MQA TESTED - worse than FLAC?
- Thread starter DanDan
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Sonnie Parker
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Pretty hot topic for sure... those that swear it's the best they've ever heard... and those that swear at it, claiming it's garbage.
When I play it in Roon, I'm not able to differentiate between my CD in the library, qobuz, or MQA on the same songs, so it becomes irrelevant to me that they put the MQA label on it. It won't be long before I toss Tidal to curbside anyway, as I've yet to find anything that qobuz doesn't have, and qobuz is cheaper.
When I play it in Roon, I'm not able to differentiate between my CD in the library, qobuz, or MQA on the same songs, so it becomes irrelevant to me that they put the MQA label on it. It won't be long before I toss Tidal to curbside anyway, as I've yet to find anything that qobuz doesn't have, and qobuz is cheaper.
ddude003
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I wonder if there will be any legal action taken against Tidal and/or Meridian...
Sonnie Parker
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- MediaLight Mk2 v2 Flex Bias Lighting
Zero Surge 8R15W-1
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- Front Speakers
- RTJ 410
- Front Wide Speakers
- JTR Noesis 110HT
- Center Channel Speaker
- MartinLogan Focus C-18
- Surround Speakers
- JTR Noesis 210RT
- Surround Back Speakers
- JTR Noesis 210RT
- Front Height Speakers
- JTR Noesis 110HT-SL
- Middle Height Speakers
- JTR Noesis 110HT-SL
- Rear Height Speakers
- JTR Noesis 110HT-SL
- Subwoofers
- JTR Captivator - 4000ULF-TL x2 + 2400 x6
- Bass Shaker System
- Dayton Audio BSA-200 Amp
4 BST-1 Bass Shakers
- Other Speakers
- Wharfedale Super Linton
- Video Display Device
- Sony 98X90L
- Remote Control
- URC MX-890
- Cables
- AudioQuest - Various
THX PixelGen HDMI
Pangea Power Cables
Blue Jeans Cables
SVS Soundpath Cables
Custom Cables
- Satellite System
- Dish Joey 4K
- Other Equipment
- Salamander Synergy Equipment Stand
VTI Amp Stands for the Monoblocks
Solidsteel - S3 Series Amp Stand
- Network/Internet
- C-Spire 1Gig Fiber
Omada OC300 Controller
Omada ER8411 10G Router
Omada SG3218XP-M2 10G/2.5G Managed Switch
Omada SG2210XMP-M2 10G/2.5G Managed Switch
SilentPower LAN iPurifier Pro (for Nucleus One)
Asustor Flashstor NAS
- Headphones/IEMs
- HIFIMAN HE1000se
Unique Melody Mest MKII
- Headphone DAC/Amp
- Eversolo DMP-A6
RME ADI-2 DAC FS
HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade
- Whole House System
- HEOS System
Home-150 Speaker x6
Samsung S9 Tablet w/ HEOS
- Office/Study System
- Office System
Dell Precision Computer
Roon Networked
Vanatoo Transparent One Encore Plus Speakers
- Secondary/Additional Room System
- AV Test Room System
NAD M33 Streaming DAC Amp
MartinLogan Motion XT F200
JTR Captivator RS1
miniDSP EARS
Zero Surge 8R15W-1
Zero Surge 2R20W
Dell Optiplex
Roon Networked
- Additional Room System
- Sunroom System
Denon AVR-X1800H HEOS Roon Ready Receiver
Zu Audio DW-6 Speakers
Dayton Audio IO8XTW Outdoor Speakers
Roon Networked
Dish Joey
JVC 37" TV
- Additional Room System
- Cabin System
Onkyo TX-SR805 Receiver
Infinity Primus P163 Speakers
RSL Outsiders Outdoor Speakers
Shield TV Pro
Sony 55" TV
- Additional Room System
- Vinyl Room
Accuphase E-280 Integrated Amp
Technics SL-1210GR2 Turntable
Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge
KLH Model Three Speakers
Zero Surge 8R15W-1
- Additional Room System
- Barn Jam
Denon AVR-X1600H HEOS Roon Ready Receiver
Soundfield Custom Speakers
That would be interesting for sure... but haven't heard of anything.
ddude003
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- QoBuz Studio Premier, Amazon Prime & Netflix
- Front Speakers
- Martin Logan ElectroMotion ESL
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- Martin Logan Motion C2
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- Martin Logan Motion 4
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- Martin Logan Motion 4 (yes, another set of these)
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- Samsung The Premiere LSP7T UST Laser Projector
- Remote Control
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- Other Equipment
- Cifte 12AU7 NOS & Genalex Gold Lion Tubes in Pre
ThrowRug, SaddleBlankets, WideBand & Bass Traps...
