Qobuz Connect feature was officially added to Qobuz app on May 5. Compatible playback devices now can enjoy many benefits, including audiophile friendly bit-perfect, gapless audio.
When a compatible dedicated streamer is used as Qobuz Connect playback device, internet audio stream from Qobuz servers is decoded exclusively within the streamer. The device which runs Qobuz app, be it a phone, tablet or a computer, never does any audio processing and acts purely as a command center. Your digital music now can be as pure as it is on the Qobuz server, bit-perfectly true to source and with gapless playback, if it was intended at the source. With that comes the ‘usual’ Qobuz app ability to browse, organise, schedule your music with a host of useful features, especially in search and filtering. You can even sort by record label.
Not only one but many Qobuz Connected devices on the same network can be controlled via Qobuz Connect, if running multiple instances of the app, allowing the user to relay music seamlessly from one output device to another (in the middle of the track for instance) or stop playback remotely.
A quick Qobuz Connect primer
Qobuz Connect is a new feature within the well-known native app of Qobuz music subscription service. The app finds compatible digital music players (streamers) as Qobuz Connect endpoints and changes the way they control music. After the output device is selected, all playback control, navigation, search etc is delegated to an app-running device (phone, tablet). Embedded Qobuz software (API) in the streamer is not used. Audio data path stays within the streamer and is never routed to the control device.
With Qobuz Connect feature Qobuz app offers audiophile quality wireless casting. Qobuz Connect keeps the audio decoding at the playback device. Audio, even in highest resolution, stays true to the source, control and functions get more features and flexibility compared to your streamer’s own control software.
List of brands currently compatible with Qobuz Connect: