logo

Google Search  |  Meridian Systems  |  Meridian Streaming  |  Restaurant  |  WiKi  |  Duncan's Meridian Info  |  Board Rules  |  Restaurant Rules
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#304233 2022-01-29 10:21
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,976
Likes: 198
Vogon Civil Servant
Vogon Civil Servant
Offline
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,976
Likes: 198
Most times when I play an MQA track via Roon/Tidal, both my Meridian 218 and 210 will display the same MQA authentication colour.

At other times, like when playing Bob James’ ‘Feel Like Making Live’, the MQA authentication light on my 210 displays Blue and my 218 displays Green.

Why is this?


Not an Actor, nor married to Jamie-Lee Curtis.

#1: DSP5200SE|DSW.2|218|210|506.2|504
#2: Prime/PSU|SOtM sMS-200 Mini NEO SE|Focal Stellia
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 8,811
Likes: 85
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 8,811
Likes: 85
MQA vs MQA. ?


Rgds,
Nick


Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 280
Likes: 6
Hitchhiker
Hitchhiker
Online: Content
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 280
Likes: 6
Does the colour depend on the sampling frequency? There's something like that on the Explorer 2.


Marj, my wife and best friend, says my passions are obsessions!
808v6, DSP5200USE, Roon, Gyro SE/Tecnoarm/AT33 PTG
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,821
Likes: 94
Great Green Arkleseizure
Great Green Arkleseizure
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,821
Likes: 94
Originally Posted by ncpl
MQA vs MQA. ?
Good question/reply but as OP has M6 (no display) he will not see the subtle . difference.
This was my understanding of M explanation when entering the SE world. So much for the consideration of the colour blind.


AV: Thorens TD160B, SME, ShureV15MK2, 500, 598, 861v4, DSP7200.1, DSP3300HC Samsung UE55, SkyHD.
DINING: MS600, AC200, DSP5200SEUG.
STUDY 504, Roon Nucleus + RevB, 808v6, 5200SE, Mac & PC (Touch Screen), Prime+PS Grado GS1000i
HORIZONTAL: M80, MS200, Red Rose Spirit + Sonus Faber Toys, iPad Mini
A capella to Zydeco
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,165
Likes: 67
Meridian Partner
Senior Shouting Officer
Meridian Partner
Senior Shouting Officer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,165
Likes: 67
MQA LED status light:

- Blue means MQA Studio
- Green means MQA Authenticated

More on the differences between the two here:
Bob explains MQA Authentication

Now why you get different colours sometimes on the two products I could only explain by saying they are streaming different files.

I appreciate it's the same piece of music, but it can't be guaranteed to be playing precisely the same file on each device.

Are you selecting that track in exactly the same way each time?

Rick


Audio Images, 284 Glossop Road, Sheffield, England. Tel: 0114 273 7893
Website: www.audio-images.co.uk Email: Click here to email Rick
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,976
Likes: 198
Vogon Civil Servant
Vogon Civil Servant
Offline
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,976
Likes: 198
Rick, my system is configured thus…

210 > 218 > M6

The Bob James example I used is simply because his latest Album was released this weekend - but the component behaviour is consistent with other MQA Albums by other performers via Roon/Tidal. That is, a split in the different coloured MQA authentication lights between my 210 and 218. It occurs often rather than rarely.

When the split occurs, my 210 will always display Blue and my 218 Green.


Not an Actor, nor married to Jamie-Lee Curtis.

#1: DSP5200SE|DSW.2|218|210|506.2|504
#2: Prime/PSU|SOtM sMS-200 Mini NEO SE|Focal Stellia
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 6,569
Likes: 13
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 6,569
Likes: 13
This is exactly the same behaviour I have with my 210 streamer feeding my 218 preamp. The way I see it is, the 210 sees the file and confirms it is an MQA Studio file via Tidal/Roon, then the 218 is confirming the file is MQA, the Studio flag is perhaps not seen or required. Is my understanding correct?


No 18 in the Hall of fame smile I have simple tastes; I am content to settle for the best:
GIK monster bass panels, rear wall. QNAP TVS 471i3. Roon into DSP5200SE via 210/ 218 zone... Explorer 2. Bluesound Pulse 2, Mini & Flex. 596v1, 518, Foxsat HD, Sony BDP, Pioneer 5090, 2 Chromecast's for LRB videos. MS200 to F80 for a Roon zone

Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,821
Likes: 94
Great Green Arkleseizure
Great Green Arkleseizure
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,821
Likes: 94
Oh, but is there any significant difference in your audio reception especially related to Blue Sound v Green Sound.
Just my stupid question.


