No worries.
My only thing is, I think we’re hearing better re-mastering, not a better technology. << shrug >>
The one place I was able to directly compare MQA to non MQA tracks, 2L I heard no such dramatic differences.
However, recent MQA remasters at Tidal sound pretty good.
Best,
E
|
So far I've been listening to a Vivaldi Contata, about 70 Megs at 24/96 in FLAC and 44.1/24 MQA FLAC.
I hear no difference, though my DAC indicates the MQA file is playing at 24/352.8kHz.
However, though I hear no difference, the MQA recording makes my ears hot, and uncomfortable. More on this later.
|
Couple of notes. MQA should sound it's best when the ADC is known and adjusted for. DSD should be at it's best when there has been no modifications to the original, which is nearly impossible due to post processing needing to occur in the PCM or analog worlds.
Or so these are the claims I have heard.
|
@georgelofi
Sorry, the idea was that we would all listen at home with whatever we have. The "group" part was that we can use the same library of files.
@ahendler Nominal 44khz is really 44.1kHz, so same deal. :)
Best,
Erik
|
@georgelofi
I only posted what was sopposedly for an ideal file, not an ideal dac. Fery few multi-bit dac's left really. I'm interested in what DAC's users have, and if they can find some files that they feel are absolute demonstrators of a particular format's virtues.
Or at least, on their DAC shows a noticeable difference. :) Of course we can't have perfect. 99% of DSD recordings are DSD to PCM to DSD to begin with. 80% of modern DAC's are bitstream anyway. So no matter how we go we aren't going to get whatever the theoretical ideal is.
Best,
Erik
|
The latest Mytek's can of course, play all three formats, but I have not yet been able to listen to DSD directly. Too much computer configuration for me right now.
I guess when you boil it down I'm curious if there's really a compelling story to go with format x or y and whether we could find it among these free to download files.
Lots of claims,. and misinformation, circulates about any given format.
Besides file size compression, I have yet to experience a reason to go with MQA for instance. To spend 1 Gbyte to store a single song in DSD format is also very pricey. YMMV, of course. :) But here we have a treasure trove of files in different formats. Are there champions here who would wave the flag for their preference?
Best,
Erik
|
@georgelofi
Yep, I wrote a similar point several weeks ago on an earlier Stereophile posting, before they had any real explanations.
Bandwidth and disk space is much cheaper than it was. I could see it having a benefit to the service providers though. Being able to keep smaller files, and pay less for their ISP to stream out thousands of files at a time is a good thing.
But the reality is my current DAC is damn good without MQA. So was my previous DAC. :-) MQA is going to have to be really great to be meaningful.
I was chagrined at PS Audio’s blog about it. Seems like Meridian didn’t put together a very convincing, or good looking, presentation for them.
Best,
Erik
|
@jon2020
It was really odd. I mean my ear lobes literally felt hot. Like they'd been exposed to too much sun. :) I've not tried to reproduce it, it may have had more to do with the recording than MQA.
Best,
Erik
|
@georgelofi Well, I'm pretty sure my karma is such that I'll die of some mental disorder, but I turned the music off before they were affected. :)
@jon2020 Like I said, the oddest thing. I've experienced this once before, but I think I attributed it to the speakers. This was a long time ago. I should have given them a chance with different material. At the time I didn't think it was weird, but thought everyone must experience it too.... so I didn't make a note of it.
This time it happened with me in my living room, so I know it's not the speakers, unless the speaker's high bandwidth made something of the recording come through.
In any case, I'm saddened that I really don't seem to like the recordings over at 2L as much as I had hoped.
I'm going to download some DSD from Blue Coast Records to give my ears a thorough spa treatment. :)
Best,
Erik
|
@georgelofi Well, yeah, I expect it to sound the same becuase it IS the same. :)
It's not that SACD has a copyright so much as there are no ripping drives that would allow most of us to store from them.
In any event, I like the few SACD recordings I've heard, but I'm not moved to declare it a superior format. All things considered, I'd rather have the smaller file size of PCM.
Best,
Erik
|
Thanks @jon2020 I'll keep that recording in mind. I've not really liked anything I've listed to from 2L so far. I just got a 60 CD "living stereo" collection so I think I'm going to be listening to Redbook for a while. Fortunately the Mytek Brooklyn plays them very well too.
Best,
Erik
|
@gdhal You are right, but I personally seem to slightly like DSD better so far. No idea why. not sure I'd pay for the extra hard disk space for it yet.
What I do know is that I've never heard a difference between PCM and MQA encoded PCM.
|
@jon2020 Yeah, but we never want that. :)
Well, almost never. Most recordings we hear are from multi-track masters with quite a bit of post-recording work. At the very least you want some control over the dynamic range of the performance. This makes true direct to DSD recordings exceedingly rare. Go to Blue Coast Records and read the provenance of their recordings if you want a really good view as to how much goes into even "simple" production.
Best,
Erik
|
It is nearly impossible to do pure DSD without either analog tools or PCM in the loop. However, I like what I've heard from the boutique providers such as Blue Coast.
And yes, I understand DSD still has noise issues compared to PCM.
Best,
Erik
|
@gdhal
I've read much of that before elsewhere. It seems pretty consistent. :)
I wonder sometimes if some sorts of noise actually make things sound better for us. Like the way dither increases dynamic range.
Like I said, I like DSD, but I'm not sure I want to buy that much storage.
Best,
Erik
|
