Streaming Tidal? Here’s why only some albums are in MQA

I was curious about why only some albums are available in MQA on Tidal, how does that happen? Chris from Tidal explained the process.

[amirjubran]

Basically they need access to the original master tapes to remaster it. That's why these MQA's sound significantly different than the original PCM versions... Because it's a different mastering. It's like I said before. We don't know if MQA is really necessary because you can't compare formats of different masters. If we could have PCM versions of these new remasters, then we could ascertain the value of MQA, if it has any at all.

[munsukwon]

I'm a big fan of Tidal MQA since it first started MQA. For long time, my ears were trained with MQA. With my MQA rendering devices, headphones, and well recorded album, I can easily distinguish different sound quality. I don't know why so many people still don't believe and even upset about MQA. You don't have to be an audiophile. Just take some time and listen.

[kevwilliams]

I have decided to ditch Apple Music and subscribe to tidal, I love the clarity and loudness of master songs on tidal. Really impressive

[kltan]

Please also ask him why quite a number of albums are still in low quality mp3 format for the Hi-Fi account...

[brianmoore]

I guess I'm old fashioned. I already bought most of what I listen to on CD. I continue to find new music by listening to the radio, exploring YouTube on occasion, word of mouth from friends, recommendations from audio reviews, just wherever I hear something I like, I find out about it and order the CD. On the very rare occasion that there is no CD, I will download the music and burn it to an archival grade CD-R, make a label for it, and place it on the shelf. I want the physical copy. I wonder how many people like me still exist.

[feloniusdrunk]

Until today, MQA had never really registered with me, so thanks again Steve.

[teedeepee]

Very interesting to revisit this in light of the current debate around the actual quality of MQA, as highlighted in the recent video by Golden Sound. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that debate Steve. It certainly seems to have caused a bit of a commotion among audiophiles!

[shinvergil]

Thanks but just give me option to buy lossless originals.

[roymindmybusiness]

step i : MQA pay cash to Bob Stuart Step 2: make sure Bob Stuart gets his cash! Step 3 : add lots of Snake oil step 4: watch John Darko recent video interview with Bob Stuart and his incredible technical explanation revealing the dark secrets of MQA -PLENTY OF REFERENCES TO PICTURES OLD STYLE PHOTOGRAPHY -BUT MOST REVEALING OF ALL WASHING WINDOWS in the studio and there you go absolutely No Snake OIl -genuinely a technical breakthrough -just wash those windows -Thanks Bob for saving the world

[jeromejax]

Thanks for the video Steve. Very informative...Just by reading the comments, I did not realize how much hate/ snake oil mentality their is concerning Tidal/MQA files...

[jeremyhughes]

A pity that MQA adds phase distortion from minimum phase filters. It is also less bit resolution than regular high resolution 24 bit files - about 17 bit as I recall. Tidal is excellent though and fortunately I can usually find the better sounding non-MQA version of the music. I hope Tidal continues to provide those standard versions because they sound better than MQA to me.

[frankferman]

So how exactly do they get the artist approval for "How the artist intended" for master tracks if the artist is no longer alive?

[MosoKaiser]

Because Meridian Audio wants $$$.

Sure, they can work the masters of the albums they put out to sound better (which I have *nothing* against) but nothing so far has convinced me that the MQA format itself is nothing but another proprietary format supposed to solve a problem that doesn't exist. A de facto form of DRM (file fingerprinting and limiting playback on non-MQA decive to 13-bit, plus it's a lossy format to begin with), and a way for MA to squeeze money from _every_ single step of the marketing chain via licensing fees.

[vcp]

So it sounds like MQA is just as much a "legal" definition as a "technical". Hmmm.... 🤔

[sonofsandwiches]

Much ado about nothing. There are 3 main things that cause a recording to sound the way it does. 1. The choices the engineer made during the recording process, 2. The equipment (mostly the speakers) that are used to reproduce the recording, and 3. The room dimensions and acoustics in which that recording is played back. Notice I didn’t mention the medium or bit rate used to store the recording. Old vinyl, CDs, and newer digital audio can all sound fantastic or terrible, based on the above mentioned variables, as well as others I didn’t mention. Bottom line..enjoy the music in whatever medium it is delivered.

[FFrrEEddRRiiKK]

When will we have Tidal Connect, i.e. be able to use my iOS app to control the Tidal Masters playback from my PC?

[stephencosta]

👍👌Thanks Steve for going behind the scenes and letting us know how things go the one and only never lonely Steve Guttenberg👌👍😍

[caleguillory]

MQA definitely sounds different from FLAC. I’ve read where MQA is supposed to mirror what went down in the recording studio. However, my ears tell me different, both while using speakers and while using headphones. I own a pair of AudioEngine 5 Bamboo speakers and a Dragonfly Red DAC and I also own a pair of Sennheiser HD 650 headphones that came with a Fiio 10 Amplifier. I liked what I heard, more so with my speakers than the headphones, in spite of the fact that my speakers weren’t quite as revealing when it came down to MQA, but either way, I don’t feel like I heard the exact sound of the recording studio as is claimed by MQA. My speakers paired with my Dragonfly offer a smooth but muffled sound, while the headphones combined with my Fiio amplifier lend a raspy sound to the instruments. Vocals still sound smooth, though. I know the problem isn’t the recording. I’ve been to a recording studio before, and so I know what a recording studio is supposed to sound like — smooth, transparent, detailed, and very life-like — not exactly what I get from MQA, but it’s still ok.

[marcusbrsp]

Nice equipment in the background. Sonus Faber Olimpica II or III speakers, and McIntosh amp/pre-amp.

[hushpuppykl]

Just downloaded Tidal this month. Now I am enlightened. Hope Tidal gets more albums in MQA.