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MQA arrives on Tidal

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Which one? Sorry to be pedantic but I was comparing these this morning. The Digital Compact Classics CD, the original, the HDCD or a remaster?

Couldn't tell you to be honest, I ripped it several years ago and it's now in a box somewhere. It was a standard CD, nothing fancy.
 
Julf , all Im doing is turning the software decoder on and off .. you asked if I was sure it was decoding
It either passes the unmolested mqa file at 24/48 or it decodes it to 24/96 and does its magic.

How do you know that is what it is actually doing?
 
Couldn't tell you to be honest, I ripped it several years ago and it's now in a box somewhere. It was a standard CD, nothing fancy.

That's OK I thought the Tidal version sounded better than the remasters but that the original CD and certainly the DCC were even better. I'm very interested in what the source files actually are for the Tidal albums - usually streaming services or even HD Tracks can be given remasters when better versions already exist on CD or vinyl.
 
You need to go into the app's settings, click on the streaming tab, and select exclusive mode and MQA pass through for the playback device. Apologies if you've already sone that.
MQA pass through should not be selected, if I check that option my dac goes back to 16/44
 
How do you know that is what it is actually doing?
What else must I assume ?
Bypassing my dirac box , my devialets read 96 from the mqa input .. its getting a 24 96 signal..it has to be unfolded

You are swimming against the tidal here...
 
On my win 10 laptop tidal recognies my mdac, but still refuses to go into exclusive mode with masters, and comes up with a perplexng message that I must set system sounds setting to 16/44 to ensure proper playback. I canlt work ut how to do this as the properties>advanced tab for m-dac only allows 24/44 etc. The output is recognised by the mdac as 24/96, but it does the same for al files from the laptop.

This is why I do not use windows music players for serious music purposes.
 
What else must I assume ?
Bypassing my dirac box , my devialets read 96 from the mqa input .. its getting a 24 96 signal..it has to be unfolded

"has to be"? Maybe just upsampled?

You are swimming against the tidal here...

I am just trying to avoid jumping to conclusions, and trying to find out what is really going on.
 
I detest anything to do with PCs, Windows or any of the associated useless tat.

I was using the first Macs ever. Really, the shoebox ones. I've had dozens of Macs but now I'm retired I don't need a computer. iPad does me. Or doesn't in this case

I'm very interested in tech. I have hi tech racing bikes, a high tech car, very hi tech woodworking tools and very advanced cameras. Call me old fashioned but the reason I like all that stuff is that it works. First time. Every time.

I've just wasted an hour getting a trial of Windows 8 which I assume is as sh'ite' as every other Windows because Tidal won't Ferkin work on that either.

Hope that answers your question :)

Hi Harry

I would avoid win 8. If you type in windows 10 download image into google the first result is direct from Microsoft, you can download the official image and either burn to disk or to USB.

You can purchase an OEM windows key for 7 quid on eBay. Probs not totally legit but I have done it 4 times now with no issues.

Go straight to windows 10, do not pass go.

That being said what spec is your lappy, if its vista then I am assuming at most a core 2 duo with tops 2 gigs of ram? really its a bit of an arc and will most likely struggle to do anything meaningful. This MQA business is using at least 20% of modern CPUs, so a core 2 would probably fold up into a quantum singularity like at the end of Poltergeist.
 
julf, the difference is so profound that its like using DIRAC .. no upsampling or eq alone can do what you hear.
I was super skeptical of it all initially , but was proven wrong.

adam , I have the same glitch on a few masters , but not all , the output falls back to system default but it then sends the undecoded signal
I think it might have something to do with the unfolding , some stuff is unfolded to 24 192 and if your dac/system cant handle it?
Trying to play beyonce , no 1 on the masters list , does that.. maybe beyonce being a new album it unfolds to 24.192 ..
 
julf, the difference is so profound that its like using DIRAC .. no upsampling or eq alone can do what you hear.

But the question is what you are comparing to? Do we know the only difference is MQA - and the reference is not somehow negatively affected by the MQa processing?

By the way, isn't DIRAC eq?
 
julf, the difference is so profound that its like using DIRAC .. no upsampling or eq alone can do what you hear.
I was super skeptical of it all initially , but was proven wrong.

adam , I have the same glitch on a few masters , but not all , the output falls back to system default but it then sends the undecoded signal
I think it might have something to do with the unfolding , some stuff is unfolded to 24 192 and if your dac/system cant handle it?
Trying to play beyonce , no 1 on the masters list , does that.. maybe beyonce being a new album it unfolds to 24.192 ..


Hi Rodney,


this is interesting - I assume the Beyonce album you are referring to is "Lemonade"?

In my case, the standard version shows up as 16/44.1 (as you'd expect), and the MQA version is 24/44.1, and subjectively sounds better to me - somehow more "delicate", if I had to put it in words. (I am just listening to the first track on that album, via headphones)

I assume I am hearing the benefits of MQA encoding/filtering during the A/D conversion but obviously there is no MQA decoding going on my side, since my DAC can't do it.

So you are saying in your setup the same track shows up as 24/192?


Chers,
Samuel.
 
adam , I have the same glitch on a few masters , but not all , the output falls back to system default but it then sends the undecoded signal
I think it might have something to do with the unfolding , some stuff is unfolded to 24 192 and if your dac/system cant handle it?
Trying to play beyonce , no 1 on the masters list , does that.. maybe beyonce being a new album it unfolds to 24.192 ..
Interesting- I got this problem on everything I tried although I was mainly working on Young Americans
 
Just played 20s of Beyonce through the Explorer2 dad and it looks like it only unfolds to 44/48hz as only the blue MQA light came on.

Court Spark however unfolds right out to 176/192khz so it all depends on source material.

Suspect unfolding will become a new phrase in the digital world.
 
Everything mine has 'unfolded' has been 96.

Is there a way to see all master albums, or a way to determine what is a master album amongst a search? If not they need to sort that out.
 
Gary, some of the classical releases on the 2L label decode as 24/88.2.

I agree that there needs to be an easier way of finding the MQA albums.
 
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