Popular Post GUTB Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 What are you guys' favorite MQA albums? MQA-CDs? Also list your DAC and your playback chain if possible. Let's get started on building a community database on the best MQA albums. MikeyFresh, KeenObserver and sphinxsix 3 Link to comment
Popular Post Kal Rubinson Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 vmartell22, kumakuma, MikeyFresh and 12 others 2 4 1 8 Kal Rubinson Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile Link to comment
Popular Post kumakuma Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 Siltech817, MikeyFresh, botrytis and 4 others 7 Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley Through the middle of my skull Link to comment
Popular Post MetalNuts Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 Are u kidding, MQA? MikeyFresh, barrows, Siltech817 and 1 other 4 MetalNuts Link to comment
Popular Post AudioDoctor Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 Hold on let me get the list... as I suspected, there isn't anything on it... vmartell22, Siltech817, Teresa and 4 others 1 2 1 3 No electron left behind. Link to comment
Popular Post Kal Rubinson Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 20 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said: Hold on let me get the list... as I suspected, there isn't anything on it... Nonetheless, it is longer than mine. 😁 Siltech817, lucretius, botrytis and 4 others 1 1 5 Kal Rubinson Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile Link to comment
Popular Post kumakuma Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 lucretius, botrytis, DuckToller and 4 others 1 6 Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley Through the middle of my skull Link to comment
Popular Post GUTB Posted December 29, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 45 minutes ago, MetalNuts said: Are u kidding, MQA? I mean...this IS an audiophile forum...right? Ishmael Slapowitz, botrytis, Siltech817 and 1 other 4 Link to comment
Popular Post MetalNuts Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 8 minutes ago, GUTB said: I mean...this IS an audiophile forum...right? Yes, it is! But with respect, let's agree to disagree. MQA is not audiophile to me but snake oil or may be even worse. barrows, Siltech817, Teresa and 2 others 3 2 MetalNuts Link to comment
Popular Post Ishmael Slapowitz Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 Siltech817, AnotherSpin, Blake and 4 others 2 5 Link to comment
sandyk Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 4 minutes ago, MetalNuts said: Yes, it is! But with respect, let's agree to disagree. MQA is not audiophile to me but snake oil or may be even worse. Perhaps his Vacuum Tube preamplifier makes MQA sound better ? 😉 How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
MetalNuts Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 16 minutes ago, sandyk said: Perhaps his Vacuum Tube preamplifier makes MQA sound better ? 😉 It is not his fault. I would blame there no rules or standard governing the use of certain names which will convey to consumer the idea of superiority over the others. It is a possible case of misrepresentation. MikeyFresh 1 MetalNuts Link to comment
GUTB Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 34 minutes ago, MetalNuts said: Yes, it is! But with respect, let's agree to disagree. MQA is not audiophile to me but snake oil or may be even worse. What hardware and music did you use to come to this conclusion about MQA? MikeyFresh 1 Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Kal Rubinson said: Nonetheless, it is longer than mine. 😁 haha, you have got me there. No electron left behind. Link to comment
Popular Post botrytis Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 9 minutes ago, GUTB said: What hardware and music did you use to come to this conclusion about MQA? I went to a dealer in Des Moines, IA two years ago and blindly listened to their Roon Server using B&W 800 D3's Big McIntosh monoblocks and I can't remember the front end. But, it was of the same calibre. I played versions of music I knew both non-MQA and MQA versions. Except for being louder, all the MQA versions sounded like shit. Example on a Melody Gardot piece from " The Absence' - So Long (both were supposedly 96/24 versions) The guitar on the MQA version sounded like a plastic stringed guitar, not full like the others. Her voice also was very thin. That was enough for me. Siltech817, Currawong, Teresa and 3 others 5 1 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 Link to comment
MetalNuts Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, GUTB said: What hardware and music did you use to come to this conclusion about MQA? My friend, I believe if you are interested to discover my audio system you can click on my avatar and discover yourself. But for your sake I copied and showed it to you below. However, I do not believe my current audio system make me arrived at the conclusion cos' I have changed gears along these years since MQA surfaced in the market. It is the source that matters. Stereo: NAS & MSB Premier Dac (Isotek EVO3 Acension PC) --> Crystal Future Dream XLR --> Soulution 525 (Crystal Future Dream PC) --> Crystal Future Dream XLR --> Soulution 311 (Isotek EVO3 Acension PC) --> Crystal Kondo Operia SPs 2.7--> Audio Physic Midex AV: OPPO 203 / Pioneer LX500 --> Pioneer LX-901--> ELAC CC 241.3, KEF LS-50, KEF R-50, JL 110 Power Conditioner for Stereo: Isotek EVO3 Mosaic Genesis & Isotek EVO3 Genesis One Power Conditioner for AV: Isotek EVO3 Sigmas MetalNuts Link to comment
Siltech817 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 3 hours ago, GUTB said: What are you guys' favorite MQA albums? What is an "MQA album"? 3 hours ago, GUTB said: MQA-CDs? Just a small handful of people in Japan have any of these, so that's quite a short list. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Siltech817 said: What is an "MQA album"? Just a small handful of people in Japan have any of these, so that's quite a short list. If a particular product availability is limited to internal Japan only online sale, it is still possible to get it. One can contact one of Japanese forwarding services, which will buy and send it to your address anywhere in the world. Link to comment
