MQA is Vaporware

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, JoeWhip said:

Not sure you understood my point JA. It is that I can use filters and settings in software like Sox etc. to end up with the same sonic signature on a given mqa file. Hence, we do not need Mqa. 

Plus, there all kinds of plugins that can add ultrasonic noise, smear transients, and remove a few bits. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

16 minutes ago, Ishmael Slapowitz said:

I have tell you Arch, there is overwhelming evidence that Madrona Digital is a sham or shell company.  They have the most generic cut and paste website with stock photos. They list employees that have not been there for years. The job titles are laughably absurd. And under "Careers" even more absurd, like an "opening" for "Journeyman Technician" lol..

 

The last social media entry on any platform, was from 2015. 

 

Amir at one point claimed to have a walk in store, which he closed, not surprising, since anyone with half a brain figured out he is a charlatan, dishonest, and a pathological liar.

Here’s some info on it. 
 

https://opengovwa.com/labor-industries-contractor/MADROD*877JR

[The Computer Audiophile]

46 minutes ago, Archimago said:

American tax payers are awesome.

Ha! Treasury just prints more money as needed :~)

[The Computer Audiophile]

Fortunately, I know some manufacturers are gaming the mQa system. Send one version of the DAC to mQa for certification and sell another version to customers. This is how one gets the mQa box checked but keeps much better performance overall. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

16 minutes ago, firedog said:

I don't really see why it is a big deal. He explicitly mentions he is a dealer in every such review. So any reader is free to interpret the resulting review in light of that. There have been cases where he has unfavorably reviewed a Harman product. 

No different than lots of reviewers who get "long term" loans of equipment or free or accommodation pricing. They generally never mention it in their reviews, which is worse, IMO.

a list of gear someone sells should accompany all posts. Even comments about gear that competes with gear that is sold should have this info attached. 
 

I’ve had on my to-do list for way too long, to bring back an advertisers index so people know who supports AS. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

It’s an infomercial. Aren’t there rules about things like this?

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, Dr Tone said:

Interesting content from Danny @ Roon, it turns out that MQA gets payed per track played using software decoding.

 

 Those still using Tidal and software decoding are continually feeding MQA money.

 

 

It amazes me how people still think MQA has no cost to them. Businesses that don’t pass costs on to customers, don’t exist for very long. As a business owner, I have first hand experience. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, Dr Tone said:

You would think the rest of the software decoders do as well.

 

Worst yet it seems the software decoder phones home so MQA knows what you play so they can bill.

Much of Roon only works because it phones home. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

57 minutes ago, robi20064 said:

Seems Tidal is separating things even better now with a new HiFi Plus subscription. Wondering where MQA will land and whether normal CD quality FLAC is going to be an option for all labels.

 

 

This would be big news. Separating MQA from lossless by price tiers would be great and show people the cost of MQA again. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Does anyone know the relation of Roon's Sarah Stuart to MQA's Bob Stuart?

 

"Sarah works on music editorial and research as part of Roon’s Music Team." https://blog.roonlabs.com/author/sarah/

 

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sarah-stuart-7889b1150

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

10 minutes ago, vmartell22 said:

 

Thanks - I guess I could have googled that - again, thanks for taking the time.  I tend to see the forums as conversation, and in a conversation you go with what you have - :D thanks!

Anyways, I see this:

 

"Meridian Audio agreed to transfer the company’s software applications business to the newly established entity."

 

So from the looks of it was not the employees striking out on their own. like the AKG headphone employees in Austria  - it was a spin off, even if the announcement is not clear about it... Again, that I explain things over at the Roon forum - think I am one comment away from being banned ! :D - ah well, will thread lightly...

 

v

 

 

 

It's pretty straight forward. Enno, Danny, Rob, Mike, etc... started Sooloos. Meridian purchased Sooloos. The Sooloos guys spun out of Meridian to start Roon. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, bambadoo said:

And people leaving from Wimp/Tidal to MQA and to Roon. Obviously more also. 

Anyone know what this is?

https://vilvit.io/

 

People from MQA/Roon are involved it seems. 

 

My guess is Pål Bråtelund heads it up as he worked / works with MQA and Roon. I like Paul a lot. Just don't agree with his take on MQA. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, AudioDoctor said:

Its clear who doesn't listen to the Audiophile Style Podcast here...  ;-)

I didn't want to say it :~)

[The Computer Audiophile]

27 minutes ago, JoeWhip said:

Team up to help the planet?.........hum. 

