MQA is Vaporware

[PeterSt]

25 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

BTW, whether you use 2 speakers or 14 MQA blows away redbook in both setups, just saying.

 

Not sure what the witchdoctor-mantra is in this case. Possibly it is my English.

 

Btw, my 2 speakers blow away your Redbook. My MQA not yet.

[PeterSt]

 

2 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

What a bunch of nonsense arguing over a format available for $10 a month extra. 

 

Wrong.

Zero.

 

Maybe that won't last forever, but it it ze-ro.

[witchdoctor]

26 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

 

Not sure what the witchdoctor-mantra is in this case. Possibly it is my English.

 

Btw, my 2 speakers blow away your Redbook. My MQA not yet.

Thats great you like two channel. Immersive audio is off topic for this thread so I started a new one here:

 

 

[christopher3393]

1 hour ago, witchdoctor said:

The big day is Saturday, "Immersive Audio Super Saturday". Two channel technology is ancient and delapidated beyond all hope. Why do you think a show like RMAF has so many $50K+ systems on display? Because they are NECESSARY to get a decent result using 2 channel. Immersive audio is the witchdoctor's preferred sound reproduction system. Auro 3D and Ambeo are great for movies and music while atmos is more for movies. I think two channel is fine for the nearfield but a tinker toy for a main listening room compared to 10.1 auro 3D or ambeo. Bob Moses the AES Executive Director states 3D audio IS state of the art, and that's how the witchdoctor rolls. They are using a 9.1 system for the demos which will rock your world. They are using PMC active speakers for the demo. Witchdoctor studios uses 10.1 and can do 14.1 with DSP and active speakers as well. BTW, whether you use 2 speakers or 14 MQA blows away redbook in both setups, just saying.

http://www.aes.org/blog/2017/10/youre-surrounded-aes-new-york-2017s

 

Thanks. In the interest of transparency it might be helpful for you to acknowledge your own participation in this program, your affiliation with AES, and your professional institutional affiliation, which may include what you refer to as "Witchdoctor studios".

[witchdoctor]

1 minute ago, christopher3393 said:

 

Thanks. In the interest of transparency it might be helpful for you to acknowledge your own participation in this program, your affiliation with AES, and your professional institutional affiliation, which may include what you refer to as "Witchdoctor studios".

Sorry, there are too many maniacs here. Did you see one guy was stalked by another member at his job!!! WOW!!!

[Jud]

8 hours ago, PeterSt said:

 

Jud, I tried to avoid the breasts so far.

 

Wasn’t that “Candy-O”?

[PeterSt]

17 minutes ago, Jud said:

Wasn’t that “Candy-O”?

 

Dirty old man.

So yes, but hard to avoid in the middle of all. 

[Jud]

6 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

 

Dirty old man.

So yes, but hard to avoid in the middle of all. 

 

It was the one on the upper left I heard the MQA version of and wasn’t pleased with.

[PeterSt]

21 minutes ago, Jud said:

It was the one on the upper left I heard the MQA version of and wasn’t pleased with.

 

Yes Jud, clear. I will try it in a few hours and let you know what I think of it.

[witchdoctor]

To my ears the MQA Motown playlist is awesome. James Jamerson on the bass really stands out better than anything I have heard before. Check out the bass on Stevie's I Was Made to Love Her. You heard this song 100 times before but the bass is just so clean via MQA. Another great track is Gladys's voice on Neither One of Us:

https://tidal.com/playlist/4e618a07-fd16-48ff-a0b3-efdfb28cf408

[PeterSt]

3 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

To my ears the MQA Motown playlist is awesome. James Jamerson on the bass really stands out better than anything I have heard before.

 

Thanks. But sadly this one errors out over here (Netherlands). Unauthorized tracks or something (merely coverart as it seems, which I also render per track).

[witchdoctor]

Just now, PeterSt said:

 

Thanks. But sadly this one errors out over here (Netherlands). Unauthorized tracks or something (merely coverart as it seems, which I also render per track).

bummer, see if you can find the MQA versions of the individual tracks or albums.

[lucretius]

8 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

To my ears the MQA Motown playlist is awesome. James Jamerson on the bass really stands out better than anything I have heard before.

https://tidal.com/playlist/4e618a07-fd16-48ff-a0b3-efdfb28cf408

 

Thanks!  Sounds great!

[witchdoctor]

1 minute ago, lucretius said:

 

Thanks!  Sounds great!

Sure, let us know your favorite track when you finish.

[Archimago]

2 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

The big day is Saturday, "Immersive Audio Super Saturday". Two channel technology is ancient and delapidated beyond all hope. Why do you think a show like RMAF has so many $50K+ systems on display? Because they are NECESSARY to get a decent result using 2 channel. Immersive audio is the witchdoctor's preferred sound reproduction system. Auro 3D and Ambeo are great for movies and music while atmos is more for movies. I think two channel is fine for the nearfield but a tinker toy for a main listening room compared to 10.1 auro 3D or ambeo. Bob Moses the AES Executive Director states 3D audio IS state of the art, and that's how the witchdoctor rolls. They are using a 9.1 system for the demos which will rock your world. They are using PMC active speakers for the demo. Witchdoctor studios uses 10.1 and can do 14.1 with DSP and active speakers as well. BTW, whether you use 2 speakers or 14 MQA blows away redbook in both setups, just saying.

http://www.aes.org/blog/2017/10/youre-surrounded-aes-new-york-2017s

 

Yes, I agree that multichannel surround is better and my personal preferred listening method only if it was done well - so many multichannel mixes are done poorly.

