That’s why I am purchasing a 205 when they go back to production. That, along with having a backup universal machine. I’m also getting ready to preorder the list of titles suggested by @tlake6659 with the 2018 masters, and perhaps a few others. Obviously I can’t comment or speculate on SQ until I have heard the format. I wish these new titles were going to be issued in true high resolution on glorious SHM-SACD, but it is what it is.
I did a search at the CD Japan site using the query "DSD master in 2018" and it shows these titles: Eric Claptopn - 461 Ocean Boulevard Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die Free - Fire And Water The Beach Boys - Endless Summer The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers And Sisters Steely Dan - The Royal Scam Steely Dan - Aja
Search for just “MQA” and you get 4 pages of results. I notice all the scheduled releases are the very familiar ones forever beloved by the middle-aged audiophile crowd well-represented here. If this is the future of physical media, physical media will be picking up social security around the middle of the next decade.
This is the CD Japan page where all the Universal Music's MQA UHQCD are listed: World's First Hi-Res CD by Universal Music Japan
It did with DVD's and You Ray discs! They've been able to come up with lossy technology that tools our Yes sided bob!! Need to make a beer run first. Beave
I haven't read every page in this thread, but a lot of it, and I still haven't seen anything definitive about the source of the masters except they appear to be from previous DSD Masters. Is this confirmed? Did they do anything to those Masters in the process of converting them to MQA/UHQCD? (other than add the MQA coding) I can't see much reason to try these unless more definitive information comes out. I will wait until end user reviews and opinions start showing up.
Looking at some of the details, they are just taking most (all?) of these from the DSD masters already used for previous releases. Why would I buy a transfer I have on SACD on MQA? I’m not seeing the appeal. Even Genesis ‘Foxtrot’ says it uses “2007 DSD master”. Yeah, right. Like MQA is going to solve the sound of that remix.
I agree. There is no need to downgrade from SHM-SACD to the MQA version of the same title/master. I’m optimistic that the 2018 mastered titles will be an improvement or unique in in SQ vs the previous issued SHM-SACD of the same title which may have used a copy tape as it’s source. Then there is the opportunity for improvement in SQ on the titles not previously issued on SHM-SACD to begin with. I’ll reiterate, I’d love to see SHM-SACD continue and perhaps going forward we’ll see this as a fourth option? SHM-SACD, SHM-CD, SHM- Platinum and MQA-CD all using the same mastering. I’m always chasing that improvement in SQ ‘high’, so here I go again!
"Sticky Fingers” appears to be a combination of 2009 and 2011 remasters… 01. ブラウン・シュガー / Brown Sugar (Remastered 2009) 02. スウェイ / Sway (Remastered) 03. ワイルド・ホース / Wild Horses (Remastered 2009) 04. キャント・ユー・ヒア・ミー・ノッキング / Can't You Hear Me Knocking (Remastered) 05. ユー・ガッタ・ムーヴ / You Gotta Move (Remastered) 06. ビッチ / Bitch (Remastered 2009) 07. アイ・ガット・ザ・ブルース / I Got The Blues (Remastered) 08. シスター・モーフィン / Sister Morphine (Remastered) 09. デッド・フラワーズ / Dead Flowers (Remastered) 10. ムーンライト・マイル / Moonlight Mile (Remastered) スティッキー・フィンガーズ【CD】【MQA/UHQCD】 | ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ | UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE
Keeping in mind that MQA-coding alters the mastering source code, I am waiting to hear from anyone who owns an MQA player with which a definitive comparison to standard or SACD playback can be made. Also, given that it is being said that the MQA discs will play in a standard CD player, how does such playback compare to that of redbook or SACD disc, given that the mastering is unique? I am both puzzled and slightly irritated that an objective lab demo appears to be elusive. If a convincing test were provided I might be inclined to invest in an MQA player. In the absence of such, I am merely waiting for real world feedback.
The CD format is only "dying" in North America. And even that appears to be some wishful thinking by the media, propelled by the streaming industry's press releases (in which the paid subscription numbers in particular don't add up, to be honest) The CD is alive and well and outsells both downloads and vinyl in virtually every other part of the world, including Japan (#2) and Germany (#4) music market. China is the biggest growth market for hard copy sales, but still has profligate problems with music piracy. (*not sure about the current numbers in the UK (#3 music market)
Various Artists - Hi-Res CD Sampler for Rock & Pop [Hi-Res CD (MQA x UHQCD)] [Limited Release] (6/20) Hi-Res CD Sampler for Rock & Pop [Hi-Res CD (MQA x UHQCD)] [Limited Release] V.A. CD Album これがハイレゾCDだ! ロック&ポップスで聴き比べる体験サンプラー【CD】【MQA/UHQCD】 | ヴァリアス・アーティスト | UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE Various Artists - Hi-Res CD Sampler for Jazz [Hi-Res CD (MQA x UHQCD)] [Limited Release] (6/20) Hi-Res CD Sampler for Jazz [Hi-Res CD (MQA x UHQCD)] [Limited Release] V.A. CD Album これがハイレゾCDだ! ジャズで聴き比べる体験サンプラー【CD】【MQA/UHQCD】 | ヴァリアス・アーティスト | UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE Various Artists - Hi-Res CD Sampler for Classical Music [Hi-Res CD (MQA x UHQCD)] [Limited Release] (6/20) Hi-Res CD Sampler for Classical Music [Hi-Res CD (MQA x UHQCD)] [Limited Release] Classical V.A. CD Album これがハイレゾCDだ! クラシックで聴き比べる体験サンプラー【CD】【MQA/UHQCD】 | ヴァリアス・アーティスト | UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE
Amen! You GO! That's exactly how I feel-why the hell is anyone releasing on SACD and DVD-A and all that. So annoying! Yeah, they look to sell to the niche markets or whatever but I could really give a rat's patoot, just stick it in high-res on a Blu-ray. Or, frankly, on a DVD since most stuff is still 2-channel.
Because it can carry much better audio than a CD. So can a DVD for that matter. Ah well, that situation is not going to improve.
What? In Norway I know a couple of stores in Oslo that has a small selection of CDs. But that's all. CD has been dead in Norway for years.
Sometimes people doesn't feel my sarcasm when abou blu-ray... To be clear: I only believe in cds and SACDs because I can play these by means of my great audio set. I detest all audio possibilities as part of tv sets or PCs.