Apple announces lossless Apple Music is coming in June at no added cost

Hmmm. Have you tried with a DAC which doesn't support MQA. It happens for digital out only, I think.

Yes.....I tried with xDuoo XD-05 first Gen and Fiio Q5s AM3E model and Tidal Native doesn't make a peep upon opening it.

Then tried with iFi Hip DAC - Upon opening, it pops the question.
I tried Tidal after jumping through some hoops. It asks for access to my DAC, but that by itself means nothing as that doesn't signify bit-perfect playback. To me it is showing that the song being played is Master quality. Does that mean it is MQA. Because if it is then that means it is not bit-perfect playback as my DAC doesn't support MQA. Sound quality is quite good actually but I am already missing equalizer and pre-amp settings that I always use. Any way to get around that in Tidal as it doesn't have it's own equalizer.

What is your DAC model?

Maybe it is MQA certified....or in the process the getting one.

If the App asked for DAC access then it is Bit Perfect Audio.....but that doesn't ensure the MQA unfolding.....which is not a big deal to enjoy music.
 

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What is your DAC model?

Maybe it is MQA certified....or in the process the getting one.

If the App asked for DAC access then it is Bit Perfect Audio.....but that doesn't ensure the MQA unfolding.....which is not a big deal to enjoy music.

Mine is the E1DA 9038S Gen 2 and no, it doesn't support MQA and it doesn't even support DSD. Also if an app asks for DAC access, it doesn't ensure Bit-perfect Audio as we learned with this DAC as it didn't have any hardware volume controls and the USB bridge didn't support control via the phone/connected device. The manufacturer in Gen 3 added a new USB bridge which allows bit-perfect playback through UAPP with volume control as well as support for DSD256, but still no MQA.
 
Only MQA capable devices recognize by the Tidal Andriod Native app - Without MQA certification Tidal App will not show the prompt to load In-House USB Audio driver. Also, make sure UAPP not running in the Background else the sound gets distorted.

BTW.....@msankadi - Great Tidal playlists.
AudioQuest Devices are also not recognized till date. May be USB A devices which connect via OTG cable are not recognized I guess.
 
AudioQuest Devices are also not recognized till date. May be USB A devices which connect via OTG cable are not recognized I guess.

Those AudioQuest devices are MQA Certified? If not then Tidal will not Rec them.

Found out Windows Desktop Tidal App also asking the question for iFi Hip DAC - Below Screenshot attached.
 

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Those AudioQuest devices are MQA Certified? If not then Tidal will not Rec them.

Found out Windows Desktop Tidal App also asking the question for iFi Hip DAC - Below Screenshot attached.
Yes, MQA certified. Darko Audio also confirmed the same issue.

The issue is with devices with USB A interface which use OTG cables to connect to a phone.
 
Has anyone compared Tidal MQA with Qobuz Hi-Res, I heard somewhere that MQA sounds more musical but still little curious if it's true.
I'm using Tidal Lossless here and MQA isn't exclusive to Tidal. It's an interesting thing. It's lossy and each file is about half or 2/3rds the size of a regular lossless file, but, and here is the important but, MQA delivers an experience quite different to just pure audio. As simply as I can put it, it plays to your ears a track as the artist intended it to sound. Not how someone produced it in some basement of Sony Columbia.

I've compared say Elton's MQA track Rocket Man with the lossless version and the vocals are more front and centre, certain instruments are highlighted over others. It's quite amazing what Meridian managed to achieve with it. Yes, it is lossy because the codec is not just playing a track back to you as it came, but rather, playing a track back to you as though you were there in the recording room with the artist who created it.

Qobuz Hi-Res is lossless audio, and Qobux Hi-Res is like Tidal Lossless. MQA is a totally different animal and I've found myself listening to more MQA tracks over Hi-Fi. Especially revisiting old tracks, you haven't heard in years as the artist intended it to be heard. There's a magic to it, I don't know how else to describe it. The Tidal smartphone app has MQA inbuilt, but if I stream it to my home theatre, the Chromecast/Android TV app don't support MQA. The desktop app does though. If you want MQA via an AV Receiver, you may have to look at Meridian hardware like their Ultra DAC.

I integrated my iPad into my ICE and run Tidal via digital source using MQA and my car system is audio nirvana.
 
The problem with lossless audio is the high cost of entry required. You can get a 240hz monitor, but unless you have the GPU to push those frames out, it's basically useless.
 
I'm using Tidal Lossless here and MQA isn't exclusive to Tidal. It's an interesting thing. It's lossy and each file is about half or 2/3rds the size of a regular lossless file, but, and here is the important but, MQA delivers an experience quite different to just pure audio. As simply as I can put it, it plays to your ears a track as the artist intended it to sound. Not how someone produced it in some basement of Sony Columbia.

