MQA is Vaporware

[lucretius]

On 2/22/2021 at 1:37 PM, Don Blas De Lezo said:

 If Tidal offered to pay me 50 bucks cash monthly to use it and Qobuz doubled their price , I would still stick with Qobuz easily .  I'll put sound quality and morals above saving a few bucks any day. 

 

I'd accept their payment of $50/month, but I would never lie for Tidal.

[Abtr]

5 hours ago, Currawong said:

You may wish to investigate, with some depth, how USB works. There is plenty of discussion in other threads about this.

I know how USB works and I know the bits are bits discussion. I agree that bits are not just bits in this context. Streamer hardware (especially computers) can be very noisy and some of this electrical noise may audibly end up in the analog stage of a USB DAC. However, using *the exact same streamer and DAC*, I don’t think anyone can demonstrate that streaming bits from a Tidal server sounds different (or worse) than streaming the same bits from a Qobuz server. But again, this is off topic and has nothing to do with MQA.

[The Computer Audiophile]

On this day in 1975, Led Zeppelin released the masterpiece Physical Graffiti.

 

On this day in 2021, Tidal shows only MQA versions. What a joke. 

 

[DuckToller]

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

On this day in 1975, Led Zeppelin released the masterpiece Physical Graffiti.

 

On this day in 2021, Tidal shows only MQA versions. What a joke. 

 

Any of them with original Barry Diament mastering ...???
duck & cover ....

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, DuckToller said:

Any of them with original Barry Diament mastering ...???
duck & cover ....

Ha!

 

After the MQA meat grinder in the cloud processes them, I can't imagine it even matters. 

[AudioDoctor]

10 hours ago, Abtr said:

I know how USB works and I know the bits are bits discussion. I agree that bits are not just bits in this context. Streamer hardware (especially computers) can be very noisy and some of this electrical noise may audibly end up in the analog stage of a USB DAC. However, using *the exact same streamer and DAC*, I don’t think anyone can demonstrate that streaming bits from a Tidal server sounds different (or worse) than streaming the same bits from a Qobuz server. But again, this is off topic and has nothing to do with MQA.

 

Well... I can hear the difference, easily and immediately, on a range of equipment from a Schiit Modi Multibit and a RPi4 to a Lampizator Pacific and a Sonore Signature Rendu Optical SE, using any software, or connected in any way, even direct to my desktop via USB.

[firedog]

1 hour ago, DuckToller said:

Any of them with original Barry Diament mastering ...???
duck & cover ....

It's MQA...so of course Barry authenticated all of them. 😂

[MikeyFresh]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

It's MQA...so of course Barry authenticated all of them. 😂

Jimmy Page too.

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, MikeyFresh said:

Jimmy Page too.

John Bonham too

[AudioDoctor]

Luckily, I can listen to real Hi Res!

 

 

[Abtr]

3 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

Well... I can hear the difference, easily and immediately, on a range of equipment from a Schiit Modi Multibit and a RPi4 to a Lampizator Pacific and a Sonore Signature Rendu Optical SE, using any software, or connected in any way, even direct to my desktop via USB.

If you can easily hear a difference then, somehow, the bits sent to the DAC must be different..

[fas42]

24 minutes ago, Abtr said:

If you can easily hear a difference then, somehow, the bits sent to the DAC must be different..

 

Not necessarily. Typically, playback chains are always sensitive to variations in electrical activity in the processing needed to acquire, and pass through the music data - this is just another version of the common acceptance that CD transports have impact on SQ. Which in theory they shouldn't. Just think of different streaming services being like different quality CD drives - the analogue circuits have no clue where the digital data is coming from; they just react to different levels of electrical noise accompanying that transmission of information.

[JoeWhip]

The sound from my Yggy via USB improved significantly when I upgraded the USB card from Gen 5 to Unison. Criminey, it got better from the original Gen 3 card to Gen 5. Tge laptop and usb cable remained constant.

[Cebolla]

3 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

John Bonham too

 

MQA's the ghost in the DAC machine.

[AudioDoctor]

1 hour ago, JoeWhip said:

The sound from my Yggy via USB improved significantly when I upgraded the USB card from Gen 5 to Unison. Criminey, it got better from the original Gen 3 card to Gen 5. Tge laptop and usb cable remained constant.

 

unpossible, the bits are bits... 

 

 

 

/s

[JoeWhip]

Well, I have been told I am crazy. My wife will confirm that for sure.

[AudioDoctor]

12 minutes ago, JoeWhip said:

Well, I have been told I am crazy. My wife will confirm that for sure.

 

Just so we're clear, I was using sarcasm.

[JoeWhip]

Yes, me too. No worries.

[Abtr]

2 hours ago, fas42 said:

 

Not necessarily. Typically, playback chains are always sensitive to variations in electrical activity in the processing needed to acquire, and pass through the music data - this is just another version of the common acceptance that CD transports have impact on SQ. Which in theory they shouldn't. Just think of different streaming services being like different quality CD drives - the analogue circuits have no clue where the digital data is coming from; they just react to different levels of electrical noise accompanying that transmission of information.

Are you suggesting that Tidal servers are more noisy than Qobuz servers (or vice versa) and that this noise audibly persists through multiple internet hops; typically 10 to 20 routers each regenerating the digital signal that ultimately goes into your streamer and DAC? If that was true then the cumulative noise of millions of servers would make any data transmission over the internet impossible.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Off topic guys. 

[StephenJK]

For what it's worth, with the Devialet Expert Pro 440 monoblocks that I have, it turns out that they're capable of both MQA decoding and rendering.  I use Roon on a ROCK for playback, with a switch directly connecting the ROCK to the main monoblock, and can enable MQA through the device setup.

 

I'm also a HiFi subscriber on Tidal and have that enabled in Roon.  As a rule, when adding music and given a choice I will select the higher bit rate and resolution of the MQA version as opposed to the redbook option.  

 

I don't have time right now, but from an earlier post noticed a comment on how Physical Graffiti was only available with the MQA variations.

 

Tomorrow, I can queue up a couple of tracks from an original LP that I recorded digitally many moon ago as compared to the MQA version.  This is with a standard album I bought when the album was first released, but it was recorded with a much better than average turntable and cartridge.  

 

Or should I simply upload a couple of tracks from the album I recorded that people can compare to MQA with their own setup?  

 

Edit:  I'll do my own comparison tomorrow to satisfy my own curiosity - between my digital recording and the highest bit rate/frequency available on Tidal, and reply with any comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I just compare the original CD, and the pure PCM 24/96 from Qobuz to the MQA upsampling. 

[asdf1000]

8 hours ago, StephenJK said:

For what it's worth, with the Devialet Expert Pro 440 monoblocks that I have, it turns out that they're capable of both MQA decoding and rendering.

 

Right now, these monoblocks are not capable of both MQA decoding and MQA rendering.

 

[Dr Tone]

17 hours ago, StephenJK said:

I use Roon on a ROCK for playback, with a switch directly connecting the ROCK to the main monoblock, and can enable MQA through the device setup.

That’s a manual override it doesn’t mean the hardware supports MQA.

[StephenJK]

45 minutes ago, Dr Tone said:

That’s a manual override it doesn’t mean the hardware supports MQA.

My understanding was that Roon did the first unfolding (if enabled) and the Devialet DAC section did the rest (if enabled). 

 

From what you're saying, Devialet doesn't support MQA and Roon doesn't do much either.  

 

I'll just turn off those settings and not lose any sleep over it.  Thanks for the reply.