sandyk Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 1 hour ago, lucretius said: Shouldn't that be "selling refrigerators to Eskimos"? It is likely to be warmer in a refrigerator than outside for an Eskimo !😉 How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
Rexp Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 10 hours ago, FredericV said: On the group managed by Veter Peth, someone is comparing those MQA CD files with the ones before, and he does not hear any difference. As he is using an MQA dac, this would mean you actually need to use an MQA decoder in some form to get what you had in the past, without MQA. So the MQA tax is now active on Tidal: MQA adds nothing with those green fake 16/44.1 MQA CD files for the consumer, it takes away your rights and then sells them back to you as you now need MQA to get what you already had before. Maybe they come up with the lame excuse his system is not good enough .... So if you play a Tidal Master at the Hifi setting, you're streaming MQA CD, do you need an MQA DAC or will the player software decode it fully? What happens if you don't have any decoder? Link to comment
lucretius Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 3 hours ago, Rexp said: So if you play a Tidal Master at the Hifi setting, you're streaming MQA CD, do you need an MQA DAC or will the player software decode it fully? What happens if you don't have any decoder? At the HiFi setting, it's unclear whether one is streaming pure PCM, MQA-CD, or MQA (but if IIRC, the stream was only 16 bit). Also, if it were MQA, then the bits have been manipulated on Tidal's side so that the decoder/DAC does not recognize it as an MQA stream. Thus, a hardware or software decoder is unnecessary and pointless. mQa is dead! Link to comment
KeenObserver Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 8 minutes ago, lucretius said: At the HiFi setting, it's unclear whether one is streaming pure PCM, MQA-CD, or MQA (but if IIRC, the stream was only 16 bit). Also, if it were MQA, then the bits have been manipulated on Tidal's side so that the decoder/DAC does not recognize it as an MQA stream. Thus, a hardware or software decoder is unnecessary and pointless. What? Am I missing something here? Are you saying that Tidal is removing the MQA tag on their streams? Are they giving you MQA and hiding the fact? Boycott Warner Boycott Tidal Boycott Roon Boycott Lenbrook Link to comment
lucretius Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 13 minutes ago, KeenObserver said: What? Am I missing something here? Are you saying that Tidal is removing the MQA tag on their streams? Are they giving you MQA and hiding the fact? It's been a long time since I had a Tidal subscription. But I do remember that when the desktop player was set to the HiFi level, the DAC's blue light was not triggered and, as well, the DAC indicated the stream was 16 bit. And this was true even if I had pointed to an MQA track previously played and listed in my database. What I don't know is what the source of the stream was: Whether it was pure PCM or not. mQa is dead! Link to comment
KeenObserver Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 6 minutes ago, lucretius said: It's been a long time since I had a Tidal subscription. But I do remember that when the desktop player was set to the HiFi level, the DAC's blue light was not triggered and, as well, the DAC indicated the stream was 16 bit. And this was true even if I had pointed to an MQA track previously played and listed in my database. What I don't know is what the source of the stream was: Whether it was pure PCM or not. People on Tidal are reporting now that their choices on the 16/44.1 level are being replaced with MQA. Boycott Warner Boycott Tidal Boycott Roon Boycott Lenbrook Link to comment
lucretius Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 13 minutes ago, KeenObserver said: People on Tidal are reporting now that their choices on the 16/44.1 level are being replaced with MQA. When I had Tidal, normally for each track, there was a Redbook version and possibly an MQA version (the list of MQA titles wasn't too big then). Since then, MQA has become much more ubiquitous on Tidal. Since I no longer have Tidal, I cannot verify if 16/44.1 is being replaced with MQA. mQa is dead! Link to comment
Popular Post FredericV Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 1 hour ago, lucretius said: When I had Tidal, normally for each track, there was a Redbook version and possibly an MQA version (the list of MQA titles wasn't too big then). Since then, MQA has become much more ubiquitous on Tidal. This is no longer the case. The choice has gone. My Logitech Media Server is now accessing MQA CD files in 16/44.1 while those files were just redbook in the past. A downgrade. 1 hour ago, lucretius said: Since I no longer have Tidal, I cannot verify if 16/44.1 is being replaced with MQA. This is the case. Rexp, lucretius and MikeyFresh 3 Designer of the 432 EVO music server and Linux specialist Discoverer of the independent open source sox based mqa playback method with optional one cycle postringing. Link to comment
Popular Post PeterSt Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 I just thought of an other stupidity: Although I myself would be able to manipulate the lot, normal Tidal users will not be able to compare the Redbook version with the now MQA version it was replaced with, because ... the Redbook version was replaced; we can't play that any more. How sneaky is that eh ? MikeyFresh, Confused, lucretius and 1 other 3 1 Lush^3-e Lush^2 Blaxius^2.5 Ethernet^3 HDMI^2 XLR^2 XXHighEnd (developer) Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer) Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer) Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier) Link to comment
Popular Post UkPhil Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 26 minutes ago, PeterSt said: I just thought of an other stupidity: Although I myself would be able to manipulate the lot, normal Tidal users will not be able to compare the Redbook version with the now MQA version it was replaced with, because ... the Redbook version was replaced; we can't play that any more. How sneaky is that eh ? And most listeners a) won’t notice it’s changed sonically b) but if told they have been changed will suddenly say they are all sounding better JediJoker, sphinxsix, lucretius and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment
