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.

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Showing 1 response by sameyers1

The biggest beneficiary of MQA besides its owners is Tidal. Because MQA files are much smaller, they require far less hard drive storage. I agree with those who’ve noted the technology is at least ten years too late.
 

Having compared Tidal MQA files and Qobuz high res files of some of my favorite albums, I canceled Tidal and kept Qobuz. I have had no trouble streaming the far larger Qobuz files even when my Internet service was only at 150 mps.