https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018/...heir-catalogs/
What is this MQA? It’s Master Quality Authenticated which means in MQA-speak that the sound is authentic to the “studio master.” Many of these studio masters are high-resolution files the label has already created. Some are just 16/44 but even there MQA applies Bob Stuart’s temporal de-blurring filters that
eliminate one of the biggest monsters of bad digital: pre and post ringing.
But the skeptics say,
“OK fine, but what about fresh titles?” Well here is the good news from Forsyth:
All three major labels have signed on. Warner, Universal, and Sony are onboard. Merlin, which represents the independent community, is also on board. It gets even better.
All three labels and the independent community have signed a contract with MQA.
That contract has terms that require a full catalog conversion to MQA.
“Okay fine Lee, but that will take years… when is this happening?” It’s already begun. MQA files are coming out fast. Look at the 10K+ titles on Tidal. They just started in January 2017 with MQA. By September 31st,
Tidal had added in a whopping seven times the total amount of high-res files that existed pre-MQA. If you like high-res, this is the best chance to get more of it.
What’s happened behind the scenes is that engineering teams at each label have been given a demo of the sound quality in A/Bs and there has been technical discussion and qualification. The label’s sound engineers had to approve the soundness of the engineering before the label would commit. So these labels are onboard from an engineering standpoint. The MQA file is only limited by its source file, many of which are high-res digital now.
So think about all the tracks the four major labels have committed to… that must be millions of tracks, right? Yes. Millions.
So with MQA-enabled software apps, MQA converters, or both, we get mountains of catalogs in high-res? Yes.
Why all the controversy on the internet? MQA is a gift to audiophiles who are experienced enough to know the magic of a good high-res file.
And that, my friends, is very good news.