To be fair, any music “Dr” Dre creates sounds terrible anyway.
You must be kidding… MQA did a batch conversion of those millions of Warner 16b 44.1k PCMs,
and those were all the masters that were previously available on Tidal as “HiFi”.
There are plenty of MQA’s available from different masters.
You should check out David Bowie and you’ll see 44.1k, 48k, 96k and 192k Master versions
all of the same song. I even wonder why there are 48k, 96k AND 192k choices as all come in a 48k FLAC file. This is just some marketing ■■. “Look you can choose 3 possible sample rates displayed on you DAC” but the result will sound the same because all will upsample to the max your dac can handle which is 192k or even 384k anyway. Duh-huh
People have to stop thinking all is “white glove” treated and “they pulled out the analogue tapes”.
They didn’t. They just used the digital already available PCMs and threw them in the MQA converter with a few options like : studio dot on/off, and a choice between 16 weak minimum slow roll-off filters.
Stop believing all the marketing ■■. We don’t need MQA.
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Think Poe’s Law may have applied here.
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Wow, slow your roll Dude. I WAS kidding. Where is the sarcasm emoji when you need it?
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I had to look that up. Pretty spot on.
So many files are not analog at all and only exist as digital files. I have spent some time listening to only MQA music from these files and have to say have been really impressed with the quality.
So if this is a batch process (what’s wrong with that as almost everything you own is) then they have done an amazing job developing the process to makes this uplift in quality available to all at no extra cost.
I for one, need MQA and am looking forward to much much more of it.
Sorry if I offended you, didn’t mean to, but I had it with those MQA believers claiming nonsense all the time. Like this:
Some still believe that a 44.1kHz shown on their display is the actual playback rate,
while every DAC goes to the max these days.
So if the DAC goes up to 384kHz :
- all 44.1kHz derivates (44.1 88.2 176.4 352.8) that come in a 44.1kHz flac will play as 352.8kHz
- all 48 kHz derivates (48 96 192 384) that come in a 48kHz flac will play as 384 kHz
The DAC will always upsample x2 x4 x8 or x16 (to the max it can handle).
Also MQA is not deblurring… it uses a minimum phase filter (removing pre ringing) which means the higher frequencies shift non-linear (so it’s actually blurring). And the slow roll off reduces the post ringing, but it causes more problems in the higher frequencies. I don’t like it a bit.
At least with regular PCM FLACs I have a choice of filtering.
Everybody should have a choice. With MQA they push a lame filter down our throats.
Sadly enough the majority seems to read the MQA pages only. Those pages that HIDE all the defects MQA brings.
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No extra cost???
- no choice possible for another filter.
- extra hardware needed $$$
- no more DSP possible without damaging the MQA signal
- no more volume level adjustments by software (laptop … forget it)
“no extra costs”
I don’t want another filter. MQA is perfect for me… I listen to music, not fiddle with equipment.
I don’t need any extra hardware. The equipment I bought anyway does MQA. The only extra kit I bought was to add Bluetooth so I could enjoy BBC sounds. (It’s Roon Ready and MQA equipped as a bonus)
Too allows me DSP and ability to retain MQA signaling, although I have a system and room where I don’t need or want to use DSP.
I adjust the volume in Roon and have no issues… Sounds great to me…
Thanks for your insights. Truly interesting and usefull.
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Genuinely curious, have you invested in decent room treatment then?
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You don’t need extra hardware? But then you say you bought equipment that does MQA? $$$
You use Roon… $$$
How many free players for MQA have you seen emerging for let’s say Windows/Mac?
I don’t need Roon, I can do any DSP I want, can use any software player I like.
And if I would want the MQA sound, I just select filter 2 “minimum phase, slow roll-off” on my DAC
and any PCM sounds like it.
But do keep believing in MQA.
Maybe you should read what Neil Young wrote about MQA. “It does not sound as the original !”
(And don’t bring up that Pono story from 2017 now…)
Maybe you should take a look at a signal path in Roon where Room correction is applied on an MQA.
What was that part about MQA and decoders … that you shouldn’t use “core decoding” but let the DAC do that for you for the best results? Well … you can’t with room correction. You need to “core decode” it first, then extract the MQA data, then apply the DSP, and then the MQA data has to be reinstalled (destroying part of the room correction)… to sample it up even more. What a mess.
But hey, it’s MQA…You can down and upsample it in 15 ways, it will be better than the original (not)
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Yes, I have GK acoustic panels on the wall behind me and carpeted floors, soft furnishings etc. My Meridian DSP 5200 SE speakers have DSP built in. So, I activated the Corner position to remove any bass boom and then added 2 db to the bass. To my ear it sounds perfect, given the fact I have neighbours to consider. The base is very taught and detailed.
The other benefit is EBA Enhanced Bass Alignment where signals are actively delayed so the bass latency is compensated for.
The only downside to this is if I wish to have zone syncs perfectly (a rare occurrence) I would have to turn EBA temporarily off.
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Do that then…
I could care less what Neil Young says… That’s up to him, he is not my mentor.
As for DSP within Roon and MQA. You are by default designing your own sound profile. So design it, tweak away till you get it how you like it. It’s a choice for those who need and want it.
Chris, i think you have a fantastic system but I’m concerned that you have managed to cobble it together so badly that people from miles away that have never heard it think it sounds terrible. You should hang your head or wash your ears out.
Nice on the physical correction front, I’m renting and may be a while longer given practicalities of relocating during Covid. No panels for me until then I suspect 
I’m guessing some of the features you’re listing (corner correction) are DSP applied by the speaker or are they analogue tweaks? Again just curious, I can’t help it.
He might make a good guitar mentor though?
Clearly you havnt heard it… Not certain where you are coming from. It is difficult to make a meridian system sound bad… hmmmm
I was joking about the amount of flak you get Chris from people who have never heard what is obviously a fantastic system. I didn’t mean to offend.
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This is all done in the digital domain, the signal is kept digital until the last moment, so each driver in the speaker has its own dedicated amp and DAC designed for the job it has to do. The cabinets have zero resonance also. I’m sure the beryllium tweeters play their part in the high end.
The crossovers are all done in DSP so no lossy cables are required. Once set up as you prefer it, all you do is press play.
Yes, I expect Neil would be a great guitar teacher for sure
Lol, cheers, I did wonder and appreciated it.
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