MQA is Vaporware

[firedog]

I have been holding off on Roon because of Tidal's viability (and now, MQA) - I wonder with others soon providing 16/44 or higher streams (non MQA) if Roon will be working with those services (Pandora, Napster, etc.)?

 

The problem is that Roon will only do it with a streaming service willing to integrate their database with the Roon interface and allow Roon access. Roon won't compromise the interface/user experience it has designed.

 

So far only Tidal has been willing to,take the plunge.

[Michael Lavorgna]

I'm using his own approach and quoted him directly on it in this very thread.

 

 

It appears as if the video I mentioned with Juergen of MBL will not be ready until early next week.

 

In the mean time, here's some food for thought:

 

Open and Tolerant: MBL's Juergen Reis on Listening, Measurements, and (Un)Certainty | AudioStream

[plissken]

It appears as if the video I mentioned with Juergen of MBL will not be ready until early next week.

 

In the mean time, here's some food for thought:

 

Open and Tolerant: MBL's Juergen Reis on Listening, Measurements, and (Un)Certainty | AudioStream

 

It's a good read and likely best suited for it's own thread(?)

[Michael Lavorgna]

It's a good read and likely best suited for it's own thread(?)

 

 

I do not intend to participate here on an ongoing basis. I just wanted to follow up with our conversation about the video.

 

Cheers.

[kravi4ka]

It appears as if the video I mentioned with Juergen of MBL will not be ready until early next week.

 

In the mean time, here's some food for thought:

 

Open and Tolerant: MBL's Juergen Reis on Listening, Measurements, and (Un)Certainty | AudioStream

I am following this thread with sadness. People who care about music always try new stuff. They listen a lot, they rarely have time to post a million times a day on a forum, they are not crusaders of the Holly Truth In Audio. I do not know you and honestly I do not trust anybody writing for any kind of magazine but you seem to be a nice, very polite guy. Please do not waste your time here, I really enjoy the extremely civilized way you speak, you have said some very useful things and I must admit that I will follow your site knowing that you are an honest man with integrity but there is no point talking to guys who do not care what you are saying, they probably do not read your posts at all. There is nothing worse than arguing on a forum with someone who is smart, arrogant and ignorant, you have several of these here.

[Michael Lavorgna]

I am following this thread with sadness. People who care about music always try new stuff. They listen a lot, they rarely have time to post a million times a day on a forum, they are not crusaders of the Holly Truth In Audio. I do not know you and honestly I do not trust anybody writing for any kind of magazine but you seem to be a nice, very polite guy. Please do not waste your time here, I really enjoy the extremely civilized way you speak, you have said some very useful things and I must admit that I will follow your site knowing that you are an honest man with integrity but there is no point talking to guys who do not care what you are saying, they probably do not read your posts at all. There is nothing worse than arguing on a forum with someone who is smart, arrogant and ignorant, you have several of these here.

Thank you for your kind words. I will respectfully disagree in that some of my comments here were very inappropriate, and I have learned from some of the people who frequent this forum.

 

Trust. This is a very common theme as is the idea that all paid reviewers who write for ad-supported publications are somehow compromised. While I understand the reasoning behind this assumption, I would be happy to discuss this with you in as much detail as you'd like via email. My contact info can be found on the AS website.

[jbwhite]

In my opinion, placing priority on speed over thinking is a mistake made by too many here.

Couldn't agree more. Mea Culpa, or my bad as they say today.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Thank you for your kind words. I will respectfully disagree in that some of my comments here were very inappropriate, and I have learned from some of the people who frequent this forum.

 

Trust. This is a very common theme as is the idea that all paid reviewers who write for ad-supported publications are somehow compromised. While I understand the reasoning behind this assumption, I would be happy to discuss this with you in as much detail as you'd like via email. My contact info can be found on the AS website.

 

After reading your thoughtful posts and seeing that you seem to actually want feedback from the people who may disagree on some issues, I will readily admit that my judgment of you was undeserved. I'm glad you're here.

[jbwhite]

Thank you. I've seen all that. I was hoping for a way to search in the desktop app that would only return MQA content. Like I said, can't wait until Roon 1.3.

I can't wait either. But from what Roon management has said, this is unlikely to be in the first release of Roon 1.3, at least not with unpacking.

[Michael Lavorgna]

After reading your thoughtful posts and seeing that you seem to actually want feedback from the people who may disagree on some issues, I will readily admit that my judgment of you was undeserved. I'm glad you're here.

Thank you. I very much enjoy and appreciate conversation and learning as I believe there's much to be learned.

 

Cheers.

[Samuel T Cogley]

I can't wait either. But from what Roon management has said, this is unlikely to be in the first release of Roon 1.3, at least not with unpacking.

 

If I can find all the MQA on Tidal and pass it undecoded to the Explorer 2, that will do for now.

