I’ve spent almost a month now, trying to decide between subscriptions to Amazon Music HD or Qobuz streamed through Audirvana. I really should make a decision as to which one to keep because paying for both seems pretty silly. That acknowledged, to me there seems to be a noticeable audio quality difference between them. Amazon Music HD sounds terrific and it’s user interface is MUCH better than the often frustratinging Qobuz/Audirvana. To my ears, Qobuz/Audirvans has a consistently more pleasing audio quality… slightly better bass response/punch and overall a slight but noticeable “aliveness” and more open/floating/bigger soundstage. Pretty tired comparing the two and more than a little embarrassed admitting that I have spent hours doing so. No doubt whatsoever that Amazon Music HD is much easier and fun to use and has a larger music library, including more 'Ultra HD" offerings. Has anyone else compared Amazon Music HD and Qobuz/Audirvana before making a choice between the two? Your findings? Certainly NOT an expert but do wonder how one service could consistently have a noticeable sound quality advantage. I realize it just comes down to my personal choice but would really appreciate any replies as to your comparative experiences and choice. Thanks!
Hello,
Yes I pretty much everything through by now.
2-3 years ago I had Spotify also as a subscription and got on my nerves because you never found single titles.
Apparently it is still the same today.
Because I was an Amazon Prime customer, I had the normal, then unlimited, then HD.
Yes the platform is good, but there are two or three things.
Their software never reaches Dsd although your Dac could, the next thing is there is hardly any software like Audirvana where you can integrate Amazon as an account.
Besides that Amazon is now almost only out to get your money and the support is partly bad, especially in Germany.
When i quit Amazon i went to Qubozz what bothered me was because many songs were terrible that was only about 4-5 months ago and i quit the rehearsal abo.i tested it without Audirvana because i didn’t know it at that time.
Then I went to Deezer, they have the same crap like Amazon, but the support is better, but also the possibility to tear something on the pc is bad, so I decided to use software like Audirvana.
Deezer puts more of a focus on devices like streamers for example.
If you have Hifi and a good device, everything is great, but not usable on a pc.
On the weekend I tested Audirvana and Tidal.
Well what can I say, finally what I wanted.
If I am in the mood to switch over from Dsd, it is done with a few clicks, my Pc and Dac takes care of everything.
Just like I always wanted to have it.
I know that the tidal is 5$ more for Hifi subscription, but it is worth it.
I have it installed on all tablts and the sound is first class, much better than with all the others.
Whether I connect to Dac Dongel on the tablet or in the car via Bluetooth it is better.
Disadvantage is that it takes a lot of space on the tablet hard disk.
With Android devices you can upgrade, with Apple you should have a big memory.
Otherwise I do not see any disadvantages with Tidal.
A year ago I had tested it and went solala, but in the meantime I have to say that they have improved a lot in the last 6 months and also implemented well.
How good Qubozz is with Audirvana I cannot say.
But I would keep it if you don’t want to go to Tidal and quit Amazon, especially if you can use Audirvana with qubozz, but you can’t do that with Amazon.
Thanks so much Deleeh for taking the time for this detailed and informative reply! I’m still tonight listening and comparing Amazon Music HD, Qobuz with Audirvana and Qobuz on it’s own site/player. When I had initially tried Qobuz a few months ago, using it’s player/site was causing some error problems on my PC. I’ve not run into any problems tonight and it sounds great. Sure wish its album catalogue was more extensive because Amazon HD has everything/albums I look for. Oh well… I’ll make a decision at some point. lol Thanks again!
Is it just me or does Amazon just amplify their library? I just finished a trial of Tidal and Amazon HD and when I listened to identical copies of songs, Amazon’s were just louder and not always in a good way (plenty of clipping on older tracks).
Hello
Yes, I already had the impression at that time.
I don’t know what Amazon does but it’s okay.
It just lacks the connectivity with Audirvana and others.
So it is not interesting if you have a Dac that can do Dsd and use Audirvana.
Otherwise if the Dac can’t do that, Amazon and the others are enough.
With Tidal Hifi I have more the impression that there is more love and flow in the titles, regardless of the volume.
Independent of the volume is not everything that I can still determine how loud I want to hear.
Did you turn Loudness normalization off?
I never really A/B’d Qobuz against Amazon HD, but I didn’t notice a night and day change when I swapped, and I would notice clipping.
I swapped for convenience, Volumio and Roon both have Tidal/Qobuz solutions, and pretty much nothing will let you manage Amazon.
I think I’ll be staying with Qobuz or Qobuz thru Audirvana for a while. Compared to my initial “glitchy” trial of Qobuz several months ago, I’ve had no further problems using it within its own player now. No longer having Tidal, which I was also using thru Audirvana, I’m not realizing any real benefit to using Audirvana, with just Qobuz. Comparing Amazon Music HD and Qobuz, I really prefer the sound quality of Qobuz. Hard to actually describe, I find it sounding more “alive” and detailed than Amazon, sometimes strikingly noticeable, especially with vocals. Sounds a bit like removing a thin veil from the music when using Qobuz. At least for now, finished with the comparisons and choosing the (to me) enhanced sound quality of Qobuz over the slightly larger library of Amazon and its more sophisticated user interface. Good listening to all and be safe…
When using Qobuz, are you required to subscribe to the Sublime plan in order to make music purchases or, can you subscribe to Premier and still make purchases, just minus the “up to” 60% discount? I am not sure for myself that an extra $100.00/yr for the “opportunity” to save 60% on purchases makes sense, for me.
You can buy albums and tracks at Qobuz in any resolution (CD/Hi-Res), even without a subscription. But of course at full price.
