ARCAM makes its flagship streamers sing with Qobuz Connect

Just over a year ago, ARCAM announced the launch of three flagship products – the SA35 and SA45 streaming amplifiers, plus the ST25 streamer. Now, just months after they started shipping, it's made them even better.

From today, owners will be getting a free over-the-air update that adds Qobuz Connect to all three devices.

The addition of Qobuz Connect improves what's an already impressive suite of streaming features. The amps and streamer already support AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect and Roon.

Now Qobuz Connect enables owners to stream directly from the Qobuz app without needing a third-party variant. That means all the key features are present and correct, including controlling playback from your mobile and accessing the entire Qobuz library.

Why Qobuz Connect is a genuinely useful upgrade

Qobuz support is a big deal because it's particularly popular among serious music fans, partly because of its high quality but also because of its excellent curation. That makes it a great way to discover new music as well as play the songs you already know and love.

While Qobuz has been around for a long time, Qobuz Connect is very new – it only officially launched in May. It's a welcome addition, too. The streams are in Hi-Res Audio bitrates, not the lossy Bluetooth of other streaming options, so you can get up to 24-bit/192KHz on compatible devices including ARCAM's trio.

As James Todd, senior product line manager at ARCAM and HARMAN Luxury Audio, explains: "Supporting Qobuz Connect gives our customers a simpler, more flexible way to enjoy the music they love, without sacrificing sound quality."

With many high-end brands embracing Qobuz Connect, it's developing an impressive market share already.

The SA35, SA45 and ST25 updates are all live now, so it should just be a matter of switching on your device and letting the update download and install itself.