My take on MQA

Mike said:
I have no idea, but I think Andy has the Brooklyn DAC and was quite impressed with what he heard. I think MQA's benefits require long-term listening to appreciate. At first brush, I tend to agree with you. It was only after long listening that a light went off. YMMV.
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Hi! I'd like to chime in here. Great topic. Sorry I didn't see these posts until now. Was just in Italy working and had the privilege and pleasure to meet Gianluigi (gian60). What a wonderful man with great taste in analogue! We listened to his Studer tape machine and lots of vinyl. The CH Precision gear was a treat to experience as well.

That said getting back to MQA. Indeed I am very pleased with the performance of my Mytek Brooklyn dac certainly when it comes to MQA playback. That's not to say there aren't other dacs that could outperform it. But... I wholeheartedly agree that MQA is indeed more "analogue" sounding than other formats. I too experience this sensation when listening. In fact, my Brooklyn is set up in my basement to my 3rd system - it's admittedly a hodgepodge of gear (ARC integrated, Lyngdorf CD, KEF LS50, etc) - a far cry from my reference system with Lampi Golden Gate - yet I find myself listening a lot more down there for the simple pleasure of enjoying the MQA, yes, through my Brooklyn dac. Here is what's really interesting though... since I started listening more frequently to MQA I have an increased interest in vinyl. I'm also buying more LPs and spend more time now enjoying my turntable.


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wklie said:
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.)
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Better than Jim's slightly shorter AQ Vodka Ethernet cable and certainly better than my stock CAT7 cable.


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MQA thoughts:

Have u ever heard a Meridian audio piece that sounded great?
Have u ever heard a Meridian DIGITAL piece that sounded great?
Those that started out with Sooloos, did u hear what Meridian did to it sonically?
Has anyone heard the Meridian apodizing filter?
U know Meridian refused to offer upsampleing beyond 96KhZ. Said it wasn't great sonically
Anyone remember MLP? I didn't think so
See any activity on the forums regarding Meridian. I didn't think so. Wonder why?
Does everyone understand where Meridian and MQA come from?

Now do u really realize y u shouldn't give a crap regarding MQA?
 
Kingsrule said:
MQA thoughts:

Have u ever heard a Meridian audio piece that sounded great?
Have u ever heard a Meridian DIGITAL piece that sounded great?
Those that started out with Sooloos, did u hear what Meridian did to it sonically?
Has anyone heard the Meridian apodizing filter?
U know Meridian refused to offer upsampleing beyond 96KhZ. Said it wasn't great sonically
Anyone remember MLP? I didn't think so
See any activity on the forums regarding Meridian. I didn't think so. Wonder why?
Does everyone understand where Meridian and MQA come from?

Now do u really realize y u shouldn't give a crap regarding MQA?
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The answer is yes. I have compared several DAC's in mythology system to the 808v6 (before that v3) and have yet to find one under $30k that it doesn't at least equal.

I have compared my digital via Sooloos and Roon to many, many other set-ups and the only ones I would like, but unwilling to pay for are the MSB Select and dCs Vivaldi. I am on the fence regarding the Rossini and the Nagra HD.

If you haven't spent time with MQA you don't know crap of what you are talking about.
 
Kingsrule said:
I figured you'd be the first to comment .....you'll never understand...
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Jim is right. I don't like Nagra, playback design esoteric k01, Rossini, vivaldi, EMM labs...have compared all. Meridian PCM sounds like an average dac. But the MQA is the first thing that I liked, like vinyl. The only problem is that unlike with the other dacs, I cannot compare like for like, as the MQA recordings/tracks auditioned are different, but the ones demoed to me were phenomenal. So I understand why La Dolce Vita is saying.
 
Thanks for the Ethernet cable info. I have tried to avoid that area by using a direct attached USB drive to my S1. However, if I ever decide to stream Tidal then I am stuck with using an Ethernet cable. Good to know beforehand that I probably should invest in a better than average cable.
 
PS Audio will soon bring a software update of the BridgeII for Direct Stream and Direct Stream Junior enabling MQA unpacking. I think this will become the second real versatile DAC / streamer (after the Mytek Brooklyn) enabling PCM/DSD/Roon and now MQA until second stage unpacking.I expect this will be first real high-end sound option for MQA. I am waiting for the first (positive) review and will be one after that.
Is MQA the holy grail? I don't know but it seems to be the only way to stream high-end over the internet, already without unpacking it sounds better than redbook, and Tidal will grow the collection for sure so yes I would like to have it.
Direct Stream DAC's enable true analogue volume control through Roon which is a big plus to me.
 
Glareskin said:
PS Audio will soon bring a software update of the BridgeII for Direct Stream and Direct Stream Junior enabling MQA unpacking. I think this will become the second real versatile DAC / streamer (after the Mytek Brooklyn) enabling PCM/DSD/Roon and now MQA until second stage unpacking.I expect this will be first real high-end sound option for MQA. I am waiting for the first (positive) review and will be one after that.
Is MQA the holy grail? I don't know but it seems to be the only way to stream high-end over the internet, already without unpacking it sounds better than redbook, and Tidal will grow the collection for sure so yes I would like to have it.
Direct Stream DAC's enable true analogue volume control through Roon which is a big plus to me.
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Well Roon is not really something to be enabled in a DAC such as the Brooklyn. It is playback software, so on a music server it would have to be compatible. The music source, dedicated music server, purpose built computer, laptop, etc., are the pieces that need to be Roon compatible, not the DAC.

