As a Tidal user I am very disappointed with them going the MQA route, when possible í will change to Qobuz. Unbelievable that these days a company is making a codec that makes files smaller and inferior to the original, do they not know that the world is streaming 4K into every tv room !!!
But MQA is not about problem with streaming higher bitrates, it's all about the total cotrol of the audio chain - from recording studios to consumers DACs..... ...and obviously about making big, big... really big on every single stage of it. And what does a consumer get in return.? A lossy format with the maximum of 17 bits in its best version The whole thing is just a huge... Wishing everybody a fantastic evening!
Spotify does not and will not be using MQA. They don't even use MP3, they currently use Ogg Vorbis (I assume due to licensing costs). Note also, Apple and Amazon do not use MQA either. Again, Spotify has about 300 million users (half of which pay) vs Tidal at about 3-5 million. Tidal is nothing next Spotify. Labels only giving Spotify MQA-CD? Nah, that ain't happening. Spotify already has their entire catalogue MQA free. Just needs a re-encode to 16/44.1 lossless flac; probably already happening. It's over for MQA, they lost the streaming codec wars.
SACDs are still being released. I’m willing to bet there is far more DSD capable hardware both currently marketed and already in use than MQA capable. I’m not a huge fan of either format; I’d settle for hi res PCM over either, but I can’t agree that DSD was a still birth.
Try finding downloadable DSD. At least anything popular or even remotely popular. I cant find anything much. Nothing Id buy. Paul at PS Audio invested/built a DSD studio. A label of sorts. Nothing there. And his obvious bias didn't keep him from paying the MQA licensing. He'll incorporate it at request apparently. The hardware is there.
I don’t need to buy downloads. I can rip the DSD layer of an SACD and have playable, tagged DSD files in an hour or so. Like I say, I would prefer a straight non MQA 96K / 24 bit file from any source; download, DVDA rip, BD rip, but there are a lot of well recorded SACDs out there.
Even that Ed Meitner now offer MQA in his EMM Labs DAC, he said in an interview that MQA is only «a marketing thing». Of course he is right.
My new DAC can apparently “do” MQA, but I’d need either Tidal or a suitable media player in order to do the first stage and illuminate the magical magenta LED that will transform my life. I’m in no rush. Qobuz is doing it for me without MQA.
The problem is - most 'marketing things' are better than the things that proceeded them. This is not the case with More Questionable Audio. Selling a worse format to make more money - isn't that something.? I would say it's a supermarketing
Will Tidal still be around long term? Spotify HiFi and Amazon HD will play in the same space. My prediction. 10 years from now DSD will still be chugging along whilst MQA will be gone.
Ka-boom! Exactly. Of course, the latest thing is that this isn't for the consumer, but really, for the industry, because then there's less of an impact on the wider infrastructure. Try finding that in the original MQA blurb...!
You will love this Press Release from MQA about Amazon Music HD: TIDAL vs Amazon Music HD Sound Quality MQA acting as though it is 2005 and not 2021 with regard to internet infrastructure. Again, folks are streaming Netflix 4K at 16Mbps, Apple TV at up to 30Mbps, and yet MQA acts as is bandwidth for first world western countries still sees most folks shunted down to 320kps. Laughable. It is all about licensing and taxing audio consumers.
Agreed.They don’t seem to have heard of offline listening, either. Easy on Spotify, Apple Music and Qobuz to download the whole album first and play it even if the internet goes down.
The truth about MQA is out. Watch this. MQA is noise and distortion added to music. The artist/audiophile guy that published this evidence was banned from Tidal.
Although I’m stuck with Tidal at present I still wouldn’t give up my DAC/streamers just because they decode MQA. It can easily be ignored.
If they were still saying anything positive after the 2018 video with Chris C., they'll be along shortly I'm sure. In all, this all just feels like "this is why we can't have nice things."
