MQA

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bh46118

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MQA
« on: 3 May 2016, 12:46 am »
I understand that many new reinvented audio wheels have come down the pike over the years with varying degrees of acceptance or usefulness, but this one looks like it's on its way if it can do anything close to what Robert Harley claims. Can the DAC in my IDA-16 be made to decode MQA with a software upgrade, or will it take a new external DAC ?

JackD

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Re: MQA
« Reply #1 on: 3 May 2016, 12:59 am »
I would doubt seriously that Jason or any other CEO is going to sign a licensing agreement with Meridian for a long time down the road for MQA.  For now you have to use their products, but I would wait for a while and see if this is just another of their good ideas that never takes off. Wouldn't be the first. You need to remember that Harley will tout just about anything.  Need to count the ad pages in the magazine and consider that along with his opinions.

SlushPuppy

Re: MQA
« Reply #2 on: 3 May 2016, 01:30 am »
JackD,

I've owned a Mytek Brooklyn DAC for almost a week and I'm convinced that the 38MB MQA file I downloaded from http://www.2l.no/hires/ sounds as good as the 298MB DSD128 file of the same song. My headphones are Audeze LCD-2's and should be more than capable of resolving the difference.

JackD

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Re: MQA
« Reply #3 on: 3 May 2016, 01:51 am »
Whether there is a difference or not is not the issue, but rather licensing fees, software and hardware upgrades and the dearth of MQA material.  If companies like Nuprime and others want to deal with the issue with new products is different than retrofitting existing gear without benefit to them.  It appears that Meridian uses the same "demo" tracks at every show they demo it at, so where is the material going to come from. Plus are you willing to buy yet another version of music you have bought several times already for the next "big thing?"

agdev01

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Re: MQA
« Reply #4 on: 3 May 2016, 03:00 am »
I understand that many new reinvented audio wheels have come down the pike over the years with varying degrees of acceptance or usefulness, but this one looks like it's on its way if it can do anything close to what Robert Harley claims. Can the DAC in my IDA-16 be made to decode MQA with a software upgrade, or will it take a new external DAC ?

I do not believe it would be possible to do so via a software upgrade. 

I completely agree with Jack.  By the time there is actual MQA content available outside of one niche label, if there ever is, you should be able to decode the file via software and then output the decoded signal to your DAC which will would easily accept the signal.

JackD

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Re: MQA
« Reply #5 on: 3 May 2016, 03:51 am »
Remember these are the same guys that had the "next big thing idea" about ten years ago with DVD-A and look where that ended up.  Companies like Meridian, Linn and Naim, Rega don't do anything "for the good of the music", for them it is all about licensing fees and patents.  Companies like Mytek, ESS(Resonance), sOTM and others make parts they use in their own gear so they get "insider" deals on these "big things." They want to make their money back on you and I  plus the rest of the hardware manufacturers. 

JLM

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Re: MQA
« Reply #6 on: 3 May 2016, 10:32 am »
A good gauge of industry acceptance IME will be how many titles will be available from Tidal (reportedly is ready for release any day now).  If that takes off very inexpensive MQA systems will be possible using Tidal with the tiny $300  Meridian Explorer DAC that is currently MQA ready.

bh46118

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Re: MQA
« Reply #7 on: 3 May 2016, 11:20 am »
That's the scenario I'm thinking of, if you can in the fairly near future listen to thousands of song choices at previously unheard of quality from an internet source, that's not a rehash it's groundbreaking. Maybe just a pipedream, I don't know.


A good gauge of industry acceptance IME will be how many titles will be available from Tidal (reportedly is ready for release any day now).  If that takes off very inexpensive MQA systems will be possible using Tidal with the tiny $300  Meridian Explorer DAC that is currently MQA ready.

rbbert

Re: MQA
« Reply #8 on: 3 May 2016, 01:52 pm »
I would doubt seriously that Jason or any other CEO is going to sign a licensing agreement with Meridian for a long time down the road for MQA.  For now you have to use their products, but I would wait for a while and see if this is just another of their good ideas that never takes off. Wouldn't be the first. You need to remember that Harley will tout just about anything.  Need to count the ad pages in the magazine and consider that along with his opinions.

