MQA is Vaporware

[witchdoctor]

For what it's worth, I happen to think Ted Smith at PS Audio has the best perspective on all this MQA stuff. And he does it in one paragraph!

 

Ted Smith said

etchcube said

All questions are explained in-depth much better here:

http://www.computeraudiophile……ob-stuart/

By no means is that true. He sidesteps many of the questions and many of his answers, when parsed, say quite different things than they appear to on the surface. For example Redbook has no particular limit on timing accuracy (any properly bandlimited input signal can be placed at any point in time with arbitrary accuracy.) It’s limits derive from bit width limits and the bandwidth limit and resultant constraints on the antialiasing and reconstruction filters. Many people have chosen filters that aren’t optimized for best preservation of waveshape, but that’s not Redbook’s fault. I’m glad that MQA is helping people understand that phase is important.

It’s easy for me to believe that MQA can help many DACs get better sound from a 16/44.1 or 16/48k bit stream than they do now. It’s quite another thing to claim that MQA betters 24/192 or DSD – on the surface it explicitly doesn’t have the same S/N or bandwidth… And 24/192 and DSD don’t have the problems that Redbook does. IMO they solve Redbook’s problems much more elegantly than MQA and with less damage to the signal, tho not at the same bit rates.

I’ll stop there since I’ve not got time for this …

 

PS Audio is just another dupe that is afraid that people happy streaming MQA at no additional cost won't need to buy all the expensive inventory sitting in their warehouse collecting dust. What a moronic attempt at self preservation from a sycophant that feeds off people easily swayed by technobabble double talk.

[witchdoctor]

Are you really surprised? We are talking about Tidal you know.

 

Hey one day at a time, this thing is less than a month old.

[witchdoctor]

You should fact check a bit before you go off. What they say is you don't need to buy anything to get all the benefits of MQA. That's why I've never considered ponying up money for any of this.

 

Facts: Paul McGowan bashing MQA

 

MQA thoughts | PS Audio

 

Fact, another sycophant loser statement:

 

"I too wish they’d just release this as software so the compressed file could be decoded and leave the DAC design to us."

 

Money, get back

I'm all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack

Money, it's a hit

Don't give me that do goody good bullshit

I'm in the high-fidelity first class traveling set

And I think I need a Lear jet

 

 

 

[witchdoctor]

Parts of this thread have been some kind of master class on how to be rude on internet forums.

 

Did I win

[witchdoctor]

By the way and direct quote from John Sully:

 

my questioning attitude finally got Michael to kick me off.

 

Seems par for the course.

 

I think that smart money is find out whom Michael has kicked off astream and have Chris invite and give them a platform at CA to debunk all the shit that streams forth from astream.

 

Dude, take it offline, I am trying to discuss MQA here alright?

[witchdoctor]

That word doesn't mean what you think it means. Using it incorrectly makes you look foolish. Did you just recently learn that word? Do yourself a favor and look it up.

 

I thought "loser" was too strong so I added sycophant and I don't feel like changing it, feel free to pile on

 

Are you defending that guy? Did you pay $$$$ for one of their Dacs?

[witchdoctor]

As I've said many times, we'll just have to wait and see. I have a "buyer beware" attitude, so I don't feel so terrible about people buying MQA DACs. But yes, I think that's one of the nice things about capitalism. (See my first post here - I became a CA member to post that because I thought I had something to contribute). Now I'm a little sorry I got sucked in - I have better uses for my time. But I'm just "A Stubborn Kinda Fellow."

 

Link provided.

 

 

And no, I'm not Marvin Gaye trying to promote MQA because I want people to hear it just like in the studio.

 

Or Ella Fitzgerald "Is it Live or Is It Memorex" thinking maybe MQA is a step up from casette tape.

 

I'm really David Byrne. "Same as it ever was.....Same as it ever was...etc."

 

Sorry, no links for me or Ella.

 

Burning down the house their David?

[witchdoctor]

Fully applied MQA processing for sample rates > 96k doesn't allow to use any custom DSP.

 

I cannot consider MQA as format for high end system... IMO MQA want to address an average customer and we audiophiles are not important in the MQA business plan. MQA is about music content, not about audiophiles.

 

Thank goodness MQA is not about audiophiles or it would get the same amount of traction as SACD and DVD-A.

[witchdoctor]

Is this a passive aggressive jab at me?

 

Of course it is, you should reopen my other thread that addressed this type of behavior

[witchdoctor]

I must LOVE vaporware. I just keep playing these MQA tracks and maybe it is equipment dependent but the SQ just jumps from my speakers. Great!!

 

#NowPlaying "DADDY LESSONS" by Beyoncé in @TIDALHiFi tidal.com/track/59727862

[witchdoctor]

I just put this playlist on shuffle and it is soooo good-

 

#NowPlaying the playlist "MQA Masters" in @TIDALHiFi tidal.com/playlist/2b8c4ae7-692a-43b1-abee-2f8eaef41af0

[witchdoctor]

Coldplay kicks ass in MQA

 

#NowPlaying "Fun (feat. Tove Lo)" by Coldplay in @TIDALHiFi tidal.com/track/68649381

[witchdoctor]

I have noticed that (here in semi-rural NM) that "master" (MQA) tracks buffer longer, are more likely to pause in middle, etc than the same HIFI (16/44). I don't believe it is a bandwidth thing - at least primarily (neither utilize my full bandwidth) but rather something on Tidal's end - they might not have the distributed the load within their infrastructure balanced well yet.Also, there was an update today for the desktop app - can't tell if it did anything as far as UI however...

