MQA is for chumps

I did a quick ear test, from Tidal to QB and cancelled Tidal and bought a year of Sublime QB.  I can tell you from my two ears and brain, I should have done this long ago.

JT

Mr. Chump here.  Bad MQA recordings sound bad.  Bad cd recordings sound bad.  Really good MQA recordings sound better than really good cd recordings.

If you prefer another format, it doesn’t change my assessment one bit.

I stream both Tidal and Qobuzz via a Cambridge CXNv2 to a Benchmark DAC 3b,  I would say Tidal is slightly better than straight Redbook although I am using a Sony XA5400 ES which Stereophile gave an A+ to.  I think that may be because they are using newer masters with better methods than the older CDs I have.  I would also say Qobuzz in general sounds better than Tidal in general and Qobuzz high rez is better yet although some sound a bit edged...  like an over-sharpened photo.  I find Tidal easier to use and seems to have more material when I look for a particular artist.  For the price of 2 CDs a month I'll keep them both.  FWIW, there are some internet radio stations out there broadcasting in 250 and 320 kbps that sound as good as Qobuzz hi rez.

Wish I had read this thread before starting another upon first discovering, after changing streamers, that MQA sucks, which is no doubt why Tidal Masters suck. Tidal offers both original and Master versions of many classics, so I put both formats in playlist and in EVERY case preferred the original. I have used the term "dumbed-down" to describe MQA. gdnrbob put it well, "Dolby for the 21st Century." I would even say Muzak for the 21st Century. Time to try Qobuz anyhow. Thanks to all above.

Good to see people coming around to what I heard years ago, as did many people I respect. YET there are too many false ideas still being put forward. The main issues I have as a mastering engineer and an artist advocate, and a person who has done the A/B testing as part of their pitch to get me involved are: #1. There is no improving on the sample rate/bit depth of a master, ever. Not upsampling, not new filters (MQA) ... nothing. This idea is a dream for suckers, and shows they are clueless. The MASTERING SESSION sample rate and bit depth ARE the highest quality. Furthermore, more samples IS NOT MORE QUALITY. The AD converter quality matters most, not the 44.1 or the 192. #2. MQA claims their files to be both created and "authenticated" in mastering ... and that’s 99% a lie. They have been bulk processing to create a market. Why create a market? Because they need money since streaming killed Meridian DVD income. I am sorry gents but this is not the way to pay your bills, get a real job. #3. The artifact of their non-filter filtering is a touch of distortion which in SOME cases yes "sounds better" because of the distortion helping especially older and more dynamic CDs, and there is POSSIBLY also a small level bump. Yet no matter those details, in ALL cases this artifact is a distortion not authorized by the artist and the production team. They are SHITTING ON masters in the name of upgrading. Very rude. #4. This artifact is denied by them of course, they claim to be "fixing PCM", which is absurd. And they legally got a patent to say it’s "lossless" ... so they are a lying pack of con men happy to pay lawyers to sucker in the press and the gullible narcissists who say "I like it" so it’s better. This is not a new pair of speakers where subjectivity matters, this is the MASTER RECORDING. In summary, they are interested in the image of helping music more than the music itself, or the artists, or the integrity of anything. Interested in placing themselves in the middle of every stream for $$$$. It could not be more ethically reprehensible. My work and my clients suffer at their hands every time, as I put in the EXACT distortion needed.