MQA Sounds Really Good!

[vavan]

So you're saying if you buy music from tidal it can only be used with tidal?

No I'm not

 

[Frank Dernie]

Qobuz is the worst,record company send the file and the streaming service implement it any way they see fit,you should have known that

 

[Snarfie]

Do streaming services like Tidel Spotify an what have you more are making use of target curves like B&K or Harman curves. Sometimes i read they do to make their service sound average more pleasant for mainstream use. If so streaming MQA does not make sense and this will be at least for me The Maine reason to keep my Flac files for ever on my NAS so I can choose if i want to use a target curve or not.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I am just reading on another forum that "HD-Tracks" has just replaced thousands of tracks with new MQA versions. The old versions are no longer available for purchase. The MQA=DRM plan is coming together. The other part of the MQA plan of using sound quality as a "trojan horse" for consumer acceptance is also working well as even on this scientific / objectivist forum people are discussing the "sound quality" of MQA even though the idea of "lossy is better" and "lets go back in time and read the artists mind when in a 50 year old sound studio" makes as much scientific sense as a perpetual motion machine.

Do you have a link to that forum discussion?

 

[Thalis]

Do streaming services like Tidel Spotify an what have you more are making use of target curves like B&K or Harman curves. Sometimes i read they do to make their service sound average more pleasant for mainstream use. If so streaming MQA does not make sense and this will be at least for me The Maine reason to keep my Flac files for ever on my NAS so I can choose if i want to use a target curve or not.

I am not too sure but I doubt they do but being a Tidal subscriber I do find their output rather hot especially for newer and remastered material.

 

[Snarfie]

I am not too sure but I doubt they do but being a Tidal subscriber I do find their output rather hot especially for newer and remastered material.

Would be interesting to do a test (between streaming services an original Cd) probably if they do use target curves you will hear it immidietly comparer to the original material/Cd which sounds probably more neutral less warm. Will have try with Spotify an original ripped/cd. would be interesting if somebody can be do the same for instance with Tidal.

 

[Thalis]

Would be interesting to do a test (between streaming services an original Cd) probably if they do use target curves you will hear it immidietly comparer to the original material/Cd which sounds probably more neutral less warm. Will have try with Spotify an original ripped/cd. would be interesting if somebody can be do the same for instance with Tidal.

I like the idea.... however... I had a thought about this and I am going to make the assumption that the test will not mean anything unless we know exactly if the Tidal material for a particular artist are the same master/recording as the CDs we do own. What do you guys think?

 

[Snarfie]

I like the idea.... however... I had a thought about this and I am going to make the assumption that the test will not mean anything unless we know exactly if the Tidal material for a particular artist are the same master/recording as the CDs we do own. What do you guys think?

Ok i did a quick test between Spotify an my ripped Brecker Brothers CD Out of the loop.

Difference is the CD sounded bit more detailed instruments where bit more separated. Stereo image was for both exactly the same. However in a blind test i think its quite difficult to hear a clear difference.

Oeps update did make a comparison with vocals Shirley Horn - Here's to Live the voice from original CD is way more precise detailed than the Spotify version that difference i can hear in a blind test. The difference is heard in the timbre of hear voice quite easily. Mabey someone can confirm that ha ha or not.

 

[Thalis]

Ok i did a quick test between Spotify an my ripped Brecker Brothers CD Out of the loop.

Difference is the CD sounded bit more detailed instruments where bit more separated. Stereo image was for both exactly the same. However in a blind test i think its quite difficult to hear a clear difference.

Oeps update did make a comparison with vocals Shirley Horn - Here's to Live the voice form original CD is way more precise detailed than the Spotify version that difference i can hear in a blind test. The difference is heard in the timbre of hear voice quite easily.

Very nice......... but shouldn't we be comparing lossless (CD) with lossless (streaming) since we are taking CDs we own as the baseline. And i think we are derailing the thread

 

[Snarfie]

Very nice......... but shouldn't we be comparing lossless (CD) with lossless (streaming) since we are taking CDs we own as the baseline. And i think we are derailing the thread

Don't know if we deraild te thread because MQA files streamed by Tidal must sound atleast as detaild as an original CD. If not than information is lost i guess that could have to do making use of target curves. My experience making use of target curves compromise timbre of voices for instance Frank Sinatra at the Sands live if i use a Harman curve 50% of the timbre of his voice is gone.

