I’m using a Bluesound Node 3
I recognised that recently file formats changed on Tidal.
It seems to be more FLAC Files then former MQA.
Question 1)
although I’m confused to the way these come in “file name” - “FLAC 48kHz 24bit, MQA 48kHz”.
is this now a FLAC or a MQA File?
how can both be used in the same file name?
Reason I’m asking is. that I recognised, when ever a FLAC File mentions a KHZ that is above a normal FLAC 16 bit - my external DAC wont play it.
I can only trick it into playing it with having the Nodes Audio Settings changed to output level fixed, and MQA external DAC. (that is quite tricky as I cant control volume).
my trick is to change it to outputlevel fixed, then when it starts playing, I change it back.
Question 2)
My confusion comes here: every FLAC 16 bit is played like a charm through my external DAC (that is pre MQA Area, its a old nice Counterpoint SE DAC), when ever its a higher kHz or 24Bit FLAC it wont play wihtout having the Node changed in Settings to output level fixed & MQA external DAC".
anyone experiencing the same and found a way?
why is MQA Codec used on a FLAC file?
the decoder is active… although its a FLAC file, it uses MQA decoder, why is that?
thanks if anyone knows or has a tipp I’m greatfull.
Think of Flac as a container. A flac file can include mqa encoded audio
" FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, an audio format similar to MP3, but lossless, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality. This is similar to how Zip works, except with FLAC you will get much better compression because it is designed specifically for audio"
I’d bet your old Counterpoint DAC only supports 44.1/16 files… that is, a sample rate up to 44.1 kHz with 16 bits…
You say you are using a Node 3… and from the node to the DAC, how are you connected? Does it have USB, or is it Toslink?
Maybe you could show a picture of Roon’s signal path while playing to your DAC, that would clear things up… but generally what you have to do is to use Roon’s device setup form to limit Roon’s output to the max same rate and bit depth supported by your DAC… in this case, 44.1/16.
For MQA, set your DAC up in Roon’s ‘MQA capabilities’ as ‘No MQA support’. If set up correctly, Roon will take care to send the data automatically downsampled and in the format your DAC supports.
Here’s my DAC’s device setup… it supports much higher sample rates and bit depth, but then it’s a newer model using completely different technology…
1- FLAC is the container used across the board on TIDAL. In particular, all MQA files are FLAC files. The example you give is an MQA file. If it were a lossless file, it would NOT include MQA in the description. There are an increasing number of such files on TIDAL as they shed off MQA. It will take a little bit of time but I expect in a few months there will be no more MQA files on TIDAL.
2- I don’t think I have experienced that - FLAC files of any sort will play normally, and MQA files will get decoded in my DAC (dCS Rossini Apex). As for the second part of your question, FLAC is a file format - the only one used in the delivery of MQA files - and MQA is an encoding of the data in that format.
Hi,
The current situation is that no matter how you set the signal pass, Roon does not deliver true HiRes from Tidal but only MQA to the NAD and Bluesound devices. In this case, if there is no MQA version on Tidal, Roon delivers the CD 44.1 kHz 16 bit version and not the FLAC HiRes version.
Just take the track: Bubblegum Dog by MGMT on TIDAL and try it out. Via the Tidal app and my RME ADI-2 DAC fs I get 24bit/96kHz, via Roon on the NAD via RAAT or the RMI via my PC always only 16bit/44.1 khz. This is probably due to the fact that the API has not yet been adapted. I like Roon, but a little side blow: Audirvana can already do it.
Yep, that may be right, but the OP mentioned a MQA file
which should be unfolded on Roon server and then be sent to the DAC. A DAC without MQA support won’t do the famous second unfold… but it wouldn’t receive 44.1/16 from a 48/24 MQA file, either.
As I said before, I bet that the OP’s old DAC doesn’t support but 44.1/16, maybe 48/16… I have a DAC with these characteristics, and set up right, Roon will simply downsample and deliver to the DAC whatever it is able to process.
With a DAC unable to process above 44.1-48/16, even if Roon supported the high-res flac files from Tidal, it would have to downsample anyway…
If tracks don’t want to play at al. Then you’ll have to set the maximum sample rate that you DAC can handle in Roon.
To do this go to the Settings → Audio → select your DAC and go to device setup (the little cog wheel).
Then scroll down till you get to the Advanced Options.
By selecting the maximum supported sample rate for your DAC will force Roon to down sample every track to the sample rate your DAC supports. This will allow the music to be played.
