Streaming: Presto vs Idagio vs Naxos Music Library

[Madiel]

Well, a playlist has more permanence and takes more effort. I'm talking about a much more casual endeavor. Say I come back from lunch, open the streamer, and see two albums I want to hear. Open both, one in this tab one in another, listen to the first, close it, listen to the second, close it. Much less effort than opening both, adding them to a playlist, opening a playlist, scrolling through all the other albums I've impulse-added in the same way*, listening to them, and then perhaps deleting them from the playlist or not.

*for example, my playlist for the CPO Diary thread has 67 albums...this causes philosophical questions...should I create a second playlist called CPO Things I Liked for the albums I want to listen to again someday, so that the first one remains a hopper for things not yet tried?

No, I don't mean a permanent playlist. Maybe Qobuz is different, but the things I use for both music and podcasts generally have some sort of "play this next" option.

Edit: I think often it's called a "queue " rather than a playlist.

[AnotherSpin]

Qobuz has launched a new feature — Qobuz Connect. This means you can now use the Qobuz app as a remote to control music directly on compatible audio devices. It's simple — no Bluetooth, no third-party apps, just the Qobuz app and your favorite gear. You get the best sound quality, up to 24-bit/192kHz, and easy, smooth control. A great service just got even better.

[ChamberNut]

Qobuz just redesigned their in-browser platform. Now if you open multiple albums in multiple tabs, and press play on one album, it will play that album in all your tabs, at slightly different start times.

For example. I opened a tab with the new two-piano album from Alpha (Lukas Geniusas and Anna Geniushene playing American duos). Then I opened a second tab with the music I want to listen to after that, of 1700s chamber music. Then I went back to tab #1 and pressed play. The music was surprisingly loud, so I cranked down the volume. When it moved to track 2, however, it sounded like there was excessive reverb, an echo effect. Then I learned why..the second tab was also playing the same music! It had been perfectly synced for track 1, but track 2 loaded a half-second later and created the echo.

I replicated this by opening five different albums in different tabs, pressing play on one, and getting the chaos of five different versions of the same track playing at slightly different times!

This is the kind of design "feature" bug that could cause me to cancel, and quickly.

Brian, you've just uncovered a gold mine. Now you need to develop a layering playlist! Hmm, which works could sound really interesting with this splicing. I'm thinking Glass.

[Brian]

No, I don't mean a permanent playlist. Maybe Qobuz is different, but the things I use for both music and podcasts generally have some sort of "play this next" option.

Edit: I think often it's called a "queue " rather than a playlist.

There were two options, "add to queue" and "play this next." First up, I tried clicking on several albums and hitting "add to queue." Then I finished off the first album, looked at my queue...and it was empty. 

Gonna try "play this next" next...

[Madiel]

There were two options, "add to queue" and "play this next." First up, I tried clicking on several albums and hitting "add to queue." Then I finished off the first album, looked at my queue...and it was empty. 

Gonna try "play this next" next...

Were you trying to do that in one tab? Not across 5 tabs, because whatever bug you've got... you wanna try doing it in one tab.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

I signed up for a free trial of Presto Classical today and I'm already unsubscribed. I guess this tells you how much I liked it.

It did give me a chance to listen to some Krenek, though, which is something I had been meaning to do for quite some time. I don't own much of his music in my collection. But on the recommendation of @Karl Henning I listened to the work Symphonic Elegy and rather enjoyed it.

[Brian]

I am suddenly seeing a LOT of Qobuz albums where the tracks are samples only. Like many many more than in my first 12 months of using the service.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

I am suddenly seeing a LOT of Qobuz albums where the tracks are samples only. Like many many more than in my first 12 months of using the service.

How strange...I wonder what is going on exactly?

[DavidW]

I am suddenly seeing a LOT of Qobuz albums where the tracks are samples only. Like many many more than in my first 12 months of using the service.

I very rarely see any albums like that. Do you have any examples?

[Brian]

I very rarely see any albums like that. Do you have any examples?

I was just searching Guarneri Quartet RCA stuff given the new box set that came out. Several of them came up that way.

[DavidW]

I was just searching Guarneri Quartet RCA stuff given the new box set that came out. Several of them came up that way.

Okay, I found one. I would be curious if anyone who has a different service (Presto, Idagio, Apple) could see if it is available to stream:



Dvorak: string quartets and terzetto.

This would tell us if it is specific to Qobuz or if RCA is pulling back-catalog off of all streaming services.

[AnotherSpin]

I see album below on Qobuz, and it's fully available. I also randomly opened five or six other albums by the Guarneri Quartet — all of them are fully available for streaming. I have Qobuz UK.

[DavidW]

Oh, that is interesting. Don't you just love geolocking?

[Madiel]

Oh, that is interesting. Don't you just love geolocking?

This is frequently the problem, and frankly one of the reasons I still like buying CDs. There are times when I can buy a CD from the other side of the world using my computer, but the supposedly better world of streaming and downloads decides that as an Australian I couldn't possibly want or be allowed to hear that.

[AnotherSpin]

Oh, that is interesting. Don't you just love geolocking?

One way or another, it doesn't look like the issue is on Qobuz's side.

[AnotherSpin]

This is frequently the problem, and frankly one of the reasons I still like buying CDs. There are times when I can buy a CD from the other side of the world using my computer, but the supposedly better world of streaming and downloads decides that as an Australian I couldn't possibly want or be allowed to hear that.

Not that frequent, from what I can tell. Also, Qobuz has some albums that aren't available on CD at all. And even if a few individual albums are only partially available elsewhere — honestly, comparing the variety and accessibility of versions between streaming and physical media just doesn't make much sense anymore.

[Madiel]

Not that frequent, from what I can tell.

It doesn't matter how frequent it is. It matters when it affects an album that I want to hear.

It literally affected me yesterday, so that's often enough.

[AnotherSpin]

It doesn't matter how frequent it is. It matters when it affects an album that I want to hear.

It literally affected me yesterday, so that's often enough.

Back when I used to buy CDs, I gradually amassed a bulky, unwieldy collection of thousands. Also spending what, for me, was a huge amount of money. It was inconvenient in every way - hard to store, awkward to browse, and a hassle to manage. Some times, I'd unwrap a new disc only to find it defective, with no way to replace it. Rare, but it happened. Streaming eventually solved that problem too.

During the transition period, when I still had my CDs around, I started noticing a shift: more and more often, I'd go straight to streaming to listen to an album, even though I had the same CD tucked away somewhere. When that became the norm, I suddenly realized: the time had come to say goodbye to plastic.

[Madiel]

Back when I used to buy CDs, I gradually amassed a bulky, unwieldy collection of thousands. Also spending what, for me, was a huge amount of money. It was inconvenient in every way - hard to store, awkward to browse, and a hassle to manage. Some times, I'd unwrap a new disc only to find it defective, with no way to replace it. Rare, but it happened. Streaming eventually solved that problem too.

During the transition period, when I still had my CDs around, I started noticing a shift: more and more often, I'd go straight to streaming to listen to an album, even though I had the same CD tucked away somewhere. When that became the norm, I suddenly realized: the time had come to say goodbye to plastic.

Well that's fine, but I'm not at that point. For one thing most of my CDs are readily accessible. And so when I'm at home I use them.

[AnotherSpin]

Well that's fine, but I'm not at that point. For one thing most of my CDs are readily accessible. And so when I'm at home I use them.

I still have ten or fifteen CDs, though it's been long years since I had any way to play them—no player, no computer with a drive. They've stayed with me like souvenirs of the past, quiet memories of loved ones.