Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion MQA - Related technology, products and music Re: MQA status?

Hi Gruffle,

This is all an 'educated' guess based on feedback from many sources including very senior people at Meridian.

To support MQA Meridian hardware will require a yet to be realeased firmware / software update.

It's expected that Sooloos will support MQA files and MQA streaming from Tidal, how that pans out with the current endpoints we just don't know yet (818, 808 excepted).

We believe that MQA streams (pre validated / part decoded) can be transmitted via MHR.

We believe that all MHR capable DSP will be able to support MQA (to the best of their hardware's ability).

We don't know how any of M's processors legacy or current will handle MQA.

I hope Meridian make announces that clarify the situation during CES.

Regards,
Carl

appreciate the reply Carl.

As you say it is all guesses at the moment, even if some are more educated than others.

I really hope that M provide some clarity across their entire range of equipment in the near future as, having trailled MQA for some time now, I can speculate that many M owners like myself, particularly those not with the latest equipment are in limbo as what to do with current (and future) audio investment plans.

All will be revealed in due course no doubt.

Have you seen this. MQA Roonserver Auralic

Chris

Hi Chris,

Just read it via a link on the Roon site, it sounds very promising.
Both MQA and Roon ready!

Regards,
Carp

Given that the Auralic Aries is a digital output only device this seems to imply that MQA will be output from the Aries in a decrpyted digital form playable on any high res DAC. I had understood that MQA would never be made available in this form. Can anyone think of an alternative explanation?

The interface with Roon is also very interesting - I'm not sure I understand how this will work with MQA.

I don't remember the specifics, but I agree that it seems a bit unexpected, if not unwelcome.

That bit's simple. Any music player which is bit-perfect will pass MQA to a decoder quite happily.

I've never heard "encryption" and "MQA" in the same sentence. In fact, as the decoding will be reasonably common knowledge, I expect PCM decodes of MQA files to be flying round illegally. Not sure whether DAC management will be possible, but that will depend on the metadata and format that can be passed over USB, and the DAC of course.

VK - isn't it the case that in the Meridian ecosphere encryption is via the MHR process with decryption within DSPs (my understanding). It's been a long time since I looked at the patents but i am fairly sure it is implicit in those patents. It was also talked about by Bob Stuart in the early days of MQA.

I was not aware that an unfolded MQA file (ie a higher res PCM file from the MQA master, with all the goodness except possibly DAC management - a file that could be played at full resolution on any high res DAC) would ever be available in digital form (except as you say, illegally). Rather like the SACD system, which only ever generates an analogue output or an encrpyted digial output that can only be read by an appropriately licensed DAC (leaving aside illegal PS3 rips).

AFAIK, encryption is not a part or MQA. If it was then I think that it would be the least of our worries: the studios would still be hung up on DRM. That they are not suggests to me that they accept that the MQA files will end up on the web; which is somewhat surprising, unless the big studios are planning to allow streaming of MQA *only* and there are technical safeguards (such as TIDAL only being securely streamable to known reputable providers). However, I don't think that this would be enforceable, and the studios are simply relying on the income from "HiRes" streaming subscriptions from the "honest" segment of the target audience.

As far as MHR is concerned, encryption was indeed the headline feature; however it was always more than that. Not so long ago I was talking to RIchard Hollinshead and he felt it was a shame that the *audio* benefits of MHR (eliminating correlated jitter in coaxial SPDIF transfer) never really got the press they deserved.

But you know, MQA needs to survive on its own merits just like MP3 has transitioned from a downloaded format to a succesful streamed format.

If people still cling to unfolded PCM then that is that. But I think most of us is looking forward to the streamed highres MQA. Streaming 24/384 PCM is still impractical as is the inconvenience of downloading.

Only 3 more sleeps to go...

Agreed. I will be impossible to stop MQA files being posted on the web (just a fact of life nowadays).

However, If an MQA file is streamed to the Auralic Aries and the SPDIF output really is decoded MQA without encryption (= PCM) it should be playable on all high res DACs in its original resolution. I think this is quite a big deal as it will open up the possibility of relatively cheap MQA decoders being placed upstream of older non-MQA compatible DACs. This would bring many many old DACs into the MQA net.

It also begs the question of what the SPDIF outputs of the 818v3 will output when an MQA track is played. With MHR enabled for the Meridian ecosphere it will be encrypted and not playable on third party DACs. But is there any reason why, with MHR turned off, it could not be a standard high res PCM output? I'm not holding my breath, but it is the logical extension of what appears to be happening with the Auralic device.