How Is MQA Fareing?

@johndoe21ro 
Very interesting link
Thank you

I have no "axe to grind" on the subject.

When MQA was first being streamed by Tidal, I bought one of those inexpensive Explorer2 DACs to see what all the fuss was about.  I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard; many of those MQA masters seemed to have more defined bass, better timbre from ride cymbals, more distinct percussive sounds from acoustic pianos, more richness for vocals and string instruments like violins...but not all MQA masters.

I was so impressed with MQA I gave my Explorer2 to a friend and bought a Mytek Brooklyn DAC, just for MQA.  As Tidal's MQA library has grown, I'd say some of the remasters sound significantly better, many sound somewhat better and some sound about the same.

Fast forward to my purchase of a PS Audio DirectStream memory player to pair with my PS Audio DirectStream DAC with an I2S cable.  I find this pair to be the best sounding digital, especially with SACDs and most conventional CDs.  I am learning that the I2S interface separates "the bits" from "the timing" and that "the timing" might have a lot more importance then I ever realized.

My MQA setup is a USB from a Dell Windows10 Pro machine to the USB input on the Brooklyn DAC.  I'm being encouraged by a friend to get a device to "reclock" my USB pathways, into the DACs.  I might just try that out and will see if MQA can sound "better" than the PS Audio pair.

Please stay tuned.

"How is MQA fareing"?

Depends on who you ask.  I'm somewhat agnostic about it myself.  I've listened to it thru a Bluesound Node2 for nearly a year now and in general I like what I've heard.  I just recently changed over from my Bluesound to a Lumin T1.  Everything sounds a little better on the Lumin...including MQA.  But, you will never catch me doing any "serious" comparisons...I just find that very tedious.  There are a lot of more technically inclined folks than myself who think MQA is the devil incarnate and the sky is surely falling.  I don't know enough about the technical side to disagree with them.  I'm like a six year old eating candy...all I know is that it tastes good.  The "adults" in the room keep telling me "sure it tastes good but it's not good for you"....meanwhile I just shrug and keep listening to the ear candy.

To summarise some of the issues that have been raised in other threads here and in forums elsewhere :-

1. MQA is a boon for streaming, at least for now until streaming of native hires becomes more accessible (Qobuz which streams native hires is currently not available in US and many other countries)

2. If you have a Tidal subscription and listen mostly to Tidal, Tidal MQA generally sounds better than non-MQA Tidal - better to get an MQA dac to fully enjoy Tidal MQA

3. If you don't subscribe to Tidal, and listen mostly to your own collection of non-MQA redbook or native hires pcm/dsd files, MQA may not be an important consideration

Comparing MQA with non-MQA hires pcm/dsd files gains importance when considering a new dac - should it be MQA-capable or not?
This decision will rest on points 2. and 3. above.

Enjoy the Music!  :)