[Vincent1234]

Wht not? 96/24 sounds great to me vs buying anew dac.

I don't mind using software decoding only for now. But I would like dCS to come up with their MQA update soon, so I can judge MQA's SQ even better. So no, certainly no new DAC for me. This one is 1 month old. ;-P

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[jbwhite]

If I can find all the MQA on Tidal and pass it undecoded to the Explorer 2, that will do for now.

That will certainly work for you. I'm not planning to buy any hardware until I see what Roon does on the software front.

[realhifi]

At last count (Sep 2016) Rhapsody had 3.5 million paying subscribers to Tidal's 3.0 million to Pandora's 4.0 million. Surprisingly Deezer has more than all of them at 6.0 million.

More Than 100 Million People Now Pay for Streaming Music Services

 

I'm surprised too. I like the 100 million figure too. Good to see folks pony up!

[jbwhite]

I'm surprised too. I like the 100 million figure too. Good to see folks pony up!

Yes, there may be a market for streaming that sounds pretty good after all.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Yes, there may be a market for streaming that sounds pretty good after all.

 

Most of these are younger people who have had smart mobile devices around them all their lives. A very small percentage of them might be interested in higher sound quality. Might.

[mav52]

Thank you. I've seen all that. I was hoping for a way to search in the desktop app that would only return MQA content. Like I said, can't wait until Roon 1.3.

 

Is Roon via the upcoming software release supposed to be able to totally decode a MQA file and a certified MQA DAC will not be needed ??

[jhwalker]

Is Roon via the upcoming software release supposed to be able to totally decode a MQA file and a certified MQA DAC will not be needed ??

 

No one has specified what the Roon release will look like, but it seems the MQA software decoder is limited to the first "unfolding" only; i.e., the 2x rates (88.2 / 96). I believe this will be consistent with all software based on the MQA code, notwithstanding the software's ability to do *additional* processing (e.g., Audirvana presumably will be able to do additional upsampling *after* the MQA decoding).

 

It's all really new, so it will probably take a while for this all to shake out.

[jbwhite]

Most of these are younger people who have had smart mobile devices around them all their lives. A very small percentage of them might be interested in higher sound quality. Might.

I think as they get a little older they will. Two out of my three kids subscribe to Tidal Hi-Fi. Once they can afford a system that reveals the difference I think they get it. And really until then, what's the point? It's a waste of money. Of course with all the student debt most kids have today they may never be able to afford a decent system.

[witchdoctor]

For all you posters that got nothing better to do but whine you need to do three things ASAP:

 

Stand up

Put this on in MQA

Set volume to 11

 

#NowPlaying "Let The Good Times Roll" by Ray Charles in @TIDALHiFi tidal.com/track/68711790

[jbwhite]

Is Roon via the upcoming software release supposed to be able to totally decode a MQA file and a certified MQA DAC will not be needed ??

There has been no formal announcement. Roon has hinted that "they are in a unique position because of Roon certified DACs" and thus they may be able to do the DAC profiling. They've never said whether they will provide single unfolding or double unfolding. Again they say they are in a "unique positon." Danny Dulai - Roon COO posted this stuff in Jan '16. You can find it in the Roon forums. They haven't said much since, so who knows what the current state of affairs is. I posted a lot of links and stuff over on the PS Audio "MQA Controversy" forum beginning Jan 7.

[jbwhite]

Great track. There's a ton of great music up and streaming in Hi-Res!

[witchdoctor]

Great track. There's a ton of great music up and streaming in Hi-Res!

 

I was reading the liner note, Ray borrowed horn players from Count Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras and it was arranged by Quincy jones, the entire album is sooo good in MQA. Those horns just leap out of the speakers.[TABLE=class: info-box__table info-box__table--block, width: 949]

[TR=class: info-box__row--block]

[TD]Description[/TD]

[TD]Some players from Ray Charles' big band are joined by many ringers from the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands for the first half of this program, featuring Charles belting out six songs arranged by Quincy Jones. "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Deed I Do" are highlights, and there are solos by tenorman David "Fathead" Newman, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, and (on "Two Years of Torture") tenor Paul Gonsalves. The remaining six numbers are ballads, with Charles backed by a string orchestra arranged by Ralph Burns (including "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'"). Charles' voice is heard throughout in peak form, giving soul to even the veteran standards. ~ Scott Yanow[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[jbwhite]

Like you, I've already done my research. Now I'm just lovin' the music while I do these silly posts.

[crenca]

For all you posters that got nothing better to do but whine you need to do three things ASAP:

 

Stand up

Put this on in MQA

Set volume to 11

 

#NowPlaying "Let The Good Times Roll" by Ray Charles in @TIDALHiFi tidal.com/track/68711790

 

Thanks witchdoctor I did just this. Your not going to like it, but the 16/44 is better through my system - horns HF harmonics are "burnt" in the MQA version...