dvorak said
jbwhite Regarding FLAC vs MQA... there is no "vs". FLAC can be used to carry MQA-encoded audio.
Sorry if I wasn't clear.
All I was trying to say was Michael Lavorgna reported the non-Tidal streaming services WOULD NOT BE MQA, and would instead be transported in some other type of flac files (no MQA). He also inferred, I believe correctly, that means all three labels will not be streaming MQA. That means, decoding, rights issues, etc. could be messy for the end user. You may have to subscribe to multiple streaming services, with multiple decoding software apps if you would like to get hi-res streaming with multiple labels.
I understand the technology. That’s not what I was talking about.
For those who are about to write…“High res is easy, you’ve just got to…” Save it. When a friend of mine who loves music watched the hoops I have to jump through to download a high res file and burn it to a DVD to play in PSAudio memory player, he laughed out loud. He’s right. It is hilarious.
I read through a thread on SQ of different inputs on the DS the other day. Both Paul and Ted had strong opinions about which input had the best SQ, but then I was surprised when they both said they listened to an inferior input (USB I believe) because it was more convenient, the user interface was better, or they liked to tinker in different ways with the input stream. I don’t remember the details, but it wasn’t SQ that mattered most to them.
vhiner1 said
As to the current state of computer audio fiddleyphila . . .
A good term.
I remain very pleased with physical CDs and SACDs, coupled with a ripping files and placing them on a dedicated server. Streaming holds no interest.
While I enjoy and get along well with computers, it continues to fascinate me that even after 35 years of personal computers there remain so many challenges in getting them to talk to each other, setting up what should be a simple LAN, etc. An exceedingly immature technology for how ubiquitous it is, particularly in light of our dependence on networked computers.
vhiner1 said
As to the current state of computer audio fiddleyphila . . .
A good term.
I remain very pleased with physical CDs and SACDs, coupled with a ripping files and placing them on a dedicated server. Streaming holds no interest.
While I enjoy and get along well with computers, it continues to fascinate me that even after 35 years of personal computers there remain so many challenges in getting them to talk to each other, setting up what should be a simple LAN, etc. An exceedingly immature technology for how ubiquitous it is, particularly in light of our dependence on networked computers.
I don't know who it was, but someone much wiser than me once said that the highest goal of technological appliances is that they should work like magic. Touch an icon and, presto, musicians suddenly appear in your living room. Press a button and, voila, you have a beautiful image of something you love. A good technology should delight us.
I realize some people take joy in tweaking and getting inside of things to find out how they tick. That’s fine. But a good appliance should work flawlessly without having to engage in that kind of fussing, Most CD and SACD players do just that.
One of the best computer audio appliances created in the last 10 years was the Squeezebox Touch. My dad set his up with no assistance and immediately fell in love with it. A person could push the device far beyond Pandora streaming, but it worked just fine without so much as a look at the manual.
So, I’d like one device that anyone could easily set up and which enables quick and flawless playback of any high res material I’m willing to pay for. I remain hopeful that this is an attainable goal.
jbwhite said
He also inferred, I believe correctly, that means all three labels will not be streaming MQA.
Hi, could you kindly share a link to where it's been said the other 2 major labels (Sony and Universal) have ruled out MQA?
I know they haven’t said what technology/format they’ll be using but I hadn’t seen where MQA had been ruled out?
Many thanks in advance
In a horrendous forum where he was relentlessly being attacked as "a mouthpiece for MQA," he never said Sony and Universal had ruled out MQA. He inferred that at least one of them, and maybe both, will be offering standard hi-res flac files.
I think it’s doubtful they will be offering up both MQA and standard hi-res flac files for streaming. Hence I suspect my own personal interest in streaming hi-res from all the major labels using Roon is probably not going to happen for a long time, if ever.
Quoted below is the only useful bit of information I could gleen from hundreds of posts over an eight hour period.
"I’ll recap what I consider valid points re. MQA that were brought up today:
Pandora and Rhapsody will be streaming hi-res content this year and they will not be using MQA.
Since this is the case and Pandora and Rhapsody have agreements with the record labels to do so,
This means that non-MQA hi-res streaming will be available.
There are other non-MQA hi-res streaming offings in the works, e.g. Pono/OraStream"
That thread is why I stick with the PSAudio forums. Some people spend way too much time in their man caves. Thankfully, this place is like a very comfortable, inviting gentleman’s club. (Where women are welcome, of course.)
Agreed, the only use I had for forums is technical support and trying to figure out how to configure things. I’ve gotten sucked into this MQA thing and regret the time I’ve wasted over the last few days.
Em2016 said
I was just reading that thread just earlier. Oh me oh my
You're not going to believe this, but my wife told me this kind of stuff happens on the knitting forums all the time.
When I posted a few times (on the CA forum, not the knitting forum), I was accused of things I’d never heard of. They started debating whether I was a “sock puppet” or a “lurker.” They said I probably wasn’t a “troller” - I was proud that I knew what that one meant. They were kind of enough to provide definitions of the other two.
Em2016 said
I was just reading that thread just earlier. Oh me oh my
You're not going to believe this, but my wife told me this kind of stuff happens on the knitting forums all the time.
When I posted a few times (on the CA forum, not the knitting forum), I was accused of things I’d never heard of. They started debating whether I was a “sock puppet” or a “lurker.” They said I probably wasn’t a “troller” - I was proud that I knew what that one meant. They were kind of enough to provide definitions of the other two.
You can't make this stuff up. I favor all forums requiring full identity of anyone who wants to participate...no more anonymity. It would solve a lot of problems. I realize that's controversial but I favor civilization as opposed to "anything goes." When you remove personal responsibility from any situation, be prepared for some scary behavior.
vhiner1 said
I favor all forums requiring full identity of anyone who wants to participate...no more anonymity.
The only problem with that is you might get killed if you decide to post! I'm a bit paranoid about my privacy, and I certainly wouldn't post anything anywhere. The solution for me is to use Google to search for information. If it's in forums read but don't engage. I must admit though, I did have some fun going at it with the crazies on the CA forum.
Yeh, I had a fellow threaten my family and me. He then called me on the phone and kept threatening physical harm (words like “kill”.) I called the local Police and tho they said there was nothing they could do, the guy called back, apologized and said everybody in NY talks like that: and he asked me why I took him seriously… Still I always post with my real name.
So I was listening to the Doors “Morrison Hotel” this morning. I have the DSD 64 version and I think it’s SQ is great. Anyway, I was enjoying the listen quite a bit and I then thought I’d compare that version to the Tidal 16/44 PCM version on Roon, just for kicks. So I opened up the Tidal/Roon version and was surprised at how good it sounded. Better than I remembered, actually. I would say at least as good as the DSD 64 version. Then I checked the signal path button and to my surprise Roon was streaming the “Master” version, unpacked to 24/48 PCM! Then I checked a couple other artists in Bowie and Zeppelin, and what do you know, they also are at 24/48! So this whole Roon/Tidal MQA compatibility is happening faster than I thought. but it sounds pretty good. Say what you want about MQA, but if I can stream hi-res in a smaller file format, that’s a good thing, IMO. Now how to unpack that last bit on info… Maybe HQPlayer can tackle that problem and leave the DAC out of it. That would be ideal!
It's far less brave if everyone is unmasked. I'd never advocate doing it unilaterally. ;-) Think about the balls Michael Lavorgna has to put himself out there. The far better solution is for forum moderators to shut trolls down. I'm all for free speech, but unlimited anonymous speech is corrosive and corrupting. Just look around and see where it's getting us as a culture and society.