 

Not sure why I'd want MQA still though...

 

[Archimago]

3 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

Well if you are THAT interested here are links to the MQA related presentations. I can't send you the papers themselves but you can access them one of two ways. By joining the AES or by purchasing the paper as a non member.The papers have already been uploaded and are available. I recommend this one since the malcontents here seem obsessed with this topic. This study includes both objective data and subjective blind listening tests:

http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=19340

Perceived Differences in Timbre, Clarity, and Depth in Audio Files Treated with MQA Encoding vs. Their Unprocessed State

The purpose of this engineering brief is to detail a planned experiment in examining any perceived differences in timbre, clarity, and depth between WAV and Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) audio files. A study proposes examining the responses of engineers, musicians, and casual listeners on whether any changes to timbre, clarity, and depth are perceived between WAV and MQA. A blind listening test is considered in a controlled environment using both professional and consumer level loudspeakers and headphones. Additional interests include a comparison of responses between the target groups on different listening mediums.

 

 

The abstract only talks about a "planned experiment" - did they actually do it with a paper showing the results?

 

This will be interesting...

 

[kumakuma]

1 hour ago, christopher3393 said:

 

Thanks. In the interest of transparency it might be helpful for you to acknowledge your own participation in this program, your affiliation with AES, and your professional institutional affiliation, which may include what you refer to as "Witchdoctor studios".

 

Witchdoctor shared a picture of his studio here:

 

 

[PeterSt]

7 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

bummer, see if you can find the MQA versions of the individual tracks or albums.

 

Thanks; I see 15 tracks in the playlist in the Tidal desktop player, and I am pretty sure that is not all of it. And no James Jameson.

I think these tracks are the same as those I can find with my own software :

 

And that is all.

 

And those indeed I can get (maybe there's one or two I never tried).

[Mordikai]

3 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

I don't know. What I do know is that streaming sales are snowballing and Spotify dwarfs everyone in the category. Next year Deezer will be offering MQA and HD Tracks will be starting a new MQA streaming service. 

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2017/03/30/us-music-streaming-sales-reach-historic-high/99816802/

right, streaming outsold downloads. This does not imply that people are streaming for hi-res, people are streaming because they find it convenient and the younger generation does not care about ownership or physical media as much as previous generations. Are the record companies investing in MQA out of the goodness of their hearts? I just don't understand what they get out of it?

[witchdoctor]

5 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

 

Thanks; I see 15 tracks in the playlist in the Tidal desktop player, and I am pretty sure that is not all of it. And no James Jameson.

I think these tracks are the same as those I can find with my own software :

 

And that is all.

 

And those indeed I can get (maybe there's one or two I never tried).

Hi Peter, James Jamerson was one of the studio musicians who plays on most of these tracks, arguably one of the best bass players ever. He wasn't listed with the artists as most studio musicians weren't back then. You will notice that he plays the melody on his bass which is his signature style. Often imitated but never duplicated. Check out his bio here:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Jamerson

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Jamerson

[witchdoctor]

6 minutes ago, Mordikai said:

right, streaming outsold downloads. This does not imply that people are streaming for hi-res, people are streaming because they find it convenient and the younger generation does not care about ownership or physical media as much as previous generations. Are the record companies investing in MQA out of the goodness of their hearts? I just don't understand what they get out of it?

If you want to know why the labels like MQA this is a must read:

 

http://musically.com/2017/09/04/major-labels-hi-res-audio/

[crenca]

1 minute ago, witchdoctor said:

If you want to know why the labels like MQA this is a must read:

 

http://musically.com/2017/09/04/major-labels-hi-res-audio/

 

That's just the usual marketing fluff.  Actually, it is an extreme example in that it is a delusional take on "what the younger generation" want out of audio.

[witchdoctor]

21 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

Witchdoctor shared a picture of his studio here:

 

 

Here is the back of the room too, notice the Voice of God above the sofa. Bed channels Paradigm Active 40, height channels Paradigm Active 20, Sunfire Subwoofer. I use wide channels as you see in the second pic and rear surrounds which aren't pictured. Notice how Abbey Road studios immersive setup is similar but use 8 subs to my one (rats) :  

 

 

[kumakuma]

12 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

If you want to know why the labels like MQA this is a must read:

 

http://musically.com/2017/09/04/major-labels-hi-res-audio/

 

The major labels don't give a sh*t about sound quality.

 

There are two reasons why they like MQA:

 

- allows them sell yet another version of the same music to the same consumers

- contains DRM which they hope will reduce piracy 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, kumakuma said:

 

- contains DRM which will reduce piracy 

Or increase piracy