 

Mine are smooth, no buffering.

[witchdoctor]

Well of course you love DarthVaderware...he is the big, strong, decisive daddy you never had...Watch out - here he comes with your next lesson!

 

>>>I kid I kid!!!<<<

 

Its funny because in this shuffled playlist I am hearing tracks I haven't heard in a long time or may not play at all. My hats off to the curators who had to choose what to launch first, I am not finding many bad tracks and a LOT of great one.

[witchdoctor]

And I knew witchdoctor was cool right away. He just wanted to turn it up to 11 and do those witchdoctor dances! I told him I was with him all the way, but then he got really weird about PS Audio. But now he's a lot of fun again. Welcome back witchdoctor. Have you heard any good incantations lately? Let's burn down the house!

David

 

And so you're back

From outer space

I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face

[witchdoctor]

Gotta go. This is getting really boring.

 

Check out the masters MQA playlist in shuffle mode and let the good times roll

[witchdoctor]

Chris,

 

Every post on this thread advances an agenda. There is notion that the audio market should be split into music lovers, professionals and audiophiles like it was in the seventies as a way forward for the industry. The best way to advance this notion is to let audiophiles be bat **** crazy.

 

Then they should start a b--- sh-- crazy thread and not sh-- all over this one

[witchdoctor]

FYI

 

At a press conference, the Digital Entertainment Group announced that several other streaming services would offer “hi-res” streaming (including Pandora, HDtracks, Napster/Rhapsody). High-level executives from major record labels also stated their support for hi-res streaming, but inexplicably there was no mention of MQA and no opportunity for Q&A. I later learned that all these services will offer MQA streaming later this year. The MQA floodgates appear to have opened.

[witchdoctor]

@witchdoctor: It is always good to mention information sources.

 

Music Industry and DEG Voice Support For Hi-Res Streaming - DEG

 

http://degonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/f_Stream-the-Studio.docx

 

No mention of MQA ... What's your source of information?

 

Its funny in another thread I posted a link and someone said its a PIA cause they don't want to read the article.

[witchdoctor]

As of now the business day has ended on the West Coast and its early evening in the Valley of the Sun. There is no rock, pop, r&b/hip hop or country music to download in the United States. MQA is still vaporware since I can’t buy it.

 

Similar to gamer's I consider the Tidal release on MQA to be a teaser release. Something that won’t get me to say it is available for sale to and no longer vaporware.

 

It is a bit frustrating to know that albums I would like to buy are available on Germany’s HiResAudio and I can’t buy them.

 

Maybe the studios see the sun rising on streaming and the sun setting on downloads. Maybe they like the fact that MQA albums they released on tidal can't be downloaded on piratebay

[witchdoctor]

The most restrictive definition of vaporware is the product is not available for sale. I'm just being consistent with people who didn't like my insider definition of vaporware (I was there when the term was coined about a computer operating system Xenix) that is a little broader.

 

But vapor sounds goood ...

and I didn't even have to spend an extra .99 cents at iTunes.

[witchdoctor]

They certainly do. But this creates a number of problems for some customers, even the honest ones:

- For quite a few people, listening to music is still about playing files not streaming them. I see no problem with streaming if the other

options still exists. I'd like to have the possibility to own and play music files without an internet connection, is it too much to ask?

 

- MQA may be a very good idea but if I don't buy the MQA gear (hard/soft), I won't be able to listen to anything but lossy streams. I

don't expect to be able to get the MQA magical sound for free, but I certainly do not expect to be punished if I don't pay. As long as a

DRM free lossless alternative exists I don't mind MQA, I might even consider paying extra for it, but if it is forced on me...

 

- Last but not least, if the studios force MQA down to the customer, you know what will happen : this will boost creativity on the illegal

streaming/download side. I bet it won't be long before ways to neutralize the DRM side and reverse engineer the MQA files

into standard PCM are found. And that is before F(ree)MQAC(odec) is created...

 

Today streaming is about to work as a business model with DRM free files, if I were them, I wouldn't take the risk to go through another crisis because they want to control what they can't. But I feel the industry might easily be blinded by the hope of making again the billions they were making back in the day. Well, if it comes to that, I know on which side I'll be.

 

I see your point but I don't think you are in the mainstream market. Tidal is losing money and just cut a deal with Sprint. If Sprint can offer better SQ with Tidal exclusive content and have JZ and Beyonce endorse their service I think that will have a much bigger impact on sales and growth of MQA users than opening an itunes for MQA tracks.

[witchdoctor]

Onkyo and Pioneer portable players already support MQA.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

Plus you know Sprint phones will support MQA in the future

[witchdoctor]

Fact_ I did not pay an extra dime for the MQA tracks dropped by Tidal.

Fact- I prefer MQA over redbook and PCM or DSD.

Fact- A lot of members on this board spent $$$ on hirez recodings now available on Tidal in MQA/

Fact- People HATE wasting money.

Conclusion- A bunch of members here wasted tons of $$$ buying hirez files when they didn't need to and regret it.

Remedy- Get over it and enjoy the show.

[witchdoctor]

14 minutes ago, Sal1950 said:

Really, is that what you think this is all about?  LOL

Your very lost in your deductions.

 

That is exactly what this is all about, a bunch of malcontents feeling ripped off they overpaid for their hirez software.

 

Fact- If you build it they will come. By "building" a higher quality stream via MQA it makes legal streaming more appealing over pirated MP3's. Consumers, artists and labels all win. 

 

Here is the hirez customer that just learned he wasted $$$$ on PCM and DSD recordings: