I guess they want us to buy our all time favorites again…
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Unusually, they didn’t rope me into some orders. 
Though to be honest if two of the Coltranes had the rare Platinum SHM-CD mastering I’d have gotten them. . . they are supposed to be the best digital masterings.
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I just ordered a sampler CD. $13.47 USD delivered. No harm in trying, just need something to spin the disc in!
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Hi, interesting, thanks for the link. If one rips an MQA CD to FLAC format and then streams the resulting FLAC files to the Bridge II, will MQA decoding/unfolding occur (topping out at 24/192, of course)? Thanks.
Just got a couple of Chesky MQA cd’s will the JR play back MQA coding?
Just guessing but since MQA decoding is handled by the Bridge you might have to rip the CDs and play the files back through the Bridge using MConnect or Roon.
My UHQCD Hi-Res CD sampler disc arrived from Japan today. I’m playing it (CD-2, imported into my Kaleidescape system) now, and it sounds OK.
And when they eventually get the DMP software fixed I’ll spin CD-1 and evaluate how it compares to CD-2.
I tried playing CD-1 (24 bit/352.8 kHz) on a MSB Select Transport (MQA enabled) and it played at 16 bit/44.1 kHz (non-MQA) which came as a surprise. So the Hi-Rez version and CD version discs both play at CD resolution.
Does your MSB transport have an Ethernet output, and if so, is it connected to the Bridge II? If the transport is connected to any DS input(s) other than the Bridge II, I would not expect the DS to decode the MQA content on the CD.
The MSB Transport connects to an MSB DAC via SFP gigabit fiber.
Do you rip CD’s to HDD? If so, perhaps try ripping the MQA CD to FLAC format and then stream the FLAC files to the Bridge II. I would be interested to know if the Bridge II decodes the MQA content. Thanks.
I was hoping a $180K Transport/DAC combo would be able to play it without any additional drama required.
Sure … but the ripping experiment I am suggesting could be a way to debug the MSB situation, e.g., if you rip the disc to FLAC, stream the FLAC files to Bridge II and there is no MQA content, that might tend to prove that the problem lies with the $10 CD rather than your MSB rig.
Oh right, I’d need to do some research to work out how to do all that.
Brodric, did you really say you have a 180k digital combo?
…not mine, another owner…yes, that is how much an optioned up MSB digital front end costs. I spun that MQA disc in the MSB and that is what happened, CD resolution. Which makes me wonder, how do you play such a disc at its (advertised) native resolution. The liner notes are all in Japanese so now I’m wondering if in fact it is a 24 bit recording…maybe it was mastered at 24 bit and pressed at 16 bit. Don’t know. There was no MQA flag appearing on the MQA certified DAC.
I just would like to see such a setup which it must be once in my life on a picture
I’d really like to know how such a digital source sounds compared to the DS (with proper files)
The speakers were more expensive than the digital, by quite a bit. No PS gears in that setup however.
From what I have read about UHQCD, it conforms to Redbook CD, but is carefully and beautifully produced.
I wonder then why there are 2 discs in the set if they both play at CD resolution?