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Tidal MQA vs Qobuz hi-res

My brief experience.. for posterity.

Comparing Tidal MQA to Qobuz hi-res, you -will- hear degredation/loss in the high frequencies (violins in an orchestra etc) on MQA... assuming you have reasonably resolving equipment. For me, that’s Macbook USB to a $150 Audio Engine D1 DAC going to a $600 used Parasound A23 going to used $600 Kef LS50’s, $100 Transparent speaker cables and cheap USB and RCA cables.

The Audio Engine is surprisingly good for it’s price BTW. Over the years, trying different DACs in audio stores when I had an opportunity, I feel like you’d need to spend close to $1,000 to get something significantly better.

The A23 and LS50’s are really good too for today’s used prices. New, they would’ve been $2,500 a few years go

bataras
bataras OP
13 posts
 
How do you discover music on qobuz? I like spotify and tidal artist and track "radio stations". Basically "play more stuff like this". Looks like qobuz has curated playlists. Ie, there're "artist" playlists which is just a bunch of stuff from that one artist. Yet if you go to that artist's page, there is no link to his/her playlist

I haven't had a chance to play with Roon yet.
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,383 posts
 
I have a Bryston BDP Pi being built and it is a Roon endpoint, so I may try Roon for the first time. The Pi is also Qobuz and Tidal ready. It uses the Raspbery Pi processor as does the bigger Bryston BDP 3, so I’ll have to determine whether or not I like streaming at all.
parker65310
212 posts
 
I’m not a proponent of MQA because it is a way for the music industry to further leverage musicians. That said, I’ve listened to many excellent Tidal MQA albums and some that aren’t anything great. Like any recording, the sound quality hinges on the quality of the recording equipment and the engineer behind it. If it is subpar, anything done later is simply polishing a turd. From there, it is a matter of the quality of everything that touches the signal path and how well they interact with every other element along the signal path from the source all the way to the speakers (not to mention the quality of power coming in from the wall or the space the system is placed). Not to mention how they sound to your ears. Everyone’s preferences are different in one way or another. In the end, all that matters is what brings you enjoyment.
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,383 posts
 
parker65310, MQA is just a shell in the same way DSD is, with exception to files actually recorded in DSD. The problem with MQA is that it’s a compressed file.
bataras OP
13 posts
 
goofyfoot, I have a Hegel H590 with streaming built in. At least -some- streaming. You can do Spotify connect, airplay, etc. But you can't hand off Tidal or Qobuz to it. For that, you need something streaming those services into one of it's digital inputs. It will unfold MQA over USB from Tidal. They're going to be rolling out an update soon (I heard 30 days?) that turns it into a Roon endpoint. I have high hopes for that.
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