With the amount of pretty much unbelievable material The Absolute Sound has published over the last few years, I don't understand why audiophiles continue to read it?  Gives new meaning to the term "audiophool", I guess...

bh46118

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Re: MQA
« Reply #9 on: 3 May 2016, 10:23 pm »
Have you heard MQA files ?

With the amount of pretty much unbelievable material The Absolute Sound has published over the last few years, I don't understand why audiophiles continue to read it?  Gives new meaning to the term "audiophool", I guess...

JackD

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Re: MQA
« Reply #10 on: 3 May 2016, 11:21 pm »
Again, nobody is talking about sound quality from hand picked promo titles released by Meridian or a "partner".  We are talking about the "hype" surrounding every "next great new thing" Meridian is involved in and the way Harley and his minions shout it from the mountain top and why that happens.  If you think it sounds better based on their sample files that is great. Buy the now $300 Explorer DAC and wait for the music to show up.  I for one am still waiting for DSD to come to full fruition.  When you have been around this hobby as long as an old guy like me you only have to get burnt by the new thing so many times until you learn to be patient.

rbbert

Re: MQA
« Reply #11 on: 3 May 2016, 11:58 pm »
Have you heard MQA files ?

At this point I think it is irrelevant.  IMHO, a good recording and mastering engineer could put together a remastered 320k MP3 and have it sound better than whatever comparison version was around.  Demonstrations like that just don't mean much, as Jack says.  We don't "need" a new digital format as much as we would benefit from more audiophile friendly recording and mastering techniques in our existing formats.  Unfortunately that doesn't appear to make anyone enough money for it to happen very often.

bacobits1

Re: MQA
« Reply #12 on: 4 May 2016, 12:10 am »
Not even interested!!!!
And that's liable the way it will go.

bh46118

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Re: MQA
« Reply #13 on: 4 May 2016, 12:41 am »
Remastered MP3 files can be made to sound better than their hi resolution counterparts ?

At this point I think it is irrelevant.  IMHO, a good recording and mastering engineer could put together a remastered 320k MP3 and have it sound better than whatever comparison version was around.  Demonstrations like that just don't mean much, as Jack says.  We don't "need" a new digital format as much as we would benefit from more audiophile friendly recording and mastering techniques in our existing formats.  Unfortunately that doesn't appear to make anyone enough money for it to happen very often.

Armaegis

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Re: MQA
« Reply #14 on: 4 May 2016, 01:59 am »
Remastered MP3 files can be made to sound better than their hi resolution counterparts ?

Yes, absolutely.

It would obviously be better to remaster from higher quality files to begin with, but even with "lowly" mp3's you can work all sorts of magic.

bh46118

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Re: MQA
« Reply #15 on: 4 May 2016, 03:11 am »
I'm interested and will keep an open mind until I hear it for myself.

Not even interested!!!!
And that's liable the way it will go.

rbbert

Re: MQA
« Reply #16 on: 4 May 2016, 03:23 am »
Not even interested!!!!
And that's liable the way it will go.

You're right, not even interested, because this isn't about offering us recordings with better sound quality; it's about making Meridian money.  Lossy compression; need I say more?

JackD

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Re: MQA
« Reply #17 on: 4 May 2016, 03:35 am »
And the train keeps on rollin!

bh46118

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Re: MQA
« Reply #18 on: 4 May 2016, 05:12 am »
Your saying the (unfolding) part isn't possible ?

Lossy compression; need I say more?

rbbert

Re: MQA
« Reply #19 on: 4 May 2016, 12:46 pm »
Your saying the (unfolding) part isn't possible ?
I'm not sure what you mean?  According to Meridian, their compression scheme is lossy.  Yes, if you have an MQA decoder you get higher resolution than if you don't, but even that MQA-decoded file is lossy compared to the original.  The MQA process "throws away" bits representing audio data that it considers "inaudible" or unimportant, just as MP3, AAC, etc do (although the algorithms are totally different).