MQA is Vaporware

[KeenObserver]

Where does MQA stand now?

 Seems like there have been a number of people closely deconstructing and examining MQA. They are finding it to be smoke and mirrors masquerading as a new paradigm. All these years of BS. It's been long enough. Just go away.

 

Where does Tidal stand? Are they still promoting MQA?

[KeenObserver]

9 minutes ago, MaxBuck said:

I still really don't understand the antipathy toward MQA, aside from the marketing babble its promoters use.

 

Doesn't it provide the opportunity to stream high-quality audio while minimizing data usage?  For that purpose alone it seems like a good idea.  Many people are somewhat data-limited, and the ability to lower their GB costs strikes me as a good thing.  But I'm sure I'm missing something here.  Bottom line: all the anti-MQA talk I've heard and read focuses purely on the "MQA = bad" canon without providing any reasons as to why it's bad.  (And don't cite that it "violates the creative output of the recording engineer."  I really couldn't care less what they might want.)

 

Seriously?

 

Is the cycle starting again? Apparently MQA is still promoting its scheme. When does the next shoe drop?

[KeenObserver]

How successful has Tidal been in promoting MQA?

 

Does Tidal have any market share?

[KeenObserver]

Put simply: MQA provides no benefit to the music consumer and adds expense to the entire music production and reproduction chain.

 

If MQA's business plan would be implemented, the music consumer would only have access to altered music, not for the better. Access to high quality music would be eliminated. Music quality would be what MQA told you was quality. Independent development of better quality music reproduction would be stunted.

 

MQA tells you that they "improve" the music, but they do everything in their power to prevent people from analyzing the music.  Bob Stuart gets up and presents these ridiculous charts and graphs that don't stand up to scrutiny.

The entire scheme is smoke and mirrors that does not stand up under close independent examination.

 

I certainly don't want to be forced into paying for this scheme.   

[KeenObserver]

Again, it seems so incongruous to me that we have been on a never ending search for better reproduction of music, and MQA and its allied studios want to give us crippled music.

[KeenObserver]

What I would like to know: Is MQA still trying to foist this horrid scheme on the music consumer?

 

With all the recent examination is MQA conceding "We've been exposed".

                                   OR

Is MQA working still to implement their scheme?

[KeenObserver]

4 hours ago, Rt66indierock said:

Bob Stuart won't give up until he runs out of money. The question is will the investors will notice MQA Ltd has no market share and not fund them for 2022.? Or notice that the maket is not interested in paying a premium for audio quality above AAC or 320k MP3? 

 

My reading of the last financials posted on Companies House is that they received funding to carry them into 2021, with the promise that more funding would be provided in 2021 to carry them into 2022.

I would expect that Mike Jbara and the crew at MQA Ltd would want to milk this for as long as possible. Jbara is getting a handy compensation package.

At this point. after dumping the tens of millions into the scheme, the underwriters would have to expect to make a HUGE killing in order to continue dumping money into the scheme. In order for that to happen they would have to have been promised by Jbara and the big studios that have a piece of of MQA that they were going to make MQA the de-facto standard. The studios would have to be arrogant enough to think that they could ram MQA down the throats of the music consumer whether they like it or not.

The underwriters are arrogant enough to think that they can ram MQA down the throats of the music consumer. They rammed "Tot" down the throats of the "Kaffirs".

[KeenObserver]

Speaking of Companies House, what does today's posting from MQA Ltd mean?

It basically says that whatever is supposed to be posted has been posted.

???

[KeenObserver]

I would be so glad if this was all just gone.

It is like the Sword of Damocles  hanging over the future of music distribution.

[KeenObserver]

After the repercussions they suffered after the Sony rootkit fiasco, I would think that Sony would be reluctant to institute a controversial scheme.

I was affected (infected?) by the Sony rootkit trojan. Some of the statements given by the bigwigs at Sony made it sound like they thought music consumers were peons that needed to be punished, There was worldwide backlash and Sony sales dropped noticeably.

I have not bought Sony products since being infected with the rootkit trojan.  In the past I had spent big money on Sony TV's and other equipment.

[KeenObserver]

None of this crap would be necessary if not for MQA.

We would simply be playing high res music without having to worry that MQA enabled players were corrupting the music.

We would not be looking at the prospect of an added layer of cost being added to enjoying music.

We would not be looking at the prospect of having no choice in music quality except what MQA tells us is music quality.

[KeenObserver]

@lucretius

 

Why the big banner saying MQA is dead?  MQA ltd is still listed as an active company at Companies House. They lose millions every year but they are still being underwritten by their financiers, one assumes because they are expecting something big.

 

Do you know something we don't know? If so, is that why you are actively promoting Roon?

[KeenObserver]

1 minute ago, lucretius said:

 

It's the belief that whatever I think about, hope for, dare to dream for … will come true. And hopefully others will believe it too.

 

 

 

I have no insider information.  As far as Roon goes, I get brownie points, I think, for referrals and the new sign-ups get a free month.  If you think the Roon referral is inapropriate, I will remove it.  OTH, I'd like to keep the "MQA is dead!" banner. 

 

 

 

 

No, absolutely not. Please, do as you wish.