AV: Thorens TD160B, SME, ShureV15MK2, 500, 598, 861v4, DSP7200.1, DSP3300HC Samsung UE55, SkyHD.
DINING: MS600, AC200, DSP5200SEUG.
STUDY 504, Roon Nucleus + RevB, 808v6, 5200SE, Mac & PC (Touch Screen), Prime+PS Grado GS1000i
HORIZONTAL: M80, MS200, Red Rose Spirit + Sonus Faber Toys, iPad Mini
A capella to Zydeco
1 member likes this: ChrisLayerUK
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 742
Likes: 54
Paranoid android
Paranoid android
Offline
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 742
Likes: 54
What happens, colourwise, if you stream (Roon) first (only) to the 218 and not via the 210 using the same tracks?


Cinema/Music: Trinnov Altitude32 8-16,218,Cloud 4 channel, Marantz UD5007,DSP5200SE(2+C),DSP3300(4),DSW(2),271,MShort Ceilings,AppleTV 4K
TV: Marantz SR7013 Wharfedale Diamond 9x4+Celestion(C)
Music: Roon,i7NUC8gen,QNAP TS253A, Sony Scala, MS200, Garrard DDQ650,Wharfedale Diamond 12.3
Kitchen: AD88 (bluetooth via i80).
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 6,569
Likes: 13
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 6,569
Likes: 13
Before I had the 210, I streamed direct from Roon to the 218 and the MQA colours were correct…


No 18 in the Hall of fame smile I have simple tastes; I am content to settle for the best:
GIK monster bass panels, rear wall. QNAP TVS 471i3. Roon into DSP5200SE via 210/ 218 zone... Explorer 2. Bluesound Pulse 2, Mini & Flex. 596v1, 518, Foxsat HD, Sony BDP, Pioneer 5090, 2 Chromecast's for LRB videos. MS200 to F80 for a Roon zone

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,733
Likes: 88
Don't Panic!
Don't Panic!
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,733
Likes: 88
Originally Posted by spinaltap
When the split occurs, my 210 will always display Blue and my 218 Green.
1. If your 210 is decoding the MQA, then the 218 should be showing magenta, because it's acting purely in a rendering capacity and is unable to authenticate. This is a cryptographic consequence of doing the first decode somewhere other than the device that is rendering. (And the 218 is rendering even if you use the digital outputs to DSP loudspeakers).

2. If your 218 is *not* decoding the MQA, then this feels an awful lot like the 24-bit MQA stream being stripped to 16-bits (which will still be recognized as MQA, but green MQA).

In case 1 there would appear to be a bug in the 218 in that it's showing green instead of magenta (although there is the possibility that it *can't* show magenta).

In case 2 there would appear to be a passthrough bug.

Are both devices running the very latest firmware? The 218 in particular received rendering fixes a while back.


Roon Developer and ex-moderator of this Forum
I am #25 in the HH1 photo of fame.
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,976
Likes: 198
Vogon Civil Servant
Vogon Civil Servant
Offline
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,976
Likes: 198
My 218s ‘Software Version’ is ‘1.1 build 218’

My 210s ‘Main Version’ is ‘01.00.01’


Not an Actor, nor married to Jamie-Lee Curtis.

#1: DSP5200SE|DSW.2|218|210|506.2|504
#2: Prime/PSU|SOtM sMS-200 Mini NEO SE|Focal Stellia
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Carl, Duncs, ncpl 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Who's Online Now
2 members (Steven01, Big T), 166 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Kiran1103, Tony999, PhilP, Grover, Humberto
5,503 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
swpnt 6
Gianni 6
IanP 5
Top Posters
VirusKiller 12,733
ncpl 8,811
Carl 8,505
Fiddler 8,364
Ian 7,950
Forum Statistics
Forums18
Topics31,148
Posts296,925
Members5,503
Most Online4,788
May 22nd, 2026
Meridian  |  Media Centre  |  Support  |  Firmware Release Notes  |  RSS Systems  |  RSS Streaming  |  RSS Restaurant

Website Provided by Mr Tech Guy - Resolute Audio Visual Limited © 2026

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.1
(Release build 20251126)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 8.5.9 Page Time: 0.044s Queries: 41 (0.023s) Memory: 0.8887 MB (Peak: 2.2160 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2026-08-08 21:08:58 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS