MQA goes into reorganization.

[Sonik Wiz]

So... if things work out mayhaps the three of us Quadramiegos could meet up?

 

[4-earredwonder]

So... if things work out mayhaps the three of us Quadramiegos could meet up?

QUADRO AMIGOS ....... clever, very clever SW! Sounds like a PLAN!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Quadramiegos

 

[4-earredwonder]

Quadramiegos

Does not compute into my Iphone search engine. Is that a fanciful term you Kansas Citians bandy about while hangin' out at the Tony Plaza?

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Does not compute into my Iphone search engine. Is that a fanciful term you Kansas Citians bandy about while hangin' out at the Tony Plaza?

I don't know who Tony Plaza is. Might be a great detective name. Just something I made up feel free to copy & paste.

 

[ar surround]

So... if things work out mayhaps the three of us Quadramiegos could meet up?

The term "three" in the same sentence with anything "Quad__________" is an oxymoron.

 

[4-earredwonder]

The term "three" in the same sentence with anything "Quad__________" is an oxymoron.

Or a 'secret handshake' within the infamous Tony Plaza crime family!

 

[gene_stl]

But Dr. AIX disagrees:Mythical 20-bit CDs! Part I – Real HD-Audio
Mythical 20-bit CDs: Part II – Real HD-Audio

This video talks about the improvement that is possible by adding dither and noise shaping to digital audio. This is also used in scientific measurement systems and schemes to maximize S/N. There have been numerous schemes that make use of this in CD audio such as:

HDCD 1995 High Definition Compatible Digital - Wikipedia

SBM Sony Super Bit Mapping Super Bit Mapping - Wikipedia

XRCD Japan Victor Corporation 1995 Extended Resolution Compact Disc - Wikipedia Dither but no noise shaping.
https://web.archive.org/web/20051125143420/http://www.xrcd.net/shopping/

Telarc 20 Bit Early Digital Recordings Didn’t All Suck - The Absolute Sound
https://www.discogs.com/label/1324263-Telarc-20
Probably lots of others. HDCD requires a decoder , the others are "compatible" with the Red Book standard. Maybe.

 

[atrocity]

If you were to play an MQA disc on a non MQA equipped CD player it would be 16/44.1. On my OPPO 205 plugged directly into my LG OLED monitor it shows up as an MQA disc and if you press the 'info' button on the remote, the monitor clearly shows 24 bit 88.2 oversampling!

Doubtful the numbers LIE!

So is it your assertion that an MQA-encoded CD played on non-MQA hardware reproduces exactly the same bits as a standard RBCD with no loss whatsoever...yet somehow, despite none of the 16/44.1 bits being sacrificed for the MQA data, MQA hardware will magically and losslessly create a true higher-resolution signal?

I honestly can't tell if you're just being sarcastic or if, no matter how many times I try, I'm not explaining it clearly.

 

[atrocity]

And I don't recall any backlash when HDCD was introduced even though, it too, required a decoder for 'full unfold' [if you want to call it that]. At least not the kind of scrutiny that MQA has endured!

I don't think HDCD's claims were nearly as grandiose as MQA's.

There *is* degradation of the sound when playing an HDCD without a decoder, at least on paper. I don't know if it was audible for most people.

Just for fun I have in the past ripped an HDCD track, software-decoded it to a new file, normalized both files to peak at -3dB, then opened them up in Audition. If it's a "real" HDCD (that is, not one of the many, many out there that either bear the logo or just have the flag but don't actually use a single feature), the resulting WAV files will immediately be visibly different. Which, of course, is to be expected.

 

[JediJoker]

Just for fun I have in the past ripped an HDCD track, software-decoded it to a new file, normalized both files to peak at -3dB, then opened them up in Audition. If it's a "real" HDCD (that is, not one of the many, many out there that either bear the logo or just have the flag but don't actually use a single feature), the resulting WAV files will immediately be visibly different. Which, of course, is to be expected.

The only relevant feature for playback is Peak Extend, and yes: if PE is used, you'll get artificially dynamically compressed playback without an HDCD decoder. However, HDCDs are still "real" even if they only used Low Level Extension—a production feature only—or even neither feature, as long as the master was created using a Pacific Microsonics Model One or Two converter. At the time the Model One was released, it was praised for its sonic performance, regardless of the use of PE or LLE. Both models are still well-regarded today. So, a CD with the "HDCD" logo, while not guaranteed to sound great, is often a good buy.

But neither PE nor LLE were necessary to produce great-sounding CDs with plenty of dynamic range. There was never any reason to use PE, except to worsen fidelity for those without HDCD decoders. Pacific Microsonics developed a solution in search of a problem, and in the process, created an artificial market for their technology. Genius business move, at the expense of consumers, and for no valid sonic or technical reason.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Do note that under qualified conditions, the way DTS stored both global & local compression it could provide up to 20 legitimate bits. I would go for that or HDCD before MQA. But as has been obviously stated before' high bit rate/sample rate makes all of this history.

Just-so people know... Regardless of what MediaInfo might say, all lossy encoded audio streams (including dts) do not contain a bit-depth.

Indeed, if you take a 'so called' dts 96/24 audio stream and strip out all of its meta-data its file size will be the same as a dts 48.00kHz audio stream, encoded at the same bit-rate!

 

[gene_stl]

I saw my very first MQA CD at Half Price Books yesterday. I was tempted to buy it as a playing the format sample but it was music I wasn't very interested in and it was also $9.49 which was more than I was willing to pay to have a format sample. When/If it lands in the $2.00 clearance bin I might add it to the collection for experimentation and audition.

So I went back to Half Price Books and had a good day. The MQA disc landed in the clearance for $2.00 and I bought it. It is two David Chesky Piano Concertos. So I am now the proud owner of TWO MQA discs.

I also got a CD of a Vanguard classical recording (Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony). Also a Living Stereo CD of Tito Puentes Latin percussion..
Two European pressed Beatles CDs. And a three CD Telarc set of Monteverdi 1610 vestpers labeled " Surround Sound"(unspecified CD audio matrix). And a Mercury Living presence CD of Satie piano music. All for $27 tax included. A steal imho.

The Telarc Surround Sound disc set was processed through the "Apogee UV 1000" encoder and is stated to be "100% compatible with either two or four channel reproduction."

 

[Sonik Wiz]

So I went back to Half Price Books and had a good day. The MQA disc landed in the clearance for $2.00 and I bought it. It is two David Chesky Piano Concertos. So I am now the proud owner of TWO MQA discs.

I also got a CD of a Vanguard classical recording (Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony. Also a Living Stereo CD of Tito Puentes Latin percussion..
Two European pressed Beatles CDs And a three CD Telarc set of Monteverdi 1610 vestpers label Surround Sound. And a Mercury Living presence CD of Satie piano music. All for $27 tax included. A steal imho.

David Chesky is usually good. MQA is woth about two bucks.

 

[4-earredwonder]

David Chesky is usually good. MQA is woth about two bucks.

And I'll raise you Twenty, SW!

At the VERY least, they utilized some of THE BEST masters available and in conjunction with the UHQCD process were expertly replicated.

So ALL isn't lost!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

And I'll raise you Twenty, SW!

I'll call your bluff.

 

[4-earredwonder]

I'll call your bluff.

Funny, my friends had a HUSKY doggie named BLUFF!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Funny, my friends had a HUSKY doggie named BLUFF!

Was he AKC MQA certified?

 

[4-earredwonder]

Was he AKC MQA certified?

Yep, and he even came with an OBI attached!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Yep, and he even came with an OBI attached!

My dachshund came with an OBI attached. And then we took him to the vet.