Does anyone have any experience with CDs encoded with MQA? I have a fair number of the Japanese MQA encoded discs and have wondered if I would get a benefit in purchasing a DAC that has the capability.
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- 57 posts total
My first streamer was a Naim that did not support MQA. I was very envious at the time of those who could run Qobuz and Tidal/MQA. I upgraded to a dCS and had Tidal and Qobuz for about 6 months. I tried and tried to think MQA was an advantage, but all I got in my ears was different, but not better. Tidal was also going for a buyer with different musical preferences than I. Now I only subscribe to Qobuz and have no concerns I am missing anything. |
All meddling with the source signal introduces sound degradation, whether in the analogue or digital domain. Tone controls, bass & treble adjustment, speaker crossovers, Dolby, equalisers, click and pop eliminators, MQA-like processors. All the same. It is impossible to adjust the sound without introducing distortion. That is the reason for the unlifelike presentation that many people hear in digital, compared to the more lifelike analogue presentation. The main direct causes are DA converters and clock dither. These faults can never be fully addressed, as has been shown in the 40+ years since digital recording started. Simple is best, leave well alone. |
Clear thinker: The “faults” have been addressed. It’s got great sound and is somewhat ‘future proofed” with two MDC slots. I’ll take this in both the convenience of easy integration and huge selection of artists via Qobuz, and SQ that’s better than vinyl. https://nadelectronics.com/m33/ |
- 57 posts total