After launch a paid high-resolution radio level at the end of last year, Sleeps is reinforcing your HiFi streaming capabilities in partnership with Qobuz, making it the first streaming service to provide 24-bit / 48kHz audio on the Sonos platform. As of today, Sonos users can stream HiFi audio via Qobuz – as long as they have a subscription.
If you’ve never heard of Qobuz, it makes perfect sense. When it comes to CD-quality (or better) lossless music streaming services, Tidal is probably the one you’ve heard of. However, Qobuz has also been around for a minute. It first offered 16-bit FLAC streaming at Sonos in 2013 and launched as a service in the U.S. in 2019. A monthly subscription costs $ 15. As for which Sonos speakers are compatible, any speaker compatible with the S2 app should work, including the next Sonos Roam.
In the realm of music streaming, that is a very smart move. Sonos is a popular brand when it comes to wi-fi speakers, butthat’s it need to diversify beyond the hardware to remain relevant as many Smart speakers don’t sound as bad as they used to. Meanwhile, Qobuz is more expensive than other streaming services and lacks conventional recognition from other big-name music services. The partnership looks a lot like a “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” arrangement.
The timing also makes a lot of sense, as Spotify recently announced plans to launch your own HiFi streaming level still this year. Spotify is obviously the great kahuna of music streaming and, when launching a high-fidelity service, it probably has similar music streaming services on the edge. At the moment, 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 / 48 kHz audio that Qobuz and Sonos are offering is equivalent to 2,304 kbps. While it is unclear what resolution Spotify HiFi will eventually support, the company gave a cryptic hint that it was collaborating with “the world’s largest speaker manufacturers” to ensure that its service reaches as many users as possible. We don’t know if Sonos is one of those speaker manufacturers, but even if it is, Sonos only benefits from 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 clamoring for high-fidelity streaming for years, but the average user of a regular pair of headphones is probably not too bothered. Sonos users may be more likely to spend on high-resolution audio, but again, the craving for HiFi audio may also be coming from a particularly vocal minority. In any case, it looks like the 2021 could be significant for streaming HiFi music.