that's a big claim.
MQA's street cred is not helped by such high flying comments. I'm neutral on MQA until I get a chance to personally investigate it. but setting it at the same level as vinyl or RTR tape speaks more to one's standards for those formats than any objective view.
and I view you as a credible person who knows stuff.
I have lots of Quad dsd and dxd and I love it. and maybe MQA gets in that neighborhood plus or minus a little. but that's not anywhere close to the best of vinyl or tape.
I guess we just have to allow things to play out and let the dust settle. I applaud the promise of MQA and as music lovers it can be good for all of us. so I'm no negative Nellie on it.
Hi Mike, I am just reporting what I have experienced and hear in my set ups. I would not classify my R2R or my vinyl as A+++ but they are not too shabby either. And both the vinyl and the tape sound "jaw droppingly" good with a vg recording.
But if you put on a great recording of NOT only MQA but just regular streaming Tidal and listen, at least for me, I never think that it is less sonically pleasing than the vinyl or the tape.
All of my statements come since I started listening to Tidal through the AurenderN10 and the MSB Select DAC. MQA through the Select DAC is up several sonic notches over 16/44.1 files BUT if you heard what I am hearing with regular Tidal streaming I think you might agree that it is just as pleasing, with a vg recording, as tape or vinyl or dsd or high res pcm.
One clarification is that I am NOT saying that Tidal streaming or MQA "sounds better", what I am saying is that if you put on a great vinyl or tape recording and it sounds so good that it just dazzles you and you get totally enthralled in the listening experience, anyway this is what happens to me. Well with Tidal streaming through my recent set up, it does the same thing to me. I would not say that DSD, tape or vinyl "get me there" any more than Tidal streaming does and it has to do with the overall musical listening experience. It's actually hard to put into words....but I'm trying
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