 

[Thalis]

Don't know if we deraild te thread because MQA files streamed by Tidal must sound atleast as detaild as an original CD. If not than information is lost i guess that could have to do making use of target curves. My experience making use of target curves compromise timbre of voices for instance Frank Sinatra at the Sands live if i use a Harman curve 50% of the timbre of his voice is gone.

Ok... I randomly chose 2 CDs that I have ripped into FLACs :

Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece 1974
Weezer - Weezer (Green Album) 2001 (Australian pressing)

... and compared to the same albums in Tidal (thank goodness the are not MQA versions).

No EQ, left the L30 pot at noon, AKG K240 on my head..... dang............... no differences that my ears could detect. But heck... what a difference in the recordings if i compare Morrison to the Weezer guys .

My Windows VU Meter was happily bumping up and down for Veedon Fleece whilst for Weezer it was almost stationary at max

 

[levimax]

Do you have a link to that forum discussion?

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...stering-part-12.434884/page-486#post-25444790

 

[levimax]

Would be interesting to do a test (between streaming services an original Cd) probably if they do use target curves you will hear it immidietly comparer to the original material/Cd which sounds probably more neutral less warm. Will have try with Spotify an original ripped/cd. would be interesting if somebody can be do the same for instance with Tidal.

Since I don't "trust my ears" I like to use Adobe Audition's "frequency analysis tool" to compare mastering's. I first normalize both samples to -3db and then run the analysis. Attached shows a Tidal "Master" of "No Expectations" from Beggars Banquet which is the "blue line" and the same song from the 2002 remastered CD which is the pink line. I have almost never seen a perfect match like this so I would say Tidal is using the 2002 remaster and MQA (without the "final" unfold) is identical in sound to the CD. My DAC doesn't support MQA so it would be interesting to see what the "final" unfold would do but for the initial unfold I would say MQA does nothing.

 

[dmac6419]

Do streaming services like Tidel Spotify an what have you more are making use of target curves like B&K or Harman curves. Sometimes i read they do to make their service sound average more pleasant for mainstream use. If so streaming MQA does not make sense and this will be at least for me The Maine reason to keep my Flac files for ever on my NAS so I can choose if i want to use a target curve or not.

To stream or not to stream

 

[Snarfie]

To stream or not to stream

My thoughts

 

[watchnerd]

Don't know if we deraild te thread because MQA files streamed by Tidal must sound atleast as detaild as an original CD. If not than information is lost i guess that could have to do making use of target curves. My experience making use of target curves compromise timbre of voices for instance Frank Sinatra at the Sands live if i use a Harman curve 50% of the timbre of his voice is gone.

I don't get what the file location has to do with a target curve.

Using Roon, I can apply PEQ to any audio source, whether from my NAS, Tidal, or other.

 

[levimax]

To stream or not to stream

I think of "streaming" services more of music "screening" services. I use them in some "mobile" situations but mainly to try out new to me music. If I really like something I will track down the CD or possibly LP depending on how old it is. I do not trust streaming services/the record industry to provide me with the music I want to listen to long term.

 

[audio_tony]

MQA for downloadable files puzzles me -- I have no idea why anyone would want this.

Given how cheap storage is and how fast home LANs are, why do I need / want to save file size at home if streaming off a NAS?

This is exactly what the record companies don't want.

They don't want people to have their own local music collection.

By default they now want people to stream - as it gives them total control of the product.

 

[audio_tony]

Some tidal tracks are 384
If 10000 people stream music at the same time it’s huge saving for tidal.
There is also storage cost - well it’s cheap but again try to scale up to xx million tracks with backups.
So mqa saves tidal money, and they pretty much set the standard for hires streaming. Without tidal/mqa Amazon and Qobuz can charge whatever they like.

I doubt if they have backups.

They'll be using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to globalise the distribution, and all the CDNs will be meshed together.

So if someone in the US streams a track, it'll be stream from a US CDN - and likewise someone on Germany will stream fro ma European CDN.

This economises on bandwidth. They may well be using multicast too.

 

[dmac6419]

I think of "streaming" services more of music "screening" services. I use them in some "mobile" situations but mainly to try out new to me music. If I really like something I will track down the CD or possibly LP depending on how old it is. I do not trust streaming services/the record industry to provide me with the music I want to listen to long term.

I do the same thing I buy what I like in physical media