111MilesToGo
500+ Head-Fier
@gimmeheadroom and @tjw321 for sure are correct. An idea was presented of how to test bit-perfect audio reproduction by a computer, from the data coming in (be it a file on disk or a stream from the web or anything) to the output (be it USB or optical or anything else). An idea how to test the entire chain inside the computer, including the operating system (mind you, any OS, be that the big corporation stuff or free and open-source Linux), its audio stack (no matter how complicated or what it was developed for), and all apps used to process and control audio reproduction by the computer. That idea was simply based on two principles: Number 1, take certain audio data that contain special artificial bit sequences and check whether these special bits happen to arrive unaltered in a piece of hardware after the computer, i.e. the DAC. Such audio data were suggested to be MQA or HDCD. Number 2, an easy test was suggested, a test that would not require recording the digital out from the computer and compare it to the input file. Such test is a simple one, check whether those artificial bit sequences happen to light some light on the DAC, it can be done on the fly by everybody who happens to own a DAC with such a light (be it an MQA or HDCD capable DAC). Nothing more, and nothing less.
And it just happened that I was the - lucky or unlucky, whatever - person to perform this test here, since I happened to have an original MQA album (actually purchased it) and a DAC (actually DAP acting as USB-DAC) capable of MQA. It just happens that I have tons of Grateful Dead and other artists‘ albums which are HDCD albums, but unfortunately I don‘t have an HDCD-capable DAC (e.g. Berkeley Alpha boxes).
Nothing was ever implied about those audio data being used, nothing about audio quality, nothing about them being a technical advancement over original Redbook standards or just a scam, nothing about being a good effort to bring music into mankind‘s life or a cleverly designed scheme to just make money. Nothing was ever implied about the entire stack of computer software and hardware involved.
So, I‘m done with discussing all those side aspects, thoughts and feelings beyond the mere core of the test proposed and performed. Saying nothing about agreeing or disagreeing with anything mentioned beyond the core of the test. I‘m out.
And it just happened that I was the - lucky or unlucky, whatever - person to perform this test here, since I happened to have an original MQA album (actually purchased it) and a DAC (actually DAP acting as USB-DAC) capable of MQA. It just happens that I have tons of Grateful Dead and other artists‘ albums which are HDCD albums, but unfortunately I don‘t have an HDCD-capable DAC (e.g. Berkeley Alpha boxes).
Nothing was ever implied about those audio data being used, nothing about audio quality, nothing about them being a technical advancement over original Redbook standards or just a scam, nothing about being a good effort to bring music into mankind‘s life or a cleverly designed scheme to just make money. Nothing was ever implied about the entire stack of computer software and hardware involved.
So, I‘m done with discussing all those side aspects, thoughts and feelings beyond the mere core of the test proposed and performed. Saying nothing about agreeing or disagreeing with anything mentioned beyond the core of the test. I‘m out.