MQA The Truth lies Somewhere in the Middle

[Lee Scoggins]

10 hours ago, lucretius said:

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but your experience is limited to recordings of small orchestras and string quartets in the Atlanta area.

 

No, that is not accurate.  I worked at Chesky Records in the 90s on roughly two dozen sessions in roles ranging from production assistant to assistant producer.  I also helped on strategy for the company in the early to mid 2000s.  I have recorded several orchestras in Atlanta and many jazz sessions.

 

Most of the recording engineers I meet are very particular about the ADC they use.  They tend to use one model until they find something better.  So if you know the engineer and the time period, I can guess the ADC.  All the MQA guys have done is figure out the distortions in the ADCs and have engineered a filter to correct them.

[Brinkman Ship]

23 minutes ago, Lee Scoggins said:

 

I don't believe I'm an industry insider nor am I trying to be.  I simply write part-time for an audio magazine.  

You are not..but you CERTAINLY are trying to be..aren't you friends with everybody and on a first name basis with all...?

 

LOL.

[Brinkman Ship]

28 minutes ago, mansr said:

While I am no fan of Apple, they have done a few good deeds. Apart from being the major force in ridding music downloads of DRM, they also brought about the demise of Adobe/Macromedia Flash in favour of open standards. It is a very weird company.

That may be but Apple has done quite a bit to hold back high quality music distribution. They easily could have started selling ALAC or AIFF files years ago. They convinced people that AAC was "standard" resolution. It is also absurd that there ridiculously expensive devices are limited to 24/48 playback.

 

Sound On Sound wrote an article saying that basically there is no reason for lossy algorithms to even exist any more-

 

"These days we have storage coming out of our ears, and plenty of bandwidth for data transferral, so isn't it time that lossy formats began to finally die out?

 

Lossy data compression has gone beyond providing a convenient format for storage and bandwidth-limited playback to becoming the 'norm' for audio distribution at the point of sale."

 

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/sounding-paul-ward

 

 

 

[Lee Scoggins]

4 hours ago, adamdea said:

 

 

Thanks both- am I right in thinking that in the case of the Beyoncé and Bruno Mars tracks they are just 44.1 recordings which are lazy upsampled by MQA to 24/96?

 

I'm curious then about what the implications are then, is this a mastering mistake or deliberate fraud?  Is it possible  that MQA does not want to embarrass the label?  Is there a concern that the light comes on with the upsampled track?

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, Lee Scoggins said:

 

I'm curious then about what the implications are then, is this a mastering mistake or deliberate fraud?  Is it possible  that MQA does not want to embarrass the label?  Is there a concern that the light comes on with the upsampled track?

This is all MQA. You can buy the original PCM as 24/44.1 from HDtracks. That’s the resolution of the recording. MQA is adding the noise and decoding it to 88.2. 

[Brinkman Ship]

Just now, The Computer Audiophile said:

This is all MQA. You can buy the original PCM as 24/44.1 from HDtracks. That’s the resolution of the recording. MQA is adding the noise and decoding it to 88.2. 

....tick tock tick tock..waiting for the bullshit spin.....

[mansr]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

This is all MQA. You can buy the original PCM as 24/44.1 from HDtracks. That’s the resolution of the recording. MQA is adding the noise and decoding it to 88.2. 

And increasing the file size in the process. Oh, and reducing the bit depth.

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, Brinkman Ship said:

....tick tock tick tock..waiting for the bullshit spin.....

It will be a few more tick tocks because Bob is sleeping and won’t supply the “answer” until the morning. 

 

I know how this works. I’ve received the phone calls. 

[Brinkman Ship]

Just now, The Computer Audiophile said:

It will be a few more tick tocks because Bob is sleeping and won’t supply the “answer” until the morning. 

 

I know how this works. I’ve received the phone calls. 

I gotcha....? The problem is Scoggs turns into a pumpkin at midnight...

[The Computer Audiophile]

Like I said in my presentation, how did we as audiophiles go from straight wire with gain to audio origami and added noise. It’s a crazy f’d up world we live in. 

[beetlemania]

1 hour ago, mansr said:

How is that relevant?

What’s relevant is that Ms. Baumert has nothing to apologize for and MQA is a farce, adding coloration to digital recordings and, mostly, a huge revenue stream to BS and company. Sickening that JA just brushes this aside.

[Brinkman Ship]

4 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Like I said in my presentation, how did we as audiophiles go from straight wire with gain to audio origami and added noise. It’s a crazy f’d up world we live in. 

...it's progress! A crew of men in their 60's and  70's are telling us it sounds "better"...Atkinson, Harley, Lavorgna, Fremer, Austin,Taffel, Serenus..the only young shill is Darko. Don't you know they are platinum eared? Don't you know they are the voices of authority!

[jtwrace]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/trump-signs-music-modernization-act-736185/

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, Brinkman Ship said:

...it's progress! A crew of men in their 60's and  70's are telling us it sounds "better"...Atkinson, Harley, Lavorgna, Fremer, Austin,Taffel, Serenus..the only young shill is Darko. Don't you know they are platinum eared? Don't you know they are the voices of authority!

