Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming What HiFi announces Tidal available on Sooloos in 'early 2015'

Unless decode is done in the core.

I actually hope it's not done in the core as it will potentially increase network traffic possibly to point of overload for some people that are not running hardwired links, ie multiple zones with wifi/powerline links.

If a "simple" app can decode MQA in software, one would like to think that the audio endpoints with their XMOS processors will be more than up to the task especially those that currently upsample/apodise. It also distributes the task across endpoints and doesn't burden the core with it - some already struggle with 192-96k downsample.

I was wondering if the update will be control devices being MQA aware i.e. putting an indicator on the album info that it is MQA encoded and audio endpoints having MQA decoder capability.

Hope that CES will answer many questions. I'm still not convinced that DSP speakers aren't the ultimate place to decode MQA - if you have an authenticated stream all the way to the speaker which will then be perfectly unpacked to >192k, surely that, for the time being at least, will be audio nirvana especially if delivered over a wifi link with no EMI injection through a coax/SpeakerLink connection.

Ian

I am sure I read on HH recently that one MQA decoder in a Sooloos system would be sufficient for any number of end points, if so then maybe the decoder is a software licence key that permits the core or processor to unpack the MQA a data.

Russ

In this thread Enno describes a "ground-up rewrite of Sooloos". I doubt that rewrite will be released as version 2.2 but I hope I'm wrong.

Soundserge

That's a good observation; I don't think we should expect anything other than Tidal integration (which I, for one, am extremely happy about).

Actually, since writing my post, I read the ones on the general forum. I'm confused with decoding and rendering - other thread mentions rendering in the DAC. So what is the decoder then?

I'm use to the idea of decoding and rendering in other technologies, but fail to see exactly how this applies to MQA with regard to converting to >CD quality. If they create/render the >CD quality in the DAC, I can only assume that the decoder must have been decoding the MQA signal from the PCM stream and converting into some intermediate format (MHR/metadata? If so, what's been in MHR all this time that allows this extra information to be processed by legacy kit?) which contains the metadata for >CD, authentication and ADC characteristics to pass on to the DAC for rendering. Which kind of raises the point, why split the decode/render unless, as you say, MQA is licensed at the decode in which, it's one decoder instead of one per zone.

Roll on CES for the answers.

Ian

I have noticed the same thing.
It seems the units that will "render" (with software update) are the C15 and DSP speakers.

The units that "decode & render" are the 805v6, 818v3, 861vX, and Explorer all of which require both software & hardware updates.

And just to really confuse use, the Prime Headphone Amp decodes & renders with just a software update.

All very confusing.

I would guess that a decoded MQA file then put into a system will be degraded thereafter by the abilities, or lack of, in said system.

A decoded MQA file in a fully compatible DSP system would be also rendered (due to Meridians proprietary technology) perfectly to the speaker cone with no degradation.

Result, perfect reproduction of the Master Quality.

That's how I understand it but I could be wrong. Chris

I think that MQA will make my TV render frogs.

C'mon guys. Quit the wild speculation...

Exciting. If you live in a country where Tidal is available.

Interesting comment as I thought that as the Nordics and Poland have Wimp that would be equal to Tidal, no?

It wouldn't be done in the core unless the core is also an endpoint. Each endpoint receives the file off the hard drive and performs the magic that results in music. With MQA, part of that magic would have to be the ability to decode a file encoded with it.