MQA Discussion
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This statement does not imply that there does not exist hardware to support Tidal Masters MQA. This statement is meant to say that in the context of official Tidal apps, the official smartphone apps do not support Masters MQA decoding - only the desktop ones do.
Lumin S1 / A1 / T1 / D1 supports full Tidal Masters MQA decoding. Decoding is done in the Lumin players controlled by iPad.
In Mike's setup he's using Lumin U1 beta firmware with MQA Core decoding sending to Berkeley Reference 2 MQA Renderer. Again this is controlled by iPad.
Since Lumin supports Tidal natively, the official Tidal iOS app is not used, and therefore Lumin is not restricted by the restrictions of the official Tidal smartphone apps. Lumin app is used.
M
mauidan
Guest
Mahalo for the info.
Since I don't own a Lumin and never will, guess I'll have to use the Tidal desktop app.
PS- Got my DragonFly Red today and set up the Tidal desktop app on my MacBook Pro.
Since I don't own a Lumin and never will, guess I'll have to use the Tidal desktop app.
PS- Got my DragonFly Red today and set up the Tidal desktop app on my MacBook Pro.
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CPP
Active member
All the Tidal and MQA naysayers can say what they want, with Universal Music Group unloading their catalog under all of these Universal groups labels http://www.universalmusic.com/labels/, there is going to be a lot of music to listen to via Tidal, MQA or otherwise.
absolutely. Those who bark the loudest have had almost zero experience or no experience listening to it. I've been talking MQA for over 2 years since I first heard it at CES and continued to hear it show after show (see my MQA videos on YouTube). It impressed me then and it's even more impressive now in my own system.
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Randy Myers
Well-known member
I have been reading a lot through these threads and discussions on MQA. Some sound like hocus pocus, some sound very intriguing. If someone does not do Tidal and does not stream, at all, but instead prefers to purchase music for their private collections, where does MQA stand? Almost all of these discussions seem to revolve around tidal and streaming, which very much appear to make sense. However, for local downloaded files?
My point is this, if I have a well recorded album which the master is directly converted to DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 versus direct converted to MQA... this is the comparisons I am interested in. I have read several articles over the past year or so in which this type of comparison was done and the DSD won out... maybe this is no longer the case.
Another huge concern for the average user is the associated costs. When you are talking about products like the Berkeley Reference and MSB and the like price is usually not a road block. For the average user price is a huge consideration. The average user cannot replace their DAC, their library of music, etc., just to compare MQA.
If MQA was a simple add on, that could be added to an existing system it might have a better chance of actually gaining legs in the market place. Having to replace your DAC is definitely going to be an issue. The low price DAC's that have came out are very limiting, to say the least. The Explorer 2 is pretty much terrible for any other type file from what I have heard. The Mytec Brooklyn is using low end ESS 9018 portable DAC chip (the same chip that is in my Pono). To me that is limiting the capability.
For us that cannot afford the high high end, how are we to ever to do true comparisons? Hopefully my post is clear enough to get my point across...
...
My point is this, if I have a well recorded album which the master is directly converted to DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 versus direct converted to MQA... this is the comparisons I am interested in. I have read several articles over the past year or so in which this type of comparison was done and the DSD won out... maybe this is no longer the case.
Another huge concern for the average user is the associated costs. When you are talking about products like the Berkeley Reference and MSB and the like price is usually not a road block. For the average user price is a huge consideration. The average user cannot replace their DAC, their library of music, etc., just to compare MQA.
If MQA was a simple add on, that could be added to an existing system it might have a better chance of actually gaining legs in the market place. Having to replace your DAC is definitely going to be an issue. The low price DAC's that have came out are very limiting, to say the least. The Explorer 2 is pretty much terrible for any other type file from what I have heard. The Mytec Brooklyn is using low end ESS 9018 portable DAC chip (the same chip that is in my Pono). To me that is limiting the capability.
For us that cannot afford the high high end, how are we to ever to do true comparisons? Hopefully my post is clear enough to get my point across...
...
CPP
Active member
I have been reading a lot through these threads and discussions on MQA. Some sound like hocus pocus, some sound very intriguing. If someone does not do Tidal and does not stream, at all, but instead prefers to purchase music for their private collections, where does MQA stand? Almost all of these discussions seem to revolve around tidal and streaming, which very much appear to make sense. However, for local downloaded files?
