MQA entering into administration - comparable to Chapter 11 in the US

[bogi]

It doesn’t sound they’re transparent about it.

 

[ribonucleic]

Does it count as "factual information" that they can't pay their bills any more?

 

[Hellboy.]

MQA is not lossless. One of the mistakes GoldenSound made was believing that it is and designing his tests accordingly. He realised this too late, and Tidal blocked his last attempt to upload test signals in tracks. Something else we can be sure of is that MQA does not appear to "unfold" to the original state, based on Archimago's work if I remember correctly - a facsimile of the original high frequency content is in place at a higher level than the original signal.

There is also a large amount of aliasing according to measurements of MQA DAC outputs.

MQA worked as hard as it possibly could to prevent independent researchers or even its clients from being able to run any standard tests on its codec. That is why Archimago had to get inventive and GoldenSound used subterfuge to get test signals into Tidal MQA.

We only see the product really as interpreted by the Tidal implementation and encoding, and don't really know what it might be capable of if fully utilised, or if it is used based on 24/96 files rather than 24/48 or 24/44.1 (not that I'd be expecting anything remotely like an audiophile miracle).

You can get some idea of how MQA works by reading the original 2016 articles in Stereophile (the admission that MQA is lossy is in there, but not explicit) and Archimago's various articles on the subject.

@mansr here has also given us information on MQA that I found useful, as have others.

@Galliardist I think you are wrong. In the videos he say that the test demonstrate MQA is not lossless.

Not to create controversy, just curiosity to know.
In another forum someone say "GoldenOne (is the same GoldenSound?)" was kicked off ASR for daring question Amir about his support for MQA.
Is true? I've only been here a few months, and from what I've seen people share their opinion without any problem.

 

[amirm]

In another forum someone say "GoldenOne (is the same GoldenSound?)" was kicked off ASR for daring question Amir about his support for MQA.

He was not as I am not a supporter of MQA. He was banned for improper and unethical behavior including but not limited to not only going after my company but also its employees. He also violated our policy on posting copyrighted material. He also post a bunch of nonsense subjectivist things like this:

My intention was to demonstrate that two devices that measure 'sonically transparent' sound different to me. Because one such as the Magnius may sound harsher or more fatiguing etc.

And post a bunch of conspiracy theories about companies such as SMLS & Topping being the same, etc., etc. Even when one of our dear moderates advocated on his behalf, he went and post nonsense about him on another forum.

FYI he promised us he would do a blind test of Schiit amp proving his assertion above. This never happened despite two years passing.

 

[amirm]

In the videos he say that the test demonstrate MQA is not lossless.

A point I had made before he even knew what MQA was. Here is a post from 2016 when I was co-founder of another forum and we were discussing MQA:

 

[GaryH]

MQA Deep Dive - I published music on tidal to test MQA

That is misleading. A cd release from a DXD master is not lossy as far as 22kHz and below are concerned. Certainly false. 352KHz 24bit DXD has tons more information in the audioband that can be encoded in a 44KHz 16bit format. This is a definitionally lossy. Do you honestly not understand this?

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Mnyb]

Just mentioned to someone that purchased a mqa DAC to have mqa in the living room that it was maybe bad timing and shared the news.

Didn't even say anything negative about mqa.
Post deleted, account suspended, no warning, no email. No way to log into the forum

Wow , I’m considering to maybe purchase roon , things like this puts me off a bit . Are roon that vested into MQA ? They have a weird idea about streaming and Tidal is what’s you're supposed to have .

 

[SKBubba]

Wow , I’m considering to maybe purchase roon , things like this puts me off a bit . Are roon that vested into MQA ? They have a weird idea about streaming and Tidal is what’s you're supposed to have .

One problem with roon is that if you get kicked off their forum you no longer have product support, because their forum is the only way to request support for their software.

 

[GaryH]

One problem with roon is that if you get kicked off their forum you no longer have product support, because their forum is the only way to request support for their software.

What a service for the low low price of just $829.99!

 

[Axo1989]

In another forum someone say "GoldenOne (is the same GoldenSound?)" was kicked off ASR for daring question Amir about his support for MQA.
Is true? I've only been here a few months, and from what I've seen people share their opinion without any problem.

