It works! A great digital music experience so far. Further exploring needed.

MQA-CD          : Exile On Main St. (Universal Music UICY-40165)
Platform        : PC (Intel i5, Windows 10)
WAV file ripper : Nero Burning ROM 10 (FLAC encoder)
MQA Core decoder: Audirvana Plus 3 (1st unfolding)
MQA renderer    : AudioQuest Dragonfly Red (2nd unfolding)

Jeez, I wish they could settle on an HD format and stick with and have consistent releases. If this one requires a special player it's already doomed.

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24FPS

Jeez, I wish they could settle on an HD format and stick with and have consistent releases. If this one requires a special player it's already doomed.

It requires a certified MQA-DAC for full 352.8kHz/24bit quality - [iorr.org] .

MQA is folded ('encoded') twice - in ReelStone's case above the Audirvana-Player unfolds it once to 88.2kHz/16bit and the AudioQuest Dragonfly USB-DAC does the 2nd unfolding to 352.8kHz/16bit.

Thanks to ReelStone for posting - looks like the (ripped) 'physical' 44.1kHz/16bit file from the CD unfolds twice to 352.8kHz - but (see the lower left corner of Audirvana) it has only 16bit instead of 24bit - [iorr.org] .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-07-14 23:35 by Irix.

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24FPS
...If this one requires a special player it's already doomed.

This MQA-CD is 100% compatible with any existing CD player.

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ReelStone

This MQA-CD is 100% compatible with any existing CD player.

Yes, but in this case you'll only get the standard 44.1kHz/16bit-quality at the analogue Output of the CD-Player. For HiRes-quality you need to connect a certified MQA-DAC to the S/PDIF-Output of the CD-Player.

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Irix

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ReelStone

This MQA-CD is 100% compatible with any existing CD player.

Yes, but in this case you'll only get the standard 44.1kHz/16bit-quality at the analogue Output of the CD-Player. For HiRes-quality you need to connect a certified MQA-DAC to the S/PDIF-Output of the CD-Player.

Unless you get the Meridian 808V6 CD Player or unless you can track down an Oppo UDP-205 universal disc player which both have an MQA DAC built-in.

Otherwise,if you're going to use an external DAC (in a receiver,pre-amplifier,sound processor or a dedicated external DAC),you would have to make sure that the CD player is bitstreaming out the digital audio signal. That's bypassing the DAC in the CD player.

I would figure that an HDMI output (or USB output if available) from the player should be a possibility for that .... along with 2-channel S/PDIF.

Dragonfly amber  light-up: 16-bit/ 88.2kHz (MQA Core decoding)
Dragonfly purple light-up: 16-bit/352.8kHz (MQA rendering, fully authenticated)

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ReelStone

Dragonfly purple light-up: 16-bit/352.8kHz (MQA rendering, fully authenticated)

That's what I've thought: only 16 bit instead of the possible 24 bit resolution - so the question is if the MQA-CD is worth it. 16 bit due to the compatibility with the Audio-CD, at least the unfolded Sampling-frequency is 352.8kHz.

Looks like 'Exile on Main St.' is not available on Tidal for MQA-Streaming which could be possibly 352.8kHz/24bit.

'Exile on Main St.' on Blu-ray Pure Audio is 96kHz/24bit (PCM). The DSD 2.8MHz/1bit of the SACD is comparable to minimum 352.8kHz/24bit PCM.

I get a headache just trying to read all these specs. It's bad enough I can't play my Stones SACD's on a regular CD player or Blu Ray. (At least not get the SACD aural benefits).

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24FPS
I get a headache just trying to read all these specs. It's bad enough I can't play my Stones SACD's on a regular CD player or Blu Ray. (At least not get the SACD aural benefits).

Sony Blu Ray players will output the full SACD Frequeny with HDMI output to pretty much any amp that they've made in the last 6 years, if it's DTS-HD capable it should carry the signal.

I enjoy mine and have for years with this set up, Particularly the Bob Dylan 5.1 mix of Slow Train Coming, stunning separation reveals Knopflers playing in all it's glory

Sony,yes.... some of them but not all. And also Denon / Marantz , Pioneer , Oppo , Cambridge , Yamaha, and Arcam "UNIVERSAL" disc players handle both Blu-ray and SA-CD and the full SACD layer of hybrid discs.

Before you invest in super sound quality equipment, files, etc, or new technology promising better sound, it would be a good idea to have your hearing checked, especially if your are over 50, so as to determine whether or not your ears are even capable of discerning the difference between lower quality sound and higher quality sound.

In my case, my ears cannot tell the difference between a 196 kbps mp3 file and a flac file. However, my ears can tell the difference between 128 kbps and 196 kbps.

Therefore, I have my music stored at 196 kbps, which also has the further advantage of saved space.

As the human ear ages, it loses much of it's ability to "hear" certain frequencies. All of this can be googled. Online tests can be found for the above.
A hearing specialist can also test for this.

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Chacho
Before you invest in super sound quality equipment, files, etc, or new technology promising better sound, it would be a good idea to have your hearing checked, especially if your are over 50, so as to determine whether or not your ears are even capable of discerning the difference between lower quality sound and higher quality sound.

In my case, my ears cannot tell the difference between a 196 kbps mp3 file and a flac file. However, my ears can tell the difference between 128 kbps and 196 kbps.

Therefore, I have my music stored at 196 kbps, which also has the further advantage of saved space.

As the human ear ages, it loses much of it's ability to "hear" certain frequencies. All of this can be googled. Online tests can be found for the above.
A hearing specialist can also test for this.

So true Chacho,

Especially if you have been subjected to ongoing industrial sounds or subjected yourself too loud music you should definitely seek an assessment.

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Chacho
...whether or not your ears are even capable of discerning the difference between lower quality sound and higher quality sound.
...
A hearing specialist can also test for this.

The brains conception of audio signals is much more complex than what you can measure in SI units (out of scope of this thread, please make your own thread).

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Chacho
...I have my music stored...also has the further advantage of saved space.
...

When streaming Hi-Res MQA audio you don't have to think about space.

I'm another experience richer. However, when it comes to PC audio I still prefer the realtime DSD conversion of native single rate DSD (1-bit/2.8MHz, DSD64) to double rate DSD (1-bit/5.6MHz, DSD128).

Reelstone, what's the program shown in your message ?

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kowalski

Reelstone, what's the program shown in your message ?

Dunno, Audirvana Plus - (Mac/Win) for instance can play DSD and also upsample.

I use foobar with a DSD capable DAC. Curious to know what's the one above.

I have a Onkyo player that supports this format so I might give it a go....i'm in the UK;does anyone know where I can buy these discs?

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thegreenmanalishi

I have a Onkyo player that supports this format so I might give it a go....i'm in the UK;does anyone know where I can buy these discs?

For instance here: [www.jpc.de] , [www.jpc.de] , [www.jpc.de] or here: [www.CDJapan.co.jp] , [www.CDJapan.co.jp] , [www.CDJapan.co.jp] .

It's a limited Edition: according to the Back-Cover it's available from 20-Jun-2018 to 19-Dec-2018 - [www.Amazon.co.jp] .

Thank you!

Just put the F%$#@@ing record on....jeez

Amarra Play 1.6 for iOS, AudioQuest Dragonfly Red, 16-bit/352.8kHZ, WOW!

this S&^%T is getting ridiculous...

How MQA CD actually works : [bobtalks.co.uk]