I think MQA is better for older people like me that have some hearing loss and appreciate the extra omph that MQA provides. To me, it does not matter if it sounds exactly as the artist intended as I am the one paying for my Tidal streaming service. When listening to tracks on Tidal, music sounds more dynamic and detailed using MQA vs CD quality tracks alternative. If you don't like MQA, don't subscribe to Tidal. It's all about personal enjoyment in the end.
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.