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Thread: TIDAL MQ

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Notts

    Posts: 2,741
    I'm Geoff.

    Default TIDAL MQ

    I know that there are those on this forum who dispute any benefits to HiRes Digital Audio. I have been listening to a lot of albums on Tidal in their MQ section (i.e. 96/24 and above).

    I have to say that I am hearing things for the first time on albums that I know very well and have played many times on a high quality vinyl front end. For example, I have just been listening to Roberta Flack's first two studio albums. I have always been impressed with how the instruments and studio acoustic were captured on the original vinyl pressings, albeit with quite a bit of tape hiss. The MQ versions of these albums on Tidal sound fantastic to me whilst retaining an analogue vibe.

    Geoff

  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: Near Oxford

    Posts: 1,220
    I'm Bill.

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    Geoff,

    Are you accessing Tidal MQA through Bubble and then onto Volumio?
    Chord Mojo / Sennheiser HD600

  3. #3
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Notts

    Posts: 2,741
    I'm Geoff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bourneendboy View Post
    Geoff,

    Are you accessing Tidal MQA through Bubble and then onto Volumio?
    I'm using several methods actually.

    a) Yes, one is Bubble/Volumio on a rPi/Digione into a Caiman SEG
    b) On my desktop PC
    c) In the bedroom using the Tidal app on my Amazon 4k firestick
    d) In the lounge through my 4K LG TV app

    I find it very easy to set up and run.

    Geoff

  4. #4
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,779
    I'm Martin.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sherwood View Post
    I know that there are those on this forum who dispute any benefits to HiRes Digital Audio. I have been listening to a lot of albums on Tidal in their MQ section (i.e. 96/24 and above).

    I have to say that I am hearing things for the first time on albums that I know very well and have played many times on a high quality vinyl front end. For example, I have just been listening to Roberta Flack's first two studio albums. I have always been impressed with how the instruments and studio acoustic were captured on the original vinyl pressings, albeit with quite a bit of tape hiss. The MQ versions of these albums on Tidal sound fantastic to me whilst retaining an analogue vibe.

    Geoff
    First album by Roberta Flack was recorded in 1969 so cannot be 'hi-rez' no matter what the carrier. MQA sounds different because they add some eq. But if you're liking it then you're liking it.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  5. #5
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Notts

    Posts: 2,741
    I'm Geoff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Macca View Post
    First album by Roberta Flack was recorded in 1969 so cannot be 'hi-rez' no matter what the carrier. MQA sounds different because they add some eq. But if you're liking it then you're liking it.
    I know how old the recording is and the imperfections of the original vinyl pressing. That is why I chose this album to comment on. What I don't know is how they have managed to take the original tapes and make it sound so good.

    I would be interested to hear the impressions of other Tidal users on these and other MQ titles.

    Geoff

  6. #6
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: Near Oxford

    Posts: 1,220
    I'm Bill.

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    Trialling Tidal through Bubble now using a Dragonfly Red plugged into a Pi.
    All works a treat, but can't see how to get any MQA stuff.
    Chord Mojo / Sennheiser HD600

  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Essex-Herts border

    Posts: 141
    I'm Matt.

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    MQA is an incredibly divisive topic.
    For some, it really is a superb way of accessing material in hi res.
    For others it’s a total con.
    Unless you’ve got an MQA enabled DAC you won’t be getting the full effect of what it does & there aren’t that many about.
    So for most people, they’ll be getting a diet version, no the full fat variety, to be a bit crass about it.
    I listen to it via Tidal/Audirvana with a non-MQA DAC & I tend to opt for the MQA version of an album if it’s available.
    The tech behind it is way beyond my understanding, so I just tend the trust my ears. As it’s a no cost option for me with my Tidal subscription I’m happy with it.
    I don’t see that many big Hifi companies jumping on the MQA bandwagon, it’s been around for a couple of years or so now & Bluesound/Nad & some other niche companies seem to be the main proponents. It would take a big hitter such as Naim, Yamaha, Denon, etc to adopt it for it to become successful in the long term, I’d have thought.

  8. #8
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Notts

    Posts: 2,741
    I'm Geoff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Manicatel View Post
    MQA is an incredibly divisive topic.
    For some, it really is a superb way of accessing material in hi res.
    For others it’s a total con.
    Unless you’ve got an MQA enabled DAC you won’t be getting the full effect of what it does & there aren’t that many about.
    So for most people, they’ll be getting a diet version, no the full fat variety, to be a bit crass about it.
    I listen to it via Tidal/Audirvana with a non-MQA DAC & I tend to opt for the MQA version of an album if it’s available.
    The tech behind it is way beyond my understanding, so I just tend the trust my ears. As it’s a no cost option for me with my Tidal subscription I’m happy with it.
    I don’t see that many big Hifi companies jumping on the MQA bandwagon, it’s been around for a couple of years or so now & Bluesound/Nad & some other niche companies seem to be the main proponents. It would take a big hitter such as Naim, Yamaha, Denon, etc to adopt it for it to become successful in the long term, I’d have thought.
    Just to clarify, I am talking about the Tidal Master Quality files not MQA per se. I am listening to these files through my pc as 96/24 files rather than as MQA per se. All I can say is that they sound very good through my HiFiMan 400i headphones as well as through my Maggies 1.7 speakers.

    I do not have an MQA DAC or streamer so cannot comment on how these files would sound otherwise.

    Geoff

  9. #9
    Join Date: Dec 2017

    Location: Manchester

    Posts: 359
    I'm John.

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    I've always been put off Tidal in the past because I think Jay-Z is a tit, but I could probably get over that. The thing is at the moment I am paying for Qobuz (for quality) and Deezer (for more variety and because my missus sometimes uses it at the same time) but it is costing me £30 a month. Tidal may well be a solution to replace both?

    Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Join Date: Mar 2011

    Location: Reading

    Posts: 110
    I'm George.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sherwood View Post
    Just to clarify, I am talking about the Tidal Master Quality files not MQA per se. I am listening to these files through my pc as 96/24 files rather than as MQA per se. All I can say is that they sound very good through my HiFiMan 400i headphones as well as through my Maggies 1.7 speakers.

    I do not have an MQA DAC or streamer so cannot comment on how these files would sound otherwise.

    Geoff
    Bit of confusion here. Qobuz streams its music at 16/44.1. It is CD Quality and costs £20/month. They also stream music in Hires at 'full fat' unprocessed 24/96 at £30/month.

    Tidal also streams music at 16/44.1 It is also CD quality at £20/month. They also stream MQA which they call Master Quality. It is free to those using CD streaming. Using the PC prog you can 'unfold' the MQA stream, which becomes higher rate data. This MQA data becomes 24/96 data for your DAC. Some DACs will also do this unfold as well and to get the full effect you need an MQA enabled DAC to retrieve the full data. Their Master Quality is MQA.

    So basically only Tidal streams MQA and the PC programme allows a first unfold to generate a 24/96 stream. You are not hearing original 24/96 data as only Qobuz does that at an extra cost. No big deal as you are getting MQA for free.

    As others have said MQA is controversial and there is debate whether the process works. In my view I found MQA helped with some albums but ultimately it was not as good as 'original' 24/96.

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