![]() MQA is an ideal new topic to further widen the divide. Scientific objectivists and audio subjectivists are often at odds within the audio hobby. The GoldenSound video states that MQA offers no size benefit for standard 44.1kHz audio and is larger than 44.1kHz FLAC files, but is smaller than high-resolution files. They claim that all the original sound (with at least 15x higher resolution than regular PCM) can be packaged in a smaller format (up to 80% savings) for more efficient distribution. He claims that by combining “key insights from modern auditory science” and sampling theory, MQA better converts music into digital files (and back to analog for playback).īy using the minimal amount of necessary digital data, MQA focuses on the time-domain performance of anti-alias and reconstruction filters in DACs, rather than on file size and sampling rate to capture audio. MQA is based on Bob Stuart’s background in Psychoacoustics as well as Electronic Engineering. (From: /MQA ) Science, Neuroscience, or Psuedo-Science? Time-Domain-Focused Filtering ![]() Critics are quick to point out that this limits the ability to measure the changes made to the files from the original. No device with a digital output can have full MQA decoding ability (only DACs with analog outputs may be MQA Full Decoders). An MQA Full Decoder does all three unfold steps within a single device, and MQA claims this is necessary for achieving the highest quality reproduction.An MQA Renderer is found in portable devices and can do the following two unfolds, once they are fed the data from the MQA Core Decoder.An MQA Core Decoder performs the first ‘ unfold’ in software (for example the TIDAL app) by expanding the file to 88.2kHz or 96kHz.The 3-step MQA decode process – music origami Now the standard 20Hz-20kHz audio portion can be played back on any DAC or the additional information (ultrasonic content) can be unfolded by an MQA certified device and added back into the file for high-resolution playback. 3-Step Encoding: Original file = 352.6kHz → 176.4kHz → 88.2kHz → 44.1kHz = MQA container file.2-Step Encoding: Original file = 192kHz → 96kHz → 48kHz = MQA container file.MQA Encoding Process: Original file → Folding Steps → MQA container file.“After a series of such manipulations, the resulting 44.1 kHz data, the layered data streams, and a final “touchup” stream… are provided to the playback device… together distributed as a 48/24 stream, of which 48/16 bit-decimated part can be played by normal 48/16 playback equipment. The MQA playback process is displayed in Roon software. It’s entirely possible it delivers on all its promises, but they don’t clearly explain how they achieve it. Sadly, the lack of transparency does MQA a disservice. And if there’s something that gets the audiophile community riled up, it’s when they think there is a whiff of ‘snake oil’ in the air. Their documentation uses proprietary terms, jargon, and unmeasurable claims. Unfortunately, the MQA corporation itself hasn’t made it any easier for consumers. A ton has been written on the subject, and if anything is consistent between it all, it’s that the MQA process isn’t easy to describe or understand. To understand the controversy around MQA, we need to have a basic understanding of what Master Quality Authenticated is all about. Concerns Raised by the GoldenSound Video.Science, Neuroscience, or Psuedo-Science? Time-Domain-Focused Filtering.This stands in stark contrast to the near-ubiquitous ‘lossless is best’ philosophy in audio.įrom the consumer’s point of view, what is most obviously important? Simply, does MQA deliver the highest possible sound quality? Seems easy enough. Unsurprisingly, a big part of the controversy comes from the use of a lossy format to deliver the claimed highest-fidelity audio experience. MQA certified hardware or software is required on the end user’s side to ‘unfold’ the file for playback. MQA involves using a proprietary lossy compression technique to ‘fold’ (their term) an audio file into a lossless (FLAC) container, primarily intended to reduce its size for streaming. MQA is a new approach to high-resolution digital audio encoding and reproduction, focusing on the time domain, rather than the more common strategy of increasing bit depth and sample rate. MQA is the creation of Meridian Audio (and now MQA Ltd.) company founder Bob Stuart and long-term collaborator Peter Craven. Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) was publicly launched in 2015 and has been caught up in controversy since its inception. Test tracks were submitted to TIDAL for conversion to MQA and compared to the originals. The GoldenSound video is far from the first source to raise concerns with MQA but has garnered a lot of interest likely due to its rational, scientific approach and exposé style.
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