qobuz Qobuz USA launching soon!

[steveoat]

3 minutes ago, left channel said:

I've seen no update. Usually anything announced at CES in January appears on the market by October, often after missing a target of August/September. Somewhere I read a rumor Qobuz would try to launch by July, so fingers crossed, but software seldom cooperates.

Thanks.  So, if one were to bet, what would be released first: Audirvana for Windows, Qobuz in USA or Project Digital S2 firmware update?

[left channel]

2 minutes ago, steveoat said:

Thanks.  So, if one were to bet, what would be released first: Audirvana for Windows, Qobuz in USA or Project Digital S2 firmware update?

 

?  ? ?  I wouldn't risk a bet on any of those. But I do think we'll see them all eventually.

[yaslam]

I am looking forward to Qobuz launch in USA, but I'm concerned that the number of classical sound sources will be limited more than European account.

[left channel]

2 hours ago, yaslam said:

I am looking forward to Qobuz launch in USA, but I'm concerned that the number of classical sound sources will be limited more than European account.

 

I will have US and UK accounts for at least a brief period, and will compare. Suggestions welcome.

[mansr]

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/qobuz-coming-america

[left channel]

29 minutes ago, mansr said:

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/qobuz-coming-america

 

Key takeaways for me:

 

"...we’re planning a soft launch at CEDIA Expo in September and coming full force as the official streaming partner at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October. We feature over 130,000 albums (about 2 million tracks) in high resolution available for streaming and download. This is on top of the 40 million 16-bit/44-kHz full resolution cuts."

 

(Last time I tried to total up the MQA tracks on Tidal, it was only about 110,000. That's tracks, not albums.)

[rickca]

Ughh, it was supposed to be mid-2018.

[mansr]

2 minutes ago, rickca said:

Ughh, it was supposed to be mid-2018.

What were you expecting?

[rickca]

31 minutes ago, mansr said:

What were you expecting?

I was expecting it to slip and it did.  But better late than never.

[left channel]

OK, define "mid".  :—)  As I've noted several times, anything announced at CES in January usually arrives in September/October. They're right on schedule.

[dainapoo]

Just wondering, I've been reading about this for nearly a year, but when is it actually coming? I'm sure there are distribution issues pertinent to the US that have to be dealt with. But I feel like I'm waiting for the Red Sea or something. Any late breaking news I've missed?

[steveoat]

I too wonder if there is any news, given that they are currently at RMAF

[randyhat]

I gave up waiting for the Red Sea.  Even if it showed up, where would I put it?

[left channel]

RMAF was going to be the launchpad, but:

 

[left channel]

A photo of the RMAF booth! @Rt66indierock please let us know if you speak to anyone from Qobuz. We're eagerly awaiting news of the USA launch. Also wondering if there's any related information in those brochures on the table.

 

 

 

[jhwalker]

45 minutes ago, left channel said:

A photo of the RMAF booth! @Rt66indierock please let us know if you speak to anyone from Qobuz. We're eagerly awaiting news of the USA launch. Also wondering if there's any related information in those brochures on the table.

 

 

 

 

Photo ironically emblematic of Qobuz's current position re: the US launch: i.e., missing in action

[left channel]

7 minutes ago, jhwalker said:

 

Photo ironically emblematic of Qobuz's current position re: the US launch: i.e., missing in action

 

I know, right? But to be fair, most photos on the RMAF 18 thread show booths with no people.

[tapatrick]

On 6/21/2018 at 11:25 PM, left channel said:

....We feature over 130,000 albums (about 2 million tracks) in high resolution available for streaming and download....

Correct me if I'm wrong but when I had a Quobuz account in the UK (since switched to Tidal) the higher res streaming which is getting a lot of attention as a biggy over Tidal was only available when you had first purchased the higher res download (at a premium extra cost). In other words the higher res was not available unless bought as a download. Has that changed?

[tapatrick]

2 minutes ago, tapatrick said:

deleted

 

 

[jhwalker]

30 minutes ago, tapatrick said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but when I had a Quobuz account in the UK (since switched to Tidal) the higher res streaming which is getting a lot of attention as a biggy over Tidal was only available when you had first purchased the higher res download (at a premium extra cost). In other words the higher res was not available unless bought as a download. Has that changed?

 

There are four tiers of membership in the UK:

 

 

The third tier (the one you're thinking of, I believe) allows you to stream CD quality *except for those items you've already purchased in higher quality* - those you can stream at the quality you purchased them.  The fourth tier allows streaming anything at the highest resolution at which it's available.  Both provide steep discounts on high resolution downloads.

[Cebolla]

Deleted.

[Rt66indierock]

1 hour ago, jhwalker said:

 

Photo ironically emblematic of Qobuz's current position re: the US launch: i.e., missing in action

 

I just talked to David Solomon and the launch date is unknown but probably a month out.

[left channel]

@tapatrick as @jhwalker said there is a hi-res streaming tier, Sublime+. It may have been created after you left Qobuz.

Sublime+ is not at all cheap, but one version of the US pricing I've seen makes it much more reasonable.

[steveoat]

1 hour ago, Rt66indierock said:

 

I just talked to David Solomon and the launch date is unknown but probably a month out.

I would think that they wouldn't want to go past the first week of November in order to take advantage of the holiday season

[left channel]

34 minutes ago, steveoat said:

I would think that they wouldn't want to go past the first week of November in order to take advantage of the holiday season

 

As this is most likely to be purchased as a gift for ourselves, it may not be a seasonal thing. ? Seriously though, it is very common for products announced at CES in January to target a September/October launch, only to watch that slip well into November, at which point some sales are lost to the noise/budgets/distractions of the season. I am so glad I'm out of the consumer electronics business...