Before my time but I read the DAC ABX challenge thread. In my experience I agree ASR generally tolerates diverse opinions more than other audio forums I've briefly dipped my toe in, but that one certainly wasn't ASR's finest hour. Cited examples of crimes committed by banned people like GoldenSound, Mr March, Mr Geddes and Erin rarely match my reading of same. Best left in the past I reckon.

 

[Axo1989]

One problem with roon is that if you get kicked off their forum you no longer have product support, because their forum is the only way to request support for their software.

That's certainly bizarre if true. May not be legal in some jurisdictions. Doesn't really jibe with Australian consumer law, for example.

 

[Mr. Widget]

One problem with roon is that if you get kicked off their forum you no longer have product support, because their forum is the only way to request support for their software.

That's not true. While they do encourage that you use their forum just like virtually everyone else does these days, the few times I have needed help I was able to send an email and get direct support.

That said, why would you get kicked off their forum?

 

[Doodski]

That's certainly bizarre if true. May not be legal in some jurisdictions. Doesn't really jibe with Australian consumer law, for example.

I don't think that a banishment resulting in no warranty service would fly here in Canada either.

 

[Mr. Widget]

Wow , I’m considering to maybe purchase roon , things like this puts me off a bit . Are roon that vested into MQA ? They have a weird idea about streaming and Tidal is what’s you're supposed to have .

Maybe I'm an outlier here. I quite like Roon and find a lot of value in it... MQA, not so much. I generally stream Qobuz, they offer virtually everything that Tidal does and at MQA unfolded audio quality without the need of using an MQA capable DAC. Then again, I would be happy with lossless Redbook.

 

[BDWoody]

Cited examples of crimes committed by banned people like GoldenSound, Mr March, Mr Geddes and Erin rarely match my reading of same. Best left in the past I reckon.

There's a lot more than what you read.

Anyone who has been around more than about a minute knows we don't ban people for disagreeing. By the way, Erin isn't banned any longer. Best left in the past is right.

Just throwing this out there...in general, questioning admin decisions is best done via PM with one of us. We don't and won't get in the habit of explaining the decisions we make in the public forum.

 

[Mnyb]

Maybe I'm an outlier here. I quite like Roon and find a lot of value in it... MQA, not so much. I generally stream Qobuz, they offer virtually everything that Tidal does and at MQA unfolded audio quality without the need of using an MQA capable DAC. Then again, I would be happy with lossless Redbook.

Ok Qobuz is also viable in Roon these days good information.

I use Spotify as everyone else in Sweden, and have Spotify connect plugin for my LMS endpoints .

It’s literally like driving on the wrong side of the road to not have Spotify or offer a Spotify connect facility for friends and family

 

[amirm]

Roon forum mods have incredibly low appetite for debate and forum wars. MQA is no exception. It is a wise policy to keep their forum temperatures low. So I am not surprised of their actions in regards to this topic.

Along those lines, I am going to ask the membership to refrain from relitigating MQA. It takes a lack of common sense to now engage in such arguments.

 

[ribonucleic]

Before my time but I read the DAC ABX challenge thread. In my experience I agree ASR generally tolerates diverse opinions more than other audio forums I've briefly dipped my toe in, but that one certainly wasn't ASR's finest hour. Cited examples of crimes committed by banned people like GoldenSound, Mr March, Mr Geddes and Erin rarely match my reading of same. Best left in the past I reckon.

So much antagonism and acrimony...

MQA has much to answer for.

 

[amirm]

On Roon, they used to be part of Meridian where MQA came from. It was an acquisition that was then spun off. So it was natural that they would support MQA. But I have seen no reason to think they were in bed with MQA or have any motivation to push for it. Roon is a superbly engineered audio player. It will be a sad, sad day if something happens to them.

 

[pablolie]

+1

Real people with real families are going to lose real jobs here. However much their employer deserves to fail, I can't bring myself to lead a cheering section.

no one cheers. at least i most certainly don't. but innovative startups are always a risk. you know what you sign up for. i recall going splat against the wall in one (writing a business case over the weekend, being laid off on Monday), and with others I left when i saw things were not growing at the rate they should.

we are not talking Lehman Brothers collapse here, wondering how could this happen. plenty of huge warning signs were around.

Sorry for the employees... but they probably knew the financial situation of the company before we saw these news...