I'm not sure where to post this MQA related article

[gdb]

https://insolvencyintel.co.uk/mqa-l...qDjxkx-MgW9jkuDNRHYa0zeQ17wLjf22yOKuXwoHmv74U


MQA LIMITED

Appointment of Administrators
In the The High Court of Justice
Court Number: CR-2023-001732
MQA LIMITED
(Company Number 09123512)
Nature of Business: Sound recording and music publishing activities
Registered office: 2nd Floor, 110 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6EU
Principal trading address: 11 Latham Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 6YE
Date of Appointment: 3 April 2023
Names and Address of Administrators: Philip David Reynolds (IP No. 21190) and David Hudson (IP No. 8977) both of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, 2nd Floor, 110 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6EU
Further details contact: The Joint Administrators, Tel: 020 3005 4000. Alternative contact: Maya Hettiaratchi, Email: Maya.Hettiaratchi@frpadvisory.com
View the original Gazette notice

 

[TNT]

The people of earth had said their meaning.

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[kevinkr]

More here (the link provided does not seem to work in the U.S.):

https://www.ecoustics.com/news/mqa-bankruptcy/

I have Tidal HiFi which has a significant number of MQA encoded recordings and a Topping D90SE which fully decodes MQA. Despite being based on a lossy codec I have never had a problem with the sound quality.

 

[gdb]

@kevinkr I accessed the link from Japan, sent to me by a German colleague.
I know I did have to hit reload several times as it seems to have gained sudden traction.

I can't wait for the final nail to hit the proverbial coffin for MQA. The worst part is nobody could properly explain how their product worked!

 

[planet10]

MQA has always reminded me of the company that invented DMLs, now they have met the same fait. But SW copyright lasts much longer than patents so it will likely die.

It was a/is a scheme to get around the data needed to do full rez transmission over streaming services. And disk space is not really an issue.

dave

 

[kevinkr]

The story is really complicated but MQA will probably continue to exist, and my understanding is the intent is spin off different bits and pieces. I suppose it might end up in the public domain.

I would never purchase MQA files if I can avoid it, but for streaming it seems to work OK, whether it actually sounds equal to or better than 48K/24 bit is hard to say.

I only have one DAC that supports it, and my system signal chain is 96k 24bit so any higher res than that is pointless for my system.

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other as long as it's not the only distribution standard. (And it has not gained the traction required for it to be, and likely never will.)

I am still coming to grips with going fully digital for speaker management about 7 months ago after having lived with a Dirac processor for 4 years. 😀 (I still have analog sources, but they have to be digitized for playback.) Five years ago I would have vehemently denied the possibility of such apostasy in my system.. 😈

Some people "purists" have stopped listening to me about anything related to audio.. I might have the last laugh.

 

[UniQ]

Reading MQA's statement it appears as if they are trying to find a way to stay around in some way, quote:

"Following the recent positive reception to MQA's latest technology (SCL6), there has been increased international interest in buying MQA Ltd. At the same time, MQA's main financial backer is seeking an exit. In order to be in the best position to pursue market opportunities and expedite this process, the company has undergone a restructuring initiative, which includes entering into administration and is comparable to Chapter 11 in the US.

During this process, MQA continues to trade as usual alongside its partners. We won't be commenting further while negotiations take place."

Audio blogger Archimagio have in the past covered MQA to a great deal breaking down technical aspects of it, here's latest verdict regarding the 'bankruptcy', scroll down 4/5 down.
https://archimago.blogspot.com/2023/04/as-we-hear-it-innomaker-hifi-dac-pro.html

 

[TNT]

That MQA dont give problem with SQ is perhaps not so strange. The actual levels that the "coding" kicks in is very low - so low that it is questionable if it really is detectable. Yet it cant pass certain basic test signals - uhh... The major differences comes probably from new masterings for the releases, not the tech itself. Thats why is it so devilish - you pay for new masteries - nothing else. And it fails to deliver on the transport savings. Its just a business idea packaged in a nice box. I will not miss it and I hope it goes away.

I was very glad when Tidal tiered their subscriptions to make the flac version cost 1/2 the price of the M Q A version.

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[MarcelvdG]

The whole idea behind MQA is either genius or crazy. In either case, it isn't designed for signals with excessive ultrasonic content, but neither is FM radio (pre-emphasis/de-emphasis) and neither are multiway loudspeakers (tweeter power handling << woofer power handling).