Wow... 
Where have I been... Tidal now belongs to Square Inc... That is Jack Dorsey's (of Twitter) public Finance Co... Clowns everywhere...
Where have I been... Tidal now belongs to Square Inc... That is Jack Dorsey's (of Twitter) public Finance Co... Clowns everywhere...
Kal Rubinson
Active Member
I don't believe that Meridian has any liability here.
ddude003
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- Yamaha RX-A850 Pro (the other 5 channels lol)
- DAC
- Chord Electronics Ltd. Qutest
- Computer Audio
- MacBook Pro, Custom i7 7700k De-lid 2xAsus1080ti GFX, Audirvana Studio, Hang Loose Convolver+FIR, Tone Projects Michelangelo, Pulsar Massive & 8200, LiquidSonics, SoX with Million Tap mod
- Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
- Sony UBP-X700 /M Ultra HD 4K HDR & PS5
- Streaming Equipment
- Netgear Nighthawk S8000 Streaming Switch
Lumin U1 Mini Streamer Transport
- Streaming Subscriptions
- QoBuz Studio Premier, Amazon Prime & Netflix
- Front Speakers
- Martin Logan ElectroMotion ESL
- Center Channel Speaker
- Martin Logan Motion C2
- Surround Speakers
- Martin Logan Motion 4
- Surround Back Speakers
- Martin Logan Motion 4 (yes, another set of these)
- Subwoofers
- SVS SB-1000 Pro
- Screen
- Elite Screens Aeon CLR3 0.8 Gain 103-inch
- Video Display Device
- Samsung The Premiere LSP7T UST Laser Projector
- Remote Control
- PrimaLuna, Lumin iApp, Samsung & Yamaha
- Other Equipment
- Cifte 12AU7 NOS & Genalex Gold Lion Tubes in Pre
ThrowRug, SaddleBlankets, WideBand & Bass Traps...
Ok... MQA Ltd. was spun off from Meridian...
tesseract
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Sometimes I think I might be the only person on the planet that enjoys Tidal's video content. 
dsnyder0cnn
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- Posts
- 76
I enjoyed watching the GoldenSound video and thought his approach to testing MQA was clever, even though it lost him his ability to publish music on TIDAL. Besides the fact that the format failed to live up to MQA Ltd.'s claims in GoldSound's testing, what annoys me most is that the issues are not more audible to me. I have typical high-frequency hearing loss for someone my age but good analytical listening skills. I want to hear all of the noise and crap that showed up during his testing, but I've been unable to so far.
Of course, there are plenty of MQA recordings on TIDAL that are crap, but that's mainly because the masters, recordings, or performances are crap…not because MQA processing made them so. I'm not a fan of MQA, but I wish I was able to easily hear its deleterious effects so that I could just kick it to the curb and move on. As it is, the ~150 MQA albums in my Roon library all sound fine to me despite my best efforts to find fault.
Even though MQA is "bad for the environment", it's not worth the bother for me to switch to a more environmentally friendly solution like Qobuz.
Of course, there are plenty of MQA recordings on TIDAL that are crap, but that's mainly because the masters, recordings, or performances are crap…not because MQA processing made them so. I'm not a fan of MQA, but I wish I was able to easily hear its deleterious effects so that I could just kick it to the curb and move on. As it is, the ~150 MQA albums in my Roon library all sound fine to me despite my best efforts to find fault.
Even though MQA is "bad for the environment", it's not worth the bother for me to switch to a more environmentally friendly solution like Qobuz.
Kal Rubinson
Active Member
Try some from here: http://www.2l.no/hires/
dsnyder0cnn
Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2017
- Posts
- 76
Assuming the master tapes are in good condition, I agree. Sadly, they do not get better with time.
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