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MQA Audio???


DizRotus

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Do you have this or have streamed Hi rez audio over the internet.  Satellite internet service may not be good enough for this and I would think you need the 5 gHz router.  It's taken several years of testing but, I can take it or leave.  I have found that good mp3 of the ACC and VBR are practically indistinguishable in SQ.

 

I will collect HD audio but, I won't pay high prices for music files or streaming anymore.

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Neil,

 

It's pretty new (2014 patent application), and it's actually a "hi-resolution lossy format".  Here is a very long-winded critique:

 

http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/MQA/origami/ThereAndBack.html

 

Since I'm not presently into streaming music, this subject really isn't very high on my priorities, but I could see where HDtracks or something similar might want to offer a "hi-rez streaming service", and this might be a marketing tool. 

 

But it seems to me like it's chasing ever-smaller bits of hi-fi that most listeners probably really can't distinguish in a test environment on real loudspeakers in real rooms, and...this is most important...on music that's been significantly altered in fidelity from the original recorded tracks during the mixing/mastering/distribution process. 

 

Witness the resurgence of vinyl: if you like the sound of vinyl, it's my conjecture that what you really want isn't "analog sound", or "hi-rez" but rather dynamic range and the near absence of mastering equalization. Especially the kind of mastering EQ meant for sales to relatively lo-fi hardware--like earbuds,  MP3 players, and the type of music genres mastered on near-field Yamaha NS-10M monitors, or perhaps yet-again-remastered recordings from 30-45 years ago.  The different aspects of this new version of "hi-fi" seem to be even more significantly out of balance with each other than ever before.

 

YMMV.

 

Chris

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54 minutes ago, Chris A said:

if you like the sound of vinyl, it's my conjecture that what you really want isn't "analog sound", or "hi-rez" but rather dynamic range and the near absence of mastering equalization.

 

Very much this. And it's precisely this detail that often gets lost in the whole vinyl vs. digital (CD, FLAC, etc) argument.

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I've found that disc and digital media formats are a really small part of hi-fi, but how the music industry uses those media formats varies wildly. 

 

Unfortunately, for those that prefer the more popular music genres recorded within the last 25 years (since 1991), discussion of the current state is a pretty grim one.  However, use of the DR database to help you find the best available recordings, i.e., highest crest factor, is a real blessing.

 

As far as streaming music goes, I don't see any market forces pushing for hi-fi.  However, the cost of producing hi-fi versions and providing it to consumers is almost zero.  All you have to do is stop "mastering", and provide the mixdown version to the consumer...problem solved.

 

Chris

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I have a few CDs we brought back from the Philippines (recorded and produced, mastered there). They sound really good, but I haven't had the time to run them through the DR software to see how they rate. I'll try to get a couple done this week.

 

Bruce

 

 

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