TIDAL on iPad: How can I see what albums are MQA?

[miguelito]

Hi all,

 

On the TIDAL app, I am now seeing multiple albums for the same album release. Search for Brad Mehldau or David Byrne for example. I presume one of them is an MQA version (which I recall would not show on iOS at all).

 

I am away now and cannot check on my computer, only have an iPhone and iPad. 

 

How can I tell on an iPad - on the TIDAL app or otherwise - which are MQA?

 

Thx.

[PunkRiot]

On IOS Master quality (MQA) is not available. So you can have Hi-Fi quality max.  

[firedog]

59 minutes ago, miguelito said:

Hi all,

 

On the TIDAL app, I am now seeing multiple albums for the same album release. Search for Brad Mehldau or David Byrne for example. I presume one of them is an MQA version (which I recall would not show on iOS at all).

 

I am away now and cannot check on my computer, only have an iPhone and iPad. 

 

How can I tell on an iPad - on the TIDAL app or otherwise - which are MQA?

 

Thx.

You can't. Only on the desktop app (not in the web browser app or tablet app). 

[miguelito]

12 minutes ago, firedog said:

You can't. Only on the desktop app (not in the web browser app or tablet app). 

At some point I got Chrome on iOS to log onto TIDAL without switching me over to the TIDAL app, and on the browser the ‘M’ showed properly. Now I am not being able to force it not to use the app for some reason. 

[wklie]

13 hours ago, firedog said:

You can't. Only on the desktop app (not in the web browser app or tablet app). 

 

And Lumin app (on iPad).

 

[Melvin]

And Bluesound app

 

[miguelito]

So why is Roon not showing this???

[wklie]

Previous explanation:

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/tidal-masters-via-roon/22228/40

 

Since Roon is adding MQA support, I wonder whether this will be changed as part of the future MQA update.

[ChrisG]

Give 'em time, it's only been a year ;-)

 

All kidding aside, this would be handy to have since I hate adding MQA to my collection and, if you favorite albums through the TIDAL app, it defaults to effin MQA. 

[mav52]

On 3/9/2018 at 12:51 PM, miguelito said:

Hi all,

 

On the TIDAL app, I am now seeing multiple albums for the same album release. Search for Brad Mehldau or David Byrne for example. I presume one of them is an MQA version (which I recall would not show on iOS at all).

 

I am away now and cannot check on my computer, only have an iPhone and iPad. 

 

How can I tell on an iPad - on the TIDAL app or otherwise - which are MQA?

 

Thx.

I thought you're dCS app let you browse those Tidal files " Within the dCS Application’s input screen click the Tidal icon.
Click the New folder, here you will find Master folders for playlists, albums and track ", just a thought

[miguelito]

3 hours ago, mav52 said:

I thought you're dCS app let you browse those Tidal files " Within the dCS Application’s input screen click the Tidal icon.
Click the New folder, here you will find Master folders for playlists, albums and track ", just a thought

I will check that out. 

[Dr Tone]

13 minutes ago, miguelito said:

I will check that out. 

 

While you are at it might as well try the Qobuz portion of the dCS app.  

 

I know, I'm like a broken record.

[miguelito]

2 hours ago, Dr Tone said:

 

While you are at it might as well try the Qobuz portion of the dCS app.  

 

I know, I'm like a broken record.

I'd have to get a sublime subscription...   And yes, you're pretty insistant!

[miguelito]

On 3/10/2018 at 11:16 AM, wklie said:

Previous explanation:

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/tidal-masters-via-roon/22228/40

 

Since Roon is adding MQA support, I wonder whether this will be changed as part of the future MQA update.

I had read that. But I will refer back to the screens prior. Yes it is true that some albums might not be available to actually play because either you don't have the appropriate subscription or in a region where it is not offered. This is the case today with even redbook albums - some show on TIDAL and when you want to play them they are unavailable. I just want the same as in the other apps.

[R1200CL]

As I’m now have an MQA DAC in my car, and stream via Tidal using my iPhone and CCK, it’s quite hard to understand why I can’t have master albums available. 

 

Well, have to install a NUC then ?

[Cebolla]

13 hours ago, R1200CL said:

Well, have to install a NUC then ?

