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MQA is Vaporware


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38 minutes ago, mcgillroy said:

 

Go tell that to the Mastering Engineers over at Gearslutz. They probably really happy to get some solid info from you

 

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/1171365-mqa-discussion-denver-rmaf.html

 

;)

 

Quote

 

They should attend the AES meeting in NY and learn proper HIREZ mastering. If they don't they will be fighting for leftovers against the engineers that can:
http://www.aes.org/events/143/specialevents/?ID=5624 

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16 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

240Hz is wonderful.  It makes a big difference to me in providing the “illusion of reality” when I watch movie scenes involving people in motion, or sports.  I noticed it immediately in the store displays when it first came out.  Bought a TV that has it and couldn’t be happier.

 

3D: Generally agreed, though I did watch the Masters golf tournament broadcast in 3D, and it helped immeasurably in understanding the lay of the greens and knowing how putts would break.

Hi,

Yes - increase in frame rate is of a benefit compared to the increasing of resolution for HDTV :

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp-pdf-files/WHP169.pdf

 

"We assert that a higher capture and display frame rate leads to a step change in picture quality regardless of the spatial resolution."

 

Regards,

Shadders.

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54 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

If the ship really has sailed as you say, MQA would not have cancelled their presentation at RMAF.  And there are DACs out there of sufficient quality that make the "need" for hirez moot.  Listen to well mastered Redbook on a high quality R2R DAC to see what I mean.

The issue with those dacs is they cost $$$ and I don't know that they will work at home, in a car, in a phone, etc. The funny thing is even if you play an MQA file through a non MQA dac you can still get the first unfold of the track.

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1 hour ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

If the ship really has sailed as you say, MQA would not have cancelled their presentation at RMAF.  And there are DACs out there of sufficient quality that make the "need" for hirez moot.  Listen to well mastered Redbook on a high quality R2R DAC to see what I mean.

+1

and not to hijack your point, but it doesn't have to be an R2R DAC. There are various DACs out there where the D/A and analog output stages are so good "even Redbook" sounds good.

 

The real problem seems to be finding well mastered Redbook. Even when it seems well recorded, they tend to volume compress it and decrease it's SQ

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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2 minutes ago, firedog said:

The real problem seems to be finding well mastered Redbook.

 

I heard the rumor this is MQA.

swoon.gif.19c26e3fd770882e07f3c2ce0cfed05b.gif

Lush^3-e      Lush^2      Blaxius^2.5      Ethernet^3     HDMI^2     XLR^2

XXHighEnd (developer)

Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer)

Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer)

Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier)

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3 minutes ago, Fokus said:

But then of course in a proper MQA recording there is no ringing baked into the recording, because they allow aliasing back and forth...

 

Good. Then I determine the ringing and how (where).

Lush^3-e      Lush^2      Blaxius^2.5      Ethernet^3     HDMI^2     XLR^2

XXHighEnd (developer)

Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer)

Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer)

Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier)

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33 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

The issue with those dacs is they cost $$$ and I don't know that they will work at home, in a car, in a phone, etc. The funny thing is even if you play an MQA file through a non MQA dac you can still get the first unfold of the track.

Hi,

Do you mean, you get 13bits instead of 16bits, and there is no unfolding without an MQA DAC ?

Regards,

Shadders.

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1 hour ago, Shadders said:

Hi,

Do you mean, you get 13bits instead of 16bits, and there is no unfolding without an MQA DAC ?

Regards,

Shadders.

I mean $$$ dacs have advantages and disadvantages and cost $$$. If you want to spend $$$ for a format that will stop being produced by the major labels go ahead. My next dac will include PCM, DSD, MQA and be portable, desktop, and HT friendly. (see iFi's new Black Label DAC). 
 

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2 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

The issue with those dacs is they cost $$$ and I don't know that they will work at home, in a car, in a phone, etc. The funny thing is even if you play an MQA file through a non MQA dac you can still get the first unfold of the track.

 

The ambient noise level of a car in motion will likely negate any benefit from ultra high fidelity playback.  And that content would likely come from a mobile phone.

 

Your MQA advocacy borders on slavish obsession.  All sizzle and no steak.

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1 minute ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

The ambient noise level of a car in motion will likely negate any benefit from ultra high fidelity playback.  And that content would likely come from a mobile phone.

 

Your MQA advocacy borders on slavish obsession.  All sizzle and no steak.

What do you mean? Isn't this how Neal Young demoed the amazing benefits of hi-res to his musician bro's, who were so blown away.

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22 minutes ago, Mordikai said:

What do you mean? Isn't this how Neal Young demoed the amazing benefits of hi-res to his musician bro's, who were so blown away.

 

Well, we saw video of them claiming to be blown away.  And many of them were in a stationary car with an audio system that Neil withheld the details about because those details would "distract".

