Further thoughts on MQA....is it all it seems???
- Thread starter DaveyF
- Start date
Point 5 must be expressed incorrectly, since one needs a sampling rate of at least 96 kHz to get a frequency response to 48 kHz, so the 24/96 (at least) isn't upsampled
Point 6 is mostly what I and others have been saying all along, although describing it as "distorted" is clearly misdirection. It is distorted only in the sense that it is changed from the original, and not necessarily in a bad way.
Yes agree
Bit of fake news here
Of course there actually isn't much musical content captured above 48khz, other than some timing information
Agree about alleged "distortion"
all upsampling algorithms add, and filters create issues , which can have elements of distortion, its not desired, not specific to MQA, as always in engineering there are trade-offs
That is an excellent question...
In a perfect world, the two should be exactly the same, the speaker should convert the signal without any distortion whatsoever..pity that this is so rarely( or maybe ever)the case!
To answer Alex's question as to why I started this thread( and the point of it)....well for me it was because I had heard another factor regarding MQA that was of concern to me (along with similar points to those that MQA Truth posted)...and that was, that it was potentially nothing more than a scam!
Therefore, I thought it may be appropriate and more honest to a) discuss this possibility and b) alert those that were impressed by the demos...like myself, that perhaps there was something else going on. Something else that was not quite so obvious to all. Including myself and Alex!!
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Alex does not seem to share your newfound concerns. I am curious about MQA Truth's identity and the motivation behind his post. And I would welcome the contributions of your digital expert friend to this thread.
I'll say! With all the controversy and variety of both opinions and factual observations that have been posted (even only here at WBF!) on MQA, you only just now started to wonder???
isn't your whole argument starting to fall apart?.....
Because, hasn't your argument been, you don't care about the technology, but you can judge by listening?
So what is the point of your friend the digital Maven?.....you heard what you heard "didn't you" ?
Many of us questioned that you might of been fooled or the technology was suspect, or the files themselves
you didn't listen to any of us, though ...oh no ..
But suddenly..even though you heard it was superior.....someone told you...its suspect...maybe u were ....could it be..."wrong"
So i am sorry....Either
you heard it sound better....but you were wrong
you heard it sound better...but you were tricked by the technology
you heard it sound better ....but someone was manipulating the event
you heard it sound better...but we shouldn't take your opinion with a grain of salt...because you haven't really got a clue?
I am at a loss to your argument?
its good to see MQAtruth...a stand up guy...on this website...is your supporter...even though some of his/her's/it's claims were expressed by others, and may or may not be true....
Seriously...seriously?
Isn't "scam" a bit harsh ?
A scam is an illegal plan to make money by fooling people
Meridian seems to be a legitimate long standing company
Obviously it's aim is to make money
It has a legitimate patent for MQA
It's main purpose is to make a single download file which can be different things to different end users
This can all be confirmed technically
It's has a secondary aim of manipulating the data stream to make it sound more pleasant to the listener
This is clearly stated, not something it hides
Where is the scam in this
I agree MQA authentification is a bit of licencing hyperbole, not the first hifi company to do that
The compression and unfolding and dithering are all in the patent
The inability to see what it is they are doing/sealing is a parallel with SACD as a virtually uncrackable file
Doesn't mean it's not legitimate, as dsd is as a technology
Just they are protecting their IP, whether substantive or not
.....should we be looking for communists under our beds next ?
A scam is an illegal plan to make money by fooling people
Meridian seems to be a legitimate long standing company
Obviously it's aim is to make money
It has a legitimate patent for MQA
It's main purpose is to make a single download file which can be different things to different end users
This can all be confirmed technically
It's has a secondary aim of manipulating the data stream to make it sound more pleasant to the listener
This is clearly stated, not something it hides
Where is the scam in this
I agree MQA authentification is a bit of licencing hyperbole, not the first hifi company to do that
The compression and unfolding and dithering are all in the patent
The inability to see what it is they are doing/sealing is a parallel with SACD as a virtually uncrackable file
Doesn't mean it's not legitimate, as dsd is as a technology
Just they are protecting their IP, whether substantive or not
.....should we be looking for communists under our beds next ?
That's not at all obvious from the evidence. Which is that Meridian hasn't been profitable over almost all its years of trading. So either the aim is not to make money or they're aiming for it but lack basic business competence to achieve their aim.
Signal is an electric impulse. Sound is a mechanical wave. You hear the mechanical wave and you measure the electric impulse. Signal is technology. Sound is part of nature. Listen to recorded music is a hobby. Technology is another hobby.
Awsmone, it wasn't just myself who heard the fact that the MQA files sounded better, it was the whole group....no exceptions. I have NEVER stated that my opinion of the difference in SQ has changed, because it has not. What concerns me now, which is something that perhaps you are not comprehending, is the fact that the whole group believed that the difference was solely due to the MQA process, where in fact this might not have been the case ( or that the MQA process is nothing more than a simple upsample....commonly available to all at no additional charge ). Since you have not heard MQA and the demos been given, your skepticism struck me as very odd, based solely on what---what you had read somewhere or some other aspect...please do elaborate. (Particularly, as you now seem to want to defend the technology and the company behind it?? ) So what were your negative posts based on before, being a naysayer just because you could?? Please advice.
DaveyF,
You completely failed to demonstrate or explain clearly your seemingly absurd theory (perhaps because you failed to understand what you were explained or just presented a too short summary) and protect yourself on the anonymity of your source.
Any sound reproduction comparison in a demo or shop can be easily cheated - but IMHO the people who took part in the sessions you refer are serious and credible people. So, unless you present something acceptable for debate I also can not understand the reason why you started this thread.
I think that's a pretty fair statement right there Davey! Definitely seems like the whole group was affected in some way or the other...
Whether it was positive or negative, not too sure as I was not present myself but that could have been an enjoyable one. I have come across far too many specialized demo's using various tweaks & gizmo's... hence the reason why nowadays I don't visit a single dealer's demo, unless it was a place I am very familiar with or a person's house. I have also noticed even on similar gear, the overall sound was quite drastically different with the use of added enhancements... personally I don't fancy such auditions whatsoever.
Thanks to my "golden ears" I can tell straight away whether there are any artifices going on... and it seems like the group who attended with Davey have come across it as well.
Excellent, now that's sorted out, we can retreat back to enjoying our music!
Cheers, Davey
RJ
Whether it was positive or negative, not too sure as I was not present myself but that could have been an enjoyable one. I have come across far too many specialized demo's using various tweaks & gizmo's... hence the reason why nowadays I don't visit a single dealer's demo, unless it was a place I am very familiar with or a person's house. I have also noticed even on similar gear, the overall sound was quite drastically different with the use of added enhancements... personally I don't fancy such auditions whatsoever.
Thanks to my "golden ears" I can tell straight away whether there are any artifices going on... and it seems like the group who attended with Davey have come across it as well.
Excellent, now that's sorted out, we can retreat back to enjoying our music!
Cheers, Davey
RJ
Micro, perhaps re-read ( or even maybe read, LOL) my prior posts...before coming to your conclusions.
Thanks RJ, I am supposing that you are responding to my post and not to Micro's above, LOL...
The whole group, I would say there were maybe thirty of us, all responded in the same way as I did. Is it possible that we all have tin ears...it is, but I think the differences were pretty obvious...and to all, impressive. This is not the point of my concern, it is what I stated above.
Indeed, lets get back to enjoying music...after all that's what this hobby is all about...I think???
