[PROblemdetected]

Anyone knows if any usb dac adapter (like the ibasso dc02) make the total mqa unfold?

 

[Left Channel]

Anyone knows if any usb dac adapter (like the ibasso dc02) make the total mqa unfold?

Only if the specs say the DAC supports MQA.The DC02 does not. But the software 1x unfold may be all you need anyway.

 

[narnos]

I've yet to be blown away by any MQA track I've heard in Tidal. Can you recommend me something where you consider there to be noticeable improvement as against the standard version?

I agree, albeit very late to the forum. I have been using Tidal MQA directly to my NT505 and also using my Fiio M11, I honestly cannot notice any improvement.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I know for my on my gear MQA sounds terrific. Compare Elton John's Captain Fantastic with the hifi and MQA versions. The MQA version sounds amazingly alive. It reminds me of the record album I play hundreds of times.

 

[rkw]

I've yet to be blown away by any MQA track I've heard in Tidal. Can you recommend me something where you consider there to be noticeable improvement as against the standard version?

I agree, albeit very late to the forum. I have been using Tidal MQA directly to my NT505 and also using my Fiio M11, I honestly cannot notice any improvement.

The most obvious difference I hear is in recordings that have the UMG audible watermark (https://www.mattmontag.com/music/universals-audible-watermark). The watermark encoding adds distortion to the sound. A standard recording from Universal Music Group may be watermarked, but in my experience I have not heard watermark distortion on MQA releases.

Here's an example. The watermark distortion is especially bad for solo piano. In Tidal, search for "martha argerich debut recital". You should see Masters and HiFi versions of the same album.

If you compare the two, you can hear distortion throughout the HiFi album which is not in the MQA album. A particularly obvious example is in the sustained chords after 0:45 in track 8.

I suggest you do the comparison by setting your player to HiFi (not Masters) resolution, leaving hi-res out of the picture. This demonstrates that the two albums come from different masters (the HiFi version is encoded with watermark and the MQA version is not). I believe that when people have found MQA albums to sound better, it doesn't have anything to do with MQA technology. It sounds better because the MQA version is using a master not crippled by watermarking.

I know for my on my gear MQA sounds terrific. Compare Elton John's Captain Fantastic with the hifi and MQA versions. The MQA version sounds amazingly alive. It reminds me of the record album I play hundreds of times.

I haven't compared the two, but I notice that Captain Fantastic is on the Mercury Records label, which is owned by UMG. The difference you hear could definitely be coming from watermarking in the HiFi version.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The most obvious difference I hear is in recordings that have the UMG audible watermark (https://www.mattmontag.com/music/universals-audible-watermark). The watermark encoding adds distortion to the sound. A standard recording from Universal Music Group may be watermarked, but in my experience I have not heard watermark distortion on MQA releases.

Here's an example. The watermark distortion is especially bad for solo piano. In Tidal, search for "martha argerich debut recital". You should see Masters and HiFi versions of the same album.

If you compare the two, you can hear distortion throughout the HiFi album which is not in the MQA album. A particularly obvious example is in the sustained chords after 0:45 in track 8.

I suggest you do the comparison by setting your player to HiFi (not Masters) resolution, leaving hi-res out of the picture. This demonstrates that the two albums come from different masters (the HiFi version is encoded with watermark and the MQA version is not). I believe that when people have found MQA albums to sound better, it doesn't have anything to do with MQA technology. It sounds better because the MQA version is using a master not crippled by watermarking.


I haven't compared the two, but I notice that Captain Fantastic is on the Mercury Records label, which is owned by UMG. The difference you hear could definitely be coming from watermarking in the HiFi version.

Thanks for the reminder. Indeed, I hear distortion on Monty Alexander's Love and Sunshine (one of my favorite all-time albums btw) and I couldn't explain it. It is not on the vinyl pressing. There is no MQA of this so I can't compare but when I first read about this issue in the last year or so I wondered if that could be the reason the digital versions I have heard sound so terrible.

As far as Captain Fantastic goes, I haven't heard anything objectionable in the "hifi" version, just that knowing this album very well after having played it a lot, the MQA has that lively sound of the record album and doesn't sound digital at all. It sounds as good as an SACD.

 

[Zildon]

I think you are confusing V30 with the V40: V30 is just about the same size as G7 (6.0 inch display vs 6.1 inch) whereas the V40 is significantly larger (6.5 inch) and more expensive. G7 is a good choice for its newer hardware and more RAM than V30, but it has LCD instead of OLED. If you think you'll ever root the phone, V30 is the better choice. If you do get G7, make sure you don't get the Android One version, as that doesn't have hardware MQA support (to my understanding, I could be wrong).

Edit: Seeing Left Channel's last post I wonder if I misunderstood: Are you looking to output through USB?

If you are looking to use the V30/G7's ESS DAC and play through its headphone jack, you will have full 4x MQA unfolding and rendering in hardware, directly from the Tidal app, no re-sampling. There is a myth that only UAPP will play MQA correctly, and it is not true. I have proven this umpteen times now in different threads here. Similarly, all HiRes music (or anything 24 bit) will play correctly, without downsampling, from all apps (all reasonable ones anyway).

