My take on MQA

[Mike]

Thanks Mike,

And I'm not kidding about the dog. He's 2 now and never sits in my listening room for more than 10 minutes. When I had the 808 for a couple of days, he came in, sat down, then laid down and went to sleep -- for several listening sessions. Funny thing, I thought he had just come around. But he hasn't done it since. Probably a fluke -- I mean who the heck knows what goes through a dog's mind other than his next meal! But it is funny as hell.

I'll be interested in hearing the Berkeley. Heard so many good things about their DAC's.

I agree with you. My dog is just as crazy and unpredictable. We probably need a "show us your dog" thread. Here's mine:

This was hilarious....

What happens when I get into mud....

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[anji12305]

I predict DAC sellers will soon package their products with a "bacon chip", to keep dogs interested.

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[Randy Myers]

So Mike, what the heck did he get in to? I think it should be our audiophile pets thread ....

Here is my music buddy....

 

[Mike]

So Mike, what the heck did he get in to? I think it should be our audiophile pets thread ....

Here is my music buddy....

Our garden! He's quite the digger.


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[wklie]

Mike do you know if Lumin has plans for ...

We are close to submitting something for profiling by a certain company. However, very often non-technical issues can also take a lot of time, especially when there are costs involved.

Likewise Lumin firmware support for Roon is also technically done and tested to be ok, but is waiting for some non-firmware things.

 

[j2020]

A10.

Mike,

Thanks for your observations regarding the Aurender A10.

The A10 has garnered high praise here :-

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/751-aurender-a10-review/

At $5500, the A10 with dac seems to be very good value compared to the N10 at $7999 without the dac section.

It may be worth getting the A10 to serve as an MQA dac for Tidal streaming and MQA purchases and keep my current dac for non-MQA files. I wonder whether it will sound as good as the Esoteric N-05 since both sport the AK 4490 chip and are about the same price. I guess I will only know once the A10 is hooked up at home.

J.

 

[wklie]

Jon, did you have a chance to try software unfolding of Tidal MQA music using Tidal desktop app on a computer, turn on Exclusive mode and Force Volume, and connect it to the USB DAC input of N-05?

 

[j2020]

Jon, did you have a chance to try software unfolding of Tidal MQA music using Tidal desktop app on a computer, turn on Exclusive mode and Force Volume, and connect it to the USB DAC input of N-05?

Peter,
Could not try it as I was back to the old problem of running a lengthy ethernet cable to my router from my PC. Did not want to stream Tidal via WiFi from the PC.

 

[radioactive]

Here's what mine looks like after a good snow. You have to put him in a utility sink full of lukewarm water to get it all to melt away...don't have any photos when it's mud, but you can imagine what it's like after just seeing the snow stick to his fur! He's a blast.

I agree with you. My dog is just as crazy and unpredictable. We probably need a "show us your dog" thread. Here's mine:

This was hilarious....

What happens when I get into mud....

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[bonzo]

Mike, are you listening to MQA with Ethernet or some other way?

I've been living with full blown MQA in my system for a little while now. At first, I sat down eagerly wanting to compare redbook and high res PCM and DSD versions to the MQA versions in my system. Finally, I had MQA in a system I knew inside and out. As I began comparing, in all cases, the redbook or high res pcm version was approximately 6db louder. This made direct A:B comparisons tricky to say the least, but I eventually was able to figure out the numbers on my preamp to volume match.

Comparing DSD versions was easier since the volume matching was much closer.

As I compared various MQA vs non-MQA versions, I kept scratching my head. Why were the sky's not opening up so as to reveal the heavens? Why were angels not flying around granting musical wishes? Why have I not seen God? What gives? In many cases, at first pass, I preferred the redbook or high res pcm/DSD versions.

In some cases, I preferred the MQA version, but in other cases, the redbook/high res PCM or DSD version was preferred.

As time went on, it then hit me what was happening. I finally found the magic of MQA. No, it's not that you will suddenly start hearing instruments in songs you never heard before or that Jimi Hendrix will jump out of your speakers and grab you by the....

Nope, it's much more subtle, I would argue, subliminal in fact rather than overt.

I noticed repeatedly that when the MQA version was playing, I listened all the way through. All the way through the songs, all the way through playlist, all the way through the albums. Just like I do with vinyl or tape. When the redbook, high res pcm, DSD versions came on via my playlist, I was not aware of what format was playing, but I do know the "digital fidgetiness" returned and I found myself reaching for the iPad. Each time, it was the PCM or DSD song playing, not the MQA one. This experience repeated itself over and over again until I finally became aware of what was happening.