Roon itself will shortly have MQA unpacking also. And I totally assume it has to sound better than standard Redbooks. But from most reports I have read comparing it directly to high res downloads, and certainly to DSD downloads, it does not. So for Tidal.... awesome... for those of us who do not stream, not so much. By the way, I run my Redbooks through a W4S Remedy.... they sound amazing.... 24/96.... and re-clocked using Femto clocking....

I would love to try a PS Audio Direct Stream because I believe they make a better product. I thought that their big technology design was that everything was converted to DSD? Maybe I read it wrong.

I did research the Mytek Brooklyn when I decided on the Benchmark. I decided against it at the time for a few reasons. First off I was going to use it for a pre-amplifier and the Brooklyn pre-amp functions are quite inferior. Also there is no remote (I do not consider a iPhone app as a remote). But most importantly is they are using the low level ESS 9018 chip, the one designed for mobile applications. The same chip as is being used in my Pono. Vastly inferior to the full fledged 9018 being used in many of it's competitors, and certainly vastly inferior to the new generation of ESS chips being used in the new DACs now being sold.
 
I have been enjoying listening to the Lumin A1 with full blown MQA (beta) for the past week. Since that time, I've been sent three subsequent updates for testing (the boys at Lumin are relentless in their pursuit of perfection). Aside from the Lumin A1 being a near perfect digital source for horn speakers (gotta love that meaty full sound of the Wolfson DAC chips), I've been really enjoying full blow MQA on the Lumin.

I have to admit, recordings made in MQA (24/192) are absolutely phenomenal. They are equal to or better than any other source.

And like I said in my OP, for me, MQA=no digital fatigue.
 
Nice... glad you are enjoying it Mike.

I recently started using Roon up sampling functions, up sampling everything to DSD256. Last weekend I hosted our local Audio Club meeting. Several members commented on how "analog" sounding the music coming from my server was. Several also commented on how the ESS9038 Pro chip must be part of the determining factor. The last time I hosted the DAC was using the ESS9018 chip. I personally think the [FONT=&quot]Vishay Z-Foil resistors, ultra-low noise discrete regulators, ultra-fast recovery Schottkey diodes, premium grade inductors, etc., being used in the SE model tend to help in the sound also :)....[/FONT]

All I know is my digital downloads have never sounded so good!
 
Randy - I was waiving the DSD flag years ago - when SACD's were in full force. But, I have to admit, I think it's a dying format. To my ears, recordings made in MQA format are better. I'm not talking about a 1975 recording that had had MQA filters applied to it, I'm talking about new (2017) MQA recordings.

But as they say, time will tell...


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Yes, it seems like it is always evolving. I am not aware that many titles have been recorded directly to MQA????

I have had conversations with David Elias; he is an artists who is an earlier supporter of MQA. He has also directly recorded several of his albums in DSD. He told me that he feels DSD is the most "analog" sounding of the digital formats, but he supports MQA because it is very good and is fantastic for streaming and for portable use.

I am listening to the brand new Jazz at the Pawnshop 3, in DSD256. Holy crap! This was recorded directly to tape. The DSD was directly recorded from the master tapes in 11.2 MHz. Several sights, such as NativeDSD seem to have a ton of new DSD...

As long as the music can be enjoyed then I say the more power to them, in all formats!
 
Randy Myers said:
Yes, it seems like it is always evolving. I am not aware that many titles have been recorded directly to MQA????

I have had conversations with David Elias; he is an artists who is an earlier supporter of MQA. He has also directly recorded several of his albums in DSD. He told me that he feels DSD is the most "analog" sounding of the digital formats, but he supports MQA because it is very good and is fantastic for streaming and for portable use.

I am listening to the brand new Jazz at the Pawnshop 3, in DSD256. Holy crap! This was recorded directly to tape. The DSD was directly recorded from the master tapes in 11.2 MHz. Several sights, such as NativeDSD seem to have a ton of new DSD...

As long as the music can be enjoyed then I say the more power to them, in all formats!
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I saw that release. Tempting!


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It is typical Jazz at the Pawnshop... but what a recording. That and the latest Lyn Stanley are two of the finest new recordings that I have heard in a while.
 
Randy Myers said:
It is typical Jazz at the Pawnshop... but what a recording. That and the latest Lyn Stanley are two of the finest new recordings that I have heard in a while.
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I cannot wait for the D2D Anne Bisson. I will never forget going to a BBQ and Anne was hired to perform. She kept asking if anyone wanted her to start (there were other bands hired to perform and they were all playing outside). So, Anne started and I got a private concert. Amazing. Her, a grand piano and me!

Watch for her latest D2D recording. It sure will be great.

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