Meridian Firmware Update Enables MQA Playback

[Neil McCauley]

Meridian Audio announces the availability of a firmware update for its MQA-compatible products including Explorer2, Prime Headphone Amplifier, 808v6 Reference CD Player, 818v3 Reference Audio Core, Special Edition Loudspeakers and its 40th Anniversary Systems.

From 4th February, Meridian customers will have access to the necessary updates to allow MQA playback—offering listeners for the first time in their own home, the opportunity to experience the full, intricate detail of a live performance for the first time in the history of recorded music.

Please continue @ http://www.hifianswers.com/2016/02/m...-mqa-playback/

[lovejoy]

Being overly keen I checked the Meridian support site last night and the upgrade was already up, so I downloaded it for my Explorer2 having been somewhat disappointed that having bought some of the first commercially available MQA content that it was not playable in the Explorer2 as it stood.

Downloaded the firmware installation package and ran it no problems on my Mac. The whole process took no more than a couple of minutes so that was nice.

Having done the upgrade and unplugged and re-plugged the Explorer2 into my Mac as requested I loaded up the sampler disk I purchased from 2L.no a few weeks back when it first appeared. As I started playing the first track I got the re-assuring LED change from white to blue to show MQA was being decoded by the DAC.

Now I'm not normally much of a fan (or really an appreciator) of classical music in most forms but I sat listening, utterly beguiled at this entire recording (apart from the Requiems which I really don't like). I don't want to dress this up in hyperbole as it's still very much the initial enthusiasm period, and you could also argue that much of the sound is down to the recording and mastering quality but just the sheer scale, dynamics, the inky black silence between notes and the tactility of each instrument was nothing short of mind blowing. I've certainly never heard audio via a Mac sound so thoroughly convincing before and I'd put what I heard very much in the upper echelons of any digital playback I've ever heard.

All I want now is some music that I'd like to buy in MQA format. Hopefully not too long before Tidal starts streaming in MQA...

[roob]

Worth a look
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/co...-24-hours-mqa/