I've compared say Elton's MQA track Rocket Man with the lossless version and the vocals are more front and centre, certain instruments are highlighted over others. It's quite amazing what Meridian managed to achieve with it. Yes, it is lossy because the codec is not just playing a track back to you as it came, but rather, playing a track back to you as though you were there in the recording room with the artist who created it.

Qobuz Hi-Res is lossless audio, and Qobux Hi-Res is like Tidal Lossless. MQA is a totally different animal and I've found myself listening to more MQA tracks over Hi-Fi. Especially revisiting old tracks, you haven't heard in years as the artist intended it to be heard. There's a magic to it, I don't know how else to describe it. The Tidal smartphone app has MQA inbuilt, but if I stream it to my home theatre, the Chromecast/Android TV app don't support MQA. The desktop app does though. If you want MQA via an AV Receiver, you may have to look at Meridian hardware like their Ultra DAC.

I integrated my iPad into my ICE and run Tidal via digital source using MQA and my car system is audio nirvana.
I used Tidal first in 2016 iirc but not sure. Back then MQA sounded way more pleasing to my ears compared to now. Now since they are more interested in selling their MQA 16x unfolding hardware. I feel on normal systems MQA is lacking punch and dynamics when compared to Qobuz. On dedicated desktop grade hardware with 16x unfolding maybe MQA can surpass it but that's a different rabbit hole all together than portable world where difference is not that huge between stuff like IEMs for example.

As they say there is no replacement for displacement, I totally agree with it.
 
I used Tidal first in 2016 iirc but not sure. Back then MQA sounded way more pleasing to my ears compared to now. Now since they are more interested in selling their MQA 16x unfolding hardware. I feel on normal systems MQA is lacking punch and dynamics when compared to Qobuz. On dedicated desktop grade hardware with 16x unfolding maybe MQA can surpass it but that's a different rabbit hole all together than portable world where difference is not that huge between stuff like IEMs for example.

As they say there is no replacement for displacement, I totally agree with it.
Once you enter the bottomless pit that is audiophile hardware, that's a rabbit hole you can never extricate yourself from.

I wouldn't know about MQA on normal systems, I have a thing for hardware and nothing in the bank account to back that. For me, in all honesty, MQA is quite pleasant to my ears. I never use an equaliser and stay flat all the time. If it doesn't sound good, the hardware is the issue, not the software. I got a thing against equalisers lol!
 
Once you enter the bottomless pit that is audiophile hardware, that's a rabbit hole you can never extricate yourself from.

I wouldn't know about MQA on normal systems, I have a thing for hardware and nothing in the bank account to back that. For me, in all honesty, MQA is quite pleasant to my ears. I never use an equaliser and stay flat all the time. If it doesn't sound good, the hardware is the issue, not the software. I got a thing against equalisers lol!
Imo an audio format like MQA is hardware limited and thus always needs a greater hardware investment against Qobuz which is playing at maximum capability even on a puny little MacBook. But I would like to know more about your Desktop setup, maybe I can learn something.
 
Imo an audio format like MQA is hardware limited and thus always needs a greater hardware investment against Qobuz which is playing at maximum capability even on a puny little MacBook. But I would like to know more about your Desktop setup, maybe I can learn something.
I use MQA most often in my car which runs active components in all four doors, 2 x 4 channel amplifiers for the component and 1 mono amplifier for the subwoofer. Certain Pioneer decks are pretty capable all things considered and the deck is supplied audio from an iPad that's got Tidal installed. The entire system is tuned for SQ and is running flat EQs but sounds brilliant.

At home I'm not running MQA off my home theatre as itself is not MQA capable and casting does not work well with MQA.

On my desktop, I'm a criminal. I got a pair of Bose Companion 5 2.1 speakers running there and while the desktop app does MQA, I'm limited by the speakers. I got them in a hurry once and haven't gotten around to upgrading them.

The main area for me and where I spend most my time is my car so MQA does deliver there. I used to FLAC long time ago but this is far better.

The key strength of MQA is it's mixing.

Imagine you take a lossless scan or photograph of a painting and you tweak the colours a bit, fiddle with brightness and contrast and then send that out to the public at full quality, that's regular lossless.

MQA is more like you standing in the room while the artist is painting and you're bypassing the production chap altogether who adds his colour, style or preferences to it.

I'd rather hear how Elton wanted his songs sounding vs what some record label thought was best. If that makes any sense?
 
an audio format like MQA is hardware limited and thus always needs a greater hardware investment against Qobuz which is playing at maximum capability even on a puny little MacBook.
In tou scenario flac is still limited by the shitty dac on a mac. No matter what you do sound quality is directly proportional to the quality of the hardware. If you care about it or capable of hearing that difference is a different question altogether
 

Rob Watts, the brain behind Chord (arguably the best DACs) needs to be heard before passing shitting judgements on forums.

