Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion MQA - Related technology, products and music MQA solution into my DSP speakers?

I run M33s with a sub. I would like to connect them to an Explorer 2 in the future. Not sure how to get the sub in as well and pure MQA. The M33s are a good speaker though. I may try and swap the setup with my son's M60s. Are M60s an option for you? (I'm guessing not based on your no floor stands statement)

Cheers
Tom

That's good news. I thought however that MQA decoding had to be paired to the DAC profile. So how's it going to work? I am a bit behind the curve re MQA however so that may not be a sensible comment.

Now that Tidal is finally streaming MQA, and as an extension to this thread which was discussing 5200's, can we summarize what are the option available to stream MQA from Tidal for non SE speakers?

A. "legacy" SPDIF 24/96
DSP33, DSP3100, DSP5000 24/96, etc.

B. SpeakerLink
DSP3200, DSP3300, DSP5200SL, DSP8000.2, etc.

This is the question I was trying to ask earlier but focussed only on the DSP33s...

Just to be clear, may I explain... I have a C15 and a MS200 going to an AC200 and then to MQA enabled 5200SE's. Also have Roon and QNAP store. (my TwinStore is broken)

On a separate system I access Tidal from Mac (no problems to see the Tidal Masters) and play through Explorer 2 into phones. It's great ... but if course I want to play via my speakers.

I think I understood from posts that with Roon and MS200 I should be able to deliver MQA to my 5200 SEs. Does this mean I should take the AC200 out of the circuit?

Many thanks
Huw

Any MHR capable DSP speaker can play streamed MQA limited to 96k due to backwards compatibility. The main benefit for these users is the smaller file size and some perceiveable improvements in sound quality.

To get the very best from it, you have to have SE speakers and an 818v3, 808v6, or soon to be available 218 zone controller.

Huw, your SE speakers will not display that they are playing MQA without one of the three previously mentioned products.

What about 861 owners?

As we long time M followers have been waiting patiently for MQA and a way to play it through our very expensive M gear it would be very nice to have an "MQA card" made available to add to our 861's now (v9?) as we continue to wait for the immersive audio version (10?).

Just dreaming out loud a little - hope M is "listening".

Bruce, did you mean 808v6 in above or did I waste money on the v5 to v6 upgrade!

Hector

And Bruce can I check ...

I am presuming there is no point investing in one of the items you mention at this stage, as the non SE speakers I have will not be able (at present) to benefit, so the Tidal app decoding cannot be bettered in a non SE DSP chain given its 24/96 capabilities. Or is this too simplistic?

What is your view on timing of firmware updates for SL variants?

I am also presuming the AC200 is a dead end as far as MQA is concerned, is this correct?

Sorry if these qustions have been covered before.

Lee

Just to clarify, I presume MHR is required only in the context of Meridian sources (e.g. 818v3 or 218) which will only decode MQA to MHR encrypted output streams.

If I understand correctly, from Joels and other posts, both Roon and the Tidal app decode MQA to 96/24 unencrypted which can then be consumed by a non-MQA supporting end points (e.g. MS200) and any DSP speakers (with or without MHR) as a normal hi-res 96/24 stream, albeit without the benefits of MQA DAC management.

Tony

+1

I've been listening to (as many as possible of) the MQA albums released on Tidal through Roon into my ID41 / 861v8 - which is - IMHO - Meridian's flagship processor / product.

I've definitely noticed differences in the music when compared to 44.1/16 or 192/24 files: there's more detail, instruments are more defined & "individual", harmonies are purer and percussion instruments specifically seem clearer - and this is playing 48/24 files through DSP processing & the relevant packing / unpacking chain.
[My DSP8000.2SE-Upgrades show MHR96k when playing these files through Roon].

A couple of examples which are very clear to me are Hotel California (title track) and the albums Absolution / Black Holes & Revelations by Muse.

Therefore, even without full-fat MQA, I genuinely notice a difference / improvement with the re-mastered MQA files in 48/24, but isn't it not only a shame, but an embarrassment & completely absurd that those of us with the top-end kit still can't experience MQA as intended ?
It's clear that this is a more complex technical challenge to implement MQA with the processors - perhaps they simply don't have the processing power even for a 2-channel implementation - but other products are being offered without DSP / room-correction, so couldn't we also be offered that compromise while the definitive solution is being developed ?

Is the 218 the proposed solution ? How should it be connected into a 7.0 system ? Can it be used just for the FL & FR channels ? Won't the signal - if it's unpacked - be then down-sampled to 96/24 for processing & then lose some or much of the timing information ?

The silence from Meridian is, once more, deafening.
Luckily my system continues to impress, but also to frustrate - so come on Meridian - say something and do something !

Those with 861v8 can with additional equipment purchases get full fat MQA. The SpeakerLink output of the 861 gets connected to the SpeakerLink input of a 818v3, 808v6, or 218.

The SpeakerLink output of the 8x8 or 218 when connected to SE speakers completes the chain. This way multichannel remains unaffected and MQA goes through the appropriate enabled endpoint and doesn't require fiddling around with any cabling. MQA is delivered as intended at the highest bitrate available.

Folks without MQA enabled endpoints still see the benefit of smaller files and some improvement in sound quality that is demonstrable.