Congrats Lumin on MQA!

Lumin S1 / A1 / T1 / D1 (in beta stage, going through certification) can also output MQA Core to its BNC-SPDIF if set to MQA Digital Output Mode (in addition to full MQA decoding to its analog outputs). Using it should also enable Berkeley to activate its MQA Rendering functionality.

We have also plans for Lumin U1 to output MQA Core (in alpha stage, not yet submitted to certification) to any of its digital output.

Ok, it appears Peter is correct. I spent the last two days trying to unravel this MQA mess. It appears that Berkeley changed direction late in the game and instead of having core unfolding, it is just going to do MQA rendering. Berkeley said full core MQA unfolding negatively affected the sound of PCM too much and would have required another box add on!

Therefore, in order to get full MQA, the Berkeley will require a PC or MAC running Audinrvana or Tidal desktop app. Berkeley is working closely with Aurender to see if they can get the N10/W20 to do the core unfolding. Aurender told me "we are investigating."

Peter above has indicated Lumin is working to get MQA core from the U1. That would be a nice alternative to a Mac/PC.

So, if Berkeley REF2 users want full MQA, they will have to wait and see if Aurender (or Lumin) can do the core unfolding.


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Further update: the folks at Lumin told me they are alpha testing the latest firmware update for the U1. This latest firmware update for the U1 will include full MQA core (unfolding) for MQA renderer DAC's like the Berkeley REF2. Way to go Lumin!

Roon + MQA all within a year and it hasn't cost end users a penny.

[emoji106][emoji106]


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Way to go Team Lumin!!!! Thanks for letting me beta test.


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Does this mean it went through? Btw love that jsmes Taylor song. Check his kid Ben Taylor out doing time of the season.
 
On my S1 it consistently takes right around 12 seconds for any MQA track to start from the time I hit play. Hadn't heard anybody else mention this.

Is this normal behavior? Some necessary buffering or processing taking place? Or is there something wrong here. I've restarted the S1 and killed/reopened the app. Firmware is the latest--9.02.
 
Happens on my D1 too worse on MQA tracks that normal ones. Also the gap between tracks with Lumin is the longest I have experienced.
 
Is this normal behavior? Some necessary buffering or processing taking place?

Yes. Normal. The time it takes for a music to start depends on how fast Tidal servers send the minimum amount of buffer to you. The longer it takes it means Tidal is sending data to you more slowly. In my experience this is usually not related to your Internet service provider. Tidal Masters albums are worse because they take more bandwidth.
 
Yes. Normal. The time it takes for a music to start depends on how fast Tidal servers send the minimum amount of buffer to you. The longer it takes it means Tidal is sending data to you more slowly. In my experience this is usually not related to your Internet service provider. Tidal Masters albums are worse because they take more bandwidth.

And that is what Tidals support told me when I complained about it.
 
Thanks for the response Peter.

Gosh, I sure hope the situation can be improved upon going forward.

It seems that MQA and HD streaming are picking up momentum. More and more MQA titles are becoming available. I've heard HDtracks is going to start offering MQA streaming as well. But as things stand now, to me the improvements in sound quality are somewhat offset by this behavior taking away from the listening experience. It's a bit frustrating to listen to an MQA album with big pauses between every track...
 
Gosh, I sure hope the situation can be improved upon going forward.

That depends on Tidal significantly improving their infrastructure to improve the speed of sending music data to users in different regions.

Previously people dismissed the MQA bandwidth advantage because everybody has high speed Internet access, but the truth is that the service providers need the bandwidth savings, not the users. Several years ago a music service provider used undisclosed P2P technology to utilize users' bandwidth to serve other users, fortunately this practice has been ceased.
 
If HD tracks does get a streaming service going and it catches on, do you know if Lumin will incorporate it into the app or attempt to? I know it's way too early to tell but IF it takes off, would it be a consideration?
 
This is too early to tell. It involves business and technical considerations.
 
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