My point is this, if I have a well recorded album which the master is directly converted to DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 versus direct converted to MQA... this is the comparisons I am interested in. I have read several articles over the past year or so in which this type of comparison was done and the DSD won out... maybe this is no longer the case.
Another huge concern for the average user is the associated costs. When you are talking about products like the Berkeley Reference and MSB and the like price is usually not a road block. For the average user price is a huge consideration. The average user cannot replace their DAC, their library of music, etc., just to compare MQA.
If MQA was a simple add on, that could be added to an existing system it might have a better chance of actually gaining legs in the market place. Having to replace your DAC is definitely going to be an issue. The low price DAC's that have came out are very limiting, to say the least. The Explorer 2 is pretty much terrible for any other type file from what I have heard. The Mytec Brooklyn is using low end ESS 9018 portable DAC chip (the same chip that is in my Pono). To me that is limiting the capability.
For us that cannot afford the high high end, how are we to ever to do true comparisons? Hopefully my post is clear enough to get my point across...
Randy, sometimes its not all about the chip used. I don't put much whoopie do on a chip. The Lumin A1 and D1 which uses a older Wolfson WM8741 dac chip handles MQA and DSD with ease and it sounds really good and its a streamer under $2,000 (D1) , plus it upsamples PCM to DSD 64. Its all about the sum of the parts in the DAC (software and firmware, components) that makes the music sound good to the listener. My OPPO 205 and my 105 both use a ESS DAC the 205 is the latest and greatest but it sounds a little bright to my ears. And you don't have to buy a $15000 dac to enjoy MQA or even PCM or DSD. A lot of nice dacs out there depending on what you want to spend. Forget high end prices, just get a Lumin D1 and enjoy streaming via Tidal using the Lumin app or even using ROON. Heck I haven;t streamed from my NAS in a month or two since Tidal came along. NO Computer NO problem. .And ya know me, you can listen to good audio without spending a huge sum of money.
Some HI-res sites are just starting to add MQA to their downloads. 2L and HighRes Audio (https://www.highresaudio.com/en/search/?title=MQA) But of course the downloads don't support all the genres some of us like and who knows if they will ever support what we all like.
I have been reading a lot through these threads and discussions on MQA. Some sound like hocus pocus, some sound very intriguing. If someone does not do Tidal and does not stream, at all, but instead prefers to purchase music for their private collections, where does MQA stand? Almost all of these discussions seem to revolve around tidal and streaming, which very much appear to make sense. However, for local downloaded files?
My point is this, if I have a well recorded album which the master is directly converted to DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 versus direct converted to MQA... this is the comparisons I am interested in. I have read several articles over the past year or so in which this type of comparison was done and the DSD won out... maybe this is no longer the case.
Another huge concern for the average user is the associated costs. When you are talking about products like the Berkeley Reference and MSB and the like price is usually not a road block. For the average user price is a huge consideration. The average user cannot replace their DAC, their library of music, etc., just to compare MQA.
If MQA was a simple add on, that could be added to an existing system it might have a better chance of actually gaining legs in the market place. Having to replace your DAC is definitely going to be an issue. The low price DAC's that have came out are very limiting, to say the least. The Explorer 2 is pretty much terrible for any other type file from what I have heard. The Mytec Brooklyn is using low end ESS 9018 portable DAC chip (the same chip that is in my Pono). To me that is limiting the capability.
For us that cannot afford the high high end, how are we to ever to do true comparisons? Hopefully my post is clear enough to get my point across...
Randy - your skepticism is shared by more than a few. But I assure you, if done properly, full blown MQA is not hocus pocus. If someone doesn't do Tidal, then honestly, don't give MQA a second thought. The number of MQA titles for sale are few and far between. The marriage between Tidal and MQA is a good one. Pay your $20/month and you've got access to millions of albums and thousands of MQA albums.
According to the folks at MQA, their objective is to go back to the best master available. This might be tape (if the tapes are still good) or it might be digital (if the tapes are bad or if the album was recorded digitally). They may even be going back to DAT tapes! They then take the best available master and apply the apodizing filters to apply fix pre-ringing, time domain issues, etc. The end result is a file (or files) which have proper space and time results reducing or eliminating "digital fatigue".
