TIDAL Master Quality

@rbstehno,

please don’t get shadorne started on MQA. He never warmed up to MQA and currently owns the ‘perfect’ non-MQA DAC in the world, his ears and the DAC both are completely immune to any digital imperfections 😉

@rbstehno


I find non-MQA has less distortion on both Benchmark and Directstream Sr DACs than MQA. MQA doesn’t image quite as well due to the added distortion from the minimum phase filter. The apodizing filter adds some audio compression which while pleasant to many ears, it is simply less faithful to the original than other formats.

You can hear the imaging issues on most tracks but the audio compression is very slight and almost imperceptible unless you know what to listen for. (It changes the timbre of transients)

Tidal has updated its APP so its "Master" MQA files are fully decoded in android device now. They're saying one doesn't need to get a specific MQA dac.

However, there isn't any graphic to confirm the actual source quality so one can only use one's ear.

I accept that Bluetooth 4.0 32bit may not be nirvana but if so why is there a definite 'difference' in the sound stage and image between HiFi and Master.. and to my ear often negative impact.

Unless perhaps Tidal has not actually put a top mqa decoder in its app. Or my 17yr old ears are now 30 yrs out of date.

Shadorne - you might be right with the benchmark dac, I always thought it was a  terrible dac, but with the DS, I don’t agree. I also have the PSA DS dac and I think MQA sounds better than an equivalent cd or even vinyl. Since cd gets converted to dsd on the DS, everything sounds great out of the DS

I suppose it is akin to the difference between an original 1962 Chevey Impala that still drives perfectly and a customized rebuild with an ultra reliable high performance modern Audi V8 engine.

There's just something about the original (perhaps a smell) that forever seems to satisfy some folks.