Mahler123, get the Manhattan II, 100% new thing. The one that you have is just lacking. Lifeless on the transient punch, and not linear at all. Or get the Bricasti M1 SE. Again for those who have not heard it since Feb 2016, the filtering is upgraded and it's a beauty that's also accurate.
To reply as best I can ...
Everything we do in mastering is approved by a team of people with a ton of experience, and although fear can ruin the dynamic potential resulting in super limiting, musicians, producers, label presidents etc are not deaf. They are making the choices, or picking from the options we offer, and they can hear the changes. My job is to improve on some very great mixes (usually limited as a hot ref), and so anything that goes backwards in the tone from my processing is a no no.
Someone asked about the name, and yes, "Master Quality Authenticated" is the greatest PR slogan ever invented. In a market where, no offense, there are many people who want to believe in the next big tech thing, it’s an exciting name. Yet is it really that great of a benefit to be at 16 44.1 or 16 48k? Really not that small of a file is it? Simple test for someone. Try the free dbPoweramp SRC with a file that’s 24 96k, take it down to 16 48k vs MQA 16 48k. So much more simple, so much less hype and money changing hands. Follow the money.
In digital audio there is no free lunch. That’s just hope in science, hope in mankind, misplaced.
The direction MQA folks are headed is actually playing on that hope for their global domination of the 32 bit AD and DA and mastering markets, where we would be auditioning through the MQA plug in and DA and then making adjustments to the work to compensate. I find this beyond troubling on many fronts.
1. They demand serious license money from DA makers and eventually AD companies, and then turn around and make money on every sale and stream. What a monopoly they are going for! I’m all for an honest living, but it’s not honest, it’s manipulative and exploiting human weakness in the audiophile. They create nothing, so they should be respectful, don’t exploit things.
2. As a ME we make one digital master (sample rate not the issue, don’t get me started!) and one analog with the vinyl ...the digital is then compressed in various ways for sale. This is still the right way to see it. Tech will only change for the better in time, and diluting the artistry and confusing the market with 5 versions of a master on day one is long term stupidity. (MFiT, for example, could upgrade that codec at any time, and get things closer to the source. Yet they asked people to tweak for the codec so they’re stuck (P. S. It’s impossible to compensate for the codec, cold, and thin and shortens the groove). Some MEs like MQA and MFiT as it’s more money for them. My interest is music, artists, and clients. I serve. I don’t exploit.
3. The proper and right job for those making these compressed audio formats, is to make what we create marketable and sounding as close to the source as possible, not pretend it’s better than the source and sell that to people who cant hear the source or are excited by the exciter effect, and then invent a market. Fear of missing out, and that blue light! Fear based market creation. Cynical brilliance. It’s oligarchy, and I’m 100% opposed. Anti creative, anti democratic, etc, etc, etc. Really just backwards.
4. We are in a nether land where the mp3 sucks and a corporate mechanism is not set up for proper master file streaming and sales. MQA is jumping in to seize a moment that is passing by. QOBUS is about there with full file streaming. End of story if that works. Or someone like them if they are quashed by a big $ player. Asia has killer transfer speeds and soon the world will all be able to stream. It’s coming, just a matter of time. If you care to hear the master files today, download the full files, doesn’t take long. Or Qobus, (which I can’t pronounce and am not affiliated with in any way, nor do I endorse) coming soon with others I would imagine. SO this is a short term reality and they are making everyone jump through hoops to pay them and implement based on exploiting you all, and your lack of objective listening or source material.
The labels are lining up as they have relations with the team from Meridian and it’s a $$$ maker with no risk to them. They all want to bolster Q3 reports, ok. Musical quality is not really important. Sad but true. Universal for years left their pre release watermark used to catch leakers on digital music, post release. It’s an audible watermark. Classical, jazz, pop of course. Recently they stopped. Years of that, no one cared.
Hope that covers it
Everyone hears differently and some people, like the Apple guy who designed MFiT, don’t value harmonic content and low end as much as they look at the screen for the best null test figures and say "print it!"
P.S. As far as those folks commenting on auditioning vinyl vs digital vs MQA ... the vinyl pass it more dynamic by physical necessity and often choice, so it’s not a fair comparison. The only fair comparison is the master file vs. X Y or Z compression scheme. MQA has this tech registered as a lossless scheme, but it’s compressed. More marketing.
P.P.S. MQA is like a new amp, or new DA, it’s a chance for the listener to be part of the creative process. That’s what being an audiophile is all about, creating with gear. It’s that, and not as claimed. Yet the momentum for people who want to be fooled and want to feel creative through gear, is a strong force to resist with little ol’ common sense. There is no free lunch. There is no better.
