Qobuz Hi-Res Music Streaming and Download Service Now Available in US

Qobuz is now finally available in the US. A hybrid streaming service and download store, Qobuz boasts approximately forty million CD-quality (16-bit) and millions of Hi-Res (24-bit/ 192 kHz) tracks, the largest available selection of Hi-Res streaming tracks anywhere. The service offers four different access tiers, with the Sublime+ ($299.99/year) and Studio ($24.99/month) options allowing access to FLAC Hi-Res streaming, the first of its kind in the world.

It’s been a year since Qobuz announced at CES 2018 its impending entry into the US marketplace, with the ambition of becoming a heavy player in the hi-res music streaming market. Qobuz has the US audiophile set squarely in its sights, and it intends to deliver higher quality streams and a more complete experience than its competitors. At CES 2019, Qobuz confirmed it is now available for registration to US users as an open beta, and published the finalized pricing.

French online music service Qobuz promised to launch its streaming and download subscriptions in the US in 2018, offering a completely new option for the industry, with a high-end tier plan of 24-bit FLAC streaming that until now has never been available. Throughout the year, Qobuz has been actively promoting the service and the different hi-res streaming and download options. The company finally made an announcement confirming its US pricing plan, and stated that steps have been taken towards an "early 2019 US launch."

With the iPod and all the clone mp3 players now long gone and forgotten, music enthusiasts already deeply committed to music streaming services are looking again for ways to enjoy higher-quality and high-resolution audio options when out of home and on the move. Manufacturers like HiBy are responding with dedicated and affordable streaming music players like the R3, promoted as the smallest and lightest Tidal's Online Music Library Player. And now HiBy also confirmed MQA playback support for the R3.

In audioXpress we've published several stories about French music streaming provider Qobuz, soon to be launching in the US this Fall. The company claims to be "the world's highest resolution music streaming service," meaning they have more hi-res audio files to download than any other. But the interesting part is their claim that, with the launch in the US, they will be also providing a hi-res streaming option based on FLAC (lossless compression). A world first, which the company will be introducing at CEDIA Expo 2018.