With the new 1.5 Roon, there is whole new menu for the DAC or streamer.
Here is an example for my Cary DMS-500 (MQA compatible DAC w/ streamer built in)
As far as I know, my DAC is fully MQA compatible.
So, are my settings OK? Further it would be great if we have the recommended settings for MQA compatible or not, or “half” compatible DACs
Thanks!
Basically I am asking about two settings:
1 - MQA capabilities
2 - Enable MQA Core Decoder
Hello @thyname,
Since you’re using a Roon Ready device, all of the correct settings are automatically selected for you! You’re good to go!
-John
Well… they were both not selected.
The first one was “no MQA support”, and the Decoder was unchecked.
I changed them both.
Another question @john : I am getting soon a non-MQA DAC / Streamer for another setup - the Ayre QX-5. What would those two settings be on it?
Thanks
Hello @thyname,
Thank you for the report, the AiOS was actually incorrectly marked in our database, and we’ve updated it accordingly.
For the Ayre QX-5, the correct settings should be “No MQA Support” and “Enable MQA Core Decoder” set to enabled. This will allow for Roon’s Core Decoder to send a high resolution stream to the Ayre when playing back MQA content.
-John
I cannot get this right it seems. I have a iMac connected through firewire to a mytek DSD192 DAC. If I go with ROON and want to setup MQA what do I set: Decoder and Renderer (I presume decoder means that ROON unfolds the MQA package, but what does renderer means??) or Decoder only or Render only (I presume this is only relevant for an MQA compatible DAC??
And if I want to set it up with HQplayer still doing the upsampling of the latter. Then should I only use: Decoder only?? Since Renderer I presume is what HQplayer is doing with the upsampling…
What I do not understand about the 1.5 update is whether ROON through the deep knowledge about the DACs we have in my case the MYTEK DSD192 not only do the first unfolding (presumably in DECODE), but also do the second MQA step in its software (when you choose RENDERER) so that you actually get the entire MQA process integrated even without an MQA DAC???
Hi @rasmussenmorten. It’s actually the other way round: The MQA Capabilities setting refers to the capabilities of your DAC or other connected device.
Rendering is a DAC-specific process which requires an MQA-certified hardware Decoder or Renderer; rendering is not possible in a software decoder like Roon.
My understanding is that the Mytek DSD192 is not an MQA DAC, so you should set its MQA Capabilities to “No MQA Support”. This will ensure that Roon performs the first decode on MQA files.
Similarly, because HQPlayer is not MQA capable, you should set it up as having “No MQA Support” to ensure that Roon decodes the MQA.
Thanks a lot!!!
It’s not AiOS. It is DMS-500
So a question for @support:
What would the setting on “Enable MQA Core Decoder” be for both (1) MQA enabled DACs, and (2) Non-MQA enabled DACs?
Would be turned on to “Yes” in both cases? Then what’s the difference?
Thanks
Hello @thyname,
I enabled default MQA Support on both devices. Thank you for the correction though, we want to get things right!
-John
Hello @thyname,
Sorry, I was replying to that post after your ‘DMS-500’ one thinking it was another person!
Unless you have personal objections to MQA, we believe that “Enable MQA Core Decode” will provide the best experience to all of our users, since we detect what formats your device will support and also engage and disengage it based on logic like MQA device support and DSP settings. There’s a reason we put it in the “advanced settings” section, unless you have to you should just leave it be 
-John
Yes.
-John
I have a similar question on the MQA settings for Roon with a NAD M12. Roon defaults to “No MQA support” for the M12. When I set to “Decoder” or “Decoder and Renderer” in Roon it downsamples the file. Can you confirm if “Renderer” or “No MQA support” is the correct setting in Roon for my M12?
Hello @John_Fields,
For the best performance with the NAD M12, you should set the “MQA Capabilities” to “No MQA Support”. This will enable Roon’s MQA Core Decoder for all MQA content, enabling you to listen to the high resolution stream. NAD and Bluesound have not yet added the capability to use their MQA Core Decoder and Renderer when streaming from Roon. They have not announced a timeline on when they plan to enable this functionality, but they are aware of the issue.
-John
Hi there,
About Roon MQA settings, I understand “Decoder only”(like Meridian Ultra DAC) and “Renderer Only”(like iFi Audio). But what is the “Decoder and Renderer”?
“Decoder and Renderer” is for Full MQA Decoder that can accept both raw MQA signal and MQA Core signal (the output from Roon MQA Core decoder), e.g. Lumin product line, Mytek.
Thanks for the reply. If so, what is the "Decoder only”? I thought the full MQA decoder is the “decoder only”.
And what is the difference between “decoder only” and “Renderer only”?
