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Tidal has started streaming MQA encoded albums

My Tidal app updated and - voila! - there's about 30,000 MQA Master tracks available to stream for Tidal's HiFi subscribers.

It appears the MQA decoder is in the app so the listener can enjoy MQA without buying any hardware as long as the DAC can handle 24/96. 

First impressions are very good either using Tidal's app for MQA or listening thru Roon and getting a 24/48 (non-"unfolded") MQA file.

Then again, it could be my DAC filters better at 24/48 & 24/96 than at 16/44.

dbtom2
aberyclark
1,410 posts
 
I know..big difference. My studio monitors are so revealing that with the 24/96 Tidal streams, you actually feel the pulses of his bass drum where he is pressing against head between notes. AWESOME
aberyclark
1,410 posts
 
Apple Computers (not ios devices) can transmit 24/96 over wifi home share. But, I would need some type of TIDAL remote for the desktop app. 
dbtom2 OP
383 posts
 
I have had luck with the free Real VNC app running on my iMac and iPad.  Using it now to browse the Tidal Masters library running over there on my iMac. 

Post removed 
ahendler
416 posts
 
Tidal is not internally decoding the MQA files. You need an outboard dac with MQA decoding for it to give you master quality. By the way MQA files are either 24/96 or 24/88 files without the lower bits which are used for MQA encoding
Alan
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