At least others in the industry see it differently. Check out this email I received from a very well respected person. I’ve obviously removed ifentifying info, much to the chagrin of MQA ltd I’m sure. 

 

“...boy was it uncomfortable to see this. Cleary a test of power and a display on how low they are willing to go.

 

Don’t worry, this looks bad for them. The optics are terrible, a bunch of old, unkempt geezers vs. the young & well prepared & well intentioned guy. They come across as dishonest and unprofessional while you maintain your stance, emphasise your balanced position and stick with your humour. 

 

You kept your composure while the other side banged on tables Just wait for the GIFs. 

 

Your brand is young & smart audiophilia, which comes across well in the video.

 

Give it a few days, let the optics sink in while regrouping. 

 

The way you refuted the anonymity argument was especially pointed.”

[Brinkman Ship]

3 minutes ago, jtwrace said:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/trump-signs-music-modernization-act-736185/

Kanye West, kid Rock, and Trump..three of a perfect pair. Talentless imbeciles.

[Brinkman Ship]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

At least others in the industry see it differently. Check out this email I received from a very well respected person. I’ve obviously removed ifentifying info, much to the chagrin of MQA ltd I’m sure. 

 

“...boy was it uncomfortable to see this. Cleary a test of power and a display on how low they are willing to go.

 

Don’t worry, this looks bad for them. The optics are terrible, a bunch of old, unkempt geezers vs. the young & well prepared & well intentioned guy. They come across as dishonest and unprofessional while you maintain your stance, emphasise your balanced position and stick with your humour. 

 

You kept your composure while the other side banged on tables Just wait for the GIFs. 

 

Your brand is young & smart audiophilia, which comes across well in the video.

 

Give it a few days, let the optics sink in while regrouping. 

 

The way you refuted the anonymity argument was especially pointed.”

Excellent note of support, thanks for posting..can you tell us with what industry he is affiliated?

[Hugo9000]

I just want to say how much I'm enjoying listening to my boxed set of Dvořák symphonies, with Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  Just good old RBCD from Chandos Records, but at least it's blissfully free of BS's artifacts and added noise!

 

Some of the smaller classical labels like Chandos and BIS (my personal favorite) have long had better sound quality than the "majors," but I guess that gap will widen further as the "majors" butcher their work with all that batch-processed master-quality adulteration, performed in the "cloud" (of added distortion).  

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, Hugo9000 said:

I just want to say how much I'm enjoying listening to my boxed set of Dvořák symphonies, with Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  Just good old RBCD from Chandos Records, but at least it's blissfully free of BS's artifacts and added noise!

 

Some of the smaller classical labels like Chandos and BIS (my personal favorite) have long had better sound quality than the "majors," but I guess that gap will widen further as the "majors" butcher their work with all that batch-processed master-quality adulteration, performed in the "cloud" (of added distortion).  

At least someone is enjoying this wonderful hobby of ours. 

[Brinkman Ship]

3 minutes ago, Hugo9000 said:

I just want to say how much I'm enjoying listening to my boxed set of Dvořák symphonies, with Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  Just good old RBCD from Chandos Records, but at least it's blissfully free of BS's artifacts and added noise!

 

Some of the smaller classical labels like Chandos and BIS (my personal favorite) have long had better sound quality than the "majors," but I guess that gap will widen further as the "majors" butcher their work with all that batch-processed master-quality adulteration, performed in the "cloud" (of added distortion).  

I listened to Redbook all day..works for me!

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, Brinkman Ship said:

Excellent note of support, thanks for posting..can you tell us with what industry he is affiliated?

Nope. 

[Brinkman Ship]

...great album...

 

[Brinkman Ship]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Nope. 

ok...?

[Shadorne]

5 minutes ago, Hugo9000 said:

I just want to say how much I'm enjoying listening to my boxed set of Dvořák symphonies, with Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  Just good old RBCD from Chandos Records, but at least it's blissfully free of BS's artifacts and added noise!

 

Some of the smaller classical labels like Chandos and BIS (my personal favorite) have long had better sound quality than the "majors," but I guess that gap will widen further as the "majors" butcher their work with all that batch-processed master-quality adulteration, performed in the "cloud" (of added distortion).  

 

Chandos has always been a favourite of mine. Hyperion and Naxos too. And I am not really a classical music fan - I guess I just hear something good. The UK has Classic FM - excellent radio station - not sure if it still exists...

[jtwrace]

9 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

They come across as dishonest and unprofessional while you maintain your stance, emphasise your balanced position and stick with your humour. 

 

7 minutes ago, Brinkman Ship said:

Excellent note of support, thanks for posting..can you tell us with what industry he is affiliated?

Based on the spelling of "humour" I'd say the person is British.  I'm pretty sure it's John Atkinson who wrote that to Chris.  ?

[Brinkman Ship]

3 minutes ago, jtwrace said:

 

Based on the spelling of "humour" I'd say the person is British.  I'm pretty sure it's John Atkinson who wrote that to Chris.  ?

haha..good one...doubt it.