Qobuz v Amazon UHD

Staresyj

Staresyj

Major Contributor
Joined
Jan 6, 2023
Messages
75
Decided to compare Amazon UHD against Qobuz premier tonight, I’ve been only streaming from Qobuz since getting my Pro. I have to say that the Amazon performance feels more natural and less “rushed” in delivery. Certainly beating Qobuz on resolution as well across my playlists. Interesting development.
 
Intereresting indeed. Runs counter to my own experience comparing the two. I found the Amazon streams more...perhaps brittle, maybe strident, and more exhausting to listen to. I suspected they may be artificially upsampling or otherwise processing content on the back end. On my system and to my ears at least, Qobuz and Apple streams feel more relaxed, musical, and satisfying. Of course, as with all things audio, YMMV.
 
I agree. Amazon sounds over bright and not natural. Much prefer Qobuz
 
Balthazar B said:
Intereresting indeed. Runs counter to my own experience comparing the two. I found the Amazon streams more...perhaps brittle, maybe strident, and more exhausting to listen to. I suspected they may be artificially upsampling or otherwise processing content on the back end. On my system and to my ears at least, Qobuz and Apple streams feel more relaxed, musical, and satisfying. Of course, as with all things audio, YMMV.
Click to expand...
Balthazar B said:
Intereresting indeed. Runs counter to my own experience comparing the two. I found the Amazon streams more...perhaps brittle, maybe strident, and more exhausting to listen to. I suspected they may be artificially upsampling or otherwise processing content on the back end. On my system and to my ears at least, Qobuz and Apple streams feel more relaxed, musical, and satisfying. Of course, as with all things audio, YMMV.
Click to expand...
Indeed, one man’s mileage is another man’s kilometre! I’m listening at low volume so will open the pots tomorrow and see what I get. Could be placebo of just a different tone. One thing very clear though, no 2 streaming offerings are the same, which is a good thing I think.
 
I have used Amazon Music for several years and recently got a free 6 month offer of Apple Music so I thought I would give it a spin. Straight from an iPhone or iPad to a Mojo 2, Apple Music does indeed sound noticeably better. I wondered if it might be because the Amazon iOS app inexplicably upscales everything to the maximum resolution the DAC can handle. Having the source as a WiiM Mini, with bit-perfect output, instantly made Amazon Music sound at least as good as Apple Music from an iPad. What’s more, many many albums that are 192/24 or 96/24 on Amazon are 44/16 on Apple’s ‘hi-res’ service. So if seems at least some of the differences people perceive between services could be related to their respective sources/apps.
 
Last edited:
Hiphiman said:
I have used Amazon Music for several years and recently got a free 6 month offer of Apple Music so I thought I would give it a spin. Straight from an iPhone or iPad to a Mojo 2, Apple Music does indeed sound noticeably better. I wondered if it might be because the Amazon iOS app inexplicably upscales everything to the maximum resolution the DAC can handle. Having the source as a WiiM Mini, with bit-perfect output, instantly made Amazon Music sound at least as good as Apple Music from an iPad. What’s more, many many albums that are 192/24 or 96/24 on Amazon are 44/16 on Apple’s ‘hi-res’ service. So if seems at least some of the differences people perceive between services could be related to their respective sources/apps.
Click to expand...
WiiM set to 192kHz/24bit lets the original stream pass through. Whatever the streamer source - WiiM, computer, smart phone needs to have an unimpeded bit path. So you need to set that correctly or use programs (apps) that take care of that. In the Apple ecosystem it does not surprise me that Apple sets that path correctly for their music service and not for others - but it can be done.
 
adias said:
WiiM set to 192kHz/24bit lets the original stream pass through. Whatever the streamer source - WiiM, computer, smart phone needs to have an unimpeded bit path. So you need to set that correctly or use programs (apps) that take care of that. In the Apple ecosystem it does not surprise me that Apple sets that path correctly for their music service and not for others - but it can be done.
Click to expand...
Maybe I wasn’t as clear as I might have been. When using the Amazon Music app on an iPhone or iPad the app software upscales all music to the maximum bitrate/depth of the connected DAC (no WiiM involved). I feel this upscaled music sounds inferior to using Apple Music where there is no upscaling involved. However, substitute the iPhone/iPad for a WiiM and the bit perfect Amazon Music output from the WiiM sounds at least as good as Apple Music previously did from an iPad. In other words, the app being used seems to contribute to some of the sound quality difference we perceive to hear between streaming services.
My other observation is that there seems to be far fewer truly hi-res albums on Apple than there are on Amazon, at least the ones I listen to.
 
