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MQA is Vaporware


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17 hours ago, Currawong said:

 

I captured the output of the Qobuz version of track 1, and it looks like MQA, with a band of noise above 16 kHz, so very possibly not. Ignore the extra at the end of the track, it continued to track 2 before I stopped it.  

 

If they did their "white glove" treatment of it, then it might be ok. 

 

1954824117_ScreenShot2021-07-01at13_12_26.thumb.png.c09bc641c3fd09e0a13ba3d59586fbbd.png

 

Thanks for doing the audio analysis!  

 

I was leery that there was a different version in unadulterated FLAC given all the fussing the Metropolis label made about the album being "MQA encoded" and with the interview with the recording engineer singing the praises of MQA featured on the official MQA website.

 

If it's reasonable to conclude that they released what appeared to an MQA-enabled DAC on @UkPhil's system to be non-MQA FLAC , but I presume was actually MQA in a FLAC container, couple questions come to mind:  

 

Does that mean the version of Nina Simone: Montreux Years that was released for download on HDTracks and Qobuz is even more compromised compared to authentic FLAC than a "regular" MQA file,  if it is actually an MQA-encoded file that won't light up the pretty blue MQA "authentication" light? and,

 

How are we to have any confidence in purchasing downloads if they are advertised as 16-bit or 24-bit 44.1 kHz downloads but may be actually MQA in FLAC containers?

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1 minute ago, Cebolla said:

 

You need to be careful defining exactly what you mean by "MQA in FLAC containers" - MQA tracks are distributed undecoded usually in FLAC container files, such as TIDAL's MQA containing FLAC file tracks. Presumably, you are referring to the possibility of already decoded MQA tracks in FLAC container files.  

Thanks for the explanation and clarification.

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On 7/1/2021 at 8:41 AM, UkPhil said:

Interesting, does anyone have a tidal account to see if their is a true mQa version to stream under its master catergory ? 

 

Searching should indicate which albums are MQA masters or not, even if you don't log in to TIDAL, via TIDAL's web player. A search for  montreaux years simone & selecting albums lists two versions of the relevant album with the exact same June 25 2021 date, tracks, & track times and both marked as master:

https://listen.tidal.com/album/185086358

https://listen.tidal.com/album/188847768

 

 

Of course you do need a TIDAL HiFi account in order to play their tracks under the TIDAL masters quality setting.

 

Interestingly, playing the first track of each album reveals that they are both studio/blue masters (as opposed to plain/green masters), both hi-res MQA (as opposed to MQA-CD) with an undecoded resolution of 24bit/44.1kHz and both with an MQA original sample rate of 44.1kHz - so why have two MQA album versions with the same MQA attributes? A more subtle difference between them, perhaps - if so what?

 

 

 

On 6/29/2021 at 10:03 AM, UkPhil said:

Qobuz does not seem to have any MQA signalling, I tested it yesterday 

 

Presumably, your test method does actually signal MQA on known MQA albums on Qobuz, such as those mentioned in:

 

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

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On 7/2/2021 at 3:00 PM, Cebolla said:

 

Searching should indicate which albums are MQA masters or not, even if you don't log in to TIDAL, via TIDAL's web player. A search for  montreaux years simone & selecting albums lists two versions of the relevant album with the exact same June 25 2021 date, tracks, & track times and both marked as master:

https://listen.tidal.com/album/185086358

https://listen.tidal.com/album/188847768

 

 

Of course you do need a TIDAL HiFi account in order to play their tracks under the TIDAL masters quality setting.

 

Interestingly, playing the first track of each album reveals that they are both studio/blue masters (as opposed to plain/green masters), both hi-res MQA (as opposed to MQA-CD) with an undecoded resolution of 24bit/44.1kHz and both with an MQA original sample rate of 44.1kHz - so why have two MQA album versions with the same MQA attributes? A more subtle difference between them, perhaps - if so what?