This is not to say that DSD albums are not wonderful and ditto for some PCM. What MQA is doing is trying to fix spatial cues which have gone awry within the A2D process.
MQA could never be a simple add on to an existing DAC due to its complexity for unfolding and decoding and rendering. We are seeing the unfold, decode and rendering being done in standalone units today, but if you think you can just marry unfolding with a non-MQA rendering DAC, it won't work.
The Lumin D1 would be a good, one box, cost effective way to get into full blown MQA (in a single box).
Randy Myers
Well-known member
Thanks for input guys. I may eventually give it a try, but being that I do not stream it is rather hard to justify. Especially with how amazing the system is sounding with the new Wyred DAC...
Having thousands of albums available via Tidal does not really intrigue me at this point (who knows down the road). I already have a hard enough time picking out what I want to listen to now with the 571 albums I current own....
Having thousands of albums available via Tidal does not really intrigue me at this point (who knows down the road). I already have a hard enough time picking out what I want to listen to now with the 571 albums I current own.
...
The list of MQA naysayers must be getting shorter...
This is big news and will bring MQA to many more people.
For me, I have a hard time listening to non-MQA digital anymore. I find when I listen to MQA albums, hours fly by. ZERO digital fatigue. Love it.
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/major-mqa-announcements-at-the-berlin-ifa-show/
This is big news and will bring MQA to many more people.
For me, I have a hard time listening to non-MQA digital anymore. I find when I listen to MQA albums, hours fly by. ZERO digital fatigue. Love it.
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/major-mqa-announcements-at-the-berlin-ifa-show/
Kuoppis
New member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
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- 5,203
I wonder what this statement regarding Amarra Luxe means. It sounds like the SW package would deliver the full shebang, but isn't an MQA DAC needed for that?
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M
mauidan
Guest
Easy/cheap MQA home demo:
For $89. You can get a Audioquest DragonFly Black (free shipping) from AudioGeeks.com
For free, you can get a 30 day trial of TIDAL Premium.
I went for the Audioquest DragonFly Red ($179.) with more power to drive my Sennheiser HD800.
I also bought a Audioquest Golden Gate 3.5mm to RCA cable ($59.99), so I could hook the DAC to my main system.
PS- Make sure the DragonFly has the latest software version- Firmware v1.06. A Desktop Devise Manager Application is available on the Audioquest website.
PPS- In the Tidal streaming settings, make sure the Exclusive Mode box is selected. The DragonFly LED will light Purple to indicate a MQA file is playing.
For $89. You can get a Audioquest DragonFly Black (free shipping) from AudioGeeks.com
For free, you can get a 30 day trial of TIDAL Premium.
I went for the Audioquest DragonFly Red ($179.) with more power to drive my Sennheiser HD800.
I also bought a Audioquest Golden Gate 3.5mm to RCA cable ($59.99), so I could hook the DAC to my main system.
PS- Make sure the DragonFly has the latest software version- Firmware v1.06. A Desktop Devise Manager Application is available on the Audioquest website.
PPS- In the Tidal streaming settings, make sure the Exclusive Mode box is selected. The DragonFly LED will light Purple to indicate a MQA file is playing.
Great question. Hopefully more information will come out soon.
Did any of you guys check out pages 22-24 of Stereophile September (this month)? Mr. Analog, Michael Fremer absolutely NAILS the description of MQA. Nails it. It's what I posted about back in February when I posted my thoughts on listening to full blown MQA.
Check it out if you can.
CPP
Active member
Times are a changing. Its going to get nuts when Sony starts unloading is music for MQA conversion and Universal dumps its total label groups into Tidal. Now the ball is in Tidals court to make this music better accessible and searchable compared to what it is today. That is the big fallout I see, Tidal and its mix-master music collection is poorly managed and configured.
