When Tidal started streaming MQA from Warner Music, I bought a Meridian Explorer2 DAC ($199 on Amazon) to see what all the fuss was. I have enjoyed a PS Audio DirectStream DAC now for 2 1/2 years. I am really smitten by MQA, streamed from my Windows10 Tidal app. I have not brought home the Ultradac simply because of its prohibitive cost. The only way to compare DSD vs PCM vs MQA, would be via Meridian’ s new Ultradac which does all 3. Also, the highs are airier via the Esoteric. Meridian’s Explorer 2 does the same thing according to a Stereophile report while RH of TAS observes the same thing in his review of the 808v6. The Meridian foreshortens soundstage depth, bringing me to rows 1-3 while the Esoteric places me at rows 7-9 which I find much more pleasant and natural. That said, comparing the PCM versions through the Meridian 808v6 and Esoteric N-05, I preferred the Esoteric. Needless to say, I can’t listen to MQA via the Esoteric.
Having said that, I couldn’t compare DSD vs PCM or MQA versions of the same files as the Meridian does not do DSD.īut comparing PCM vs DSD via my non-MQA Esoteric N-05 dac, I preferred PCM. I found that the 808v6 renders the PCM version beautifully, and there is an incremental improvement with the MQA version. Shortly after starting playback of an MQA track, the player will display information on what is needed to get MQA to decode if the above requirements are not met and the blue or green led will not light up, indicating the MQA is not being decoded.Coming back to the title of the thread, I have listened to PCM vs MQA files from the 2L website via the mqa-capable Meridian 808v6 player in my home system. Furthermore, an in-app purchase is required to activate the MQA decoder. The DAC needs to be capable of playing at 88.2kHz and 96kHz.
MQA decoding can either take place when using the 'Hires audio driver' for internal HiRes chips or when using a USB DAC. Please enable bit-perfect in the appropriate section. Please note that there are two bit-perfect options inside USB Audio Player PRO: one in the section 'Internal HiRes audio' and one in 'USB audio'.
To be able to decode and play MQA, audio needs to be played in bit-perfect mode and a bit-perfect audio path needs to be present to the DAC. No green or blue led will be displayed in the app in this situation.
Meridian direct dac vs meridian explorer dac pro#
When a DAC is detected that implements an MQA decoder (for example, the Meridian Explorer 2 or the DAC inside certain LG models), the MQA decoder inside USB Audio Player PRO is deactivated and MQA decoding is performed by the hardware. Output is 88.2kHz or 96kHz. When a USB DAC is connected that implements an MQA renderer, further unfolding can be done by the DAC. The first unfold recovers all the direct music-related information. USB Audio Player Pro includes MQA Core technology, which unfolds the MQA file once to deliver better than CD-quality. ‘‘MQA Studio’ indicates it is playing an MQA Studio file, which has either been approved in the studio by the artist/producer or has been verified by the copyright owner. This denotes provenance to ensure that the sound is identical to that of the source material. When the app is playing and decoding MQA, either the green ('MQA') or blue ('MQA Studio') light will be displayed right next to the MQA logo in the current song and mini player display. The MQA logo will be displayed when playing MQA music: USB Audio Player PRO includes MQA technology, which enables you to play back MQA audio files and streams, delivering the sound of the original master recording. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or download, while also being backward compatible, so you can play MQA music on any device. MQA technology is licensed by labels and hardware manufacturers worldwide. Visit mqa.co.uk for more information. MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is an award-winning British technology that delivers the sound of the original master recording.