Will MQA drive hdtracks, acoustic sounds, and other hirez sites out of business?

microstrip

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Bob,

Considering the recordings that were used for this listening:


"Send in the Clowns" by Bill Henderson, Live at the Times (Jazz Planet Records/Classic Records)
”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2)
"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, Grace
An Oscar Peterson performance at 30 ips.


this result was easily expected.

My most memorable experience of ”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2) was using Soundlab A1's with an all Atmasphere MA2 MP1 setup, and several other great LPs of that period. Most of my age local friends still talk about this session with great emotion. When I asked to play a Shostakovitch symphony the system was unable to deal with the complexity and harmony of the recording, irrespective of being at pianissimo or fortissimo.

I do not pretend that a format is better than the other, IMHO now they are parallel in sound quality.

I have the Oscar Peterson MPS recordings vinyl box - perhaps I will buy one of the tapes. It would be great to get is also in DXD!
 

Rhapsody

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Bob,

Considering the recordings that were used for this listening:


"Send in the Clowns" by Bill Henderson, Live at the Times (Jazz Planet Records/Classic Records)
”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2)
"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, Grace
An Oscar Peterson performance at 30 ips.


this result was easily expected.

My most memorable experience of ”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2) was using Soundlab A1's with an all Atmasphere MA2 MP1 setup, and several other great LPs of that period. Most of my age local friends still talk about this session with great emotion. When I asked to play a Shostakovitch symphony the system was unable to deal with the complexity and harmony of the recording, irrespective of being at pianissimo or fortissimo.

Yes, great recordings. I had Oscar Peterson on tape, but Ron brought the other three excellent recordings.
 

beaur

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I have the HiRez Tidal subscription. Allows me to have it installed on 3 mobile devices and a few computers at home under the one account. Mobile devices can download files to play in offline mode. Haven't tried the MQA Masters in offline mode to see if they work but as I don't have an MQA DAC I doubt that my phone's DAC would play MQA to it's full potential!!

Is Tidal portable among devices, such as ipad, phone, etc., via one single subscription? Or does one need multiple subscriptions if one wants to play it at home on their system vs. on their phone on the go?

Also, upon viewing a song to play, how are MQA files indicated in the interface? Can one search for MQA songs?

Thanks
 

Mike Lavigne

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Rhapsody

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that damn Ron. I would be surprised if he even let you play digital for him.;)

looks like an audio dream spot you have going there Bob. almost sensory overload.

Yes Mike, it's my "laboratory". I tried sucking Ron into some digital and he labored through 2-3 songs and then politely said can we hear some more vinyl:)
 

spiritofmusic

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I had to feel sorry for Ron
I became quite friendly w him during his "banishment" to London, and the times he was available to come over and listen to my system, my Straingauge was being serviced/upgraded by Peter Lederman at Soundsmith
So, he gritted his teeth and spent an hour listening only to my Eera Tentation cdp
I think Tinka kept him sane that day
 

Rhapsody

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So no Satya playing for him then?

Hi Norman, I saw the pain on Ron's face when I played a few Tidal Streaming, both Hifi and MQA, (which sounds crazy good to me) so we moved quickly to vinyl and tape and I we stayed on that road for the rest of the visit:)

Ron was really interested in comparing Vitus and Kondo so that is what we did.
 

wisnon

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Hi Norman, I saw the pain on Ron's face when I played a few Tidal Streaming, both Hifi and MQA, (which sounds crazy good to me) so we moved quickly to vinyl and tape and I we stayed on that road for the rest of the visit:)

Ron was really interested in comparing Vitus and Kondo so that is what we did.

LoL. I know...just wished he heard the Satya to give a comparison from his POV.

I will still take you up on the Apologue offer one day!
 

Rhapsody

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LoL. I know...just wished he heard the Satya to give a comparison from his POV.

I will still take you up on the Apologue offer one day!

Nothing to do with Ron, but my experience is that when someone is strictly vinyl or vinyl and tape it's pretty futile to attempt to "win them over" listening to anything other than vinyl or tape, especially in a new system and unfamiliar room. I believe that a vinyl/tape lover has to "wade into the water slowly" and have a digital experience for themselves in their own systems so that they can get used to it and then either they might become more interested OR just go back to vinyl/tape and that's that:)
 

wisnon

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I know..that wasnt my intention.

