MQA The Truth lies Somewhere in the Middle

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On 10/9/2018 at 3:09 PM, Shadders said:

This is the MQA mob outside the venue lecture :

 

We want our Brexit!!!

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On 10/10/2018 at 3:33 AM, Lee Scoggins said:

His pounding on the table was just for emphasis. It's not something I see a lot in the U.S. but I see it all the time in the UK so I think that's just a cultural thing.

 

After how many pints? ?

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On 10/11/2018 at 4:00 AM, Lee Scoggins said:

 

No, I have not received any compensation.  I am writing articles on the technology because I think it has merit in terms of getting more hirez out as my first article showed.

 

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "getting more hirez out"?

 

Are you acknowledging that MQA throws hi-res out?

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On 10/11/2018 at 4:58 AM, The Computer Audiophile said:

This was in my slides as well. Recordings have many ADCs involved and a mix of lossy and lossless content.

 

I don't think they were there to listen to your presentation...

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1 minute ago, Thuaveta said:

 

Instead, you can have one, compressed-for-your-car universal master ! Yay ! Uncle BS sure came through on that one !

Do you mean Bob Stuart or Cow Dung??

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Are people still buying music, or have most resorted to streaming?

And if so, what is the point of DRM?

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10 hours ago, Hugo9000 said:

 

I don't personally know anyone else who buys music, either on physical media, or even downloads.  I don't even know anyone who uses a streaming service, other than free youtube.

 

My music is too important to me, so I've always bought physical media.  LPs and cassettes as a child and teen, then CDs, and now CDs, SACDs, and the occasional Blu-ray audio disc.  I was the same way with movies and favorite tv shows, buying them on VHS, then DVD, and then Blu-ray.  I'm glad I chose that path, although it's been very expensive over the years, because so many recordings and movies I love are no longer available.

 

I don't like renting.  Renting/streaming are for "music discovery" for me, and if I like it, I'll buy it.  I don't like downloads, either, because I don't have the patience any longer for backups of backups, after discovering random tiny glitches in various FLAC files after all the time I spent painstakingly ripping and tagging hundreds of classical CDs in my collection about 8 or 9 years ago (EAC test and copy losslessly, my own accurate custom tags with full information on complex classical releases--it took forever!).  Ugh.  Never again.  I've never had CD rot, if that's even a real thing, after buying thousands of CDs since 1987.  CD may not be Perfect Sound Forever, but it has been closer for me than anything else so far hahaha!

 

DRM on physical media, even in the most restrictive sense of copy prevention, doesn't worry me as long as the format is something that will last, both in terms of the media and the playback hardware.  All of my SACDs are hybrid, so even if the hardware goes away completely one day, I can still play the CD layer, and can make a physical backup of that layer as well, so I didn't have a problem with those purchases.  But I will never buy a download that has any sort of copy prevention, or the risk of it being implemented in the future.  I have one movie I bought from Apple that I can't watch, because I don't remember the user name, password, email, or anything from the account I used when I bought it.  I save that unviewable file as a reminder.  hahaha!

 

10 hours ago, Jud said:

 

I have always bought music up until now. Qobuz Sublime+ may change that to a mix with a lot of streaming and selected purchases.  Listening with Audirvana+ on Windows upsampling to DSD512, and nearly everything sounds pretty terrific.  (The new Kurt Vile at the moment.)

 

10 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

 

I buy.  Streaming services don't really have what I want, and I also do not patronize Rent-to-Buy furniture stores.

 

AFAIK, Streaming is for Millenials.

 

 

I do "stream" in the sense of using YouTube somewhat.

 

I also buy, but the rest of my family streaming.

But I was talking about the consumer slice that really matters to labels, not the minuscule audiophile market.

If the masses are streaming what's the point of having DRM?

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1 minute ago, Lee Scoggins said:

In reading Bob's "paper", I don't see a peer-reviewed-like description of his test method.  Lots of details are missing.

 

Whereas Bob Stuart's work is detailed in peer-reviewed publications.  Shouldn't Bob Carver be held to the same standard?

You sound like a Brexiteer... In spite of all the evidence, you carry on unfazed.

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49 minutes ago, firedog said:

Notice how Lee totally changes his pro MQA arguments over time? He used to talk a lot about the SQ superiority and the technical superiority. Now that those arguments have been shown to be bunk, he mostly talks about how MQA is "good for the industry" (my paraphrase). 

He's moving very close the the Jim Austin argument, which boils down to "whatever is good for the big record labels is good for consumers" - even if it clearly isn't good for consumers. 
 

I'm not saying that to claim either are paid shills. It's just an industry-centric outlook on life. 

 

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21 minutes ago, John_Atkinson said:

 

Sorry, but no. The MQA versions were provided under the condition that I would not share them without permission. The originals you can purchase, of course. But as Chris Connaker appears to have the same files, perhaps he would be amenable to your request.

 

John Atkinson

Editor, Stereophile

 

 

Would you be so kind as to suject them to a thorough analysis for us?

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1 minute ago, Lee Scoggins said:

 

MQA revenue won't be $48 million of course, they get a percentage of that.  The key for MQA is to get a revenue stream from most of the participants in the ecosystem.

But first they need to convince participants that it'll be profitable and then generate a "need" amongst consumers.

Nothing new there.

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1 hour ago, Lee Scoggins said:

 

You miss my point.  Andersen Consulting was a very different firm 20+ years ago when the parent was an accounting firm.  Consulting did a lot of "strat services" back then.  Now we are making most of our revenue in digital and analytics and the firm was spun off when Andersen died from Enron.  Mike has mostly been working in the music business most of the time since.  I met Mike for the first time at RMAF and it was then that he mentioned he was part of the "old Andersen."  

 

And why have you been "defending" MQA so vehemently?

And I do actually mean "defend" not "enlighten" because obviously you are, I'm sorry to say, not qualified / knowledgeable enough to do so.

What's in it for you?

Have you "defendeded" any audio equipment, manufacturer or technology before? Why?

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5 hours ago, Lee Scoggins said:

With the extra revenue, the labels can pay more to the artist.

Or put more money in their pockets.

I'm sure shareholders will love the MQA idea...

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1 hour ago, Shadders said:

Hi,

I think this is because the old people do not use the internet and still subscribe to paper publications.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

 

Or, free online viewers are numerous enough to justify advertising which is almost certainly the main source of income for the magazine.

 

That's how you thrive in the internet age.

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13 minutes ago, Shadders said:

Hi,

Maybe - but at the same time, the influence of such publications is becoming smaller.

 

The younger generation do not care about hifi - hifi is in serious decline. Not sure how long they will last as being relevant - the tech magazines seem to be thriving - glossy publications, little detail, and minimal geek hifi content.

 

I think that the older publishing people as are the music industry are still living in the past - they had full control, but then the internet means people do not have to be told what to think.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

 

I think that some younger adults are interested in better audio, but not home audio (mostly because they are struggling to get one, home). But they buy decent headphones and sometimes even portable DAC-amps.