Software is limiting factor here, Chord DACs does not and will not ever support MQA so getting better hardware is out of question here. First limiting it on Software and then forcing people to buy additional or only particular kind of hardware is not ideal either. They just want to sell more MQA ready hardware, you are more then welcome to buy all of it.
 
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Rob Watts, the brain behind Chord (arguably the best DACs) needs to be heard before passing shitting judgements on forums.

Software is limiting factor here, Chord DACs does not and will not ever support MQA so getting better hardware is out of question here. First limiting it on Software and then forcing people to buy additional or only particular kind of hardware is not ideal either. They just want to sell more MQA ready hardware, you are more then welcome to buy all of it.
A DAC does not need to support MQA for you to listen to MQA tracks. MQA is more software than hardware from my understanding. A home theatre that supports MQA just has the software on it's SOC. Yes, it's proprietary and probably expensive to license so not everyone supports it, but that doesn't mean you can't. The fact I don't have it on my home theatre while casting might have more to do with the Tidal instant application that loads on a Chromecast or the limitations of the processing power on a Chromecast device. Thats just my theory though, I may be wrong.

In my car for example, the actual MQA conversion occurs on my iPad, it's connected via USB to my deck which has a pretty good DAC. If I want to improve my DAC process, I could just connect my deck via optical Toslink to my DSP but I don't have a DSP yet. It's on the cards though.

So once the MQA conversion is done to a digital audio signal, your experience relies entirely on your hardware.

IMHO, most DACs do a decent enough job unless they're specifically total crap and your actual outputs do matter. If you're using an amplifier in your chain, that matters too.
In your case, a MAC DAC is fine, you can use a Chord USB DAC too. Your cans are what matter though. If you want to have a great experience, you should bypass the DAC on the MAC with a digital out to a capable amp that drives at minimum delicious bookshelf speakers. If you're looking at sticking with cans, then consider a good USB DAC and some large fancy ear muffs.
 
Admittedly I'm not much into lossless music, I'm a happy pleb using Spotify with my KZ ED16. But this video on MQA is def something worth checking out -

Since large part of music is 'how it makes us feel', there is huge snakeoil market.
 
Admittedly I'm not much into lossless music, I'm a happy pleb using Spotify with my KZ ED16. But this video on MQA is def something worth checking out -

Since large part of music is 'how it makes us feel', there is huge snakeoil market.
If only folks search the forum
A DAC does not need to support MQA for you to listen to MQA tracks.
Unfortunately it is difficult to make folks understand this
 
Admittedly I'm not much into lossless music, I'm a happy pleb using Spotify with my KZ ED16. But this video on MQA is def something worth checking out -

Since large part of music is 'how it makes us feel', there is huge snakeoil market.
Yeah I've seen that. There's been a lot held against MQA and as I've said, it is lossy. However, for some music I've heard, it sounds better than the lossless versions of the same ones on different output gear. Honestly, it's kind of how valve amps add a warmth to audio that's more pleasing than the cold hard truth of 24 bit FLACs output from a digital amp. If that makes any sense. Music and what sounds good is entirely subjective. If there ever was anything definitive, there wouldn't be as many high end audio brands out there at all.
I know a lot of folks love Klipsch for example, I don't. The sound doesn't work for me. I also get car sick in a Ford due to certain frequency vibrations that come from their chassis.
Honestly, if it sounds good to you and music makes you happy, that's all you really need. I only upgrade when I can actually hear the improvement. Not because something is better or more expensive. I'm 41 and my hearing isn't what it used to be, at some point there's diminishing returns or just my imagination playing tricks on me.
 

Imo an audio format like MQA is hardware limited
You first said it is hardware limited !!! and now that you have actually done some research before spouting more shit you have finally changed your statement to software limited and you are calling other's judgment shitty? Talk about glass houses

Even a basic NUC can unfold the MQA signal you just need a compatible DAC, so yes investment is required on specific supported hardware only. apple users shouldn't have any issues with this as they are used to overpay heavily in hardware AND software that is 'supported' by apple
If only folks search the forum
Imagine doing that instead of saying fruit fruit in every sentence without knowing anything else!!! Why would you want to actually research instead of saying a fruit's name over and over and over (<<sarcasm)
A DAC does not need to support MQA for you to listen to MQA tracks.
Such a simple thing often so difficult for many folks to understand.
 
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Quote me as much as you want but first learn to understand English, I said they limited it through Software (whole unfolding business) and therefore we now need to buy it's supporting hardware. First unfold is 2x only and it sounds shit. Instead of focusing on words just learn to comprehend the meaning behind it. I am using Tidal, Qobuz, Apple Music and YT Music and thoroughly AB'ed all of them.

Better keep your Apple hate away from this thread.
 
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