MQA already dead in the water? No full decoding DAC alternatives...

rbbert said:
As yet, I don’t see many good sounding affordable streaming options that also have a large quantity of music. It seems to be Tidal or nothing. So it’s 16/44.1 or MQA. All I’m saying is that if it doesn’t cost more it’s nice to have the option. Of course, since I’m not currently a Tidal subscriber, it’s actually not an option yet for me :P
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OK. I thought you have seesawed on where you stand with regards to MQA.
 
I'm new to MQA world and so far I'm very impressed. Some albums are pretty close but I say 80% of them are sounds superb and it doesn't cost me any extra.:) Thanks to Mike for recommendation.

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still-one said:
You really think they have remastered all ~8000 albums released this calendar year?
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It’s about as likely as all those albums’ mastering engineers “signing off” on the MQA versions of “their” albums :celebrate008_2:
 
Kuoppis said:
Whatever the case, I am going to listen to a PS Audio DSD DAC today and might buy it just to explore MQA a little more in detail [emoji3].

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So, listened to the PS Audio DSD DAC for while in a dealer’s system (non MQA), but that did not convince me. Maybe it was the dealer’s system which I did not enjoy so much, but at this point I’m not even sure about a home audition.

Maybe the Brooklyn is an option after all, Herb Reichert did seem to like it. Based on what I’ve heard so far I thought the Mytek might be too bright for my taste, but maybe it is not as the PS Audio was too soft or undefined. As the Mytek is a studio DAC it should be very detailed, which at least should make it easier to hear the differences between the formats.

PLEASE NOTE: Also a significant correction to the PS Audio DSD DAC capabilities: As outlined by Vade Forrester in this month’s TAS, the DAC only does MQA unfolding and only through the network connection, i.e. the first level. So no full MQA, one DAC less on the list. The interesting thing is that I had received a written confirmation from PS Audio earlier that it support full MQA. How about that.

But at this point I still have not solved the problem of finding a MQA capable DAC which I like sans MQA. I think this that is an important first step, as I might otherwise dismiss the whole thing just because of not liking the sound of the DAC in general.

Vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile.


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You really need to take the DirectStream DAC home if possible if you have questions in your mind about the dealers system. The Brooklyn will be "different" for sure as you will be dealing with the differences between the ESS chipset and the PS Audio method which in some ways resembles the method used by Ayre and others. If I was to change DAC's the DirectStream would be my next choice. They even have a new firmware release coming in the next two weeks. Your description of the DirectStream is opposed to what I have heard it's sound described as.
 
You are absolutely correct, I really cannot make a decision based on the dealer’s system. I might need to see whether I can arrange a home audition. Nevertheless I would have hoped to be more impressed from the get go. I have heard it nice as well though in a BHK Signature/ Magnepan based system.

But I am not the only person having questions about the resolution, Atkinson also pointed that out when he was doing his measurements. Maybe it was an earlier SW version. On the one hand the advantage of a FPGA based approach is that the decoding can always be changed in the field, as PS Audio are doing. On the other hand very frequent SW changes are also a bit of a concern, as that is an indication for them not having figured out the perfect version yet. That is of course the advantage with my current DAC: Ed Meitner has a 30-year head start with his coding scheme and hence does updates only every other year. But the MA-1 does not do MQA and my guess is Ed will not implement it either.

PLEASE NOTE: Also a significant correction to the PS Audio DSD DAC capabilities: As outlined by Vade Forrester in this month’s TAS, the DAC only does MQA unfolding and only through the network connection, i.e. the first level. So no full MQA, one DAC less on the list. The interesting thing is that I had received a written confirmation from PS Audio earlier that it supports full MQA. How about that.

Regarding the Brooklyn, the Sabre chip set is a bit of a problem. I’m really not so enthusiastic about them. I think most ESS based DACs sound quite similar, too much digital glare IMHO.

PS: Listening to Elvis Costello, MoFi pressing. There’s a benchmark [emoji3].


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The finale: a conclusion.

Thinking about what I have learnt over the past two weeks, here are my most meaningful MQA upgrade options:
- Transfiguration Proteus MC cart - the Phono section could still improve a bit
- Meitner MA-1 V2 upgrade - taking DSD oversampling to factor 8 for digital

This is what I will do:
- I will not buy just some DAC to occasionally listen to a, in the grand scheme of things, still minuscule selection of MQA titles (8K albums vs. 48 Mio. tracks in Tidal)
- it is just too painful an experience trying to force it and I don’t have neither the time nor passion to pursue it further
- I will not adjust my musical preferences in order to be able to listen to a format or a filter, as that would defeat the purpose of my music listening

In a conclusion, while the headline statement is too strong as there now indeed are some more full decoding MQA DAC alternatives (as I have learned), the choices are still too few. To get the benefit of MQA I would need to alter my digital sound signature preferences, which I am at this point not prepared to do.

