olds1959special Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 I’m using Tidal now and noticed some albums are in MQA which displays as 44.1 on the DAC and they sound pretty bad compared to the other hi res albums. I have read a lot of controversy about the MQA format. My DAC can decode MQA but I hear no benefit. Can someone explain the point of MQA to me? Does it actually have a purpose in making music sound better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olds1959special Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 Same album on Apple Music without MQA sounds sooo much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olds1959special Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 Switching to Quboz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GdnrBob Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 I never bought into the MQA stuff. It sounded too much like another Dolby. And, from what I have been reading isn't really doing that well. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkeske Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 (edited) MQA is being (has been) dropped by Tidal, and will be, over time, replaced by HiRes FLAC instead. But, it seems there are still a lot (most) of files on Tidal which have yet to be converted to FLAC and maintain their MQA form. I have a Denafrips DAC which does not decode MQA, so in those cases, it simply decodes at 16/44 CD quality. That sounds fine, but, a bit frustrating as Tidal recently dropped their pricing to the single lower tier cost (which I have been using, as I have the Denafrips) for *all* HiRes files. Thats great for those files in Hires FLAC, as my Denafips can play those in all their glory, but thus far, those are pretty far and in-between. Would love to try Quboz, but as it has no 'Connect' feature for any streamer, as Tidal does, you either need Roon (which I do not have nor plan to get) or utilize the MConnect app, which is a bit clunky. So, I'll wait for Tidal to slowly remove all their MQA files, and replace them with HiRes FLAC. Edited May 2 by bkeske Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GdnrBob Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 I am one not readily willing to pay money for another product, but using Roon is something I find worthwhile. It has a nice interface and the AI recommendations are spot on. I don't know what you are referring to 6 hours ago, bkeske said: no 'Connect' feature for any streamer, I used it with Innuos. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montdj Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 I use a HiFi Rose 130 and run both Tidal and Quboz with the HiFi Rose app. Switch's back and for with ease and use a ipad 9 to run it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkeske Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) 16 hours ago, GdnrBob said: I am one not readily willing to pay money for another product, but using Roon is something I find worthwhile. It has a nice interface and the AI recommendations are spot on. I don't know what you are referring to I used it with Innuos. Bob Bob, if you are using Roon, it creates a gapless playback between Quobuz service and your streamer. Roon is fantastic for that. Services like Tidal and Spotify both have a 'Connect' feature which creates a direct gapless connection between their service and your streamer, (if designed to do so), so they can provide the same without an additional product between the service and streamer. Without the 'Connect' feature, I would need to use Airplay 2, or UPnP or DLNA, as example. The app MConnect can provide gapless playback as well, but as I say, the interface is rather clunky. For serious listening, I avoid using playback via Airplay 2, or similar. Quobuz keeps promising a 'Connect' feature (like Today and Spotify provide , as example), but thus far has not materialized. Until then, Roon is a perfect choice for getting gapless playback between Quobuz service and your streamer. Roon is just not a service I am interested to invest in, especially because the majority of my listening is vinyl. Thus, Tidal, for me is great, as it 'connects' directly to my streamer. I am not an engineer in this respect, and my minimal knowledge comes from some research into my next streamer, and what streamer and service will provide a high quality playback experience, with or without any other application like Roon. Attached is a link to a discussion that can probably explain it better than I: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/qobuz-connect-spotify-connect-tidal-connect-deezer-connect-why.46466/ https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/qobuz-connect.3089/ Edited May 3 by bkeske Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GdnrBob Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Thanks for the reply. I was not aware of the 'Connect' feature. I guess it will be offered if enough people need/want it or if it makes money for Qobuz. Like I said, I am not one to spend money on yet another app, but I have to say Roon does make things easy. And, it is a pretty slick app. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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