Those 99% didn't probably give a flying... f about image either but it just got better and more convenient hand in hand, in reverce proportion to audio.
I would like to think once people hear better audio they will get used to it and want it in the same way as video. This would have to start with TV and tablet speaker quality though.
Things don't look good. Thoughts, Chris
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To be fair, MQA (Bob) needs to rebut some of the more technical claims, most notably those analyses which say that the dynamic range of folded MQA is less than the CD equivalent. This is a valid concern, if true, because it would mean that via Tidal, we could see a *reduction* in quality unless we have MQA decoders in all systems. However, I'm reasonably sure that there is a flaw in these analyses; I'm just not expert enough to be able to find it.
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On the subject of sound quality - for me MQA is to hear the music reproduction at his highest level at the time! I hear for more than 5 decades demanding music and saw a long time convincing set to analoge high end systems. For me is with MQA digital music playback came first time one step closer than anything to the live sound. I hope the music industry playing with and also because MQA is backward compatible, thus many people are become more fine-hearing and remember what MP3 did to them. I hope that by taking part in MQA also the "big" in the music business, the community of music connoisseurs will growing - that would be a real cultural contribution! That would be a gesture of respect to the music artists working long at their exact sound notions. And for us it would have the great advantage that finally arises more and wider choice of music in MQA. I can the 2L-catalog soon whistling on the street! ;-)
best regards Stefan
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Last edited by Duke; 2016-03-3015:46.
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To be fair, MQA (Bob) needs to rebut some of the more technical claims, most notably those analyses which say that the dynamic range of folded MQA is less than the CD equivalent. This is a valid concern, if true, because it would mean that via Tidal, we could see a *reduction* in quality unless we have MQA decoders in all systems. However, I'm reasonably sure that there is a flaw in these analyses; I'm just not expert enough to be able to find it.
Was Bob not supposed to be answering detailed questions on Computer Audiophile? Has this still not happened?
I hope there is an announcement soon. I was wondering how many MQA enabled devices there were worldwide and whether there was a commercial reason not to remaster existing tracks at this point. Does anyone remember how it went with DVD and CD? Was the hardware in abundance before the media appeared?
Also, is there any PC hardware options that allows MQA without an explorer 2?
I remember DVD well! There were quite a few players available from a range of manufacturers and a shelf of DVD's in HMV. I purchased LA Confidential on DVD some weeks before I had the cash to buy a DV717.
As DVD was quite a leap over VHS in terms of usage and quality, manufacturers and the studios really got behind it. You could even rent a player and a few DVD's for a few days from various movie rental shops.
MQA is somewhat different as CD is ubiquitous with convenience and quality for the masses and there isnt really much of a reason for casual listeners to jump on board and invest.
If the studios really get behind MQA then at the least, CD's could be released with MQA which would provide casual listeners with what they need and audiophiles with what they need.
The streaming houses however are at a huge advantage as one file can serve multiple revenue streams, saving on storage and bandwidth.
There currently exists no software to serve MQA and I suspect it will get rolled in to new soundcards and high end laptops etc.
At least Norwegian chamber music is enjoying a revival whilst Tidal get on with the business of hopefully getting ready to roll.
*Taps feet impatiently
T
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I thought that the streaming houses would still need a copy of their existing files, unless they only provided CD quality or above, which would increase their bandwidth requirements too.
Tom. I'm guessing that it would be quite easy to "flick a switch" server-side in the FLAC headers to prevent MQA devices recognizing the MQA stream. Just a guess though. Having said that, I recall TIDAL mentioning (can't remember where) that they will be maintaining both copies; doesn't make sense long term though.
Roon Developer and ex-moderator of this Forum I am #25 in the HH1 photo of fame.