I had MQA via my Mytek Brooklyn Bridge. When streaming from Tidal, MQA gave me slightly sharper images and slightly more air (OK, treble). Lyrics were slightly more understandable. All told, though, when it came time for me to choose between Tidal and Qobuz as my streamer of choice I opted for the non MQA Qobuz. Qobuz just sounded better than Tidal, whether MQA was engaged or not. Qobuz offered Classical, which Tidal didn't. Long story short, I no longer have MQA and I don't miss it.
Why is everyone so down on MQA?
Ok. MQA is a little bit complicated to understand without doing a little research. First of all: MQA is not technically a lossy format. The way it works is very unique. The original master tape (Holy grail of SQ) is folded or compressed into a smaller format. It is later unfolded through a process I don’t claim to understand. The fully processed final version is lossless! It is the song version from the original master tape. FYI, original master tapes are usually the best sounding, they are also the truest version of any song- they are painstakingly produced along with the artist in the studio during the recording process. Ask anyone, they are the real deal. For some reason most people hate the sound quality! One caveat, the folding/unfolding process is usually carried out at one time by a dac. But some dacs only compress and do not unfold….I think Meridian should explain dac/ streamer compatibility issue. When your hardware supports the single step the sound quality is pretty amazing. They should have explained in more detail what the format is all about.
Showing 3 responses by edcyn
@paulrandall -- I'm the guy who couldn't find much classical on Tidal. If you are having no trouble finding what you want, though, hey, great. All I can guess is that maybe they added all the classical after I gave up the ghost on 'em.. |