- May 1, 2010
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Saw this as the description of the Tidal update that I got last night. This change is apparently for the V30 only.
So, I opened my Tidal app, played a song that I know is Masters (MQA) and it still showed streaming in only 'HiFi.'
I opened the settings (top right corner when you select 'My Collection' at the bottom right) then selected 'Streaming' and under WiFi switched that selection from 'HiFi' to 'Master.'
Played the song again, and it still showed as playing in only 'HiFi' mode.
Closed the Tidal app and re-opened it. Played that same song again and YES! the big blue 'Master' symbol shows up near the bottom of the screen!!
There are 2 steps in decoding an MQA encoded song. First is "Unfolding," which can be done in the player software or in an MQA capable DAC, and the second step is "Rendering" which can only be done in an MQA capable DAC. Some MQA capable DACs will do both steps, and some MQA capable DACs will only do the Rendering step. You have to find out from the specs of the DAC if it does both steps or only the Rendering.
My understanding is that the desktop (PC or MAC) Tidal app does the Unfolding step within its own software. But, I don't have any info as to whether or not the new V30 version of the Tidal app does the unfolding inside itself. Will try to find out.
So, I opened my Tidal app, played a song that I know is Masters (MQA) and it still showed streaming in only 'HiFi.'
I opened the settings (top right corner when you select 'My Collection' at the bottom right) then selected 'Streaming' and under WiFi switched that selection from 'HiFi' to 'Master.'
Played the song again, and it still showed as playing in only 'HiFi' mode.
Closed the Tidal app and re-opened it. Played that same song again and YES! the big blue 'Master' symbol shows up near the bottom of the screen!!
There are 2 steps in decoding an MQA encoded song. First is "Unfolding," which can be done in the player software or in an MQA capable DAC, and the second step is "Rendering" which can only be done in an MQA capable DAC. Some MQA capable DACs will do both steps, and some MQA capable DACs will only do the Rendering step. You have to find out from the specs of the DAC if it does both steps or only the Rendering.
My understanding is that the desktop (PC or MAC) Tidal app does the Unfolding step within its own software. But, I don't have any info as to whether or not the new V30 version of the Tidal app does the unfolding inside itself. Will try to find out.
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