Cebolla Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 8 hours ago, lucretius said: At the HiFi setting, it's unclear whether one is streaming pure PCM, MQA-CD, or MQA (but if IIRC, the stream was only 16 bit). On the TIDAL HiFi quality setting, the streaming application's MQA flag not marking the listed album can actually be trusted. So the application does make it clear whether one is streaming CD-res pure PCM as it won't have MQA flag. On the TIDAL HiFi quality setting, it is actually unclear as to whether the application's MQA flag indicates MQA-CD or TIDAL manipulated (reduced to 16-bit from 24-bit hi-res) MQA. In this case, only the player/streamer (if it supports MQA) and/or its MQA DAC flagging MQA during playback indicates that it's MQA-CD; TIDAL mangled (hi-res) MQA otherwise. Ironically, @FredericV Logitech Media Server's use of 'Hi Res' to flag an MQA album (MQA-CD or hi-res MQA) is actually more disingenuous than other software (including TIDAL's own) vague use of 'Masters', 'MQA', 'M', etc - especially as LMS only uses the HiFi setting. 8 hours ago, lucretius said: if it were MQA, then the bits have been manipulated on Tidal's side so that the decoder/DAC does not recognize it as an MQA stream. Thus, a hardware or software decoder is unnecessary and pointless. Agreed. We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us. -- Jo Cox Link to comment
KeenObserver Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 I was just re-reading the 11/12/2020 articles on Forbes. Seems like a MQA press release. You would think that Forbes would be a little more in depth and their "reporters" would be capable of critical analysis. Seemed like a puff piece. Boycott Warner Boycott Tidal Boycott Roon Boycott Lenbrook Link to comment
MikeyFresh Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 12 minutes ago, KeenObserver said: I was just re-reading the 11/12/2020 articles on Forbes. Seems like a MQA press release. You would think that Forbes would be a little more in depth and their "reporters" would be capable of critical analysis. Seemed like a puff piece. The Senior Contributor author of that, and several other previous pieces on Forbes regarding MQA going back to June 2018, seems to make him look a bit like a fan boy as I read it. Certainly no attempt at telling the full story there, perhaps he's just not aware of the full story. He's followed up that Nov. 12 piece with a Nov. 19 mini review of the MQA dongle by Helm Audio. Boycott HDtracks Boycott Lenbrook Boycott Warner Music Group Link to comment
Popular Post KeenObserver Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 3 minutes ago, MikeyFresh said: The Senior Contributor author of that, and several other previous pieces on Forbes regarding MQA going back to June 2018, seems to make him look a bit like a fan boy as I read it. Certainly no attempt at telling the full story there, perhaps he's just not aware of the full story. He's followed up that Nov. 12 piece with a Nov. 19 mini review of the MQA dongle by Helm Audio. Seems like we're all getting the MQA dongle. lucretius, MikeyFresh and JoeWhip 3 Boycott Warner Boycott Tidal Boycott Roon Boycott Lenbrook Link to comment
Popular Post The Computer Audiophile Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 18 minutes ago, asdf1000 said: That’s quite the narrative, without regard for facts. asdf1000 and MikeyFresh 1 1 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
Popular Post KeenObserver Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 Deblurring: Being able to see clear, crisp dollar bills. MikeyFresh and The Computer Audiophile 2 Boycott Warner Boycott Tidal Boycott Roon Boycott Lenbrook Link to comment
Popular Post The Computer Audiophile Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 I reached out to Tidal PR to see if I could ask someone there questions, but unsurprisingly I haven’t received a response. In my experience, companies with great products want all the press they can get. Companies with something to hide, want to pick and choose which outlets they talk to. sphinxsix and MikeyFresh 1 1 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 3 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said: That’s quite the narrative, without regard for facts. They're obviously seeing all the chatter about the increasing amount of MQA-CD stuff on TIDAL recently and attempting to clarify.... MikeyFresh 1 Link to comment
lucretius Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 15 minutes ago, asdf1000 said: Looks like The MQA Team did not take into account the MQA albums on Tidal that were in both 24/96 and 24/192 resolutions -- obviously, there was not 2 masters. In fact, I doubt MQA ltd ever seen the masters but were given the same hires albums as HDtracts. mQa is dead! Link to comment
Popular Post KeenObserver Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 I'll be here all week. MikeyFresh and lucretius 1 1 Boycott Warner Boycott Tidal Boycott Roon Boycott Lenbrook Link to comment
Popular Post The Computer Audiophile Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 5 minutes ago, asdf1000 said: attempting to clarify.... Or deblur as they say. asdf1000 and MikeyFresh 2 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
PeterSt Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 6 minutes ago, lucretius said: In fact, I doubt MQA ltd ever seen the masters but were given the same hires albums as HDtracts. No, that is not so. Half of HD-tracks is fake/upsampled HiRes, while MQA 24/96 (24/88) after unfold is HiRes (not so) all right. Lush^3-e Lush^2 Blaxius^2.5 Ethernet^3 HDMI^2 XLR^2 XXHighEnd (developer) Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer) Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer) Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier) Link to comment
PeterSt Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 I thought I drunk too much. But it's just MQA ! phew lucretius 1 Lush^3-e Lush^2 Blaxius^2.5 Ethernet^3 HDMI^2 XLR^2 XXHighEnd (developer) Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer) Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer) Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier) Link to comment
Popular Post JoeWhip Posted November 24, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2020 24/376? Huh? PeterSt and MikeyFresh 2 Link to comment
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