Just to add another not requested opinion...
During a long recover from a ski accident, I did compulsively comparisons among AMU and Tidal hi-fi, sometimes with some from free qobuz plan.
I set up to do instant switch, testing dozen of synced same song releases, without this, aural memory can easily lead to false impression.
Generally speaking, new releases don't have so much differences in sound charachtet, I think editors already give digital masters not needing further process.
With old file footage, especially from 70ies and 80ies, which are definitely digitized and frequently upsampled, Amazon generally tends to give 192khz and adds a sort of wider stereo image, with voices and guitars a little bit backwards. Tidal and Qobuz are more similar among them, in sound character and have less stereo "distance".
I can't absolutely say that Amazon is worst but it seems a little fake and results may vary.
Amazon has also variable sampling rate and results, even in the same album.
I decided to stay with Tidal hi-fi, for pricing reasons and (IMHO) better app. I don't understand why Amazon loose playing queue, while casting and Qobuz misses the "play similar song" button...
 
merifon said:
Just to add another not requested opinion...
During a long recover from a ski accident, I did compulsively comparisons among AMU and Tidal hi-fi, sometimes with some from free qobuz plan.
I set up to do instant switch, testing dozen of synced same song releases, without this, aural memory can easily lead to false impression.
Generally speaking, new releases don't have so much differences in sound charachtet, I think editors already give digital masters not needing further process.
With old file footage, especially from 70ies and 80ies, which are definitely digitized and frequently upsampled, Amazon generally tends to give 192khz and adds a sort of wider stereo image, with voices and guitars a little bit backwards. Tidal and Qobuz are more similar among them, in sound character and have less stereo "distance".
I can't absolutely say that Amazon is worst but it seems a little fake and results may vary.
Amazon has also variable sampling rate and results, even in the same album.
I decided to stay with Tidal hi-fi, for pricing reasons and (IMHO) better app. I don't understand why Amazon loose playing queue, while casting and Qobuz misses the "play similar song" button...
Click to expand...
All opinions are valued! At the end of the day, this centres on the fundamental point of enjoying music. Your ingredients, your mix, your bake for your preferences. I’ve gone down too many rabbit holes of chasing what I’ve been preached is “optimal sound”, which to my ears and brain combo has sounded flat and listless.
 
Just to have my say, since I have both AMU and Qobuz.
I prefer Qobuz, the sound seems more natural to me, more detailed, with a better sound stage.
What I don't understand in AMU is why there are tracks with different bit rates in the same album.:unsure:
However, everyone's ears react differently, so there can be no general rule other than that what our ears like is beautiful. :)
 
Maurizio said:
Just to have my say, since I have both AMU and Qobuz.
I prefer Qobuz, the sound seems more natural to me, more detailed, with a better sound stage.
What I don't understand in AMU is why there are tracks with different bit rates in the same album.:unsure:
However, everyone's ears react differently, so there can be no general rule other than that what our ears like is beautiful. :)
Click to expand...
Pretty certain I’ve seen different bit rates on certain Qobuz albums as well? Praise those beautiful ears!
 
Maurizio said:
Just to have my say, since I have both AMU and Qobuz.
I prefer Qobuz, the sound seems more natural to me, more detailed, with a better sound stage.
What I don't understand in AMU is why there are tracks with different bit rates in the same album.:unsure:
However, everyone's ears react differently, so there can be no general rule other than that what our ears like is beautiful. :)
Click to expand...
To my ear and my system, Qobuz sounds better.
 
Pcryan5 said:
Sound aside - life is too short to deal with the Amazon app each day.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there's that. At best it's a (losing) tiebreaker, at worst a dealbreaker.

And that Amazon's laying off tens of thousands of people is not very encouraging for substantial improvements.
 
I also prefer Qobuz over Amazon. It just sounds better to me. Have had it for approx. 1 year listening over Mconnect. Now I am with Tidal, but will switch back to Qobuz when their release their connect feature.
 
Maurizio said:
Just to have my say, since I have both AMU and Qobuz.
I prefer Qobuz, the sound seems more natural to me, more detailed, with a better sound stage.
What I don't understand in AMU is why there are tracks with different bit rates in the same album.:unsure:
However, everyone's ears react differently, so there can be no general rule other than that what our ears like is beautiful. :)
Click to expand...
Licensing agreement within the label. The album tracks can have different ownership.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top