GUTB Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, MetalNuts said: My friend, I believe if you are interested to discover my audio system you can click on my avatar and discover yourself. But for your sake I copied and showed it to you below. However, I do not believe my current audio system make me arrived at the conclusion cos' I have changed gears along these years since MQA surfaced in the market. It is the source that matters. Stereo: NAS & MSB Premier Dac (Isotek EVO3 Acension PC) --> Crystal Future Dream XLR --> Soulution 525 (Crystal Future Dream PC) --> Crystal Future Dream XLR --> Soulution 311 (Isotek EVO3 Acension PC) --> Crystal Kondo Operia SPs 2.7--> Audio Physic Midex AV: OPPO 203 / Pioneer LX500 --> Pioneer LX-901--> ELAC CC 241.3, KEF LS-50, KEF R-50, JL 110 Power Conditioner for Stereo: Isotek EVO3 Mosaic Genesis & Isotek EVO3 Genesis One Power Conditioner for AV: Isotek EVO3 Sigmas The MSB Premier supports MQA through the renderer module and it obviously has the resolution to expose hi-res recordings. This systems seems like it should have no problem with revealing MQA qualities (or lack thereof) unless you didn't have a MQA DAC at the time. Can you think of some albums that you were unimpressed with that made you discard MQA? Link to comment
GUTB Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 2 hours ago, botrytis said: I went to a dealer in Des Moines, IA two years ago and blindly listened to their Roon Server using B&W 800 D3's Big McIntosh monoblocks and I can't remember the front end. But, it was of the same calibre. I played versions of music I knew both non-MQA and MQA versions. Except for being louder, all the MQA versions sounded like shit. Example on a Melody Gardot piece from " The Absence' - So Long (both were supposedly 96/24 versions) The guitar on the MQA version sounded like a plastic stringed guitar, not full like the others. Her voice also was very thin. That was enough for me. It sounds likely if you don't recall the front end it wasn't MQA capable. However you did note a change that was memorable so maybe it was MQA capable. I'll review this track and see if I can hear this degradation of quality. I haven't come across a degradation with MQA, it's always either an improvement or no difference at all. Link to comment
GUTB Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Siltech817 said: What is an "MQA album"? Just a small handful of people in Japan have any of these, so that's quite a short list. Just an album but with an MQA version available. MQA-CD is actually a combination of MQA and UHQCD which is a new disc media material and mastering process. The discs return a stronger signal to the reader. I also tested these independently (ie, UHQCD with no MQA) using samplers from JapanCD. The samplers contain a UHQCD disc and a regular CD of the same tracks so you can compare them. When I tested it with my older DAC and CD player, I found there was a minor improvement in bass definition. Actually I should go back to them using my new DAC and CD transport. Aside from MQA-CD, you can buy MQA downloads from certain sites. The one with the largest selection as far as I know is Highresaudio.com. Link to comment
Popular Post Archimago Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 38 minutes ago, GUTB said: Just an album but with an MQA version available. MQA-CD is actually a combination of MQA and UHQCD which is a new disc media material and mastering process. The discs return a stronger signal to the reader. I also tested these independently (ie, UHQCD with no MQA) using samplers from JapanCD. The samplers contain a UHQCD disc and a regular CD of the same tracks so you can compare them. When I tested it with my older DAC and CD player, I found there was a minor improvement in bass definition. Actually I should go back to them using my new DAC and CD transport. Aside from MQA-CD, you can buy MQA downloads from certain sites. The one with the largest selection as far as I know is Highresaudio.com. Back in 2018, Agitater did a great write-up using imported Japanese MQA-CD/UHQCD vs. CD: "MQA-CD x UHQCD" Listening Test by Agitater Summary: He and his buddies not impressed. No surprise since the MQA algorithm will take up space, leaving even less room for actual content/resolution on a 16/44.1 CD carrier. UkPhil, botrytis and MikeyFresh 2 1 Archimago's Musings: A "more objective" take for the Rational Audiophile. Beyond mere fidelity, into immersion and realism. R.I.P. MQA 2014-2023: Hyped product thanks to uneducated, uncritical advocates & captured press. Link to comment
Popular Post MetalNuts Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, GUTB said: The MSB Premier supports MQA through the renderer module and it obviously has the resolution to expose hi-res recordings. This systems seems like it should have no problem with revealing MQA qualities (or lack thereof) unless you didn't have a MQA DAC at the time. Can you think of some albums that you were unimpressed with that made you discard MQA? Really? Should I be glad to have my MSB supporting MQA? Why should I bother to explore MQA more knowing that it has been proved and shown that it has no evidence to support its claim of improving the SQ? You believe what you believe but stop trying to believe you know better than others without supporting evidence, yet try to convince others to your belief. Thank you very much! Teresa, botrytis and MikeyFresh 3 MetalNuts Link to comment
Popular Post jcbenten Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 11 hours ago, GUTB said: I mean...this IS an audiophile forum...right? MQA is bit-reduction replaced with noise and a DRM trigger. What is Audiophile about that? MetalNuts, Teresa, MikeyFresh and 1 other 1 3 QNAP TS453Pro w/QLMS->Netgear Switch->Netgear RAX43 Router->Ethernet (50 ft)->Netgear switch->SBTouch ->SABAJ A10d->Linn Majik-IL (preamp)->Linn 2250->Linn Keilidh; Control Points: iPeng (iPad Air & iPhone); Also: Rega P3-24 w/ DV 10x5; OPPO 103; PC Playback: Foobar2000 & JRiver; Portable: iPhone 12 ProMax & Radio Paradise or NAS streaming; Sony NWZ ZX2 w/ PHA-3; SMSL IQ, Fiio Q5, iFi Nano iDSD BL; Garage: Edifier S1000DB Active Speakers Link to comment
Popular Post sphinxsix Posted December 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2020 @GUTB It seems many people have missed you here, I'm also glad you're back My favorite MQA album DuckToller, Jeff_N, Blake and 3 others 2 1 3 Link to comment
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