![]() ![]() Tidal CEO says hi-res lossless is coming, raising doubts about MQA Sonos could soon be the soundtrack for your next shopping trip Sennheiser updates its Momentum headphones with personal tuning, hi-res audio Tidal begins its rollout of hi-res lossless audio Tidal’s new hi-res FLAC option couldn’t be more annoying We’ll let you know as soon as Sonos has more to say on these issues. Now that Sonos has (more or less) joined the hi-res music party, the question is whether and when it will expand this support to higher quality versions of hi-res, other streaming services beyond Qobuz. While it’s true that Apple Music and Spotify (and even the upcoming Spotify HiFi) do not support hi-res audio at all, Tidal, Qobuz, and Amazon Music HD all offer hi-res tracks at 96kHz/24-bit (or better) quality. We’re continuing to watch how high-resolution audio evolves and will explore changes to our platform over time.” We’re not entirely sure we agree with this statement. ![]() When Digital Trends asked Sonos why hi-res support is currently limited to 48/24, a spokesperson told us that higher-quality tracks are “not widely supported by streaming services. However, it’s worth noting that the Japan Audio Society, which maintains the definition of what qualifies as hi-res audio, claims that any 24-bit file with a sample rate of less than 96kHz does not qualify. Sonos tells us that in situations where people try to stream hi-res audio to a non-hi-res Sonos speaker (whether on its own or grouped with hi-res capable devices), the non-hi-res speaker will get a 16-bit version of the song, while the compatible products will get the 24-bit version. Notably absent from the list is the Sonos Play:1, and yet this older speaker is still compatible with the S2 software. The forthcoming Sonos Roam will also be hi-res compatible. SonosĬompatible products include the Arc, Beam, Five, Move, One, One SL, Port, Amp, Symfonisk Bookshelf, Symfonisk Table Lamp, Playbar, Playbase, and Play:5 (Gen 2). At the moment, the S2 software will support 48kHz/24-bit streams from Qobuz or 48kHz/24-bit music files from people’s personal audio collection. With a Qobuz subscription, which starts at $15 per month, those who own one or more compatible Sonos products will be able to play hi-res streams at 48kHz/24-bit quality, marking the first time that Sonos speakers have been able to play better-than-CD-quality music. Qobuz debuted its streaming music service in the U.S. ![]() Today, that finally changes: All Sonos users who are currently running the S2 version of the company’s software will be able to stream hi-res music from Qobuz, with a valid subscription. The service's Hi-Res streaming options are now available on Sonos devices in the US, UK, and several countries across Central Europe.For years, Sonos steadfastly refused to support hi-res music formats on its massively popular line of wireless speakers. Now, on Sonos devices, we’re making it easy for millions more people to experience the improvement Hi-Res audio can make," said Qobuz US' managing director, Dan Mackta. "Qobuz has always strived to make the highest quality audio accessible, as people become more interested in better sound. A free trial period is also available.Ī Studio Sublime subscription is also available, at £249.99 / $249.99 / €249.99 for 12 months, which includes discounts on Hi-Res audio downloads. That works out at £12.49 / $12.49 per month. It also offers downloads of Hi-Res music through the Qobuz store.Ī Studio Premier subscription costs £14.99 / $14.99 / €19.99 per month with access to FLAC tracks encoded in studio quality - up to 192 kHz/24-bit (although the Sonos streaming is a tad lower, as above).Ī yearly subscription costs £149.99 / $149.99 / €179.99, payable annually. Qobuz has over 70 million tracks in Hi-Res available on its platform and is adding more all the time. ![]()
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