MQA scam exposed

[PRYML]

I've always thought that MQA was just a marketing ploy that doesn't add any real value to the hobby. Regardless, I subscribed to Tidal HiFi anyway, because then, it was the sole streaming service offering CD-quality streaming and some exclusive content from artists that support Tidal.

However, I'll be dropping the use of the service in favour of Qobuz soon, because some content on Tidal is passed on to the unsuspecting as non-MQA lossless FLAC even though it's the same high-distortion MQA version! I won't tolerate such fraudulent practice.

If you're unaware of how this all came to light, feel free to follow the URL below.

https://youtu.be/pRjsu9-Vznc

[Filterlab]

I don't currently use a high resolution streaming service, but I did a couple of years ago, and I have to say that Qobuz was vastly superior in terms of sound quality. If I streamed again, I'd go straight back to them.

[struth]

ive tried them all and qobuz is best. spotty is also good and sure they will take bodies if and when they bring out a cd quality version

[Macca]

It's not just MQA, the entire 'hi-res' thing has been a scam right from the start.

[Filterlab]

ive tried them all and qobuz is best. spotty is also good and sure they will take bodies if and when they bring out a cd quality version

I'm surprised they haven't capitalised on it yet to be honest. They must know the market inside out and can see that there's a demand worth pandering to.

I use YouTube music which is surprisingly good, and a lot of well produced music sounds utterly amazing through the hifi. Not sure of the data rates, but it's very good and if the people who post the content have 'sound naus' they'll put it in as high res as possible. I don't think YouTube caps the audio stream - correct me if I'm wrong on that.

[Macca]

The quality of the production and mastering far outweighs any effect the bit rate will have, which is why some programme on You-Tube can sound so good and why some people think 'hi-res' is better than 16/44.1

You Tube are coy about the maximum bit rate possible but I think it is 256/kbps.

[willbewill]

ive tried them all and qobuz is best. spotty is also good and sure they will take bodies if and when they bring out a cd quality version

Spotify is going to CD quality later this year, in fact they've already notified me that my family premium subscription will be increasing from £14.99 to £16.99 in June which I suspect is to allow for it.

[Silent]

I've always thought that MQA was just a marketing ploy that doesn't add any real value to the hobby. Regardless, I subscribed to Tidal HiFi anyway, because then, it was the sole streaming service offering CD-quality streaming and some exclusive content from artists that support Tidal.

However, I'll be dropping the use of the service in favour of Qobuz soon, because some content on Tidal is passed on to the unsuspecting as non-MQA lossless FLAC even though it's the same high-distortion MQA version! I won't tolerate such fraudulent practice.

If you're unaware of how this all came to light, feel free to follow the URL below.

https://youtu.be/pRjsu9-VzncA mate and I did a side by side blind comparison of Spotify and Tidal a while back (we had no idea about the MQA scam at the time) and even then we could hear a Tidal 'signature' on the music that indicated to us immediately that it was Tidal that we were listening to. I can understand why you might not want to use Spotify as your hifi source (although through a Chromecast audio it's pretty decent) but why anyone would pick Tidal over Quboz is beyond me, there is such a clear affinity for bass and low end sound on Tidal that's hard not to focus on when listening.

That video was very informative, I had no idea how shady MQA was, thanks for posting this!

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[PRYML]

I can understand why you might not want to use Spotify as your hifi source (although through a Chromecast audio it's pretty decent) but why anyone would pick Tidal over Quboz is beyond me, there is such a clear affinity for bass and low end sound on Tidal that's hard not to focus on when listening.

For one thing, Qobuz was not even an option in my region, and secondly, works from artists such as Eva Cassidy, was sadly limited to only a handful of tracks, of which most were actually MP3!

[Silent]

For one thing, Qobuz was not even an option in my region, and secondly, works from artists such as Eva Cassidy, was sadly limited to only a handful of tracks, of which most were actually MP3!I had to make the same decision when deciding on how to listen to music and tidal just doesn't compare to FLAC/WAV from CD but I guess it comes down to how much is that worth? Most people would say that the monthly subscription for something like Tidal is so much cheaper than buying the same library on CD that the quality difference is just inconsequential

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[Macca]

You can buy CDs for a fiver delivered, that's an album a week for the same cost as the streaming provider.

You get to choose which mastering you want, like the original release instead of whatever overly-compressed re-master they they foist on you. Or one that MQA has mangled up as per the O/P.

Internet goes down you still have music.

Streaming service goes broke, you still have music.

Artist withdraws their material from the service, you still have all their albums.

One new album a week is plenty if you like to get properly acquainted with a record rather than just try to consume as much music as you can. And 90% of music is rubbish anyway.

But everyone - stick with streaming music it's keeping the price of CD down for the rest of us :D

[Barry]

+1 to all of the above! You can't beat having a physical hard copy - the only drawback is finding enough storage space.

[willbewill]

+1 to all of the above! You can't beat having a physical hard copy - the only drawback is finding enough storage space.

Plus the artists get a bit more dosh, especially if they are self releasing

[Silent]

You can buy CDs for a fiver delivered, that's an album a week for the same cost as the streaming provider.

You get to choose which mastering you want, like the original release instead of whatever overly-compressed re-master they they foist on you. Or one that MQA has mangled up as per the O/P.

Internet goes down you still have music.

Streaming service goes broke, you still have music.

Artist withdraws their material from the service, you still have all their albums.

One new album a week is plenty if you like to get properly acquainted with a record rather than just try to consume as much music as you can. And 90% of music is rubbish anyway.

