[yolosauce]

I'm using tidal with audirvana and I have a question. In audirvana I have the option to choose between lossless and master in my tidal streaming settings. If I play a song that has the mqa indicator while in lossless mode the song will play at 16 44.1

Is audirvana downsampling the mqa file to 16 44.1 or are they playing a different version of the song that's not mqa from the tidal database?

 

[Dannemand]

Something I just don't understand: Regardless of whether one thinks MQA is great or horrible, I fail to understand what compels a person to join a thread like this just to say that nobody should ever use MQA.

The OP states in the very first paragraph:

I thought I would start a thread for those who appreciate the SQ of MQA - both files and Tidal Masters -.(as opposed to those debating the merits from a scientific standpoint).

So it should be easy for anybody to decide whether to join this discussion or not.

I personally agree about the licensing and marketing horrors of MQA, but I have heard some great sounding MQA tracks. I don't currently have a Tidal subscription, though.

I'm not a moderator, and I'm not saying MQA haters shouldn't be allowed to post here. I'm merely wondering why they would.

I'm a terribly cook, and I hate cooking. So I stay out of discussions about cooking, where I obviously have nothing valuable to contribute

 

[iFi audio]

as long as Meridian makes more money.

I wouldn't put all my money on that alone

 

[domiji]

Hello Tidal Lovers,

I subscribes for Tidal HiFi and compared it to Amazon Music HD. On my Sony zx507 it sounds really flat and lacks of dynamic compared with Amazon Music.

Does anyone noticed maybe the same issue?

 

[iFi audio]

Hello Tidal Lovers,

I subscribes for Tidal HiFi and compared it to Amazon Music HD. On my Sony zx507 it sounds really flat and lacks of dynamic compared with Amazon Music.

Does anyone noticed maybe the same issue?

I've seen some similar comments about Tidal vs Amazon here on HF, but can't tell where it was exactly.

 

[Thefastestdead]

I'm curious would there be any difference in switching to an MQA DAC over my Hugo2. I currently run the Hugo2 though an ApexAudio Teton amp and listen with my Empire Ears Odins.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'm curious would there be any difference in switching to an MQA DAC over my Hugo2. I currently run the Hugo2 though an ApexAudio Teton amp and listen with my Empire Ears Odins.

Depends who you ask. Chord thinks MQA is a scam which is why they don't support it. Schiit thinks MQA and DSD are a scam. I think schiit is a scam. So there are several viewpoints

I have several MQA DACs and while I didn't compare to the Hugo 2 (which I think is great btw) I like the sound of MQA albums. To me they sound like vinyl or good SACDs. I have read several posts that suggest one of the reasons the MQA albums sound better (for those of us who think they do sound great and maybe better than non-MQA) is that the masters chosen for MQA are better than the alternative(s). So it is not easy to understand exactly what's going on or why.

From my point of view if you like Tidal and want to get the best sound it's worth spending some money on an MQA DAC. I don't do direct comparisons even with my own gear but that's not to say I don't notice differences. I'm more into enjoying the music than splitting hairs over specs. You have some pretty expensive gear so I would hope the guys who sold it to you would be willing to help out get you a couple of loaner DACs to see how it sounds over your chain.

 

[Thefastestdead]

Depends who you ask. Chord thinks MQA is a scam which is why they don't support it. Schiit thinks MQA and DSD are a scam. I think schiit is a scam. So there are several viewpoints

I have several MQA DACs and while I didn't compare to the Hugo 2 (which I think is great btw) I like the sound of MQA albums. To me they sound like vinyl or good SACDs. I have read several posts that suggest one of the reasons the MQA albums sound better (for those of us who think they do sound great and maybe better than non-MQA) is that the masters chosen for MQA are better than the alternative(s). So it is not easy to understand exactly what's going on or why.

From my point of view if you like Tidal and want to get the best sound it's worth spending some money on an MQA DAC. I don't do direct comparisons even with my own gear but that's not to say I don't notice differences. I'm more into enjoying the music than splitting hairs over specs. You have some pretty expensive gear so I would hope the guys who sold it to you would be willing to help out get you a couple of loaner DACs to see how it sounds over your chain.

I'm literally dying at your Schitt is a scam comment. I have to agree with you there. Yeah I solely use tidal if I let the software unfold I see no difference in the output. I was curious if I was missing out on something. I have spent too much time and money to get the sound the way I like it just to have the weak link be the source.

 

[Thefastestdead]

I've seen some similar comments about Tidal vs Amazon here on HF, but can't tell where it was exactly.

I hear the same thing. Not sure why. I am with you on this.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Anybody have some suggestions for good albums? I'm kinda burning out and almost everything in the new MQA album list is so horrible (not the quality, the material itself) that I can't stand to listen more than a minute.

Late response, but here's an idea. Take any great MQA track you like in Tidal. Then, select "Track Radio" for that song. It will pull up a list of songs similar to the one you are listening to. You can scroll down and see all of the MQA tracks.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'm literally dying at your Schitt is a scam comment. I have to agree with you there. Yeah I solely use tidal if I let the software unfold I see no difference in the output. I was curious if I was missing out on something. I have spent too much time and money to get the sound the way I like it just to have the weak link be the source.

I don't remember if the software unfolds all the way or not. And, not that there are many, but there are MQA CDs and also MQA downloads. So the desktop app wouldn't help for that. If you have an MQA DAC you should be able to play it whatever the source. I haven't bought any MQA CDs but I will try a few by the end of the year hopefully.

 

[Thefastestdead]

I need to invest in a MQA dac to see if I hear a difference over my hugo 2

 

[Taz777]

I don't remember if the software unfolds all the way or not. And, not that there are many, but there are MQA CDs and also MQA downloads. So the desktop app wouldn't help for that. If you have an MQA DAC you should be able to play it whatever the source. I haven't bought any MQA CDs but I will try a few by the end of the year hopefully.

I don't think any software does all of the unfolds. You always need hardware to do the remaining unfolds. Software will generally only do the first unfold as far as I know.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I don't think any software does all of the unfolds. You always need hardware to do the remaining unfolds. Software will generally only do the first unfold as far as I know.

Thanks, I'll look into this when I have time.

 

[rkw]

I haven't bought any MQA CDs but I will try a few by the end of the year hopefully.

Why not buy the hi-res files instead? MQA CDs are created from hi-res files, lossy compressed down to CD resolution. For streaming, MQA makes some sense to reduce bandwidth, but I see no reason to purchase MQA files or CDs instead of the original hi-res.