The magic of true, completely unfolded MQA, to me, resides in the what it does to relax the brain while listening - much like analog. Do not underestimate this benefit. It's worth it's weight in gold for the digital audiophile. To me, MQA has made long term digital listening without any hint of fatigue, a reality. I would argue that MQA gets the spatial cues right and those spatial cues allow for greater long term listening. Your brain will thank you.

Mike

 

[Mike]

Mike, are you listening to MQA with Ethernet or some other way?

Listening via Ethernet. AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet to Aurender A10.

P.S. If there was any doubt about AQ's Ethernet cables vs stock, that argument was put to rest when Jim visited with me. After a few hours of making do with a short cable, we decided it would be easier with a longer Ethernet cable. All I had was my 5 meter AQ Diamond. Suffice it to say, the difference was not subtle. Jim and I both looked at each other in disbelief. I said to him "we can't tell anyone, they'll think we're nuts."


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[jerbil]

Listening via Ethernet. AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet to Aurender A10.

P.S. If there was any doubt about AQ's Ethernet cables vs stock, that argument was put to rest when Jim visited with me. After a few hours of making do with a short cable, we decided it would be easier with a longer Ethernet cable. All I had was my 5 meter AQ Diamond. Suffice it to say, the difference was not subtle. Jim and I both looked at each other in disbelief. I said to him "we can't tell anyone, they'll think we're nuts."


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My buddy and I recently demo'ed the SoTM DBL-CAT7 cables on my system; and were blown away by the differences. I previously just had some cat7 generic'ish cables from Amazon, and am floored. THe sound stage was so much wider, details were revealing itself. So wide that the little tune at the beginning of The Weeknd - I Feel It coming sounded a bit 3D'ish on a two channel system. It had a left and right element that almost wrapped around the back of my head, and an up and down dimension to it that wasn't so quite there before.


For reference, the chain right now is a PS Audio P10 driving a LUmin S1 to the PS Audio BHK Preamp and their Signature 250 Amp with Audience SX interconnects and Kimber Monocle XL speaker cables.

 

[Randy Myers]

Emmm, not sure anyone would think your nuts because of hearing cable differences.... we just think your nuts, period ....

sorry, couldn't resist...

 

[Mike]

Emmm, not sure anyone would think your nuts because of hearing cable differences.... we just think your nuts, period ....

sorry, couldn't resist...

You've been speaking to my wife evidently. [emoji56]


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[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

My buddy and I recently demo'ed the SoTM DBL-CAT7 cables on my system; and were blown away by the differences. I previously just had some cat7 generic'ish cables from Amazon, and am floored. THe sound stage was so much wider, details were revealing itself. So wide that the little tune at the beginning of The Weeknd - I Feel It coming sounded a bit 3D'ish on a two channel system. It had a left and right element that almost wrapped around the back of my head, and an up and down dimension to it that wasn't so quite there before.


For reference, the chain right now is a PS Audio P10 driving a LUmin S1 to the PS Audio BHK Preamp and their Signature 250 Amp with Audience SX interconnects and Kimber Monocle XL speaker cables.

 

[wklie]

After a few hours of making do with a short cable, we decided it would be easier with a longer Ethernet cable. All I had was my 5 meter AQ Diamond. Suffice it to say, the difference was not subtle. Jim and I both looked at each other in disbelief. I said to him "we can't tell anyone, they'll think we're nuts."

Mike are you saying a 5m long AQ Diamond Ethernet cable sounds better than a short AQ Diamond Ethernet cable, or better than other brands of short Ethernet cable? (No, I won't think you are nuts. :lol: )

It reminds me of discussions of unbalanced interconnect elsewhere, and some people found that slightly longer interconnect cables sound better than shorter cables of the same model, despite the theory saying the opposite should be true (due to resistance, etc.)

 

[BlueFox]

Just as an FYI, Ethernet cables are not digital. They pass an analog signal that represents a digital bit. The receiver will take that signal, and then create the digital bits from it. My hypothesis is that it is possible the cable can degrade the signal enough so that while the reconstructed digital packet's CRC is correct the timing between bits is slightly off, and jitter is introduced into the frame. Hence the better the cable, the less jitter, and better sound.

At least that's my hypothesis, and I am sticking with it until proved wrong.

 

[Kuoppis]

Hi Bud, isn't the audio signal encapsulated within the IP protocol in a transmission over Ethernet, similar to DoP? The interesting possibility of course is that different Layer 1, 2 and 3 protocols can be used to optimize the sound, such as e.g. Merging is using Ravenna.


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[BlueFox]

Yes, but it is all bits, and they are converted to analog to go over the Ethernet cable. A protocol is just a stream of bits that have some meaning based on their location within that stream.

 

[Kuoppis]

Does that mean that QoS is not available for audio transmissions over Ethernet?


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