But everyone - stick with streaming music it's keeping the price of CD down for the rest of us :D

I fully agree. I've been bolstering my collection for the last few years and it's impossible to deny the quality difference. I also like having the physical copy, something about opening it and having the CD in your hands and in your collection. I'm no luddite, I've tried and tested all the streamer services, currently use a Zen streamer and Spotify on my mobile constantly, but CD wins every time for me.

I've noticed several songs and albums over time being removed from Spotify and multiple Tidal exclusives, it just starts to rub against the grain after a while.

I know what you mean about an album a week, I feel much more of a connection and responsibility to listen to the whole record as opposed to only streaming the single from it and that has its own rewards, you're more than likely going to find a gem of a track you wouldn't have heard otherwise.

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[AJSki2fly]

I fully agree. I've been bolstering my collection for the last few years and it's impossible to deny the quality difference. I also like having the physical copy, something about opening it and having the CD in your hands and in your collection. I'm no luddite, I've tried and tested all the streamer services, currently use a Zen streamer and Spotify on my mobile constantly, but CD wins every time for me.

I've noticed several songs and albums over time being removed from Spotify and multiple Tidal exclusives, it just starts to rub against the grain after a while.

I know what you mean about an album a week, I feel much more of a connection and responsibility to listen to the whole record as opposed to only streaming the single from it and that has its own rewards, you're more than likely going to find a gem of a track you wouldn't have heard otherwise.

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Completely agree, been to digital and back again from early CD days. If I am listening properly it is LP, then CD and general casual listening is streaming. Occasionally I come across a good SQ streaming track, but not that often, possibly too much noise and external infrastructure issues as it is today, may explain why those that are happy with streaming end up spending lots on it, theoretically it should not need to be that way. Why is that I wonder?


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[Lawrence001]

Good job I bought a Meridian 508 the other week as I was down to an Arcam Alpha 7SE on the CDP front [emoji16]

[AJSki2fly]

Good job I bought a Meridian 508 the other week as I was down to an Arcam Alpha 7SE on the CDP front [emoji16]

Great choice, I sold mine to upgrade speakers as I wasn’t using it much (probably a silly mistake).

In case you don’t know they can be prone to laser mech locking up and getting read errors, this is usually caused by the grease on the laser guide going hard around 10-15 years. Sometimes no damage is done and simply removing the laser mechanism and regressing with the right grease sorts. However my advice would be to hunt out a replacement laser mechanism for it and keep as backup in the draw, they were around £30-40

[PRYML]

I fully agree. I've been bolstering my collection for the last few years and it's impossible to deny the quality difference. I also like having the physical copy, something about opening it and having the CD in your hands and in your collection. I'm no luddite, I've tried and tested all the streamer services, currently use a Zen streamer and Spotify on my mobile constantly, but CD wins every time for me.

I've noticed several songs and albums over time being removed from Spotify and multiple Tidal exclusives, it just starts to rub against the grain after a while.

I know what you mean about an album a week, I feel much more of a connection and responsibility to listen to the whole record as opposed to only streaming the single from it and that has its own rewards, you're more than likely going to find a gem of a track you wouldn't have heard otherwise.

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I concur. I'm basically using streaming to discover more music and once I've decided what I'd like long-term, I hunt for the CD, if not the SACD; recently got a new Marantz SACD 30n to play with.

With Qobuz, I can buy "Hi-Res" downloads to use without restriction as well.

[Silent]

I concur. I'm basically using streaming to discover more music and once I've decided what I'd like long-term, I hunt for the CD, if not the SACD; recently got a new Marantz SACD 30n to play with.

With Qobuz, I can buy "Hi-Res" downloads to use without restriction as well.I do the exact same thing, I've used Spotify to find about 25% of my collection tbh.

Just out of interest, how much do you pay for your average SACD? And where would you suggest getting them?

My Sony UHD player plays them as it turns out but I refuse to pay £30 for a CD I already have and have ripped to uncompressed WAV...

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[Macca]

Before buying the SACD check the DR database. Many rock/pop SACD masterings have far less dynamic range than the CD issue. Although you still might prefer the mastering for SACD despite that I suppose.

[Silent]

Before buying the SACD check the DR database. Many rock/pop SACD masterings have far less dynamic range than the CD issue. Although you still might prefer the mastering for SACD despite that I suppose.Yeah I check the DRDB even before buying a CD, just to make sure I get the best DR (if I can), but I'll do that for SACD in future too.

However, where is best to buy SACD in the UK?

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[Macca]

Can't help you with that one. I buy most of my CDs from Music Magpie these days, cheap and they deliver quickly. But I don't look for SACDs so not sure what their selection of those is like.

[willbewill]

Another view on MQA
https://youtu.be/zwZ5hDzQ5Jg

[Macca]

Another view on MQA
https://youtu.be/zwZ5hDzQ5Jg

could only watch the first 6 minutes, everything he says is wrong. So no different to any of his other videos.

[willbewill]

Like I said, another view.

I'm with you, most of my listening these days is done via records or CDs and spotify for travelling and researching new music.

[DavefromDorset]

It's all horses for courses. The SQ from my CDs is to my ears very marginally better than streaming (in my case Qobuz), so it's my go-to source for music I already own. However, I don't think I could now go without the sheer spontaneity of streaming: if I'm reminded of a track by, say, reading about it, I can instantly listen to and enjoy it anew. There are also hundreds of pieces of music, particularly classical, that I have enjoyed on the radio that I can now just call up and pick the best recording; the time and monetary cost of researching and then buying the best CDs would be completely prohibitive for me.

[AJSki2fly]

Streaming I find is as you say fine for casual listening and finding new, but an play or good CD/DVD is still best for sq imo when your u want it full on


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