After the launch a paid high-resolution radio level at the end of last year, Sonos is reinforcing his HiFi transmission functions by partnering with Qobuz, making it the first streaming service to offer 24-bit / 48 kHz audio on the Sonos platform. Starting today, Sonos users can stream HiFi audio via Qobuz, as long as they have a subscription.
If you’ve never heard of Qobuz, that makes perfect sense. When it comes to lossless, CD-quality (or better) music streaming services, Tidal is probably what you’ve really heard. However, Qobuz has also been present for a hot minute. It first offered a 16-bit FLAC transmission to Sonos in 2013 and was launched as a service in the US in 2019. A monthly subscription costs $ 15. For compatible Sonos speakers, any speaker compatible with the S2 application should work, including the next Sonos Roam.
In the field of music transmission, this is a pretty clever move. Sonos is a popular brand when it comes to wifi speakers, but ho it needs to diversify beyond hardware to stay relevant smart speakers don’t look as nasty as before. Meanwhile, Qobuz is more expensive than other streaming services and lacks the general recognition of other well-known music services. Collaboration feels a lot like a kind of arrangement “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”
The timing also makes a lot of sense, as Spotify recently announced plans to launch its own level of HiFi transmission after this year. Spotify is obviously the big music streaming kahuna, and the launch of a hi-fi service probably has similar music streaming services on the edge. Right now, Spotify reaches 160 kbps for free users and 320 kbps for Premium users. Comparatively, the standard CD quality audio files are 1,411 kbps and the 24-bit / 48 kb audio offered by Qobuz and Sonos is equivalent to 2,304 kbps. While it’s unclear what resolution Spotify HiFi will support, the company cryptically hinted that it was collaborating with the world’s “largest speaker manufacturers” to make sure its service could reach as many users as possible. possible. We don’t know if Sonos is one of those speaker manufacturers, but even if it is, Sonos only benefits by opening its hardware to as many third-party music services as possible.
G / O Media may receive a commission
What remains to be seen is how many people actually bite. Hearing aids have been claiming HiFi transmission for years, but the average user of a typical headset probably won’t bother too much. Sonos users may be more likely to post high-resolution audio, but again, the desire for HiFi audio may also come from a particularly vocal minority. In any case, it looks like 2021 could be set to be significant for HiFi music streaming.