If the mastering is bad, and that’s the MOST LIKELY fact, well ok. Mess with it, filter it, use an amp, speakers DA, what have you. But you are not making my work better with MQA. Feel free to forward my comments in partial or whole to anyone you like.
Enjoy !
To reply as best I can ...
Everything we do in mastering is approved by a team of people with a ton of experience, and although fear can ruin the dynamic potential resulting in super limiting, musicians, producers, label presidents etc are not deaf. They are making the choices, or picking from the options we offer, and they can hear the changes. My job is to improve on some very great mixes (usually limited as a hot ref), and so anything that goes backwards in the tone from my processing is a no no.
Someone asked about the name, and yes, "Master Quality Authenticated" is the greatest PR slogan ever invented. In a market where, no offense, there are many people who want to believe in the next big tech thing, it’s an exciting name. Yet is it really that great of a benefit to be at 16 44.1 or 16 48k? Really not that small of a file is it? Simple test for someone. Try the free dbPoweramp SRC with a file that’s 24 96k, take it down to 16 48k vs MQA 16 48k. So much more simple, so much less hype and money changing hands. Follow the money.
In digital audio there is no free lunch. That’s just hope in science, hope in mankind, misplaced.
The direction MQA folks are headed is actually playing on that hope for their global domination of the 32 bit AD and DA and mastering markets, where we would be auditioning through the MQA plug in and DA and then making adjustments to the work to compensate. I find this beyond troubling on many fronts.
1. They demand serious license money from DA makers and eventually AD companies, and then turn around and make money on every sale and stream. What a monopoly they are going for! I’m all for an honest living, but it’s not honest, it’s manipulative and exploiting human weakness in the audiophile. They create nothing, so they should be respectful, don’t exploit things.
2. As a ME we make one digital master (sample rate not the issue, don’t get me started!) and one analog with the vinyl ...the digital is then compressed in various ways for sale. This is still the right way to see it. Tech will only change for the better in time, and diluting the artistry and confusing the market with 5 versions of a master on day one is long term stupidity. (MFiT, for example, could upgrade that codec at any time, and get things closer to the source. Yet they asked people to tweak for the codec so they’re stuck (P. S. It’s impossible to compensate for the codec, cold, and thin and shortens the groove). Some MEs like MQA and MFiT as it’s more money for them. My interest is music, artists, and clients. I serve. I don’t exploit.
3. The proper and right job for those making these compressed audio formats, is to make what we create marketable and sounding as close to the source as possible, not pretend it’s better than the source and sell that to people who cant hear the source or are excited by the exciter effect, and then invent a market. Fear of missing out, and that blue light! Fear based market creation. Cynical brilliance. It’s oligarchy, and I’m 100% opposed. Anti creative, anti democratic, etc, etc, etc. Really just backwards.
4. We are in a nether land where the mp3 sucks and a corporate mechanism is not set up for proper master file streaming and sales. MQA is jumping in to seize a moment that is passing by. QOBUS is about there with full file streaming. End of story if that works. Or someone like them if they are quashed by a big $ player. Asia has killer transfer speeds and soon the world will all be able to stream. It’s coming, just a matter of time. If you care to hear the master files today, download the full files, doesn’t take long. Or Qobus, (which I can’t pronounce and am not affiliated with in any way, nor do I endorse) coming soon with others I would imagine. SO this is a short term reality and they are making everyone jump through hoops to pay them and implement based on exploiting you all, and your lack of objective listening or source material.
The labels are lining up as they have relations with the team from Meridian and it’s a $$$ maker with no risk to them. They all want to bolster Q3 reports, ok. Musical quality is not really important. Sad but true. Universal for years left their pre release watermark used to catch leakers on digital music, post release. It’s an audible watermark. Classical, jazz, pop of course. Recently they stopped. Years of that, no one cared.
Hope that covers it
Everyone hears differently and some people, like the Apple guy who designed MFiT, don’t value harmonic content and low end as much as they look at the screen for the best null test figures and say "print it!"
P.S. As far as those folks commenting on auditioning vinyl vs digital vs MQA ... the vinyl pass it more dynamic by physical necessity and often choice, so it’s not a fair comparison. The only fair comparison is the master file vs. X Y or Z compression scheme. MQA has this tech registered as a lossless scheme, but it’s compressed. More marketing.
P.P.S. MQA is like a new amp, or new DA, it’s a chance for the listener to be part of the creative process. That’s what being an audiophile is all about, creating with gear. It’s that, and not as claimed. Yet the momentum for people who want to be fooled and want to feel creative through gear, is a strong force to resist with little ol’ common sense. There is no free lunch. There is no better.
If the mastering is bad, and that’s the MOST LIKELY fact, well ok. Mess with it, filter it, use an amp, speakers DA, what have you. But you are not making my work better with MQA. Feel free to forward my comments in partial or whole to anyone you like.
Enjoy !