 

Not necessarily - the mConnect Player controller app can be used to allow MQA tracks undecoded/passthrough from TIDAL to be streamed by its built-in/local audio file player, as well as by networked renderers that support standard UPnP/DLNA, Google Cast (includes Chromecast) and AirPlay.

 

The mConnect Player Lite version is free and also supports MQA from TIDAL - missing some (minor) features of the full version, eg track sorting, folder bookmarking, and remembering the last used renderer:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mconnect-player-lite/id507379024

No idea if its built-in player can get the iPhone to output bit perfectly via the CCK (I don't have either), but it's certainly worth testing it out.

 

AFAIK, the mConnect Player app is currently the only TIDAL supporting 3rd party UPnP/DLNA & Google Cast device controller that allows you to identify & stream MQA tracks (albeit undecoded).

[R1200CL]

@Cebolla

Not sure i understand.

Are you saying that without a PC or anything else that the mConnet Player will show me MQA files in Tidal, that is not available on the Tidal app ?

 

Edit:

Just installed the lite version on my iPad. Browse Tidal. Nice. 

No MQA titels available. 

 

Edit2:

Now it seems some albums shows up with the M sign. 

But you can’t browse masters. Have not yet tested  if the file really is MQA. 

[R1200CL]

@Cebolla

 

I ran another test, as the mConnect Player can browser both version of a album. It was done on the Audioquest Beetle and using the CCK. There where no hires output as far as i can tell. I only get the green light.

 

From Beetle Flight Manual:

''Beetle’s LED lights up in different colors to indicate status or sample rate:

Red:

Standby

Green:

44100.0 Hz

Blue:

48000.0 Hz

Amber:

88200.0 Hz

Magenta:

96000.0 Hz''

 

 

Answer from Tidal:

''MQA is only available in the latest desktop client version and the Android app for LG v30 phones only. It can be downloaded at tidal.com/download.

 

Masters will be available on other mobile and web applications at a later date, however, we do not have a time frame as it has not been made available to us as of yet.''

 

I could later test using my Explorer², but i do not expect any MQA.

I notice mConnect offer Cloud service, that may work, but i have not tested.

 

Since I know Roon will make a stand alone iOS app, I think I just have to wait for that one.

 

 

[Cebolla]

2 hours ago, R1200CL said:

@Cebolla

 

I ran another test, as the mConnect Player can browser both version of a album. It was done on the Audioquest Beetle and using the CCK. There where no hires output as far as i can tell. I only get the green light.

 

From Beetle Flight Manual:

''Beetle’s LED lights up in different colors to indicate status or sample rate:

Red:

Standby

Green:

44100.0 Hz

Blue:

48000.0 Hz

Amber:

88200.0 Hz

Magenta:

96000.0 Hz''

 

Not necessarily - remember undecoded MQA as streamed directly from TIDAL's online server is either 24 bit/44.1kHz or 24 bit/48kHz.

 

From the manual, the Audioquest Beetle's green light appears to only indicate sample rate at 44.1kHz, so no mention of bit depth. You may have just happened to choose an MQA album's tracks that the TIDAL server supplies at 24/44.1kHz. Is there any indication of bit depth on the Beetle DAC?

 

Off the top of my head, I believe the TIDAL MQA version of the Led Zeppelin IV remastered album tracks are supplied from TIDAL at 24/48kHz.

 

Of course even if the mConnect player app's internal player is playing the correct MQA (ie, at either 24/44.1kHz or 24/48kHz) tracks, that does not necessarily mean that you'll be getting a bit perfect output from the iPhone - the only way you'll be able to tell that is if the MQA indicator lights up on a connected fully decoding MQA DAC!

 

 

 

2 hours ago, R1200CL said:

Answer from Tidal:

''MQA is only available in the latest desktop client version and the Android app for LG v30 phones only. It can be downloaded at tidal.com/download.

 

Masters will be available on other mobile and web applications at a later date, however, we do not have a time frame as it has not been made available to us as of yet.''

