Why does TIDAL HiFi indicate that it is streaming FLAC 44.1 kHz via NAIM app when I am HIFI customer and Tidal claim streaming at Master quality (96 kHz/24 bit)

Streaming Audio
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Or buy hirez and store them on a nas or server. Then stream locally

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But that’s not the point I was correcting - that was that the impression given by some of this forum is that any form of MQA can’t and doesn’t work with Naim based technology - which is not the case. Apply the 1st unfold within the Roon Core, and you get HiRes PCM files upto 24/96, and these can be presented to a Naim network players as uncompressed WAV format, thereby reducing any further level of processing required within the Naim network player (which we know is detrimental to SQ, as additional load introduces more noise).

Now you have to look at what is available in Tidal Masters, and the majority of material is upto MQA 96, with only a small number of titles being in MQA 192 or even MQA 352.8, so you are going to be able to access the majority of the HiRes material on Tidal with a Roon integration.

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I agree with you that MQA works with NAIM when using ROON. You pay $119.00 per year subscription or $699.00 for lifetime. You then need a Nucleus ($1399.00) or Nucleus+ (2499.00) or build your own for several hundred dollars.

My point was you can use Qobuz to access hi res files without all the additional software/hardware.

Now if you are getting Roon for the features/fuctionality that is different but to add it just to support TIDAL does not make sense.

Not opposed to Roon, just the idea that it is a solution to use Tidal when Qobuz does not require any unfolding to get HiRes files nor additional hardware and associated expenses.

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Simon, perhaps slightly misleading… this is a high equivalent of transcoding MP3 to WAV and then feeding the WAV PCM to the Naim streamer… technically it’s true, you can do this… but you have lost info compared to the original media PCM… the PCM definition and sample rate in such a circumstance them starts to become moot.

But yes you can use Roon as a proxy decoder of MQA encoded media for Naim playback… but you are asking the Naim to play a lossy hidefinition stream transcoded to PCM.

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But the unfolded MQA from Tidal Master sounds the same as Qobuz streamed HiRes.
Both bettered with locally stored and streamed PCM or MQA files.

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Absolutely not as a general statement! Very different on my system with Roon and NDX2.
I ran Tidal and Qobuz side by side for a few months.
Qobuz was significantly better… I did suggest to Tidal they offer Hidef PCM when I retired my membership, but they did not write back to me, I can only assume they are not interested in lossless hidef… perhaps some licensing thing with MQA, who knows.
Certainly would recommend the new Naim streaming architectures to take advantage of services like Qobuz and so many other improvements that Naim are rightly hugely proud of… the days of differences between local and remote media are no more… thank goodness, it’s a real liberation!!!
My NAS these days gets very little action, and I have set Roon to use Qobuz high def equivalents over my NAS if available.

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Or an upgrade from a NDS to a ND555 to get Qobuz doesn’t sense.
This cost is much greater than the cost of a NUC, RAM, SSD and a Lifetime Licence (mine was not $699 as I was on the Beta, and availed of a special Launch offer a number of years ago).

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I know boohoo, hi res is pretty good though!

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I’m confused - are you saying there is parity in sound quality?

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It was that there was a comment about using Qobuz for HiRes doesn’t involve additional equipment or spend - when you don’t have Qobuz integration with an NDS.
And I already had the Roon Core and SonoreUPnP for the last couple of years, so I got Qobuz integration with a Roon release (no incremental charge) and no need to upgrade to the latest Streamer board in the ND555.

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Simon, your right I was addressing Qobuz with the the new streamer integration. I do understand your point and apologize since we were talking apples and oranges.

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I don’t think you can upgrade the streamer board… it’s somewhat more involved than that, you need to buy a product with the new architecture which has a whole new digital, DSP and clocking subsystem to get the streamer SQ performance improvements and innovations.

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Hi
Apologies for jumping in on this thread but it kind of addresses some questions I have wrt Tidal.

I recently bought an NDX2 and Im still in my 3month Tidal trial. I have been trying to listen to some MQA tracks but didn’t notice any improvement but am I correct in saying the NDX2 will not play them in 24bit through the Naim app (that’s what I understand from what I have read earlier in the thread).

So I have tried to listen through the Tidal app (iOS). The only method I could find to connect to the NDX2 was via Airplay (although the icon in the bottom left was showing a Chromecast option but that just wouldn’t work/connect). So assuming Chromecast doesn’t work on iOS (not surprising) but can Airplay accommodate 24 bit files? I suppose my question is if I use Airplay from tidal will it be playing in the highest quality?

Cheers
Pete

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MQA uses a proprietary software.

You would need a MQA commercial product to realize the full potential of MQA.

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Hi @seakayaker

Apologies for my ignorance but what does that mean? Are you saying that Tidal offer MQA but to take advantage of them you have to purchase something else?

BR
Pete

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You need to have a MQA capable DAC for MQA to be fully decoded. You can use software to do a partial decode of MQA, the so called first unfold. Roon and the Tidal (iOS) are examples of software that do this.

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Pete, Simon above provided the answer. The NAIM streamers do not have the propriety MQA licensing you need to play their music. A number of vendors have offered the MQA feature in their products and they need to purchase a license/contract and put the development time, product update and price adjustment to accommodate the capability is my understanding.

I am quite happy to live with HiRes and no interest to pursue MQA. Obviously others are pursing the technology and if you do a search I believe you find threads that have talked extensively about it.

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Hence my reference to an upgrade to a ND555, at circa €12,000 for the upgrade, not worth it for Qobuz integration, which I already have with Roon, which also gives a superior Tidal integration, and MQA unfold for the 90% of the Tidal Masters available.

As the dolphins said, thanks for all fish.

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@seakayaker or anyone
Is it just me but it seems like Qubuz HiRes files load slower than Tidal files. I’m evaulating Qobuz right now for 30 days. Granted I pick some obscure HiRes tracks to test against MQA files, but it seems like Tidal files load faster. Full disclosure I’m using both services within the Roon app

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I have been using Qobus for two months now. I had one day around mid-March where there was some stuttering going on during this one time. I streamed albums from the NAS for the rest of the day. Since that time everything has been streaming without incident. I would state that the majority of the HiRes albums I have been streaming have been 96/24 or 88.2/24 or 48.1/24.

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