Qobuz ditches MP3 streaming to offer affordable Hi-Res audio Studio Premier Plan

Music streaming service Qobuz has pulled the plug on lossy MP3-quality streams and introduced a new affordable single monthly Hi-Res streaming subscription plan .

Focusing on studio-quality audio, it will now offer only CD-quality or Hi-Res (from 24-bit/44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz studio quality) streams for just £15 a month (£150 with a yearly plan), with the new Studio Premier plan. It says the deal is open to the first 100,000 subscribers (and existing customers) until May 31.

Qobuz will still offer its unique Sublime+ plan, now priced at £250/year, which includes all the streaming offerings, plus a discount on Hi-Res download purchases from the Qobuz store.

David Solomon, Chief Hi-Res music evangelist at Qobuz USA, explains. “In the US, I get to play Qobuz for hundreds of people every year and see the positive reactions first hand. Everyone can hear the improvement over-compressed music, but not everyone was willing to pay double for this experience. This has now changed.”

"Everyone can hear the improvement over-compressed music, but not everyone was willing to pay double for this experience. This has now changed..."

Headquartered in Paris, Qobuz was the first streaming service to offer Hi-Res streaming in studio quality, native 24-bit FLAC format, and has garnered numerous accolades for its service.

“MP3 is really bad for music, artists and listeners, so Qobuz is saying ‘no to MP3’ and now offers only real studio quality in one accessible plan,” says Dan Mackta, General Manager of Qobuz USA.

Visitors to this weekend’s Bristol Hi-Fi show will be able to hear High Res Audio from Qobuz from Naim Audio, Linn, Arcam, Cyrus, Chord Electronics, AudioQuest, Auralic, AVM, Ayre Acoustics, Bryston, Dali, Dynaudio, Focal, Innuos, Melco, Roon and T+A .