MQA - Revolutionary, Evolutionary or Hyperbole?

AJ Soundfield said:
:)
I'd be curious how the demo will be done. Compared vs Redbook, DSD, analog, etc?
Or...??
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What I heard was MQA vs 24/192 PCM. MQA was much much better. Smoother, but all the detail was there. Sounded like an entire layer had been removed. MQA to me, made the PCM version sound very digital, like that digital "hash" was ever present.

After the announcements at Munich, the MQA doubters will be left scratching their heads. Let's just say, MQA does NOT mean you have to buy a Meridian product. Major licensing is at play. Stay tuned...
 
Mike said:
What I heard was MQA vs 24/192 PCM. MQA was much much better.
Click to expand...
I have no idea how that could be possible, unless MQA involves a remaster of the original, rather than just a playing at higher bitrates.

Mike said:
Let's just say, MQA does NOT mean you have to buy a Meridian product. Major licensing is at play. Stay tuned...
Click to expand...
Understood....but does it involve yet another remaster...and purchase of the same music?
Stay tuned I guess...;)
 
AJ Soundfield said:
I have no idea how that could be possible, unless MQA involves a remaster of the original, rather than just a playing at higher bitrates.


Understood....but does it involve yet another remaster...and purchase of the same music?
Stay tuned I guess...;)
Click to expand...

Watch the part II video and focus on Han's translation of how a camera lens works. It's loosely based on the noise profile of the ADC/DAC at the recording studio and at your house, the MQA decoder corrects for the aberrations of the studio DAC to your DAC, to what the true value of the recording is.
 
AJ Soundfield said:
:)
I'd be curious how the demo will be done. Compared vs Redbook, DSD, analog, etc?
Or...??
Click to expand...

agree.

I'd recommend something like using one of the Reference Recordings where you have a 176/24 original file HRx, the CD and an analog tape original master and the Lp, all from the same exact mic feed, and then go from there.

and do the demo in a fully mature system where there is a baseline of performance established....like my room.

otherwise you have agendas on top of agendas.

maybe there will be a demo of MQA at the Newport Show to get a taste of it.
 
Mike Lavigne said:
agree.

I'd recommend something like using one of the Reference Recordings where you have a 176/24 original file HRx, the CD and an analog tape original master and the Lp, all from the same exact mic feed, and then go from there.

and do the demo in a fully mature system where there is a baseline of performance established....like my room.

otherwise you have agendas on top of agendas.

maybe there will be a demo of MQA at the Newport Show to get a taste of it.
Click to expand...

Chances are the demo material will be set. So I see what you did there.. ;)
 
o0OBillO0o said:
Chances are the demo material will be set. So I see what you did there.. ;)
Click to expand...

ya think?:rolleyes:

I do not share the Meridian PCM centric world view. OTOH MQA could be a great tool, and i'm open to that being true. even if it's only to improve my XM music in-the-car listening.

and when the facts are in about MQA I will be stunned if it's more than a delivery enhancement......if it actually includes a performance enhancement to PCM as we now know it. but I've been wrong before.
 
Mike Lavigne said:
ya think?:rolleyes:

I do not share the Meridian PCM centric world view. OTOH MQA could be a great tool, and i'm open to that being true. even if it's only to improve my XM music in-the-car listening.

and when the facts are in about MQA I will be stunned if it's more than a delivery enhancement......if it actually includes a performance enhancement to PCM as we now know it. but I've been wrong before.
Click to expand...

So I think MQA does not have to be PCM centric. It simply, from what I am researching, has to know the noise floor that the Analog to Digital converter is doing to the music. So that mean MQA could be located inside a DSD stream. DSD's 150dB signal to noise ration in the audible section is more than enough to sneak in a low level digital signal containing MQA meta data. We will see what comes of this. I am skeptical that DSD will get this at all. BUT! I noticed Meridian is going to include DSD in the Current Top-shelf and future products. soooooo there could be something in the works.

XM is not horrible, it's HAAAAARIBLE! My wife is addicted to it and I and hear the noise and nastiness that has been done in order to stuff a signal across a limited bandwidth. MQA could be huge here. Great thought!
 
MQA / Meridian need to provide a public video demonstration on what their technology does. Otherwise, from the comments here and on that stereophile link, you can see many of the comments relate to confusion.

