Just a quick, late, comment that Edward’s comparison of MQA DAC unfolding/decoding & critical/experienced listening to “wine appreciation” is one of the best descriptions I’ve heard re: DACs in general. 
I think it is pure FOMO.
Listening to said Magnificat from Tidal on Roon via Chord Qutest to Arcam rHead to Focal Elear. Sublime.
Then I tried an AudioQuest DragonFly black (to the same amp and cans).
The Master velvet light is on.
And I can swear it is better.
But is it really?
This is killing me.
And I think it is the reason we resent MQA, because it is a promise of a better sound for most of us is currently of reach, regardless of the price we paid for our DACs
1 Like
I have been giving mqa more of a go of late especially in my headphone setups Ifi Nano iDSD and DFB I do think that having the two unfolds to the full mqa master makes a big difference and makes it all sound more natural to me. In comparison in my main Naim system it can sound ok but often somethings missing compared to my other zone using Bluesound Node 2 which can do the full.
As could be expected, the PS Audio DirectStream DAC sounds very good. The best description is that the music is not “crowded”. Everything is separated and in its proper place. Very listenable. An analogy would be the Meridian Explorer 2 DAC is a good bottle of wine. The PSA DAC is an excellent bottle of wine. Both are eminently drinkable but having tasted the excellent wine, if one can afford it, that would be my preference, since life is short and you cannot take stuff with you. While certainly more expensive ($200 compared to $6900), knowing how much use I would get out of the PSA DAC it makes sense for me to purchase it. At least to an addicted audiophile it does. That said, I have not gotten around to any A-B comparisons of MQA and non-MQA files on the PSA DAC which I guess what the actual point of this thread. lol I plan to do that later but it sounds so good whether decoding CDs, Tidal, and Qobuz, at any resolution I have taken a break from sonic analysis. If I find out there is a major difference to MQA on the PSA DAC I will let you know.
I have some supporting evidence that the quality of the DAC does matter. Just like with regular material, a better DAC can give better sound, hence the reason we buy them, a better DAC with MQA can give better sound. I started with a Mytek Manhattan II and it sounded wonderful. I liked what I heard so much, I wanted to know what would happen with a really high end DAC. I tried the Meridian Ultra Dac and it was definitely a step up. My wife even heard the difference from the floor below in the Kitchen. Needless to say, I kept the Meridian Ultra and moved all the non mqa equipment to a new home. I have never had such natural, real sound.
1 Like
Ha ha ha ha!
1 Like
I recently acquired a Matrix Audio x-Sabre Pro MQA DAC, which is an extremely resolving DAC. Using a Raspberry Pi4 as the source and Tidal (Ifi IPurifier3 also in the link), I tested doing the first unfold via Roon, as opposed to letting the X-sabre do the entire work. To my ears, there was a small increase in bass weight (5% or so to quantify it) when using the X-sabre, and the entire recording (Nirvana - Nevermind MQA 192kHz ) felt a little less harsh. Mind you, this was not a blind A/B test, so could very well be attributed to Bias. But in this case, I’ll take the bias 
1 Like
it’s not a fraud, but near scam. #tidal
what floor do you have?
Up conversation is also a thread I’m looking for…any leads?!