Qobuz Becomes 1st Service to Stream in 24-Bit Hi-Res Audio on Sonos

Qobuz is the first music streaming service to deliver 24-bit hi-res audio content for playback on Sonos speakers compatible with the S2 operating system and controller app, said the companies Wednesday. Qobuz was available to Sonos customers in 16-bit FLAC streaming since 2013. The upgrade gives Qobuz the chance to expose “millions” of Sonos users to “the improvement" hi-res audio can make, said Qobuz USA Managing Director Dan Mackta. It’s available to customers in the U.S., Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K. Sonos didn’t respond to questions about plans for a premium speaker designed for hi-res audio playback. It launched the $169 Roam portable Bluetooth speaker this month (see 2103090046).