I think the golden rule is that anyone with MHR capable DSPs will be able to get the vast majority of the MQA goodness, but you will need a new Meridian endpoint that is MQA compatible.

It is pretty clear that there will be an MS200 type replacement that is MQA compatible but there may well be others similar to the MS600. I don't think the existing models will be firmware upgradeable to handle MQA and MHR - the replacements will be new models. Whether models such as the 861v4 will be upgradeable (eg new MQA card) will, I am guessing, depend on demand. I would certainly hope so but who knows?

I don't think the Sooloos core will decode MQA - rather it will deliver it in its encoded state bit-perfectly to the new MQA compatible endpoints, which will then do the decoding before sending the data to DSPs via MHR. The SE DSPs will sound best of all because of their greater DAC "bandwidth" (see Bob's interview) and, equally important, better amplification and tweeters than the earlier models. The lesser DSPs will probably need some form of downsampling within the decoding/ MHR process to get within the 24/96 DAC limit.

The DAC management aspects of MQA appear to be related to the bandwidth of the DAC - another guess, this aspect relates to sub 10% of MQA goodness, possibly sub 5%? (no knowledge here, but interested in what others think).

Your laptop system will only handle MQA with an MQA compatible DAC such as the Explorer 2 - I don't think there will be software that sits on a PC or Mac that decodes MQA and gives a digital output.

Others please correct me if I am wrong.

I have been listening to the MQA album I bought last week. My 818v3, which is not yet MQA compatible, has been playing the album as if it was a 16/44 album and, contrary to what I wrote last week, upsamples the album to 24/88. It is a very impressive sound, even at this level, and could easily be mistaken for a high res album even though only the lower bits are being accessed. In other words, even without MQA decoding, the sound is definitely better than CD quality. I know this because I have also bought the 16/44 FLAC version and made the comparison. Once we get the firmware upgrade (please, can it be soon?) we will be able to hear MQA in its full glory.

Streaming: Roon, NUC, QNAP869 NAS
2ch system: dCS Vivaldi, Audionet Stern, Audionet Heisenberg, Magico Q1
Retro system: 101/104/105, Red Rose Spirit