After launch a high resolution paid radio level at the end of last year, Sonos este strengthening it HiFi streaming capabilities in partnership with Qobuz, becoming the first streaming service to provide 24-bit / 48 kHz sound on the Sonos platform. Starting today, Sonos users can stream HiFi audio via Qobuz – provided they have a subscription.
If you’ve never heard of Qobuz, that makes perfect sense. In terms of lossless, CD-quality (or better) music streaming services, Tidal is probably the one you’ve actually heard about. However, Qobuz was also around a hot minute. It first offered 16-bit FLAC streaming on Sonos in 2013 and 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 future Sonos Roam.
In the field of music streaming, This is a pretty wise move. Sonos is a popular brand when it comes to wifi speakers, bunot it it needs to diversify beyond hardware to remain as relevant as many smart speakers don’t sound as bad as they used to. Meanwhile, Qobuz is more expensive than other streaming services and does not have the general recognition of other well-known music services. The partnership feels very much like a “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” arrangement.
The timing also makes a lot of sense, given that Spotify recently announced launch plans own level of HiFi streaming later this year. Spotify is obviously the big kahuna of music streaming and the launch of a hifi service probably has similar music streaming services. At this time, Spotify reaches a maximum of 160 kbps for free users and 320 kbps for Premium users. By comparison, standard CD-quality audio files are 1,411 kbps, and the 24-bit / 48kHz sound provided by Qobuz and Sonos is the equivalent of 2,304 kbps. Although it’s unclear what resolution Spotify HiFi will eventually support, the company has cryptically suggested working with “the world’s largest speaker manufacturers” to ensure that its service can reach as many of its users as possible. We don’t know if Sonos is one of these speaker manufacturers, but even if it is, Sonos only benefits by opening its hardware to as many third-party music services as possible.
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What remains to be seen is how many people actually bite. Audiophiles have been asking for HiFi streaming for many years, but the average user on a typical pair of headphones is probably not too bothered. Sonos users may be more likely to play high-resolution sound, but again, the desire for HiFi sound may come from a particularly vocal minority. In any case, it seems that 2021 could turn into a significant one for HiFi music streaming.