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MQA is Vaporware


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5 hours ago, Fast and Bulbous said:

Well, well well... Never thought I would see this...

 

What HiFi - UK magazine that has been very positive about MQA, some would say suspiciously so, has just published an article about tech that is likely to become obsolete. Includes BluRay, CD, wired IEMs, music downloads. 


And..


MQA. Yep, really. Good news as far as I am concerned. May give others in the audio / music press the courage to tell it like it is. Well, you never know...

 

Here is the (very long) URL:

 

https://www.whathifi.com/features/the-tech-endangered-list-are-these-devices-and-formats-the-next-to-go?utm_source=SmartBrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=E632F623-34B1-4EBE-B56C-3D5896DC5E2A&utm_content=F859157B-285F-47A8-BD65-02C2F2721B68&utm_term=c4187c4a-d498-48ef-ae6a-f2d854d1917c

 

Oh, I don't subscribe to What HiFi - I just get emails from them. Honest. No, really. 

 

How to remove the tracking crap from URLs:

 

Basically, everything separated by a "/" is part of a url. It used to refer to physical directory structure on a web server, but is generated virtually now, for the most part. After that, if data info is included in a url, it is indicated by a "?" and variables chained together with "&". So, the actual url is: 

https://www.whathifi.com/features/the-tech-endangered-list-are-these-devices-and-formats-the-next-to-go and everything else is just stuff showing that it came from an email campaign and the details so the site can see how effective their email lists are.

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On 9/7/2021 at 11:31 AM, UkPhil said:

 

The ruling party in China dictates what the masses has access to and how they access it.

That would fit in with the MQA business plan and the studios wishes.

The music consumer needs to conform to the parties wishes.

It's all detailed in the parties media arm, TAS and Stereophile.

Boycott Warner

Boycott Tidal

Boycott Roon

Boycott Lenbrook

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10 minutes ago, KeenObserver said:

Did I miss something?

Funny Clouds GIFs | Tenor

 

Is this you dancing in the clouds? 🤣  Maybe that is why you missed it....

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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Forgive me, but after parsing through this thread, isn't the quote below pure merde?

 

spacer.png

 

"When music is playing, the EVO's screen displays, along with the album cover, the song and album titles, the artist's name, the stream resolution, the file format, the track's total and elapsed time, and—if the track is MQA—the MQA logo accompanied by either a green or a blue dot indicating whether that MQA recording is engineer- or artist-approved (blue, "MQA Studio"). If the dot is green, it means that the file being streamed is intact MQA, but it may not be the most recent or definitive version of the recording.

 

I got a kick out of seeing my first blue authentication dot. I thought: "This recording is the real deal!" It appeared on the 24/192 MQA version of John Coltrane's cover of "My Favorite Things" (Atlantic/Qobuz) which I heard after I'd heard that same track on a green-lighted 16/44.1 MQA mix."

 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/cambridge-audio-evo-150-streaming-integrated-amplifier

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(EDIT: I see Pierre and I posted the same/similar thing at same time. Great minds think alike!)

 

NOW THERE ARE TWO DOTS! 

 

Our favorite legacy publication has a review of the Cambridge Audio EVO 150 streamer. On the second page of the article, the reviewer goes to town listening to multiple MQA versions of the same album. This of course begs the question: How can there be multiple MQA versions of an album when supposedly the intent of MQA is to stipulate to the listener that he/she is listening to the ONE AND ONLY TRUE AND APPROVED file.  This seems like an underreported crack in the MQA p̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶l̶i̶e̶s̶ story.

 

FURTHER, apparently there are now two lights, something of which I was previously unaware. Green dot means engineer approved, blue dot means artist approved.

 

I don't want to give this nonsense more air, nor do I want to inadvertently violate any policies Chris might have, so I won't quote from or link to the article, But if you go to the home page of that audiophile mag which starts with stereo and ends with phile, and scroll down to the EVO 150 review, please see if you are not as confused as I am. (Indeed, one disruptive commenter is asking why it is that upsampled files seem to always be called out as such, except when they are MQA, and he wonders why that is.)

 

Me, I wonder what's up with the multiple MQA versions and also the two dots. I HAVE AN IDEA. Let's refer to MQA from now on as "MQA 2 dots." That will, as the Brits say, take the piss out of RS and co.

 

 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Pierre LeMonf said:

Forgive me, but after parsing through this thread, isn't the quote below pure merde?

 

spacer.png

 

"When music is playing, the EVO's screen displays, along with the album cover, the song and album titles, the artist's name, the stream resolution, the file format, the track's total and elapsed time, and—if the track is MQA—the MQA logo accompanied by either a green or a blue dot indicating whether that MQA recording is engineer- or artist-approved (blue, "MQA Studio"). If the dot is green, it means that the file being streamed is intact MQA, but it may not be the most recent or definitive version of the recording.

 

I got a kick out of seeing my first blue authentication dot. I thought: "This recording is the real deal!" It appeared on the 24/192 MQA version of John Coltrane's cover of "My Favorite Things" (Atlantic/Qobuz) which I heard after I'd heard that same track on a green-lighted 16/44.1 MQA mix."

 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/cambridge-audio-evo-150-streaming-integrated-amplifier

 

Yes, pure unadulterated merde...

Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby
Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley
Through the middle of my skull

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1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Oh yes, in typical mQa fashion making things clear as mud, there are of course two colored lights. Blue and green, and of course they must be approved by the engineer or artist. Who knew Miles Davis and Rudy Van Gelder could hit the stamp of approval from the grave. And, who knew the batch converter in the cloud could also obtain those approvals. 

 

I had a Judy Collins album from mQa Ltd and I asked why it was "only" a green light mQa file. An hour later I had a blue light version. I'm sure it had nothing to do with flipping the mQa light switch in the metadata, and everything to do with obtaining the proper approval. 

 

 

A little too much LSD or mescaline for them? Just asking.....

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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Go back and read JA2's post in reaction to mine under that article.

He's totally bought in to MQA, and accepts their claims at face value. 

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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