Neal Young and Tidal


I read where Neal Young claimed the MQA files of his music on Tidal were not his Master recordings. Isn’t that what MQA stands for: Master Quality Authenticated. If that’s what happened, then is MQA not really a guarantee that you are getting THE Master recording? Maybe I didn’t get the story right.  Because if that’s true I would think the story would be covered in every audio publication with MQA being named the biggest hoax in years. But that isn’t happening. What’s the real story? 
vinylfan62
I have an SACD setup and most of the Super Audio disks DO sound better than my CD versions...but not all of them.  A few of the SACDs I have purchased from legitimate sources sound a bit "dull" compared to the CD versions.  I suspect that these were not "mastered" from the mix tapes to SACD, that they might have taken the 44.1/16 PCM off the CD and "up converted" it to DSD, losing some sound quality in the process.

Back when I had Tidal, much of the rock and jazz I listened to did seem to have more bass and more "presence", but much of the classical to me sounded "dull" or "artificial".  I wonder if some of the MQA content is taken from 44.1/16 PCM and "up converted" like the SACDs I described above.

I don't know if the MQA files have or have not been "remastered".  I suspect that not all of them have been, just in the sheer numbers that have been made available as MQA.
MQA is copy and distribution control with a new skin to try and fool people into buying the ’new mo-better’ tech.

It’s a case of a company that used to deal in the world of audio, reaching out into the realm of copy control, gussied up and presented as something else, so the given corporations that are involved... buy into it, promote it... and make it grow into a ’standard', like Dolby noise reduction or the HDMI handshake standard.

All to try and protect corporate profits. The real pushers of control and quality in music.

In this case, at the same time, destroying the innate quality of the orignal recording, in a subtle away as possible but also a real destruction of the innate orignal qualities.

It’s case of meridian saying to the industry, "We will be a trojan hoe vehicle for you, we have a great and perfectly shaped weapon that fits your desires and slips under the radar of most potential users."

Re Canada, it violates the citizens rights before they have a chance to exercise them.

Like being told upon the birth of the given music, ’It has the right to bear all the children you may want, but we removed the reproductive system before the music was was born, and further...put a child blocking system in it’s place.. and, again, apologies for the misshapen, and malformed body of the music. It has been distorted in the act of the organ removals but we’ll pretend it is perfect as the original.

PS, we removed all the blood as well, as this makes it cheaper for us to transport."

Well, MQA, the industry... and Meridian, "So long and thanks for all the grift."
AFAIK, "MQA" is the brand name -- not a reference to the actual master. Somewhat tricky, eh:)
No MQA recordings are the original masters. They have special MQA DSP applied. That's just a fact. The name and the reality have nothing to do with one another.