintage CD-transport is a treasurable item), part - perhaps - due to the older pleasure of the held, owned, physical object. (Not to mention that longed-for, deleted-release, inconceivably-cheap package arriving par avion form Berlin, Paris, New York, Tokyo, or...)"

Just listening now to the Haydn Symphony No.6 finale (Heidelberg/Fey/Hänssler) on Qobuz HiFi and then the CD, I could easily hear the greater subtlety, of depth, focus and timbral colours on the CD. A naturalness, almost a "softness" which can make the stream sound just a little forced in comparison. But as I said before, listening to the lossless stream in isolation is very enjoyable in itself.

Quobuz is unavailable here, regrettably. I use Spotify for popular music and to audition Classical for purchase. Sonically, it’s the best of the low bit rate services, but my experience with lossless Classical streaming hasn’t been a happy one.
I tried Tidal, but I hate the interface and the Classical search engine was designed by a disciple of the Marquis de Sade.
I have a DAC that is MQA capable but I was underwhelmed by it and would not choose Tidal for that purpose alone.
Classics on Line went bust a month after I subscribed.
Primephonic gave me a free trial, but their catalog is severely limited.
With the latter two I did give a slight nod to CDs when I was able to make a comparison for sonics, not a night and day thing, but perceptible.
In contrast to Jlw my downloads have increased, primarily for space saving considerations

[Anastasius]

Quobuz is unavailable here, regrettably.

Richard, I don't where 'here' is but have you tried proxy servers or the Tor browser ? Might be a way to access Qobuz

[Nick Armstrong]

Same here. I do find it inconsistent. Sometimes switching off AdBlock will let a site work.

Interesting - I also have AdBlock, and never think of switching it off. Will try and see. Facebook for instance I almost always use on Chrome now because it freezes on Safari - perhaps as a result of me attempting to frustrate Facebook's commercial ambitions.

[Dave2002]

Interesting - I also have AdBlock, and never think of switching it off. Will try and see. Facebook for instance I almost always use on Chrome now because it freezes on Safari - perhaps as a result of me attempting to frustrate Facebook's commercial ambitions.

Some sites seem to get stroppy and moan that they've detected adblockers in my system, and want me to turn them off, or give them special privileges, which normally I ignore.

[richardfinegold]

Richard, I don't where 'here' is but have you tried proxy servers or the Tor browser ? Might be a way to access Qobuz

Here is North America. I’m afraid that I don’t understand the rest of your suggestion, but you seem to be suggesting a work around. I am assuming that if I tried to pay for a Quobuz subscription, someone would eventually figure out that the IP address is from a forbidden zone

[Anastasius]

Here is North America. I’m afraid that I don’t understand the rest of your suggestion, but you seem to be suggesting a work around. I am assuming that if I tried to pay for a Quobuz subscription, someone would eventually figure out that the IP address is from a forbidden zone

A proxy server is a server that effectively anonymises where you are. Your Qobuz traffic would go via the proxy server. NB You would have to choose a proxy server with a .uk domain or one in the 'allowed' zone (as it were). That way, Qobuz's servers think that you are located there. Yu make an interesting point re the paid version. It could be that you fall at the first hurdle and that their payment system will block someone with a billing address outside the zone. But there is only one way to find out and is to try it. You've got nothing to lose IMO.

If I get time I'll try to see if I can access Qobuz using my TOR browser.

[Stunsworth]

Try sending an email to Qobuz supported asking if the service could be made available to your email address. That worked for me when Qobuz was only available in France.

[Dave2002]

Something seems to have changed in Qobuz very recently. I run a Mac with Sierra - and the interface seems to have changed.

One significant issue for me is that this morning I tried to find some music by Martucci, and then to play the track. I was then notified that my subscription does not allow me to play that track, only pay for a download to listen to.

Since then this has happened to most tracks I have searched for. Normally I subscribe to the low level of Qobuz, with the intention of listening to anything I might really want to buy, and then I have a choice of where to buy - CD, download etc.

Sometimes, depending on how one tries to access the tracks, it's not possible to get back to the Search facility, and Qobuz has to be restarted. There seem to be some navigation issues with the latest interface.

However, it does now seem that I'm getting sample previews of tracks in very much higher quality - which might almost persuade me to take out a higher level of subscription. OTOH I do seem to have lost the ability to review material which is what I was largely using the service for. I only noticed this today, and I was using the service last week, so I do think something has changed very recently, possibly today.

PS: Indeed - yesterday I was listening to Immerseel's Beethoven set on Qobuz, and today I can't - though the previews are very good quality.
Actually it all seems a bit haphazard - I think they're updating things right now.

[Bryn]

Is anyone else having problems accessing QOBUZ at the moment? I keep finding non-responsive buttons and 500 Errors when I try to log in.

[Anastasius]

Is anyone else having problems accessing QOBUZ at the moment? I keep finding non-responsive buttons and 500 Errors when I try to log in.

Yes. I had a lot of issues last night with it and gave up in the end.

What's the French for SNAFU ?

[Bryn]

Yes. I had a lot of issues last night with it and gave up in the end.

What's the French for SNAFU ?

If I try to report the problem via "at this address" at https://help.qobuz.com/hc/en-us/arti...nical-problems , I get a 503 error. They appear to be in real trouble.

From Twitter:

"

[Anastasius]

On their Twatter feed just now

Qobuz is currently experiencing server failures which are blocking music playback on our apps. All of our technical teams are on the case. We apologise for this temporary inconvenience and will keep you updated as things progress.

[Beef Oven!]

I downloaded a couple of albums last night with no difficulty.

But I've just tried to go there and I'm getting this ............

[Anastasius]

Are there any alternatives to Qobuz ? Just took a look at Spotify and came away underwhelmed as nothing classical sensibly as far as I could see. Let's face it, I shouldn't be surprised if the few search criteria are 'Albums' and 'Artists'.