Hi Colin

I was initially excited at the thought of MQA on disc, but for me it's a non starter. I read (here I think) that it was aimed at the Japanese market where discs are still going strong, but they are very expensive £40-£60 last time I looked) and you need an MQA enabled player, of which there are few (and Meridian have just discontinued their 808v6). A normal CD player will only play back the folded signal, it can't access MQA proper, so your G98 won't offer the necessary compatibility. Nor will a 218 connected to it offer any more MQA goodness.

There was also some comment here a few months ago that suggested MQA on disc wouldn't actually be as good as MQA streamed, which really surprised me. Can't remember why, but I think 3ditor was involved in that discussion?

Folded MQA played via non MQA systems offers slightly better quality than CD, but there has been debate about the mastering process having a large part to play too, ie does the MQA version come from a better master than the CD release? Another variable to consider.

I can't comment on MQA vs SACD but be aware that there's significant, and vicious tribalism from both the conventional High Res and SACD camps, some stoked by manufacturers who were not willing to get on board (licensing fees?)

All I would say is that there are many paths to audio nirvana, and it's doubtful that any one camp has 100% of the answers!

Cheers

George