It was more about his take on the différences in this instance...a conversation piece...nothing more.
 

spiritofmusic

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Bob, I am one of the very guys you are talking about
Have been collecting vinyl since the late 70s/early 80s, a good 50 John Coltrane lps, some v rare classical, and a healthy no. of Japanese collectable lps
About 2k in total
CDs since the 90s, nothing too newsworthy, but v much enjoying the mega cd box sets of S. Wilson remastered prog rock
I really hated cd when it came out, but unlike a lot of dyed in the wool vinylphiles, I put a lot of time into choosing digital well
Going from the Marantz SA1 to the Emm Labs CDSA SE to my current Eera Tentation cdp
This has then kept me on my toes in choosing analog well and hence I have both mediums converged twds a happy medium, and I listen to CDs now never missing lps at the time
However lps retain a magic in heft, involvement and sheer energetic density I still find impossible to replicate on 5"

In the last 6 months I've been extremely lucky to have been exposed many times to a really well set up SGM streamer/T&A Dac8 doing 512 dsd and HQP, into 1.5W 45 tubes amps pwrng AG Duos Omegas, dedicated lines and all Sablon Reservas loom
This set up is the first that makes me even start to doubt my deep devotion to lps and reconsider a 180 shift to putting all my energies into digital
There are reliable reports that the Aqua Formula w SGM takes the analog like involvement factor up a notch or three

So, I am one of maybe just a handful of fully pro analog guys who really "gets" where new cutting edge digital is going, and for the first time I have a real dilemma in whether any future major source upgrade will be a eg AMG Viella V12, or an SGM/dac for the same outlay
 

bonzo75

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So, I am one of maybe just a handful of fully pro analog guys who really "gets" where new cutting edge digital is going, and for the first time I have a real dilemma in whether any future major source upgrade will be a eg AMG Viella V12, or an SGM/dac for the same outlay

Amazed at your "getting" ability
 

spiritofmusic

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Yep, it IS amazing
And I "get" you all too well Ked
 

Rhapsody

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Bob, I am one of the very guys you are talking about
Have been collecting vinyl since the late 70s/early 80s, a good 50 John Coltrane lps, some v rare classical, and a healthy no. of Japanese collectable lps
About 2k in total
CDs since the 90s, nothing too newsworthy, but v much enjoying the mega cd box sets of S. Wilson remastered prog rock
I really hated cd when it came out, but unlike a lot of dyed in the wool vinylphiles, I put a lot of time into choosing digital well
Going from the Marantz SA1 to the Emm Labs CDSA SE to my current Eera Tentation cdp
This has then kept me on my toes in choosing analog well and hence I have both mediums converged twds a happy medium, and I listen to CDs now never missing lps at the time
However lps retain a magic in heft, involvement and sheer energetic density I still find impossible to replicate on 5"

In the last 6 months I've been extremely lucky to have been exposed many times to a really well set up SGM streamer/T&A Dac8 doing 512 dsd and HQP, into 1.5W 45 tubes amps pwrng AG Duos Omegas, dedicated lines and all Sablon Reservas loom
This set up is the first that makes me even start to doubt my deep devotion to lps and reconsider a 180 shift to putting all my energies into digital
There are reliable reports that the Aqua Formula w SGM takes the analog like involvement factor up a notch or three

So, I am one of maybe just a handful of fully pro analog guys who really "gets" where new cutting edge digital is going, and for the first time I have a real dilemma in whether any future major source upgrade will be a eg AMG Viella V12, or an SGM/dac for the same outlay

Yes, I'm basically in the same boat as you are. Although for the last year I really have gone streaming Tidal for my personal listening and have never enjoyed my listening sessions more. It's an oddity to me, because if you put on DSD, CD's, vinyl or tape you would say that sonically the Tidal streaming would be the least preferred. The kicker for me is that the Tidal streaming sounds so good to me, couple that with the ease of use and the music selection and for whatever reason it's my go to source.
 

Rhapsody

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I know..that wasnt my intention.

It was more about his take on the différences in this instance...a conversation piece...nothing more.