In other words: I personally have lost interest in MQA for now. Through Tidal and Aurender I do get the SW unfolding which is ok, but it does not provide a significant enough benefit for me to really care. Full decoding might be enabled in my system at some point, but that will not make or break my music listening experience.

So, would it be worth the effort for the gain in SQ? At this point I simply don’t know and am not going to find out conclusively for now. Is Bob a conniving scoundrel? I don’t care. Is MQA a hidden DRM scheme? I don’t care. Are music companies and DAC manufacturers forced into a licensing scheme where only MQA benefits? I don’t care. Is MQA a format or a filter? I don’t care. Is MQA destroying recording engineers’ work and changing the original? I simply don’t care.

Is MQA dead in the water? Maybe not. Is MQA established and here to stay? Maybe not.


PLEASE NOTE: Also a significant correction to the PS Audio DSD DAC capabilities: As outlined by Vade Forrester in this month’s TAS (December issue), the DAC only does MQA unfolding and only through the network connection, i.e. the first level. So no full MQA, one DAC less on the list. The interesting thing is that I had received a written confirmation from PS Audio earlier that it supports full MQA. How about that.

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Hi Kuoppis,

How about the Lumin A1? Very organic sounding with Wolfson DAC chip. Full MQA, Tidal and Spotify. I’m sure Mike could be more descriptive of the sound quality.

Best,
Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Hi Kuoppis,

How about the Lumin A1? Very organic sounding with Wolfson DAC chip. Full MQA, Tidal and Spotify. I’m sure Mike could be more descriptive of the sound quality.

Best,
Ken
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Great choice. Even the Lumin D2 if you don't want to go crazy. The Lumin S1, I'm guessing, would fit your musical tastes more.
 
Alpinist said:
Hi Kuoppis,

How about the Lumin A1? Very organic sounding with Wolfson DAC chip. Full MQA, Tidal and Spotify. I’m sure Mike could be more descriptive of the sound quality.

Best,
Ken
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Hi Ken, I think the A1 is probably the best half-ways affordable DAC alternative I have been able to identify. But with its price tag it starts to be almost in the region of the Meitner, which is a bit dear for a simple test. That would then probably be more of a replacement for the Meitner, rather than a parallel setup and will require more time.

I tried to look for options for a home audition, but they are appear not to be very popular and in Europe. I guess that might be due to Linn, from who’s design and system they have borrowed quite a bit.

But it is very true that there has been very positive feedback about the Lumins on the Sharks forum.


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Kuoppis said:
The finale: a conclusion.



PLEASE NOTE: Also a significant correction to the PS Audio DSD DAC capabilities: As outlined by Vade Forrester in this month’s TAS (December issue), the DAC only does MQA unfolding and only through the network connection, i.e. the first level. So no full MQA, one DAC less on the list. The interesting thing is that I had received a written confirmation from PS Audio earlier that it supports full MQA. How about that.

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Please provide a link that states that.
 
Mike said:
Great choice. Even the Lumin D2 if you don't want to go crazy. The Lumin S1, I'm guessing, would fit your musical tastes more.
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I must say, I agree with you gentlemen. The Lumins are a serious contender, not just for trying out MQA.

Perhaps I am a bit of a burned child in a sense, as I had a Linn Klimax before. I liked it quite a bit sound and functionality-wise, but wanted to have more format flexibility and hence switched to the Meitner DAC.

I guess the S1 would be even to a lesser extent an impulse purchase [emoji3].

How would you characterize the sound/ performance difference between the A1 and S1?


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Kuoppis said:
I must say, I agree with you gentlemen. The Lumins are a serious contender, not just for trying out MQA.

Perhaps I am a bit of a burned child in a sense, as I had a Linn Klimax before. I liked it quite a bit sound and functionality-wise, but wanted to have more format flexibility and hence switched to the Meitner DAC.

I guess the S1 would be even to a lesser extent an impulse purchase [emoji3].

How would you characterize the sound/ performance difference between the A1 and S1?


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A1 is warmer, more analog sounding, with less bass control.
S1 is very linear top to bottom. Very clean sounding, but still musical.
 
Mike said:
A1 is warmer, more analog sounding, with less bass control.
S1 is very linear top to bottom. Very clean sounding, but still musical.
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Do you think either one would highlight the difference of MQA vs. non-MQA on a level comparable to your Berkeley?


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