I wonder how much processing MQA requires globally, that FLAC doesn’t. Encoders / decoders etc…

[The Computer Audiophile]

37 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

She shares a last name with Mr. Stuart.  I'm a little surprised you seem to almost be asking the forum for help doxing someone.  Bad form for the forum owner, and potentially more ammo for MQA to throw hate at this forum.  I'm perplexed, to say the least.

 

 

What part of any of what I posted and asked involves doxxing?

 

This is all made public by Her. I just asked if there was a connection. 

 

 

dox

/däks/

 

verb

INFORMAL

gerund or present participle: doxxing

1. search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent.

   "hackers and online vigilantes routinely dox both public and private figures"

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

  

So, right to semantics is it?  OK.  I predict you'll regret this eventually, but sure, keep projecting confidence now.  👍

 

 

Please help me understand. She posted her full name on the Roon site, posted all work history on Linked In, which includes Roon and MQA. I just asked if there’s a relation. 
 

If you think this is wrong, I can’t help you. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, Dr Tone said:

Isn’t Bob married to ridiculous amounts of money?

That’s what everyone talks about, but I’ve never bothered to look into it. I don’t really care. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Dr Tone said:

Not sure it would be a family member having to work.

having versus wanting and all the variables involved in generational wealth are unknown. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

31 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

Not asking for your help Chris.  If you feel good about what you did, well there's that.  She could now claim Audiophile Style targeted her and solicited information on a possible familial relationship with Bob Stuart.  The "publicly available information" shield won't help you in a hypothetical PR campaign against your site.  I might hate MQA more than anyone on this forum, but I would never do something as stupid as you did (no offense intended).

 

 

She could claim that if the sun rises from the East tomorrow. In other words, anyone can claim whatever they want. Doesn’t make it right. 
 

Ha! A hypothetical PR campaign! Coming from Lucifer Ltd / MQA Ltd?

 

There is nuance in the world. You probably think kids who bring keychain guns to school should be expelled. Not me. Let’s consider the facts. People who purposely release information want that information seen by the public. If you work for MQA and Roon and you list your name as Stuart, it’s only logical that people are going to ask. 
 

Using your logic, the fact you have an image for your user account lets me know that you don’t look like that. It narrows down your true identity to anyone other than that image. Hello doxxing. Preposterous I know. Just like me asking for public information. 
 

I think a possible relation between the Stuarts is interesting given where she works. Roon supports MQA more than any HiFi company I know. This support certainly isn’t on the scientific side. perhaps there’s more to it. This may be something. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

19 minutes ago, GoldenOne said:

I can't imagine that this price model adjustment will change anything regarding the actual files that are being streamed. But once it's out here in the UK i'll test it

Agree

[The Computer Audiophile]

8 minutes ago, KeenObserver said:

 

The question is: Are MQA and the three majors so arrogant as to think that they are going to ram MQA down the throats of the music consumer whether they like it or not?

Yes. 100% yes. When public corporations report to shareholders on a quarterly basis, nothing is off the table. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

25 minutes ago, firedog said:

The MQA people and the record labels-streaming companies  may be mistaken, but the seem to be looking long term at the whole music industry ecosystem, and thinking that long term they will manage to squeeze large additional "rents" out of consumers and audio companies. 

Absolutely. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Why do we need MQA again?

 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Guys, I understand the dislike of ASR and/or Amir but I’d like people to stop the personal attacks. Attack the work product, forum rules, decisions, etc…  but not the personal stuff. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Anyone heard anything about Apple’s HiFi tier?

 

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/05/01/apple-music-hifi-tier-new-airpods-coming-weeks/

[The Computer Audiophile]

26 minutes ago, Cebolla said:

 

Indeed. It's just a marketing exercise in renaming the original HiFi tier to HiFi Plus and creating a new HiFi tier to only have the HiFi quality connection available. Given that the TIDAL HiFi quality connection currently provides MQA-CD or hi-res MQA mangled to 16bit/44.1kHz streams, it's very doubtful that'll suddenly start only providing true lossless CD-res sourced streams just because of the tier restructure.

I’d say it’s only being done to look price competitive with the other lossless services. People who’ve already signed up to pay $20 per month are already in. Keep them at that price and at the same time get more people with the cheaper tier.