I know and I actually play the Satyas all the time for visitors but we were very focused on comparing the Vitus and Kondo and introducing the Satya would not have added any value to this session. I only had my dig sources (streaming/cd's/dsd) connected to the Satya. I need to connect my TT setup/R2R to the Satyas, which I have never done as they have only been here for a short time.
 

spiritofmusic

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Bob, I've needed constant "coaxing" LOL from Barry/Blue58 to open up to the possibility of doing this
In the form of fortnightly visits to listen, an ever improving system, and encouragement to go down the computer audio road
You have NO argument from me re the sq of Tidal
We don't even really bother auditioning Hi Rez downloads, cd quality upscaled via 512 and HQP is more than enough
On balance, I still maintain vinyl cannot be beaten on heft, tone, tonal density and sheer energy, which means that putting an Lp on after a good digital workout still gets my juices flowing in a way digital can only try to
But on many other aspects, I'm finding things are a dead heat or even the vote to the SGM
However, what vinyl is unrivalled at is IMHO what I find most critical in music, esp tone and tonal discrimination btwn recordings
 

Rhapsody

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Bob, I've needed constant "coaxing" LOL from Barry/Blue58 to open up to the possibility of doing this
In the form of fortnightly visits to listen, an ever improving system, and encouragement to go down the computer audio road
You have NO argument from me re the sq of Tidal
We don't even really bother auditioning Hi Rez downloads, cd quality upscaled via 512 and HQP is more than enough
On balance, I still maintain vinyl cannot be beaten on heft, tone, tonal density and sheer energy, which means that putting an Lp on after a good digital workout still gets my juices flowing in a way digital can only try to
But on many other aspects, I'm finding things are a dead heat or even the vote to the SGM
However, what vinyl is unrivalled at is IMHO what I find most critical in music, esp tone and tonal discrimination btwn recordings

Agreed on the vinyl and tape as well. I'm saying this in jest, but it seems to work for me. I used to say the best way to enjoy SS is to not listen to tubes. I definitely don't feel like that any longer. I also used to say the best way to enjoy digital is not to listen to vinyl, and actually that works for me. When I don't listen to vinyl or tape I am in lala land with my streaming Tidal, but when I do listen to vinyl or tape, then the "uh-oh" thoughts seem to creep in:)
 

spiritofmusic

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As it has ever been
At various points on my audio path, digital has GENERALLY outperformed analog, but changes to the tt front end/dialling in the tt install more precisely, has reestablished the natural order of the universe, now 3-4 times over two decades
Most recently, I have been blown away by the SGM at Barry's, and I suspect what it does so well would prove hot competition for my current analog
My new room is really proving to be a sounding board/lie detector/microscope for my gear, and my current analog under more scrutiny than ever
For the first time I have a TRUE dilemma as to whether to upgrade tt and arm, or truly embrace digital and max this out for same budget w an SGM based streaming solution
I've already hinted to Audiophile Bill that I might surprise myself and go for the digital solution, then ONLY listen to HQP dxd or 512 for maybe 2-3 yrs, and then return to analog, and see how I react
 

Rhapsody

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As it has ever been
At various points on my audio path, digital has GENERALLY outperformed analog, but changes to the tt front end/dialling in the tt install more precisely, has reestablished the natural order of the universe, now 3-4 times over two decades
Most recently, I have been blown away by the SGM at Barry's, and I suspect what it does so well would prove hot competition for my current analog
My new room is really proving to be a sounding board/lie detector/microscope for my gear, and my current analog under more scrutiny than ever
For the first time I have a TRUE dilemma as to whether to upgrade tt and arm, or truly embrace digital and max this out for same budget w an SGM based streaming solution
I've already hinted to Audiophile Bill that I might surprise myself and go for the digital solution, then ONLY listen to HQP dxd or 512 for maybe 2-3 yrs, and then return to analog, and see how I react

With different equipment, that is where I am now. I listened to vinyl since the 60's and cd's never got close for me. Then Tidal showed up, but more importantly for me was when the Aurender and the MSB Select showed up, then there was a paradigm shift for me. I never enjoyed my listening sessions as much as with the Aurender/MSB/Tidal set up. I really have not listened to vinyl or tape for at least six months now and I doubt if I will ever leave this venue for my personal listening.....it just works for me. Even when I do put vinyl or tape on and go OMG it sounds incredible in comparison, the next time I sit down I just hit play on the Ipad and NEVER think about getting up to spin a 33 or load a 30ips.
 

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