Meridian MQA Poll

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Brother_Rael, May 9, 2015.

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  1. Gorts said that criticism of MQA is forbidden? I doubt that as 1) it goes against the spirit of the board and 2) I have criticized MQA plenty and have not gotten booted from any of the threads. Maybe its not a question of what you said, but rather how you said it?
     
  2. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter


    My input is in the first three pages of that thread. See for yourself BB...!
     
  3. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    So let's suppose MQA is "better than the real thing". From one perspective, isn't that what mastering is about and what this forum worships? Mastering artisans take something that is flat and give it "the breath of life", etc. Many here do not subscribe to "flat transfer" and want some additional magic.

    If MQA delivers something that suits the audiophile tastes and sounds subjectively "better" I don't think many would care if it is not "accurate".
     
    bhazen likes this.
  4. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    We want " the breath of life" applied by a human being whose ears we trust...not by a DSP algorithm owned
    by a private company that requires special hardware to enjoy.
     
    gd0 likes this.
  5. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    You mean like SACD, DVD-A, MLP, HDCD, Blu-ray audio.....? How many do you need??
     
  6. soundQman

    soundQman Senior Member

    Location:
    Arlington, VA, USA
    It's not quite as simple as the "accuracy" issue, because it depends on how far back in the reproduction chain one goes. If in fact DACs and ADCs can be corrected for the distortions and time smears they intoduce, would it not be desirable in the cause of greater accuracy and fidelity to the master tape, to minimize those distortions? Does anyone believe that digital process distorions are normally part of what the artists and engineers intend, loudness boosting matering moves notwithstanding?
     
  7. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    Sounds wonderful. Rolls off the tongue beautifully!!

    Except..we have numerous accounts over the years of the very best engineers and artist them selves telling us that high quality digital
    captures of analog tape by the VERY BEST ADC models were virtually INDISTINGUISHABLE from the tape on playback.

    So now we have "magic MQA" that will prove them wrong.
     
  8. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    You know, I have not dropped a needle on a vinyl record since 1987. All of this format merry go round just may push me back to spinning platters.

    I hate(d) the surface noise, warps, dust, crackles and pops...but at least you knew what you were getting for the most part.
     
  9. I hate all that crap too but I love the sound otherwise.
     
  10. Roger Nichols has said that the Steely Dan U-max 16/44.1 tapes he, Becker, and Fagen prepared in the early 80's are the best each album ever sounded (they did a lot of EQ work on them), and when he prepared new digital masters from the original analog masters the last time around (circa 2000), they did not sound as good as those first digital remasters.
     
  11. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    But you DO know..MQA will unlock any hidden goodness they could not find....:agree:
     
  12. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    No problem with the sound...
     
  13. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    One thing I'm wondering about regarding MQA playback is whether it will be possible to do digital processing on the audio (for things like EQ or headphone crossfeed) and still get the MQA deblurring and sonic advantages? I'm guessing that you probably won't be able to do any digital processing on the signal before sending it to the DAC if you want to maintain the MQAness. Similar to how you can't do digital processing on an HDCD file before sending it to the DAC if you want the DAC to be able to recognize it as HDCD.

    That would be a significant problem for me. I usually listen to digital without any extra processing (like EQ or crossfeed), but sometimes I do want to do some processing for various reasons. If doing that processing kills the MQA benefits then I'm not going to be that interested in MQA.
     
    shaboo likes this.
  14. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    It begs the question about the value of MQA for digital recordings, unless the digital recording has no subsequent processing after recording (very rare?).

    If the big benefit is for analog recordings transferred to digital, then we are just dealing with old catalog titles that everyone already owns (yawn).
     
  15. soundQman

    soundQman Senior Member

    Location:
    Arlington, VA, USA
    So I guess now we really do have "perfect sound forever", eh?
     
  16. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    ...until the next time...!
     
  17. testikoff

    testikoff Seasoned n00b

    For fun I took a 2L DXD recording, downsampled it to 24/88 (SoX, best quality, linear-phase, 95% passband) & subsequently downsampled it to 24/44 (using the same SoX resampler settings). I also grabbed an MQA version of the track from 2L test bench area & ran the spectral comparisons between 24/88 master, its 24/44 SoX home-made downsample & 24/44 undecoded MQA version (frequency range 5-22.05 kHz). Here are the spectrum deltas (see for yourself if undecoded MQA is "better" than RBCD, which if moderately dithered won't be any different in 15-20 kHz band from 24/44 downsample, BTW):
    [​IMG]
     
  18. There are no values on the x-axis, so the graph doesn't tell me anything. I assume what we are supposed to be looking at is the Delta 21 value.
     
  19. testikoff

    testikoff Seasoned n00b

    X axis grid actually goes: 5, 10, 15, 20 kHz (X axis cutoff is 22050 Hz). Undecoded MQA - 24/88 master spectrum delta graph is... Delta 31 (Delta 21 graph is for 24/44 SoX downsample - 24/88 master delta, which will be very similar to moderately dithered 16/44 RBCD curve). Forgot to mention that spectrums were taken for a track fadeout.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2016
    Billy Budapest likes this.
  20. mdm08033

    mdm08033 Senior Member

    My take on MQA is Bob Stuart is that the endless revenue that he anticipated from MLP licensing is quickly diminishing along with physical media. MQA is his attempt at licensing a process that will work on streaming. The future is written. Copyright holders want to kill physical media and charger us every time we listen to a song or watch a program. I hope for the sake of future audiophiles his MQA process is real. For my ears I'll stick to my physical media and and endure streaming audio quality for what it is, background noise while eating dinner.
     
  21. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    PRESS RELEASE 05/06/2016:

    Warner Music Group & MQA Enter Long-Term Licensing Deal


    Munich, May 6, 2016: Warner Music Group (WMG) today announced a long-term licensing deal with music technology specialists MQA. The agreement – the first between MQA and any major music company – will significantly increase music fans’ access to hi-resolution music globally. The agreement paves the way for recordings from WMG’s diverse roster of acclaimed artists and its world-renowned catalogue to be made available in studio master quality through MQA distributors.

    MQA is a revolutionary technology, which delivers master quality audio in a file small enough to stream or download. By delivering the sound of the studio masters from WMG’s iconic labels, MQA will enable the listener to step into the magic of the artists’ original performances. MQA music is currently available via High Res Audio, Onkyo Music, e-Onkyo, 7digital, 2L and Technics Tracks. Over the coming months, MQA will expand to more streaming platforms and into download stores worldwide.

    Bob Stuart, Creator of MQA, commented: “This collaboration is a giant step forward for MQA and music fans everywhere. We have been working tirelessly to ensure labels, studios, artists, services and playback partners understand the potential of our technology and the responses have been overwhelming. MQA is about bringing the most authentic sound to music lovers all over the world and WMG is our first major partner to help drive this mission forward.”

    Craig Kallman, Chairman & CEO of WMG’s Atlantic Records division, noted: “The digital music era has been all about convenience. It is fantastic that we can listen to virtually any song, anywhere, any time. In that process, however, convenience has trumped sound quality, and we have gotten further away from the sound that artists work so hard to create. MQA makes hi-resolution music easy to stream or download to any device. Music fans will love it when they hear it, and WMG is thrilled to be partnering with MQA to take the next step in bringing hi-resolution music to consumers across the globe.”
     
  22. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    World domination begins....
     
  23. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    we shall see! but it is interesting news.
     
  24. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    So we'll get Loudness Wars in MQA? Sign me up!
     
    brianplowe and Robert C like this.
  25. mdm08033

    mdm08033 Senior Member

    Ya can't polish a turd.
     
    Brother_Rael likes this.
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