 

Full disclosure: I own a Pono (purchased retail, not Kickstarter) and mostly like it.

 

Why is Pono relevant to MQA?  It was the first device that was targeted to decode MQA until Meridan and Neil Young had a falling out (DRM?  Who knows).  The Pono re-purposed the MQA light on the top of the Pono to a "bought from the Pono Music Store" indicator.

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1 minute ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

Well, we saw video of them claiming to be blown away.  And many of them were in a stationary car with an audio system that Neil withheld the details about because those details would "distract".

 

Full disclosure: I own a Pono (purchased retail, not Kickstarter) and mostly like it.

I don't have a problem with the Pono player although I've never touched one. I will however trust my ears (and most other peoples) over some old rocker who listens to hi-res in a car.

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Just now, Mordikai said:

I don't have a problem with the Pono player although I've never touched one. I will however trust my ears (and most other peoples) over some old rocker who listens to hi-res in a car.

 

To me, it sounds substantially better than an iPod.  But you need something like Westone W40s to really get the benefit.

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3 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

Why, do the guys at gearslutz need directions to NYC? 

Don't avoid the question,  I didn't ask that.  You always talk about AES, when was the last meeting YOU attended ?

 

Posters here might want to know your involvement with AES , like are you a member etc..

The Truth Is Out There

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13 minutes ago, mav52 said:

Don't avoid the question,  I didn't ask that.  You always talk about AES, when was the last meeting YOU attended ?

 

Posters here might want to know your involvement with AES , like are you a member etc..

Thanks for asking, are you one of my fans? Glad to see you are avidly reading my posts. I ALWAYS talk about AES huh? No autographs please.

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2 hours ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

The ambient noise level of a car in motion will likely negate any benefit from ultra high fidelity playback.  And that content would likely come from a mobile phone.

 

Your MQA advocacy borders on slavish obsession.  All sizzle and no steak.

The witchdoctor is vegan, thanks! As far as car audio I like JBL and can't comment on hirez in a car, I think surround works though. If you a road warrior here you go:

 

https://audio-head.com/mqa-goes-portable-with-sony-and-lg/

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3 hours ago, Mordikai said:

I don't have a problem with the Pono player although I've never touched one. I will however trust my ears (and most other peoples) over some old rocker who listens to hi-res in a car.

 

This part of the marketing campaign for the PonoPlayer was a blemish for the in principle well-meant project and a great mobile audio device.You cannot perceive the subtle differences of HiRes audio or MQA in a suboptimal listening environment like a vehicle interior, not even with the best car sound systems. This campaign was absurd, not only in my perception. It was designed to address "green" potential customers used to listen only to mp3 files on creepy audio devices like smartphones with the benefits of HiRes. 

What you can notice is the superb natural sound quality of the PonoPlayer compared to build-in solutions or very most other DAPs, hooked on the AUX input, anyway if mp3, Redbook or HiRes 24/192. @Samuel T CogleyUsing IEMs is not really a proper condition for music listening in car traffic, by the way. ?

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7 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

 

They should attend the AES meeting in NY and learn proper HIREZ mastering. If they don't they will be fighting for leftovers against the engineers that can:
http://www.aes.org/events/143/specialevents/?ID=5624 

 Ok, so tomorrow:

 

Quote

AES New York 2017

Friday, October 20, 1:30 pm — 3:00 pm (Rm 1E15/16)

SE08 - Mastering for the New Paradigm: High Resolution Audio, Streaming and High Resolution Streaming

Presenters:
Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering Studios, Inc. - Portland, ME, USA
Ian Shepherd, Mastering Media Ltd - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Bob Stuart, Chairman, MQA Ltd. - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK

This years Platinum Mastering Panel explores the new audio paradigms of high resolution audio and streaming. It is still so new that A&R departments are still screaming for maximum level when, in reality, streaming is starting to pay their bills and the big streaming companies will automatically turn your mastered level down so all music plays at a similar level. More consumers are listening to higher resolution audio than ever and streaming of the highest PCM sampling rates has been working successfully for 10 months now. Mastering engineers need to know about this seismic audio shift and they need to educate their clients, artists and record label associations about this new playing field

 

Is this the same paradigm shift that constitutes a "scientific revolution" or the equivalent in audio that Robert Harley has 'announced"? ( http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/let-the-revolution-begin/  )

 

And that provokes Archimago's critical response?

 

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2017/10/mqa-final-thoughts-on-politics-paradigms.html?showComment=1508034286252#c6079009204452185117

 

Is this "paradigm shift" language, borrowed from Thomas Kuhn approriate ? ( Or would a term like "apotheosis" be more fitting? )

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I went and bought my baby an airmobile

It was custom made

It was quite a steel 

With its high blown motor

and its hide away wings

step on the gas - you can hear it sing.  (with or without MQA)

 

In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake ~ Sayre's Law

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