Not sure about DSD, will a streamer vendor pay to use DSD?
Anyway…MQA is nothing for me, I have enough audio formats here😀
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Looks to me that Philips/Sony intended it. Nowadays there seem to be free player implementations (https://samplerateconverter.com/educational/dsd-player) but this doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no fee to pay if you want to show the logo in your marketing materials and/or for hardware implementations
I believe I can play DSD files with Audirvana feeding Dave. - I seem to recall trying a download and comparing, deciding no benefit so I’m a bit hazy as a long time ago and have given it no thought since. No idea if Chord pay a royalty for Dave to do that.
Good. For someone’s pension?
Exactly. Most have sen through this.
Native DSD decoding though is not always possible on some DACs it has to be decoded to PCM first in software. I think it’s more the hardware side of the discs that has the proprietary nature, you need a SACD player of some sort and its copyright protected and wont playback over certain outputs. I imagine like all formats that are not open their is licensing same as DTS, DD and AAC. MQA has currently no DRM although everyone seems to believe it has. It can playback on anything but you do need to have a full MQA chain to get the best from it. Like you would need a DSD or DoP capable DAC to get the best from DSD, surround sound for DTS or DD. You would choose the best kit for what you want. I can’t get DD Atmos from Netflix as I have no capable decoder does that make it DRM I don’t think it does.
I don’t think that currently MQA has DRM but I’m pretty sure that licensing fees are involved in gaining MQA certification for decoding. Either way it creates additional barriers to accessibility with the potential to implement more overt DRM down the line.
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This, nobody with a clue thinks it has DRM in the sense that prevents it from being played at all. But apart from down the line, it already has “digital rights management” as it manages that only those who have acquired the rights can hear it in hi-res. Which is fine as long as there are other hi-res sources to choose from, but precludes it from being an acceptable general solution for digital music distribution if it were ever to become the only one
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Well I think you see that. Many MQA processed files available on Tidal are available as the original uncompressed hidef PCM masters on Qobuz.
Obviously with PCM the consumer chooses how their DAC reconstructs, where as with MQA it’s locked down.
With my new ND5XS2 into nDAC, Qobuz with lots of hires files is a clear winner over Tidal, so I will let my Tidal sub lapse now.
Question on that:
I have thousands of Favourites on Tidal and on Qobuz - many of these were previously transferred from Tidal to Qobuz via Soundiiz.
So the two sets of Favorites and Playlists are mainly the same but about 15% different between Tidal and Qobuz.
If I make another Soundiiz transfer from Tidal to Qobuz will that just add anything I haven’t already got on Qobuz?
As opposed to creating duplicates? I don’t know, but good question
Was out today, for a long walk as a fine day in Dublin, enjoying Tidal Masters on my iPhone through an external MQA DAC and a pair of Bose in-ear headphones, streaming over GSM connection.
Sounding fine and so much better than the internal DAC, and the unfolding of the HiRes material.
Aye, but ye cannae get MQA full unfold on yer Roonified NDS.
So even if MQA was better than Qobuz hires because it accounted for ADC/recording systems bias, you’d need a full MQA dac to hear it.
Frankly, I’d prefer to stick with Naim.
Yes, I can, to the first unfold to 24/96, which presents as a bit perfect stream through the SonoreUPnP Bridge to the NDS.
This handles 90% of the Tidal Masters available.
Question is though, would straight hi-res from Qobuz have sounded worse. (Though the Tidal app is way better than Qobuz, admittedly)
I ran Tidal for 2+ years and now Qobuz for 9+ months. I had/have no problems with either of the apps. The music does sound a lot better using Qobuz in a side by side comparison for a month before making the switch. …of course my system, my room, and my ears. Qobuz Hi-Res just made a world of difference for me…
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Well, problem … the Qobuz app is super basic and does not much more than search, favorites, playlists. I preferred the Tidal one a lot, but now I use Roon at home which beats both. And I have forgotten if there is something out there beyond these walls
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May be just my imagination but the term ‘shill’ seems to be drifting through my consciousness. I’ve no idea why…
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Hi Simon
You can get hires, up to the level you state, with the first unfold.
But you cannot get full hires decoding of even higher res files.
And you cannot get the full unfold of the MQA file.
So with Roon and an NDS you are not getting the full reconstruction of the supposed ‘studio original’ sound based on compensating for weaknesses in the recording studio equipment, as I understand the claims made for the MQA format by MQA.
So unless I have misunderstood something, Naim users would be better off with straight hires from Qobuz.
Jim
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True, but 1. you get the file upto 24/96, it’s not as it doesn’t play, 2. there are very few, relative speaking, of Tidal Masters with content greater then 24/96.
How much 24/172.6, 24/192 & higher does Qobuz offer?
True, but you don’t get when you play a HiRes file from Qobuz.
You do get the deblurring undertaken during MQA encoding.
You get the Provenance process.
You pays your money and takes whichever services suits you better.
I like the Tidal app on my mobile, and laptop(s), so I can access their service while at work & travelling (just not this year).
I have always found Tidal to serve well with music & artist discovery
I like the Tidal Masters, and are happy with unfold process within the Roon Core and what I get through the SonoreUPnP bridge to the NDS.
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