The best part about MQA bankruptcy..


Is going to be that we will see many fewer discussions on Audiogon about it! 🤣

Now we can all focus on hating on ASR and professional reviewers.

 

https://www.whathifi.com/news/mqa-is-going-into-administration

erik_squires

@erik_squires 

Thanks for bringing the MQA bankruptcy news to our attention.  I have to think the sunsetting of MQA is largely based on whether TIDAL is gaining or losing subscribers to Qobuz or other hi-res music subscription services. As we all know, MQA is associated with TIDAL.

I was an early adopter of TIDAL, chiefly due to the perceived SQ advantage that MQA formatted tracks represent.  I was also an early adopter of Qobuz once it made it's way to the US and IMO there was and still is no doubt that Qobuz is a better service largely due to the high percentage of hi-res tracks Qobuz offers.

Erik, love the play on words you used on 'unfolding'.

    

@onhwy61 Sorry about that.  I now see you were the one that used the 'unfolding' line.  Very clever.

@audioisnobiggie SACD is not dead, it prospers as even higher bitrate dsd files.  They're up to dsd256, up from the original 64, so far.  There's probably higher already, my dac can do 512.

yes but there is a huge disadvantage to dsd 512 the file sizes are very large and still to this day hard drives are not big enough to fit many albums at dsd 512 size even dsd 256 will also take up way too much space with not that much of a difference in sound from 44.1 kHz and 16 bits, it’s quite sad how much we get ripped off and never taught the truth 

MQA is very good from my experience with a MSB DAC.

I have a dCS Bartok (now being upgraded to Apex) and I have the same experience when playing MQA files on Tidal. These DACs, and perhaps some other high end DACs, have been able to deliver excellent SQ from MQA. If you heard MQA over these DACs you might change your mind about its quality.

Erik, love the play on words you used on ’unfolding’.

@cycles2

True credit here goes to @onhwy61 , I just borrowed his idea.