 

 

 

 

Presumably, your test method does actually signal MQA on known MQA albums on Qobuz, such as those mentioned in:

 

Yes,

I see 2L on Qobuz as MQA blue dot with the streams, to be honest the stream I tested for Nina Simone was 24/96 so it wouldn't be a true MQA file anyway as it's base rate would be 24/48 in this case so is the conclusion here that we are getting processed MQA master files pre processed in the PCM FLAC file, and what actually is that going to do to the sound quality, as we do not know what the original sounds like anyway. 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, UkPhil said:

Yes,

I see 2L on Qobuz as MQA blue dot with the streams, to be honest the stream I tested for Nina Simone was 24/96 so it wouldn't be a true MQA file anyway as it's base rate would be 24/48 in this case so is the conclusion here that we are getting processed MQA master files pre processed in the PCM FLAC file, and what actually is that going to do to the sound quality, as we do not know what the original sounds like anyway. 

 

 

Also what advantages does the Tidal MQA files "unfolded" version have over the mastered MQA version as PCM (FLAC) available elsewhere all their special sauce has been built in hasn't it ?

It's pretty messed up isn't it ??

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Hence why I am keeping my Teac UD-501 until it drops dead.

Current:  Daphile on an AMD A10-9500 with 16 GB RAM

DAC - TEAC UD-501 DAC 

Pre-amp - Rotel RC-1590

Amplification - Benchmark AHB2 amplifier

Speakers - Revel M126Be with 2 REL 7/ti subwoofers

Cables - Tara Labs RSC Reference and Blue Jean Cable Balanced Interconnects

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2 hours ago, ssh said:

Bricasti has not drunk the Fool-Aid.

 

 

I have heard theirs but can't afford that one.

Current:  Daphile on an AMD A10-9500 with 16 GB RAM

DAC - TEAC UD-501 DAC 

Pre-amp - Rotel RC-1590

Amplification - Benchmark AHB2 amplifier

Speakers - Revel M126Be with 2 REL 7/ti subwoofers

Cables - Tara Labs RSC Reference and Blue Jean Cable Balanced Interconnects

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1 hour ago, botrytis said:

I have heard theirs but can't afford that one.

I loved my Yggy/Raggy rig.

 

I had the Yggy for five years. The Bricasti M3, to my ears, was more musical, more detailed, blah, blah, but when I removed the Raggy from the new setup and had the M3 connected directly to a Apollon Class D amp (with over three times the power) it just another ballgame.

 

I found great value in both systems, with the M3/Apollon being about twice the "investment".

SSH

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What a funny paradox by HB, but I can at least confirm those among the club winning best of show in Munich, do not use MQA at all to reach this award. We personally asked several reviewers.

Seen in the secret mQa group:

image.png.676176e9dfbf9827525782c69a347134.png

I remember the same paradox with SACD vs CD all the way back in early 2000.

PS: not convinced about the shift in cross-over point:

https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=19396

 

Quote

Data shows that listeners were not able to significantly discriminate between MQA encoded files and the unprocessed original due to several interaction effects.

 

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.

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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?

Boycott Warner

Boycott Tidal

Boycott Roon

Boycott Lenbrook

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2 hours ago, KeenObserver said:

Where does Tidal stand? Are they still promoting MQA?

 

Yes

 

image.png.2a56d961bb82fea05ff2782c638edcb8.png

Windows 11 PC, Roon, HQPlayer, Focus Fidelity convolutions, iFi Zen Stream, Paul Hynes SR4, Mutec REF10, Mutec MC3+USB, Devialet 1000Pro, KEF Blade.  Plus Pro-Ject Signature 12 TT for playing my 'legacy' vinyl collection. Desktop system; RME ADI-2 DAC fs, Meze Empyrean headphones.

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8 hours ago, KeenObserver said:

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?

It’s all gone pretty quiet since @GoldenOneouting, I wonder what they have left up there sleeve , pretty stuck with just Tidal now as most of the other streamers are running PCM as a lossless tier. 

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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.)

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