[Zurv]

Yeah, but at the expense of MQA. The node 2i really does not need an external DAC. For people who want to pay more there are upscale streamers.

at the expense of a lossy format? The only one that wins from that is the streaming service as they save some money on bandwidth.
I'd suggest that if someone is looking at a node 2i, they already past a budget point out of the low cost work - the nod 2i would already fit into upscale streaming. (just with a bad dac)

Also, the user has the Qutest already and the dac in the node 2i is only a small step up from a el cheap-o dac in a laptop or a phone. The Qutest is really good.
yes, some users don't really care about the quality of the music, they just want the music. phone dac? onboard PC dac? whatever? But, if they have a $1000+ dac they should 100% use it. Again there is no magic with MQA, it is just a compression and it is lossy. Is a smaller file helping the listener? Is there some extra spice in MQA? No there isn't. Music isn't recorded in it, Music isn't mastered in it. Almost all music is mastered in PCM (the other would be the sub 1% in DSD.) MQA is just compression and detail is lost (ie, lossy). Can people tell the diff? Do people care? maybe/maybe not. Is it worse than lossless. yes (maybe not to the point people would care but 100% yes stuff is lost.)
Given the same recording/mastering, no one should ever pick MQA over FLAC (or another lossless format) - other than if you are the company streaming (to save bandwidth)
Is MQA add some flavor. *shrug* but that isn't something the compression should be added. Want a different sound, add tubes, play around with DSP presets etc..

That is the reason i use Qobuz, everything is lossless.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

What you're paying for with the node 2i is their DAC implementation, MQA, and their software. It's seems dumber than dumb to not use the DAC, not use MQA, and just use the software. There are cheaper solutions for that.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

What source do you guys use for local files (FLAC etc)?

NAS?

NAS, but I don't play them over my node 2i.

 

[Luke Thomas]

As mentioned I’m a big MQA fan. Tonight I will ab a flac file vs a MQA

 

[judomaniak57]

have you heard MQA recordings, not all of them are better but most are , at least on Tidal which is what i stream. so many complaints about MQA on this site from people who havent even heard a MQA recording, just curios if you have a informed opinion. better sound is better sound regardless of source

at the expense of a lossy format? The only one that wins from that is the streaming service as they save some money on bandwidth.
I'd suggest that if someone is looking at a node 2i, they already past a budget point out of the low cost work - the nod 2i would already fit into upscale streaming. (just with a bad dac)

Also, the user has the Qutest already and the dac in the node 2i is only a small step up from a el cheap-o dac in a laptop or a phone. The Qutest is really good.
yes, some users don't really care about the quality of the music, they just want the music. phone dac? onboard PC dac? whatever? But, if they have a $1000+ dac they should 100% use it. Again there is no magic with MQA, it is just a compression and it is lossy. Is a smaller file helping the listener? Is there some extra spice in MQA? No there isn't. Music isn't recorded in it, Music isn't mastered in it. Almost all music is mastered in PCM (the other would be the sub 1% in DSD.) MQA is just compression and detail is lost (ie, lossy). Can people tell the diff? Do people care? maybe/maybe not. Is it worse than lossless. yes (maybe not to the point people would care but 100% yes stuff is lost.)
Given the same recording/mastering, no one should ever pick MQA over FLAC (or another lossless format) - other than if you are the company streaming (to save bandwidth)
Is MQA add some flavor. *shrug* but that isn't something the compression should be added. Want a different sound, add tubes, play around with DSP presets etc..

That is the reason i use Qobuz, everything is lossless.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

As mentioned I’m a big MQA fan. Tonight I will ab a flac file vs a MQA

Add me to the list. I like the sound of MQA a lot. In theory it's dumb to compress music in 2020. But it sounds great on my gear.

It is not sure that you can A/B MQA songs or albums because there is not always enough info to know if both recordings are from the same master recording. But I will say the MQA albums on Tidal sound superb.

 

[Luke Thomas]

M

Add me to the list. I like the sound of MQA a lot. In theory it's dumb to compress music in 2020. But it sounds great on my gear.

It is not sure that you can A/B MQA songs or albums because there is not always enough info to know if both recordings are from the same master recording. But I will say the MQA albums on Tidal sound superb.

true. I have steely dan flac files and tidal mqa. I will take a listen. I do know that the tidal mqa songs,sound better than non mqa tidal songs.

 

[darmccombs]

What you're paying for with the node 2i is their DAC implementation, MQA, and their software. It's seems dumber than dumb to not use the DAC, not use MQA, and just use the software. There are cheaper solutions for that.

Can you list a few? I am looking for another streamer, and don't care about a DAC or MQA. I just want to stream Qobuz out to a DAC of my choosing.

 

[Luke Thomas]

Steely Dan test. Puts a MQA file a Little warmer than a flac file. And my mqa is via WiFi. As mentioned when using Senn 800s Cans. The mqa is quite good.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Can you list a few? I am looking for another streamer, and don't care about a DAC or MQA. I just want to stream Qobuz out to a DAC of my choosing.

If you have only one of the streaming services then isn't their desktop app the easy solution?

I was thinking for people who have several subscriptions, then something like Audirvana or JRiver would work.

In my case I have several DACs connected to a mini PC and I run Tidal MQA into a Brooklyn DAC+ and I set the Windows default device to my RME and used to use that one for Deezer hifi since they had a crappy desktop app that didn't allow selecting specific DACs unlike Tidal. It uses the Windows default device.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Steely Dan test. Puts a MQA file a Little warmer than a flac file. And my mqa is via WiFi. As mentioned when using Senn 800s Cans. The mqa is quite good.

If you are using the app to unfold and you like MQA, you will like the sound of an MQA DAC that does the full unfold even more

 

[Luke Thomas]

If you are using the app to unfold and you like MQA, you will like the sound of an MQA DAC that does the full unfold even more

Tidal app through a dragonfly red dac. Is this the partial unfold

 

[darmccombs]

If you have only one of the streaming services then isn't their desktop app the easy solution?

I was thinking for people who have several subscriptions, then something like Audirvana or JRiver would work.

In my case I have several DACs connected to a mini PC and I run Tidal MQA into a Brooklyn DAC+ and I set the Windows default device to my RME and used to use that one for Deezer hifi since they had a crappy desktop app that didn't allow selecting specific DACs unlike Tidal. It uses the Windows default device.

I'm talking about a device that can be left in my home audio system. Connecting my macbook or ipad to the home audio system is a PITA...

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Tidal app through a dragonfly red dac. Is this the partial unfold

As far as I read, yes.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'm talking about a device that can be left in my home audio system. Connecting my macbook or ipad to the home audio system is a PITA...

There are cheap RPi based streamers, and a lot of people do use laptops or tablets or mini pcs. If you already have a DAC you want to use then it's pointless to buy a full-blown MQA streamer just to use as a transport.