The smartphone MQA , more http://pocketnow.com/2017/08/27/lg-...h-another-quad-dac-system-from-ess-technology
FYI ; Onkyo launched an MQA-toting ‘Granbeat’ smartphone in Japan,https://www.whathifi.com/news/granbeat-onkyos-first-high-resolution-audio-smartphone
The smartphone MQA , more http://pocketnow.com/2017/08/27/lg-...h-another-quad-dac-system-from-ess-technology
FYI ; Onkyo launched an MQA-toting ‘Granbeat’ smartphone in Japan,https://www.whathifi.com/news/granbeat-onkyos-first-high-resolution-audio-smartphone
Jack
Active member
More than software configuration their biggest and most expensive problem to solve will be bandwidth. Problems started popping up in various parts of the country months ago. Especially during the high use evening hours. They have been unable or unwilling to provide a solution to anyone who has opened a support ticket with them. And yes I realize that some of you, in big population areas, claim to have no problems. That seems to be a given for the major media markets but not true overall.
M
mauidan
Guest
Yes, lots of drop outs yesterday, listening to Tidal MQA tracks between 4-7p HST.
Without a MQA DAC, a software player like Tidal desktop app, Audirvana and Amarra will be able to perform MQA Core decoding to 96 or 88.2kHz.
IFA 2017: MQA EXPANDS GLOBAL REACH ON SMARTPHONE, PORTABLE DEVICES & MUSIC SERVICES
London / Berlin, 31 August 2017 – Music technology company, MQA, announces a breadth of partnership news at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. Developed for convenient delivery and unmatched audio quality, MQA technology will now be embedded in LG’s new V30 smartphone, the first globally available MQA-enabled handset. MQA music playback will also be available on the two latest portable devices from Sony’s iconic Walkman brand, the WM-ZX300 and WM-A40 models. Both portable players are capable of playing back downloaded MQA music. Said MQA CEO, Mike Jbara, of the latest news, “Our announcements at IFA illustrate the global presence and diverse footprint of MQA. We’re inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of our partners to keep pushing the opportunities to access master quality audio.”
New MQA Streaming Partners
Korean-based hi-res streaming service, Groovers, has confirmed it is working on MQA mobile and desktop implementation for its platform, due to launch by the end of 2017. This follows recent news from b2b digital music solutions provider, 7digital, that it will be powering a forthcoming hi-res streaming service, HDmusicStream, using MQA technology to deliver studio quality audio.
Current live music download partner, nugs.net, offers thousands of on-demand concerts from artists including Metallica, Bruce Springsteen and Dead & Company. This autumn, the nugs.net HiFi tier will offer MQA streaming on iOS and desktop players.
MQA Music Availability Grows
Universal Music Group, the world-leader in music-based entertainment, is working closely with MQA to encode its vast library of recordings in MQA's technology.
Further reinforcing MQA’s mobile footprint expansion, Pioneer and Onkyo will be showcasing TIDAL Masters mobile streaming on their latest Digital Audio Players, the XDP-30R and DP-S1 models, at the IFA trade fair.
Sonic Studio’s Amarra Luxe 4.1 media player, enabling all the benefits of the MQA experience for local playback and streaming of high resolution music, is scheduled for release in September 2017.
On the download front, Japan-based music store, e-onkyo music, has announced the expansion of their MQA music offering, with the addition of Warner Music Group’s hi-res catalogue in MQA, which will be available for the first time in the region in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Onkyo Music store, which serves Germany, UK and the US, will also be offering MQA music, as it rolls out a redesigned store front throughout September. Existing download stores, including HIGHRESAUDIO, continue to add more MQA music as it becomes available.
Hi-Res Keynote Features MQA
MQA’s CEO, Mike Jbara, will take part in a keynote discussion at IFA, organised by the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) and hosted by Sony Electronics, on Friday 1 September at 14:00 [Hall 20 101]. “The Future of Hi-Res Audio” panel will also feature Morvan Boury (VP, Global Business Development, Sony Music Entertainment), Michael Drexler (VP, Digital Strategy at Warner Music), and Bill Gagnon (UMG’s SVP Business Development) as fellow panelists.
MQA will be supporting partner demonstrations at this year’s IFA, including new MQA hardware partner, iFi Audio, who will be showing their prototype micro iDSD Black Label DAC featuring MQA integration.
-Ends-
MQA Press Contacts [email protected] | [email protected] Press Site for MQA www.mqa.co.uk/press
About MQA
Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, the MQA team has created a technology that captures the sound of the original studio performance. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream, while also being backward compatible, so you can play MQA music on any device. MQA’s award-winning technology is licensed by labels, music services and hardware manufacturers worldwide and is certified by the RIAA. MQA is a UK-based private company.
For more information visit www.mqa.co.uk