MQA Discussion

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Originally Posted by morfeeus

I am soooo wanting either an upgrade for my BDA-2 or a Bryston future dac with MQA decoding PLEASE James!
Now that TIDAL and very soon ROON will be offering implementations of software for partial MQA playback. Desiring the REAL or full MQA implementation for the experience.

You can now listen to MQA on TIDAL without an MQA DAC, but with the knowledge that the sound will be better when decoded by an MQA-equipped DAC.

In addition to allowing you to hear MQA-decoded files without an MQA DAC, software decoding offers the possibility of a two-step MQA decoding process. In this scenario the music-player software performs the first decoding step and the MQA DAC performs the final steps to realize the full MQA performance.

Hi Morfeeus

Yes there is a lot of action out there on MQA but I am going to wait and see where this goes - there are too many people I respect in this industry that have a different point of view on MQA and I think some restraint is in order for now.

james

[crwilli]

Reasonable approach especially for a manufacturer. James, I applaud you for using this forum to gather various insights to add to your own!

[EfeTe]

I'll second Craig's comment here. I wonder if James and his company "waiting" before the jury's really out would have an impact on sales, or customer choice as if there were a "race" to win. My gut feeling says no, and I find it sensible to wait until there is a more or less universal acceptance of the format.

[bart]

Originally Posted by crwilli

Reasonable approach especially for a manufacturer. James, I applaud you for using this forum to gather various insights to add to your own!

+1.

[Antonmb]

Yes, +1. There is an awful lot of hype about MQA right now, and but a number of concerns as well. Best to wait and see how it all shakes out rather than rush to jump on the bandwagon.

[morfeeus]

morfeeus... Welcome to AA!

Going bananas with the next level of consumer sound revolution which l believe to be MQA.

THANK YOU for the welcome!

[morfeeus]

Understanding the wait and see attitudes. With only one major label support. l am hopeful that the other two will comply in an appropriate time.

[nicoff]

According to this list, Tidal already offers over 1,200 MQA albums in their library.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=945476039

[morfeeus]

Originally Posted by nicoff

According to this list, Tidal already offers over 1,200 MQA albums in their library.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=945476039

Thanks Nicoff for that link.

At this point l've counted approximately 500 "MASTER" albums on Tidal. So we can expect these albums to be available at some point too. As l understand Warner has already converted or transcoded their catalog of recordings with 24-bit masters to MQA for Tidal streaming to be released eventually.

Unless US residents have accessibility, as l am in Canada and may differ.

[Still-One]

Unless they recently combines them that list doesn't include the 512 listed under Masters in Tidal. That could mean at lead 1700 now.