![]() ![]() If you’ve got the time (and the patience), SoundOnSound has an incredibly in-depth look at MQA, including all of the details of time-smearing. Because the MQA encoding process includes additional filters designed to correct smearing, Stuart claims this process, which he calls “de-blurring” makes MQA - even without its other claimed benefits - a better-than-CD-quality format. Whether you agree with this theory or not, Stuart says time-domain smearing can affect any digital audio - including CD audio - not just streaming digital music. We’re talking extremely tiny fractions of a second, but the working theory is that our brains can detect it and we prefer how music sounds when this smearing isn’t present (or is at least greatly reduced). Performing the conversion back to analog can, in some cases, make this smearing worse. The result is an audio signal that is less accurate to the original source material. It’s a slight reduction of the speed at which some frequencies are processed. In the process of digitizing analog audio, filters are applied which can cause something known as time-domain smearing. Some critics have also suggested that it’s surprisingly easy to alter the contents of an MQA file without disrupting its digital signature. MQA critics argue that while this authentication angle is a legitimate benefit, too often MQA files are not created by the artist or even an engineer, which undermines the value of authentication. Second, the MQA file you receive is the exact same file that the artist signed, and if you have compatible software or hardware you can even see a color-coded version of the digital signature (we’ll discuss these color codes later). If they don’t like what they hear, they can try again. First, when the artist creates an MQA file, they can preview what it will sound like on a variety of different playback devices. Artists and their producers rarely get a chance to hear these versions before they’re made available to the public, which creates the possibility that the songs no longer sound the way they did in the studio.īecause MQA files are digitally signed when they’re created in the studio, it means two things. ![]() Using the studio masters, a variety of versions get created, often by third parties. Stuart claims that most of the digital music we stream or download is not the direct product of the artists themselves. After all, if you can hear the song you wanted, does it really matter if it’s been authenticated? Your first reaction to the notion of authenticated audio files might be to roll your eyes. What makes an audio file ‘authentic’? LightFieldStudios/Getty Images Stuart says it’s a necessary step in order to address the processing differences between various digital-to-analog converters (DACs). MQA only allows MQA-approved and licensed devices to fully decode MQA tracks.We’ll discuss why this might matter to you later. When the file is received and processed by compatible audio gear, this fingerprint acts as a kind of authentication, letting listeners know that they’re hearing the same version that the artist or engineer created in the studio. ![]() An MQA file (or stream) possesses a type of digital fingerprint.The files are about the same size as a lossless, CD-quality FLAC file, and yet Stuart claims that through a process called music origami, it can deliver sound quality that is comparable to a much larger, hi-res lossless FLAC file - if the source itself is hi-res.During the creation of an MQA file, filtering and processing are applied to correct a problem that can happen to any digital audio, known as time-domain smearing.The MQA audio format has several elements that make its creators believe it’s unique: But for now, we’ll stay focused on MQA, the audio technology. We’ll discuss Stuart’s company later in this article. audio firm Meridian Audio and invented MLP, the lossless audio technology at the heart of DVD and Blu-ray audio. ![]() MQA (the company) was founded by Bob Stuart, the same person who founded the U.K. It’s also, somewhat confusingly, the name of the company that develops and licenses those technologies. MQA stands for Master Quality Authenticated and is the name of an audio format and a collection of licensed technologies for working with that format. ![]()
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