These statements are just not true... it is
not just another format trying to fill a niche. It is an attempt at creating an isolated, proprietary means of controlling the entire production and distribution chain of audio. I do
agree with you that I think (and hope) it will ultimately fail... just like SACD (and for most of the same reasons actually). When it comes down to it I have faith that the amount of licensing requirements to truly have a fully "authenticated" MQA file will make almost everyone disregard them entirely. Of course, I would think that $20K for a DAC with no audible benefit would similarly be doomed from the start... the reality, however, is that there aren't just one or two but dozens that fit that criteria.
No real point to this roundabout anyway. Honestly I think the blog
I read on Linn's site (ironically) a couple years back captures most of it in a fairly succinct fashion. Is it a biased view? Certainly, I'm guessing partially due to jealousy of a competitor figuring out an even more lucrative snake oil product than overpriced gear itself. But many of the points are still valid.
Obviously there will never be an agreement on this. You often ask what I'm losing out of this deal... well here's a simple example and it doesn't even involve music files at all. I can't purchase the previously available, and cheaper, versions of several products because they've had to increase prices in order to include MQA authenticated decoding capabilities. I don't blame companies like Matrix Audio for doing this... it's simply more expensive to continue producing "non-MQA" products identical to their MQA enabled variants just to keep a few customers like me happy.
You might see that as "nothing" - but I see it as being forced to hand over $300 extra (Sabre-X Pro) for something I won't ever use simply because Bob & Co. decided it
must happen. On the other hand (since using the word "forced" is obviously incorrect) if I determine to
never pay... now I've lost a large amount of selection in an already diminished field of excellent gear.