The above videos that I have posted from Hans are here and here and offer the best technical explanation.

if you don't feel like clicking the links, MQA (Meridian Quality - Authenticated), is attempting to fix the issue of provenance, or where the music came from, and preserve what the artist / engineer created in the studio. The bonus feature: is compression to fit high data rates over the slower internet connections.

:D
 
I attended a MQA event yesterday at Spire in Troy, MI. First they went thru a slide show explaining what they were capturing and where it was placed before it was "unwrapped". I was one of the first two there so they were able to answer a lot of questions. Then they played us about 8 different tracks so we could hear for ourselves. There were no A/B demos, just the MQA files from different original masters. First was a Dylan track, then Roberta Flack, a couple of classical tracks, the first all digital recording (Money For Nothing) and Respect by Aretha and ended up with Miles Davis.

I will come back after I return from the movies and expand upon what I heard.
 
rbbert said:
To me, this is not a bonus feature, it just could end up being a "kill" feature :|
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\\

In the long run those of us who purchase CD's and purchase (actually license) Hi - Rez files will look askance at streaming services for Hi-Rez, but Rob we are in the minority. Guess what, the labels couldn't care less about us for the most part. We don't purchase or stream as much music in a year as younger people do in a week. Streaming is the money maker for labels in the future. If we want real hi-rez then this is the way it will be delivered in the future.
 
still-one said:
I attended a MQA event yesterday at Spire in Troy, MI. First they went thru a slide show explaining what they were capturing and where it was placed before it was "unwrapped". I was one of the first two there so they were able to answer a lot of questions. Then they played us about 8 different tracks so we could hear for ourselves. There were no A/B demos, just the MQA files from different original masters. First was a Dylan track, then Roberta Flack, a couple of classical tracks, the first all digital recording (Money For Nothing) and Respect by Aretha and ended up with Miles Davis.

I will come back after I return from the movies and expand upon what I heard.
Click to expand...

The demo was performed in a completely unfamiliar room with speakers I am not very familiar with Meridian DSP8000s. I actually questioned the set-up because even sitting in the middle I was get very little center imaging on many of the tracks. They indicated the speakers were set up for a larger group and crossing in front of our seating position.

I am sure we have all heard Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" but I have never heard it like this. I heard a huge soundstage, deep and wide. This may have been the most impressive track. The Dylan track was clear as a bell with just the vocals and guitar. The classical tracks were much clearer than what I normally hear from any system with a lot a air around the instruments. Aretha Franklin's "Respect" was nothing special. Now Otis Reading's "Sitting On The Dock of The Bay" was soft and clear, kind of laid back. What captured my attention was a bass line that I never remember hearing before that continues throughout the song. Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" had a lot of drive and it was crystal clear.

Bottom line. I was impressed but I was actually hoping for more. I wish they would have set this up in another room where they could have set up the speakers along the lines we would in our own homes. My big concern is that we will get the SOS content as what is available for DSD. This has the potential to provide us with the best sound other than the original tape we have ever heard.

Looks like timing if I want to upgrade my 808 from v3 to v6 is August. The v5 upgrade would be included so I need the following new parts. New Digital In board, new Digital Out board, new Analog Out board, ID41 card and the linear power supply.
 
I just wish the actual sound enhancing features of MQA were also going to be available in a lossless format, compressed or not. It seems silly to get locked into a lossy compression scheme in this day (presumably extending into the future) of cheap data storage and fast data processing. It's not as though Meridian hasn't used lossless compression in the past...
 
still-one said:
I attended a MQA event yesterday at Spire in Troy, MI. First they went thru a slide show explaining what they were capturing and where it was placed before it was "unwrapped". I was one of the first two there so they were able to answer a lot of questions. Then they played us about 8 different tracks so we could hear for ourselves. There were no A/B demos, just the MQA files from different original masters. First was a Dylan track, then Roberta Flack, a couple of classical tracks, the first all digital recording (Money For Nothing) and Respect by Aretha and ended up with Miles Davis.

I will come back after I return from the movies and expand upon what I heard.
Click to expand...

That's been their MO at ALL events even the press events. Why is Meridien so afraid of doing an A/B? Violates audio 101.
 
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