Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion MQA - Related technology, products and music MQA listening impressions (with a MQA decoder)

I really dislike the "absolute" secrecy surrounding Meridian R&D; however, even I'm forced to admit that Meridian did the right thing this time by keeping it secret and working, in confidence, with the people that mattered (music labels, artists, sound engineers, producers, streaming providers, etc.).

Bob and co. clearly learned from the pain of the SACD/DVD-A/MP3 debacle. MQA changes the status quo in an unfavourable way for many groups with vested interests: academics, competitors (e.g. Linn), conventional "HiRes" producers (e.g. Dr.AIX), "audiophiles" who simply *cannot* have made a mistake with their latest £10k non-MQA DAC purchase, and "audiophiles" who like to think that they are "up there" with the academics. If this had been public earlier, I have no doubt that it would have failed as it would have been attacked earlier, and effort would have to have been diverted defending the technology.

IMO, the strategy is sound, the effort expended has been immense, and it *is* frustrating for us waiting for the final pieces of the jigsaw to fall into place. However, very soon, it will be undeniable that MQA is the real deal. The doubters - manufacturers and consumers - will either have to fall into place, or fall behind.