Tune In To Hear What All The Qobuz Is About
Sonos first partnered with the high quality music service Qobuz back in 2013, which allowed Sonos to provide 16-bit FLAC streaming in several countries including the US. Your Sonos speakers will now be able to stream FLAC tracks which are advertised as 24-bit/48kHz content to those same countries on devices compatible with the Sonos S2 platform.
If you happen to have unlimited amounts of bandwidth and consider yourself an audiophile capable of discerning a copied CD from the original then you might just be interested in signing up. The audio codec on your phone is definitely able to provide a previously unheard of level of quality and your monthly investment is well spent.
On the other hand if you recognize what those numbers represent and have never invested in a “special blend of Crystal Formula that has been fine-tuned by ear to 0.01 grams accuracy” nor spent $50,000 for two metres of cable then perhaps your current equipment and subscription might just be sufficient.
In addition to the United States, the 24-bit option is also available in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
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Sometimes being into audio is annoying AF….
24 bit audio is a completely pointless standard for playback. The why is is because bit depth is about dynamic range, meaning the difference between the loudest and quietest perceivable sound in a recording, thats it, nothing else. Dynamic range is good and the lack of it is why most modern music sounds like crap on high-end gear but 16 bit 44khz was really well thought out and settled on for a very good reason, and it has plenty of dynamic range. To perceive a benefit from the increase dynamic range of 24 bit audio you’d have to listen at a reference level above 140db which nobody really has (certainly not Sonos) and if you did you woudln’t find it very enjoyable.
Exactly.
And if you’re a human, any sample rate beyond 44Khz is literally pointless.
The Nyquist-Shannon theorem proves it.
It’s a wild, wild, world following the hi-fi personal subreddits and forums.
Having a background in ham radio (RF design) helps to despell a lot of it’s BS, for me.