In recent years there ’s been a move by music services to offer higher quality medicine , but the brain-teaser is how can they allow that quality to the remainder user without impact on the overall listening experience ?
Bluetooth cyclosis is limited in what it can do , and while Qualcomm’saptX Losslesswill look to stir the stripe when it arrives it ’s not here yet , so there have been some creative method of getting gamy quality medicine from the source to the end gimmick .
One of those originative solutions is MQA , and this explainer will go through how it works , where you could get it and ultimately what benefits it provides to you , the listener .
What is MQA?
MQA brook for Master Quality Authenticated , and it is an end - to - end cyclosis engineering science that can transfer eminent caliber audio frequency over a Bluetooth / Wi - Fi connectedness to a smartphone or audio twist . The Authenticated part means you are listening to an official MQA transcription .
It ’s a solvent to a very ‘ now ’ problem in this epoch ofHi - Res Audioas to how can you deliver top - quality lossless sound without using up datum allowance or have to constantly buffer .
Who made MQA?
MQA was developed and found by Bob Stuart , who has had a hand in several notable endeavour in macrocosm of digital audio recording , work that includes the ontogenesis of the lossless densification proficiency behind Dolby TrueHD as well as co - founding British hi - fi society Meridian Audio , who you may be conversant with from their workplace with LG on theirtrue wireless earphonesandsoundbars .
Where (and how) can we get MQA?
Tidal only uses MQA for its high - resolution audio files , essentially anything above compact disc calibre lossless , which mean MQA support is tied to its HiFi Plus grade thatcosts £ 19.99 / monthafter the 7 - day liberal trial elapses . Tidal is one of few medicine services to make usage of Master Quality Authenticated files , brand it asTidal Masters . you could tell apart Master Quality Authenticated content by look for the Master logotype next to albums and tracks , or by look for curated MQA play list .
Other divine service that support MQA include US-basednugs.net , Chinese download store Sony Select and Japan - basede - onkyo music(the latter does n’t leave for leverage of music by outside buyers ) .
And of course , there ’s the point of line of descent itself . Sony Music , Warner Music , Universal Music and Merlin ( which pretend on behalf on independent label ) are licensed partner , and thus encode their euphony libraries in MQA and append them to the music services to kickstart the whole unconscious process .
How does MQA work?
There are three steps to the procedure of , erm , MQA - ifying , a music record album / track .
The first part is appropriate the recording ’s resolution and timing – all the nitty grainy details that make it what it is – to keep the audio recording at its highest quality . The next step is to package and channel the audio recording by using a unparalleled ‘ origami ’ folding technique that packs – or ‘ folds ’ – the studio apartment transcription into a small file for transmission . The third part is to ‘ spread ’ the music file , thus presenting the euphony at the studio caliber levels it was captured in .
Where things become slightly complicated – or potentially perplexing – is on a hardware level . There are mentions of compatibility and require a decoder to fully unfold the origami technique , ask specific hardware to do so . According to MQA this is not the eccentric . Sort of …
MQA enunciate you do n’t need a decipherer to play back audio in its ‘ standard ’ quality , so regardless of what twist you have , the filing cabinet can be played back , and it ’ll ‘ adapt ’ to the playback gimmick to offer ‘ in high spirits than CD - tone ’ regardless of the equipment you ’re listening on .
But if you want to go full send , as they say in motorsport , then there are three category of MQA - enabled products that pop the question different level of ‘ unfold ’ single file . It does sound a little complicated , but bear with us , it ’ll make sensation .
Option number one is an MQA Core Decoder such as Tidal or media players like Audirvana and Roon . These service and mass medium instrumentalist unfold the MQA single file once to disclose better audio quality .
choice figure two is to pair an MQA Core Decoder like the ones refer above with an MQA Renderer . A compatible renderer could be a twist such as theiFi hip - dac 2or AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt DAC , and this would in full unfold the MQA file cabinet . An example of this would be a smartphone consort Tidal paired with the Earmen Sparrow portable DAC .
Option number three is the MQA Full Decoder . This refers to intersection that extradite the highest potential profound quality with MQA , devices that can present fully backward compatible studio apartment quality sound such as Bluesound ’s wireless multi - room speakers and mellow - close DACs and CD players . With this option , the full decipherer sits at warmheartedness of your set - up and you’re able to choose to add more products if you want . guess of it as like buying a vinyl record and then choosing to build your system in the manner you want .
Is MQA worth it?
At its heart , MQA is all about bring in memory access to eminent quality medicine easier . If you need mellow - resolution sound but without the oddity or to-do that comes with it , then MQA offers plenty of convenience .
Of course , to get thebestfrom it , you ’ll demand tobestequipment possible , but MQA can scale to different use case , and if all you have is a Tidal HiFi Plus subscription and a mobile equipment then you should be able to take heed the difference compare to lower tone bitrate tracks .
The real question is will you be able to listen the difference ? People can become fixated on the differences between unlike formats when differences in performance could be down to whatever kit you ’re using . MQA preserves the quality of music from end - to - end , aiming to do as lilliputian damage to the signaling as potential , and that sound worth it to us , but as always , the proof is in the pudding or in this eccentric , the hearing .
