Qobuz proves once again that it is the choice of high-resolution music lovers with DSD audio downloads
Every time I try to explain the benefits of Qobuz to a friend who isn’t as obsessed with music quality as I am, I keep coming back to this: Qobuz does things in high resolution for everyone, and it’s been doing things a little differently since 2007 ( although it only chose to move to the US in 2019, I admit – see ‘other’ in my point above).
And now Qobuz has added Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and Digital eXtreme Definition (DXD) audio formats to its high-fidelity download platform. Starting today (Thursday, October 10), listeners can enjoy more than 22,500 songs now available primarily in DSD format, in addition to the more than 100 million songs already available on the streaming service.
Yes, that emphatically makes Qobuz one of the best music streaming platforms I know for hi-res audio. Spotify is of course the popular choice, but popular taste doesn’t always match that of the connoisseur, right? Qobuz isn’t concerned with AI DJs or Wrapped-style roundups. But unlike the big green streaming machine, this one does offer a plethora of high-resolution music, along with human-curated playlists, a download store that doesn’t require you to be a member (although you can get up to 60% off if you do have one subscription), and an online community forum called Qobuz Club that is almost 18 months old, filled with real people giving each other advice, compliments and tips.
Fascinated? Excellent, feel free to discover Qobuz’ DSD catalogue and the DXD catalogue DXD catalogue – Don’t mention it.
Why you need DSD audio in your life
We have an explanation of the audio file format if you need more explanation, but in a nutshell, DSD and DXD are high-resolution audio formats that are distinctly different from the traditional PCM system used in formats like WAV, FLAC, ALAC and AIFF. Why? Sony and Philips co-designed DSD in the 1990s as an archive format (imagine warehouses of cassette tapes, all gradually returning to nature) based on 1-bit Sigma Delta Modulated (SDM).
So while CD quality is often said to refer to “16-bit recordings”, DSD uses only “single-bit” values, with a sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz. This is 64 times that of 44.1 kHz, also called CD audio sampling rate, but with 1-bit samples instead of 16-bits. DSD is the format used for Super Audio CD (SACD) releases (hey, they were the same size) and many CD players now support SACD – although not all.
Other high-resolution audio formats, such as PCM, sample sound at rates of up to 192,000 times per second (192 kHz). DXD goes even further and samples at 352,800 times per second, providing even more detail. However, DSD goes further than both, with an astonishing 2.8 million samples per second. So it’s good quality? Yes, although it can also produce quite large file sizes – and I love the detail I hear in it.
If you have (or are considering purchasing) one of the best Hi-Res audio players to make your commute easier, you’ll want to make the most of it with some Hi-Res music. Would you rather listen at your desk? A good headphone DAC connected to your laptop and a set of the best wired headphones or best wired earbuds is the way to go. Find a high-resolution Qobuz album and boom, you’re ready to enjoy audio like you’ve rarely heard – and when you’re downloading, you don’t have to worry about Wi-Fi.
Know this: For the music part of this recipe, I can’t recommend Qobuz’s hi-res catalog highly enough.
