I would like to add my experience with audio gear into the mix. I have always had to be a budget minded audiophile. Starting in the 80s I had one of the first CD players on the market by Sony. Later I bought a Betamax and a PCM recorder and made audio tapes on the Betamax video recorder using the Sony PCM recorder. I bought CDs and have stayed in digital since that time. I did not often spend over $500 on any new audio component. Later I added a DAC that I paid $1000 to get. In all that time, digital sound would get better by small increments since I was a budget minded buyer. That changed with the last $500 component I purchased.
I bought a Bluesound Node 2 to consolidate all my AIFF files to a single hard drive and bypass Itunes on my computer. It was not until I played streamed MQA files on the Node 2 that I realized the best sound I had gotten from my budget sound system. I don’t know if MQA will be around long, much might depend on how it is marketed. But to my ears, many of the albums I have heard on Tidal have been stunning in clarity, separation of instruments and distinct sounds, deep bass and true natural tonality. One should listen to at least a half dozen albums before making snap judgements. Many albums sound okay, many sound great.
I bought a Bluesound Node 2 to consolidate all my AIFF files to a single hard drive and bypass Itunes on my computer. It was not until I played streamed MQA files on the Node 2 that I realized the best sound I had gotten from my budget sound system. I don’t know if MQA will be around long, much might depend on how it is marketed. But to my ears, many of the albums I have heard on Tidal have been stunning in clarity, separation of instruments and distinct sounds, deep bass and true natural tonality. One should listen to at least a half dozen albums before making snap judgements. Many albums sound okay, many sound great.