MQA, what it really is. Topic for debate.

[Peter Breuninger]

Caveat... I heard this from a very qualified source.

MQA has been getting a lot of attention. Some think it is revolutionary for digital reproduction and that if applied at the source and then decoded at the end of the chain you will have a near analog like experience. This is simply not true.

MQA is a software process that takes a high resolution file and compacts it down in size for streaming, then unpacks it at the D to A. That's all it is. There is nothing revolutionary from a sonic standpoint. It's a process for steaming or for receiving high resolution downloads at faster speeds.

I did not do the homework here so please don't shoot the messenger.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Caveat... I heard this from a very qualified source.

MQA has been getting a lot of attention. Some think it is revolutionary for digital reproduction and that if applied at the source and then decoded at the end of the chain you will have a near analog like experience. This is simply not true.

MQA is a software process that takes a high resolution file and compacts it down in size for streaming, then unpacks it at the D to A. That's all it is. There is nothing revolutionary from a sonic standpoint. It's a process for steaming or for receiving high resolution downloads at faster speeds.

I did not do the homework here so please don't shoot the messenger.

yawn. double yawn.

meh.

more PCM stuff from Meridian. i'll hand it to Bob Stuart for attention grabbing.

at some point i'll hear it compared to a CD or hirez PCM. if it's not better than those then what is the big deal?

streaming PCM goodness does not answer a question I'm asking. Meridian certainly has made some great gear over the years here and there. my first pieces of high end audio gear in 1994 were the 563 dac and 500 transport. but their view of audio is so PCM centric that I can't really take them seriously.

I guess i'll enjoy it if XM/Sirrus streaming audio in the car is improved from MP3 to MQA for those small periods I'm not listening to sports talk radio. but car audio is not even on my radar for importance. and we still are left with the limitations of PCM mastering of most current music.

maybe to a streamer this is big. so enjoy it whoever you are. I have a feeling most streamers are unlikely to give a rip about sound quality enough to care about (pay more for) this.

 

[still-one]

Caveat... I heard this from a very qualified source.

MQA has been getting a lot of attention. Some think it is revolutionary for digital reproduction and that if applied at the source and then decoded at the end of the chain you will have a near analog like experience. This is simply not true.

MQA is a software process that takes a high resolution file and compacts it down in size for streaming, then unpacks it at the D to A. That's all it is. There is nothing revolutionary from a sonic standpoint. It's a process for steaming or for receiving high resolution downloads at faster speeds.

I did not do the homework here so please don't shoot the messenger.

Wow, a qualified source. It must be true.

 

[caesar]

Has anyone heard this technology? If the recording is not originally "encoded" does it make a difference? Does it improve the sound of a good old CD from 1982? Does it make a great Mofi or analogue productions remaster sound better? does it only work on Meridian players?....

With all the talk about this technology no digital guru has yet explained the basic "what's in it for me to care?" items in plain language.

 

[Kingsrule]

Meridian operates from a different plane..

They taut MQA thru their HH board and then do basically nothing to promote it and provide specifics about it. The only thing they do well is get their fanboys on HH supporting it like a first born. They haven't even provided info on their current component lineup regarding compatibility and upgrades. It does seem like they are hanging their hat on streaming which is so counter to their ultra conservative nature it is boggling!
Then, they let the original Sooloos software designers go and start Roon after promising all their Sooloos owners a major rewrite of Sooloos(that being Sooloos 3). Even stranger, the Roon guys write about Sooloos from the 3rd person perspective, like they have no knowledge of what's going on with Sooloos and even how Sooloos works!
It seems hard to believe M has come up with some earth shattering new sonic break-thru in MQA especially since they have let so few hear it. If it is so good they'd have their staff demoing all over the planet, no?..........

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Has anyone heard this technology? If the recording is not originally "encoded" does it make a difference? Does it improve the sound of a good old CD from 1982? Does it make a great Mofi or analogue productions remaster sound better? does it only work on Meridian players?....

With all the talk about this technology no digital guru has yet explained the basic "what's in it for me to care?" items in plain language.

I think I was very much "in plain language." MQA is a software process that takes a high resolution file and compacts it down in size for streaming, then unpacks it at the D to A. That's all it is. There is nothing revolutionary from a sonic standpoint. It's a process for steaming or for receiving high resolution downloads at faster speeds.

 

[Joe Whip]

The basic purpose of MQA is as Peter says. It is a better compression scheme to give the same sound as a high rez file in a much smaller package. Think a 24/192 file the size of a mp3. If it sounds the same as the 24/192 file, then great, as it takes up way less space and is easier to download and stream. Streaming seems to me to be the key here. Another key here is provenance as the file source of a MQA file must be from the master not a second generation tape or file. People have claimed that MQA effects very subtle timing issues that make all the difference in sound and that a MQA file played back on a fully equipped MQA playback system sounds better than a straight 24/192 or 24/96 file transfered from the same source. I don't know as I have never heard such a demo. I wish there was one at Axpona. If there was, I didn't see it. Anyway, what really gives me pause is that all of the MQA demos given by Meridian did not pit the MQA file against a high rez file from the same source. It was always MQA vs. mp3 files. The fact that they haven't performed this test makes me wonder if MQA is nothing more than Peter says. Only time will tell. I really can't believe that the high end audio press would overhype something.

 

[Vincent Kars]

How it works is described in more detail here: http://www.stereophile.com/content/ive-heard-future-streaming-meridians-mqa
Say a kind of hires MP3 as it is a lossy compression

 

[still-one]

The best explanation of what it "should" do is covered in the May issue of TAS. They have 13 full pages on the subject including a interview with Bob Stuart. I have not heard a demo and am holding opinions until I do and even then I want to hear more than a couple of tracks.

 

[Joe Whip]

I read the TAS spread. Reads like a commercial.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

I read the TAS spread. Reads like a commercial.

My paragraph tells all you need to know. It's a boon to the streaming industry and consumer.

 

[Joe Whip]

Okeydoakey then.

 

[Davkj]

Here is a very good video walk through of how MQA works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IxFafCO9khE

MQA allows a high res signal to be placed into a standard def PCM file. It can also apply corrections for deficiencies in the original A to D chain to the encoded file (like eliminating pre-ringing). If it works as advertised it should allow near hi-res streaming at low bitrates, and possibly help reduce the digital edge from recordings made on early A to D converters.