In today’s streaming age, there’s no shortage of platforms to get the music you want directly to your ears. It seems at every avenue, there’s a new brand popping up to offer access to songs, podcasts, albums, and browsing. So how does one choose which is best for their listening needs? For audiophiles, the choice is easier than ever before.
Qobuz offers music in the best quality possible, allowing listeners to experience music the way the artist intended. With its name borrowed from the ancient, symbolic, and sacred Kazakhstan instrument, the “Kobyz” – pronounced ko-buzz– Qobuz has cemented itself as the sophisticated approach for music lovers looking to take their affinity for the art of sound to the next level. Here’s how Qobuz is consistently refining the streaming experience:
1. Improved sound quality
Since its inception in 2008, Qobuz has made it its mission to create a collection of music that consists of recordings as close to the original studio audio as possible. Qobuz achieves this anomaly by working with suppliers and labels to provide files of superior quality, trumping the standard sound of mere MP3s. As a result, Qobuz was the first music service in the world to offer 24-bit Hi-Res files for streaming (to its Qobuz Sublime subscribers). In fact, Qobuz was the first music service to offer CD-Quality, 16-bit/44kHz files and 24-bit Hi-Res files available for streaming.
2. A comprehensive music experience
Qobuz caters to highly specialized music lovers – audiophiles both old and new – and that’s why the platform doesn’t solely focus on the sonic. Instead, Qobuz endeavors to help its users grow musically through human recommendations cherry-picked from hundreds of thousands of albums delivered to its door, ultimately providing over 100 million tracks in 24-bit Hi-Res and 16-bit CD quality. What’s more, Qobuz does this in every musical genre, subsequently creating a living museum where audiophiles can both bask and burgeon.
The Qobuz experience is further bolstered by its Hi-Res Download Store – an mosaic of easy-to-access thumbnails that, upon clicking, unpackage entire albums for streaming in the download store, and schooling. Qobuz is the only music streaming service with a Hi-Res download store for those who want to own their music…and you don’t need a subscription to access it.
As users traverse Qobuz’s gallery, they can also partake in its interactive community. Dubbed the “Qobuz Club,” the cultivated coterie is a platform for audiophiles and music lovers to come together, share their passion for music, and discover new sounds and artists in a friendly environment.
3. Qobuz Magazine
Music news, videos, and panoramas abound in Qobuz’s editorial department, offering visitors and subscribers full-fledged access to liner notes, artist approaches and interviews, the industry’s unique history, equipment advice, “how to” segments, and so much more, all written by a team of music and audio experts. Qobuz’s unique approach further solidifies its presence as a one-stop hub for streaming needs and a complete, uncompromising music experience that exists nowhere else.
4. A boutique record shop approach
Discovering, streaming, and downloading music can feel incredibly impersonal and complicated with the inundation of the industry and its platforms. Qobuz remedies this by providing a digital record shop that is sophisticated and well-curated, hiding low-quality filler and only offering high quality options of music both beloved and unexplored.
Imagine a bijou record store, lined wall to wall with albums. There are endless crates chock full of crisp 12×12 first-edition vinyl, all ready for sifting. As you peruse, the stockpile underneath your arms grows, your hands fill up, and you’re pressing a stack of CDs between your chin and chest. It seems everything you’ve ever wanted musically exists under this one, small roof. You leave happy with a batch of nothing but lossless gold. That’s the Qobuz shopping experience.
5. 1-month free trial with no commitment
Qobuz offers two different subscriptions: the Studio sub and the Sublime sub. The former ($10.83/mo paid annually) provides users with studio-quality streaming (FLAC 24-bit up to 192 kHz), over 100 million tracks, original editorial content, and offline listening. The latter ($15.00/mo) offers the same, but adds discounts on Hi-Res purchases of up to 60 percent. But before you commit to changing your relationship with sound and streaming forever, you can try Qobuz for free for an entire month with no commitment.
