Qbz

QBZ is a free and open source high-fidelity streaming client for Linux (with experimental macOS support) with native playback. It is a real desktop application — not a web wrapper — with DAC passthrough, per-track sample rate switching, exclusive mode, and bit-perfect audio delivery.

QBZ uses a native playback pipeline with direct device control so your DAC receives the original resolution — up to 24-bit / 192 kHz — with no forced resampling.

QBZ is not a streaming ripper, you need a valid subscription to use the Qobuz services.

Audio and Playback

• Bit-perfect playback with DAC passthrough and per-track sample rate switching (44.1–192 kHz)
• Four audio backends: PipeWire, ALSA, ALSA Direct (hw: bypass), PulseAudio
• HiFi Wizard — guided bit-perfect configuration with real DAC capability detection
• Native decoding: FLAC, MP3, AAC, ALAC, WavPack, Ogg Vorbis, Opus (Symphonia)
• Gapless playback on all backends
• Loudness normalization (EBU R128) with ReplayGain support
• Two-level audio cache with next-track prefetching
• Streaming playback — start listening before download completes

Queue and Library

• Queue with shuffle, repeat (track/queue/off), and history
• Favorites and playlists from your Qobuz account
• Qobuz playlist follow/unfollow — subscribe natively, syncs across all Qobuz clients
• Local library — directory scanning, metadata extraction, CUE sheets, SQLite indexing
• Tag editor with sidecar storage (preserves original files)
• Virtualized lists for large libraries