MQA Beta setting to OFF - better sound ?

[steadyshot]

I tried after a long time to set mqa completely to off? Why I think the sound is better? More open / airy and fast ?

What do you think?

 

[onlyoneme]

I think that I know nothing about the rest of your audio chain so I cannot even predict if turning MQA off on the WiiM can result in "better" sound or not.
And I think that human ears are rather poor instruments to perform audio comparisons due to very short audio memory and DSP adaptive functions of our brains during longer listening sessions.

 

[steadyshot]

Wiim mini is connected to a pcm5242 based dac with optical to my integrated (roksan attessa non streaming ). Non mqa dac - capable of mqa rendering only.

Let’s put aside subjective impressions . Is the pre and post ringing different if not using mqa function in wiim app? I use tidal hi fi plus through my iPhone using tidal connect .

What happens exactly to the signal in this case ?

 

[onlyoneme]

Audio streams will differ.
You will listen to "48/24" MQA content when unfolding is off. It's not exactly a true 48/24 stream as it also delivers some masked data needed for unfolding processes. Let's say it's closer to 44.1/16, even less in fact.
And you will listen to "96/24 reconstructed" MQA content after the first unfold. The additional part is being retrieved from masked, inaudible sections of the source stream, hidden between 44.1/16 and 48/24.

 

[steadyshot]

And if it is a non master file ? Also who does the unfolding in mqa files? Tidal app?

 

[onlyoneme]

And if it is a non master file ?

What do you mean here?

Also who does the unfolding in mqa files? Tidal app?

Tidal app can do first unfold. WiiM can do that also when Tidal Connect is used.

 

[steadyshot]

What do you mean here?

There are files which are hi fi ( 16/44) not all files are hi res .

 

[onlyoneme]

There are files which are hi fi ( 16/44) not all files are hi res .

Depends. For Tidal these ones were just lossless flac files in the past. Now these files are quite usually MQA files stripped down to 44.1/16, and without metadata required for unfolding.

 

[steadyshot]

What can I say . It sounds unrestrained and much better when mqa is completely off. Maybe it is the interplay with my dac. Bass is especially quicker .

 

[onlyoneme]

Maybe.
You can listen to this experiment and share your impressions:

3 parts of the pink noise.

 

[Klipscher]

I tried after a long time to set mqa completely to off? Why I think the sound is better? More open / airy and fast ?

What do you think?

Are you part of tidals early access beta group? From my understanding Tidal will begin releasing flac files for higher tier members in August. If you are part of the early access program there now available.

These Flac files will be output as high as 24/196khz.

 

[d6jg]

Are you part of tidals early access beta group? From my understanding Tidal will begin releasing flac files for higher tier members in August. If you are part of the early access program there now available.

These Flac files will be output as high as 24/196khz.

Just catching up with Qobuz after having the wool pulled over their eyes by MQA!

 

[steadyshot]

Maybe.
You can listen to this experiment and share your impressions:

3 parts of the pink noise.

It is in Polish. What should I do? There are no english subs provided. The only translatable part was video description which is not instructions.

 

[steadyshot]

Are you part of tidals early access beta group? From my understanding Tidal will begin releasing flac files for higher tier members in August. If you are part of the early access program there now available.

These Flac files will be output as high as 24/196khz.

No I am not. I really wait for that to be released in August. I believe the quality of hi res will be better for me than mqa. Currently I have set at 90% the digital volume with the help of onlyoneme and mqa off, which in my opinion and my system gives the more natural sound.

 

[onlyoneme]

It is in Polish. What should I do? There are no english subs provided. The only translatable part was video description which is not instructions.

Just listen to those 3 parts of pink noise from 1:50 to 2:30 and share your impressions.

 

[steadyshot]

Just listen to those 3 parts of pink noise from 1:50 to 2:30 and share your impressions.

The first one the dark green is harsh. The second is very quite and muffled. The third one, purple one is the more balanced pink noise. If I have to pick a pink noise I will go with the purple. @onlyoneme. I have listened it with my heaphones on my work's laptop. Not in my system.

 

[onlyoneme]

The first one the dark green is harsh. The second is very quite and muffled. The third one, purple one is the more balanced pink noise. If I have to pick a pink noise I will go with the purple. @onlyoneme. I have listened it with my heaphones on my work's laptop. Not in my system.

Are you aware that the first part and the third part are the same?

 

[steadyshot]

Are you aware that the first part and the third part are the same?

Yes indeed. Maybe the ear got used to a low pink noise and adapted instead of stormed with the high pitch sound from the beginning

 

[onlyoneme]

Yes indeed. Maybe the ear got used to a low pink noise and adapted instead of stormed with the high pitch sound from the beginning

Our ears can be easily fooled by our brain. That's why I don't trust my own or other people's impressions when it comes to audible differences in sound.

 

[steadyshot]

Our ears can be easily fooled by our brain. That's why I don't trust my own or other people's impressions when it comes to audible differences in sound.

This is a trick. The ears accepted high pitch at first. Then given the ears time to adapt with a low pitch noise so the transition to the first does not seem so big. This experiment says nothing.