But for playing Redbook 16/44 without upsampling, you will need UAPP or Neutron. I highly recommend UAPP, best $8 you can spend on a V30/V35/V40/G7.

Is this

 

[Zildon]

Would this avoidance of the Android sampling for digital music encoded above redbook be also applicable to the LG V20?

 

[Dannemand]

Would this avoidance of the Android sampling for digital music encoded above redbook be also applicable to the LG V20?

I cannot speak to V20, as I only have experience with V30. Pretty sure it also applies to V35/V40/G7 as well, based on reports.

Note that the re-sampling does NOT affect anything HiRes (24-bit or higher than 44.1Khz). Thus it doesn't affect MQA files, which are mostly 24-bit. It ONLY affects Redbook 16/44 files.

Edit: I guess that's what you were saying "avoidance of resampling above Redbook". In other words, you don't have to do anything to avoid resampling above Redbook.

 

[justhavingfun]

I have tried Spotify premium as well as Pandora for several years but usually my listening session rarely goes over 30 minutes or even less. And I switch to LP or CD listening which last few hours sometimes afterward. So I have been using Spotify or YouTube music for casual listening or finding new music and never serious listening. However, my attitude toward streaming music service changed significantly when I tried Tidal hifi subscription. To my ears Tidal FLAC files sound wonderful as well as their MQA files and my entire listening session with Tidal. At this moment I am not sure whether MQA is superior to FLAC but both sound great to me. I like Tidal so much I decided to purchase Bluesound Node 2i for streaming only device and I am loving it. I will still not abandon my LP collection but this Tidal streaming is extremely satisfying.

 

[justhavingfun]

Okay, I compared several of Tidal MQA files vs FLAC files and I can definitely tell differences on quality for the better but only certain songs. Not sure if that was due to strictly MQA characteristics or some other aspects that I don't know about. Right after today's church service, I came straight home and been listening to Tidal comparing my curiosity about MQA. Based on my initial crude evaluation and for my ears and equipments that I have, FLAC and MQA files are basically equivalent in sound quality. I will be completely happy to listen to entirely either FLAC or MQA if they are available. One of the reason that I like to listen to LP is that I enjoy album arts and its background information about the singer/band. Using Bluesound BluOs app in my Samsung Galaxy Tab allows me to look up all the information about the albums which I like to listen to entire albums typically. Having all those albums/songs at my finger tip is wonderful experience and more importantly I do not get listening fatigue when I hear through the Tidal hifi streaming. This wasn't the case with Spotify premium which introduced by my son few years back. One thing that I also noticed is that MQA version did not decrease the sound quality vs regular FLAC songs so having MQA version is plus for me.

I haven't tried likes of other hi-rez streaming service like Quboz, Amazon HD and Deezer but I hope Tidal stays for a long haul and improve their algorithm for their playlists recommendation based on my listening habit. Like others mentioned before, I believe Spotify is much better at the recommendation than Tidal based on your selection of music. I will probably still keep the Spotify free version.

 

[AlanU]

I tested and played with my Mytek liberty DAC with an Astron linear power supply. It has that certified MQA decoder and I fed it to my 2 channel stereo. I dropped Tidal hifi due to the unappealing playlist they created. I just found no benefits using the MQA files.

I've found little joy with MQA as it provides a tremendous amount of detail but sonically it feels overloaded in hyper detail. As you are a vinyl guy you will probably now analyze how the air surrounding the instruments is deleted in digital. To recreate such sounds you have to add pleasant harmonics with vacuum tube gear.

If you have a moment try to listen to some zen/ relaxation music with ocean waves. MQA or high res digital from solid state dacs have never recreated realism. Using my Tube dac the imaging of water hitting my feet is unbelievable and "real" while the solid state dac, high res files have incredible detail but it sounds incredibly fake.

This is where some may find great joy having precise pin point location of instruments due to the elimination of information...what you ask? Some folks just like that sort of sound. The air surrounding the instruments seem to be eliminated in the digital file and solid state gear. Go to a live concert and you will hear a different blend of sound compared to laser pin point location.

But at the end of the day it's all about pleasing one's personal ears. I was speaking with a tube gear designer/builder and he also observes the big difference between solid state (which he also builds) and point to point wiring tube gear.

 

[justhavingfun]

For my experience, to combat the solid state harshness other than going full blown tube amp/preamp, I used the tube buffer (Musical Fidelity) for my two channel system for number of years with good result using solid state amps.

 

[AlanU]

For my experience, to combat the solid state harshness other than going full blown tube amp/preamp, I used the tube buffer (Musical Fidelity) for my two channel system for number of years with good result using solid state amps.

I purchased a Grant fidelity B-283 mk2 many years ago using black treasure tubes. It made a slight change to the sound. With my Burson Virtuoso using the coax input with my April music Stello U3 (usb to spdif converter) was a huge difference in removing digititis from a solid state dac. The stello u3 was a big impact vs the tube buffer...hard to believe!!

Using my Space tech labs super rectifier and tube dac I can change the sound. On the rectifier I can change the "air" by swapping to a mercury vapor vintage tube. Recently swapping to a Kt88 buffer tube in the dac created a "WOW" factor in rich tones and elevated the richness in mids for vocals.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'm getting a sense that 5000 dollar RCA cables could add some value here