 

No - TIDAL were referring to their own software, not third party TIDAL supporting applications. Otherwise, how do you explain the current reports of TIDAL MQA supporting software such as Roon player, Audivana Plus player, Lumin iOS controller app, Bluesound controller app, etc?

[lucretius]

11 hours ago, Cebolla said:

Off the top of my head, I believe the TIDAL MQA version of the Led Zeppelin IV remastered album tracks are supplied from TIDAL at 24/48kHz.

 

24/96kHz !

[rodrigaj]

Deleted

[Cebolla]

6 hours ago, lucretius said:

18 hours ago, Cebolla said:

Off the top of my head, I believe the TIDAL MQA version of the Led Zeppelin IV remastered album tracks are supplied from TIDAL at 24/48kHz.

24/96kHz !

No, you are mistaken. Anyone seeing an indication of 24/96kHz for a track from TIDAL's MQA version of the LedZeppelin IV remastered album is observing it after it has been  decoded to the MQA core, aka 'first unfold' (hence the doubling of the TIDAL online server supplied undecoded MQA track's sample rate). That only happens at the user end, with appropriate MQA supporting software and/or hardware, after the MQA track's audio file data has been streamed and received over the internet from TIDAL's online server.

 

I repeat:

18 hours ago, Cebolla said:

remember undecoded MQA as streamed directly from TIDAL's online server is either 24 bit/44.1kHz or 24 bit/48kHz.

 

[R1200CL]

@Cebolla

 

How do you explain this one ?

 

[Cebolla]

A bit cryptic (as it doesn't look like a complete screenshot & I haven't seen Roon's display for a while), but at a guess you've fired up Roon and have selected TIDAL's MQA version of the DET VI HAR album by Kari Bremnes!

 

Oh, sorry - perhaps you are confused by Roon's description of the album's tracks audio file resolution and encoding?

 

Well, Roon is telling you that the album's tracks are MQA encoded, originally at a sample rate of 96kHz (interesting that there's no mention of original bit depth), packaged (aka 'folded') and then distributed by TIDAL as a FLAC file with a resolution of 24bit/48kHz.

 

Therefore, when you play the album, its tracks will be streamed by Roon from TIDAL's online server and received as 24bit/48kHz FLAC files. So, if Roon's internal (software) MQA decoder is switched off (aka passthrough), the output will (obviously) be 24bit/48kHz LPCM, which a connected MQA DAC can fully decode (aka 'unfold') to the 'original' 96kHz.

 

What I would have been more interested in is what your iPhone's mConnect Player Lite app display is indicating for the same MQA album's tracks. My Android phone version of the mConnect Player Lite was correctly indicating receiving (and playing, MQA undecoded) a FLAC file track from TIDAL at 24bit/48kHz:

 

 

BTW, if you are still unsure about all this, an excellent source of basic info on MQA is available from the CA Acadamy:

MQA (for civilians) - CA Acadamy

"From The Distribution File Forward

 

Currently MQA music is offered through online stores for purchase and download, and through Tidal for streaming. I'm willing to bet more music will be available through both channels and both channels will have more outlets in the coming months.

 

Consumers purchasing or streaming MQA music will see either 24 bit / 44.1 kHz or 24 bit / 48 kHz files without playing the audio (16 bit MQA files are outside the scope of this discussion). These are what's called the distribution files. They have been through the MQA process that deblurs and folds them into a smaller package, readying them for transport and playback on almost any device.

 

The MQA distribution file, the file that's actually purchased or streamed, is like a chameleon. In its packaged state the files are 44.1 or 48 kHz, but decoded and rendered the files can expand into the highest supported sample rate of the digital to analog converter inside the DAC."

[R1200CL]

On 5/26/2018 at 11:13 AM, Cebolla said:

What I would have been more interested in is what your iPhone's mConnect Player Lite app display is indicating for the same MQA album's tracks. My Android phone version of the mConnect Player Lite was correctly indicating receiving (and playing, MQA undecoded) a FLAC file track from TIDAL at 24bit/48kHz:

 

The information displayed by mConnect player doesn’t seems to be correct. If so the Beetle would indicate 48 and not 44.1. 

 

Also this evening i conected The Explorer2 DAC to an iPhone X (using the latest CCK), and played that specific album. No MQA.