The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.

duke86fan said:
i would LOVE to move to qobuz.. BUT

sites like distrokid do not support sharing to qobuz so its hard to get smaller more obscure bandcamp projects or indie albums that aren't on bigger labels.. so i am stuck with tidal student rn (slightly cheaper but still)... and wishing spotify hifi would just fucking drop already because its been supposed to come out already
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I try to just buy bandcamp projects I like to get the high res since they don’t typically end up as high res on any streaming services. Qobuz is great for 90% of the music I tend to listen to. I just got Tidal through my Vault sub since I signed up for Dylan. But I do like Qobuz better so far. Maybe I’m just more used to it
 
Andy said:
Is Qobuz any different (better than) Tidal?
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Much of a muchness. They both max out at 24/192.

In terms of files Qobuz has a few more at Hi Res than Tidal and has much more jazz/classical but some critics seem to think Tidal sounds better but without silly gear I’m sceptical.
 
Joe Mac said:
Much of a muchness. They both max out at 24/192.

In terms of files Qobuz has a few more at Hi Res than Tidal and has much more jazz/classical but some critics seem to think Tidal sounds better but without silly gear I’m sceptical.
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I doubt you could tell much of a difference, more Jazz & Classical I stood, but I'll probably stick with Tidal for the moment. I'm on the Vault sub & it sort of feels like I get free records with my Tidal subscription.
 
Andy said:
I doubt you could tell much of a difference, more Jazz & Classical I stood, but I'll probably stick with Tidal for the moment. I'm on the Vault sub & it sort of feels like I get free records with my Tidal subscription.
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The MQA thing is the big difference. As a Qobuz subscriber I haven’t noticed much missing that I have wanted to listen to. I tend to skew toward classic rock and jazz lately though. I have Apple Music for the car and stuff and anything not on Qobuz is usually on there.
 
Andy said:
I doubt you could tell much of a difference, more Jazz & Classical I stood, but I'll probably stick with Tidal for the moment. I'm on the Vault sub & it sort of feels like I get free records with my Tidal subscription.
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Haha! That’s fair plus Qobuz has a reputation for bizarre gaps in catalogue outside Hi Res but it is getting better. That said it’s not really affected me either so 🤷🏻. I just went with it because it was cheaper and Third Man don’t release enough Vaults that I want to justify that one lol.
 
Joe Mac said:
Haha! That’s fair plus Qobuz has a reputation for bizarre gaps in catalogue outside Hi Res but it is getting better. That said it’s not really affected me either so 🤷🏻. I just went with it because it was cheaper and Third Man don’t release enough Vaults that I want to justify that one lol.
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i actually did move back to tidal because of a major issue in that sites like distrokid cant let you export it into qobuz.. it has to be approved by their store to be sold from what i know..

apple music is an amazing deal if you have an iPhone and mac..

and when the hell is spotify hifi coming
 
duke86fan said:
i actually did move back to tidal because of a major issue in that sites like distrokid cant let you export it into qobuz.. it has to be approved by their store to be sold from what i know..

apple music is an amazing deal if you have an iPhone and mac..

and when the hell is spotify hifi coming
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looks like they heard you!
 
MikeH said:


looks like they heard you!
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YEEEEEES


FINALLY

the issue is that many bandcamp acts or distrokid people are just not on there for some reason that made me switch back (like 2 of my fav albums of the year.. spirit of the beehive and vylet pony... are not on the service which sucks because they are just plain amazing).. this plus the new pricing might make me go back..

unless spotify hifi finally actually says they are doing something
 
I'm considering 🤔 getting an audiolab 6000N Play ▶️? My buddy Jason, from Sound & Sight has a demo unit in mint condition he could sell me for $649 + tax. They retail for $800 CAD. Any thoughts? How do they compare to the NODE? He claims they are slightly better sonically.
 
Hollywood said:
I'm considering 🤔 getting an audiolab 6000N Play ▶️? My buddy Jason, from Sound & Sight has a demo unit in mint condition he could sell me for $649 + tax. They retail for $800 CAD. Any thoughts? How do they compare to the NODE? He claims they are slightly better sonically.
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I think with these expensive things the issue for me would be the software offering. Does it have Tidal/Spotify Connect? If it doesn’t and you have to go through the companies app is it any good and user friendly to use. I’d totally sacrifice a slight sonic benefit for a useable app or the relevant Tidal/Spotify Connect to bypass it if it’s a bit shit. It doesn’t matter if it sounds devine if the app is shit because you won’t want to use it.

Audiolab are IAG so that’s the same company as Quad/Leak etc and uses the same steaming app. I’ve not experience of that myself but I wonder if anyone here has used any of those companies streamers to give you an idea.
 
Hollywood said:
I'm considering 🤔 getting an audiolab 6000N Play ▶️? My buddy Jason, from Sound & Sight has a demo unit in mint condition he could sell me for $649 + tax. They retail for $800 CAD. Any thoughts? How do they compare to the NODE? He claims they are slightly better sonically.
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To go further here is a Darko review of the Quad Aretera Solus that uses the same software. It’s DTS Play Fi. Scroll about half way down and you’ll see the part of the review that focuses on Play Fi. Based off that I’d personally be giving the unit a wide miss.

darko.audio

Quad’s Artera Solus Play (or why DTS Play-Fi remains fundamentally flawed) | Darko.Audio

A terrific-sounding DAC/amplifier let down by its bundled streaming app.
darko.audio darko.audio
 
Joe Mac said:
I think with these expensive things the issue for me would be the software offering. Does it have Tidal/Spotify Connect? If it doesn’t and you have to go through the companies app is it any good and user friendly to use. I’d totally sacrifice a slight sonic benefit for a useable app or the relevant Tidal/Spotify Connect to bypass it if it’s a bit shit. It doesn’t matter if it sounds devine if the app is shit because you won’t want to use it.

Audiolab are IAG so that’s the same company as Quad/Leak etc and uses the same steaming app. I’ve not experience of that myself but I wonder if anyone here has used any of those companies streamers to give you an idea.
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Yes it can access services such as Tidal and Spotify Connect as well as Qobus and it can steam at up to 24-bit/192kHz from networked servers. As for the app it's the Play-Fi app and its apparently intuitive but that's all I know.
 
Hollywood said:
I'm considering 🤔 getting an audiolab 6000N Play ▶️? My buddy Jason, from Sound & Sight has a demo unit in mint condition he could sell me for $649 + tax. They retail for $800 CAD. Any thoughts? How do they compare to the NODE? He claims they are slightly better sonically.
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Audiolab integrated amps have a good valu reputation, not familiar with there streamers. If It was me I would probably buy Canadian (Node mk1 for 100 off now) then one day if I get an icth add an external dac.
 
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