Are we heading for a time when all CDs will be MQA coded - no redbook available?

[Ron Texas]

What's the fuss about? CD's are being replaced by streaming and digital downloads.

 

[escape2]

If it plays in any old CD player, it cannot be a lossy data format, because CD players cannot decode that. So you have the normal Redbook stuff + added on MQA information that can be read by specialized players.

At least that's the only way I could see this work.

You could take a 128 kbps MP3 and convert it to 1411 kbps WAV and burn it onto a CD. Any old CD player will be able to play it, but it does not mean that it's lossless.

 

[Mnyb]

What's the fuss about? CD's are being replaced by streaming and digital downloads.

But is the download even CD res or is it MQA ? I liked the music going for the Bandcamp download, but what is it ?
Can we even buy good old CD res anymore? For some artists?

 

[mSpot]

Physical redbook CDs encoded in MQA are rare. I've only heard about them being released in Japan.

What's the fuss about? CD's are being replaced by streaming and digital downloads.

For online streaming, some labels (notably Warner) are replacing 16/44.1 files on Tidal with MQA versions. The original 16/44.1 non-MQA version is no longer available for streaming.

 

[escape2]

But is the download even CD res or is it MQA ? I liked the music going for the Bandcamp download, but what is it ?

Good question. When you download this Dominique Fils-Aime album from bandcamp in FLAC format, what do you get: 16-bits of redbook audio, or 13 bits of audio + 3 bits of MQA junk?

 

[sergeauckland]

It's even more reason to buy up used CDs whilst still available, and a plague on all their streaming houses. There's precious little of current releases of any interest.

S

 

[bigguyca]

“Yes” but the bottom bits are mangled and contains the MQA information so mansr is rigth .

The top 13 bits are normal and the rest will plays as low level noise on a normal CD player , similar to HDCD when you don’t have a HDCD capable machine.

In CD's is MQA like dither on steroids? Funny, but the original AES presentation on MQA didn't mention this revenue stream.

 

[Ron Texas]

If 3 bits are lost and turn to noise on a redbook/MQA recording, what happens with 24-bit recordings?

 

[BinkieHuckerback]

CDs...vinyl...wax cylinders...

 

[mansr]

If 3 bits are lost and turn to noise on a redbook/MQA recording, what happens with 24-bit recordings?

At least 9 bits are lost, depending on encoder settings and how you count the bits.

 

[mansr]

The music was good thankyou , try the flac download? But how to tell if it’s MQA free :/

Use my checker: https://code.videolan.org/mansr/mqa/

 

[fun]

Around the time when home movies goes from VHS to DVD to BluRay to 4K BluRay (together with audio that is higher resolution and more channels), home audios goes from cassette tapes to 16-bit CDs to multi-channel SACD/DVD-Audio to highly compressed MP3 and now 13-bit CDs

 

[Long Audio Beard]

Maybe it's like hybrid SACDs? Otherwise, monumental scam.

scammy, would need any old CD player that can output digital as transport to MQA decoding gear like:

SMSL MQA Full Decoding ES9038PRO DAC

or without an MQA decoder, it will just play like a CD, Lol!

with most modern music having compressed dynamic range, MQA or not, seems like a lot of marketing

 

[levimax]

CDs...vinyl...wax cylinders...

Streaming is all the rage right now and most likely will be the way for many people to listen to music but it's future with schemes like MQA, Jack Dorsey purchasing of Tidal, and the fact that all streaming companies are losing money means that as time goes on it is going to become much less of a bargain than it is right now. I agree with @sergeauckland, buy used CD's now at bargain prices before it's too late. Rather than streaming I think NFT could be the future for "serious" music lovers https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/kings-of-leon-when-you-see-yourself-album-nft-crypto-1135192/

 

[GDK]

We won’t be able to buy new CDs at all soon enough. A friend of mine owns a CD store and he says that many new releases are digital only and they are deleting back catalog titles by the thousands.

 

[Burning Sounds]

What's the fuss about? CD's are being replaced by streaming and digital downloads.

I still prefer to buy the CD if I can. I was just very surprised to find that a Redbook CD version doesn't exist. I'll rip it tomorrow and see what I get.

 

[BinkieHuckerback]

What's after streaming?
Does MQA matter in terms of CDs?

 

[Zensō]

My take is that streaming is here to stay and will end up being dominated by the big three tech companies, Apple, Google, and Amazon. I think a good analogy is to look at what happened in mapping/cartography, where the big three sucked all of the oxygen (and profits) out of the industry due to treating maps as a value-added service to support their primary businesses. The same may happen to music, where it's primarily distributed as part of a larger "package" to encourage ecosystem lock-in. Take a look at what Apple just started doing with their "Apple One" bundled subscription service that includes Apple Music...

 

[BinkieHuckerback]

What, though, could supersede streaming? 'CD and MQA', on the face of it, appear irrelevant...

 

[levimax]

What, though, could supersede streaming? 'CD and MQA', on the face of it, appear irrelevant...

NFT maybe? https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/kings-of-leon-when-you-see-yourself-album-nft-crypto-1135192/