My feelings are that without Tidal, MQA would have virtually no base. Without Roon, Tidal would probably not exist.

That is my belief. We should all be free to make our own choices.

I choose to wish to continue having a free choice in my music.

[KeenObserver]

What color light should we have on equipment that tells us that we are not listening to MQA corrupted music?

[KeenObserver]

MQA claims to "improve" the recording.  It does in fact alter the music. Some people claim they like MQA. Perhaps they do, in fact, prefer MQA. That, perhaps, could be attributed to expectational bias.

The music consumer is already free to manipulate their music to their choice, without MQA.

The music consumer can choose whatever filter they wish to use, to suit their taste, without MQA dictating the use of their controversial filter.

The music consumer is free to apply DSP to their music to suit their taste, their equipment, and their room.

And, the music consumer is free to turn up their volume, to match MQA volume.

The music consumer is already free to do this without paying royalties to a useless scheme.

 

Can you apply DSP to MQA?

[KeenObserver]

5 hours ago, lucretius said:

 

Yes. If you are satisfied with only the first "unfold" from the MQA core decoder in Roon (or other software), then you can apply DSP (without outputting to analog).  Also, if you wanted further "unfolds", I believe it could be done; you need an MQA renderer that supports rendering operation from Roon's MQA core decoder. (Some MQA DACS do not support this.)  Also, Meridian has DSP loud speakers that can accept the output from an MQA core decoder and can apply DSP, as well as, MQA rendering.  There are likely other options -- they just need to get between the MQA core decoder and the later MQA rendering.

 

So if you subscribe to Roon, who pays royalties to MQA,  you can apply DSP? Seems like another layer of cost for the music consumer.

 

I realize that you receive benefits for promoting Roon, but I would not touch Roon with a ten foot pole. Tidal and Roon are propping up a scheme that screws the music consumer. Without Tidal and Roon, MQA has virtually nothing.

 

That is just my personal perspective. I could not in good conscience support anyone that supports MQA.

[KeenObserver]

1 hour ago, botrytis said:

 

That seems to be a lot of steps to render a file format I find inferior.

 

The whole MQA scheme is a lot of steps to go through to render an inferior product. It seems to me that you need to be masochistic to submit to this scheme.  Perhaps MQA is a cult. Perhaps BS is their Jim Jones. The followers of MQA sound like it.

[KeenObserver]

Without MQA all this unnecessary crap would be moot.

[KeenObserver]

1 hour ago, lucretius said:

 

I believe royalties are paid for each time the mQa core decoder is activated (I'd have to verify this with Roon).  If you used a DAC that is a full decoder and renderer, you can turn off the decoder in Roon -- so no royalties paid from Roon; however, then you cannot have both DSP and mQa.  Of course, you already paid some royalties when you purchased an mQa DAC.  Maybe even Tidal must pay royalties?

 

 

That is why I bought my Benchmark DAC. It is not infected with MQA.

[KeenObserver]

19 minutes ago, lucretius said:

To be clear, any user can disable the mQa decoder in Roon:

 

 

 

 

Easier yet, just avoid Roon.

[KeenObserver]

2 hours ago, lucretius said:

 

For me, there is no equivalent to Roon.  And since what I paid for the lifetime billing is a sunk cost, Roon costs me nothing.

 

Interesting.  Curious as to what your connection is to Roon, a system that promotes MQA. You post on a thread that is actively trying to expose MQA for the scheme that it is. And you actively promote Roon, offering deals.

I'm curious as to what the thought process is there.

MQA would like to implement their business plan to make MQA the de-facto music distribution method. This is bad for the music consumer for a number of reasons. I do not want to see MQA imposed on the music consumer. As such, I would like to see MQA fail in their plan. Tidal is keeping MQA afloat. Roon is keeping Tidal afloat.

Anyone that does not want to see MQA implement their business plan should shun Tidal and Roon like the plague.

[KeenObserver]

10 hours ago, Stereo said:

Good on Linn to openly stand against MQA from the beginning too!!!

 

There were people right from the beginning that saw MQA for what it was and refused to "go along". Good on them!

[KeenObserver]

The bottom line to me is this:

 

What is the sense of buying high end equipment if you are going to be playing MQA on it?

[KeenObserver]

1 hour ago, lucretius said:

 

@KeenObserverwill need to start boycotting all the major labels, various audiophile music players (including Audirvana and Amarra), many makers of DACs, streamers, amps with DACs, CD players with an MQA decoder, etc., and Qobuz (which hosts some MQA-CD), as well as, various audiophile websites (I dare not mention any names) that have any promotional links to any of the aforementioned.  😀

 

I am sorry if I gored your ox, but with Roon's past history with Soolos and Meridian, Roon is an active promoter of MQA. They may say that they are only supporting MQA because their clients ask for it, but they have been intertwined with MQA since day one. They are talking out of both sides of their mouth.

Without Warner, Tidal, and Roon, MQA would have virtually nothing.

If Sony is now dumping this MQA crap on the market. then I would advocate boycotting Sony.

I have been boycotting Sony since the rootkit fiasco.

[KeenObserver]

You OK?