There are several loss-less compressors used to store software and data also. The ones designed for music typically are designed for less computational load on de-compression for speed and can be less efficient in amount of compression.
Using FLAC with MP3 would be sort of redundant and pointless.
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That's a strange interpretation of "lossless" when talking about compressed formats! Why not change the definition of THD for a pre-amp to include the sound of a blown driver from playing that THD at high volume? haha.
MQA would be a ridiculous format, but its performance is fine. Can anyone really tell the difference between uncompressed 96/24 and MQA 96/24?
Fluctuations of a PS that have audible consequences on the SQ are indeed a thing but they have nothing to do with FLAC being lossless or not. It's an imperfection of the reproduction hardware, not the codec. The codec is definitely lossless.
Yes, and there was a commit 2 days ago in the main git repo. Does not seem dead to me as it was suggested.
I also think the claim is pure nonsense for any halfway decent device. My phone can decode it for something like 18 hours before the battery dies (with the screen off). Huge demanding load for sure causing massive supply modulation. Maybe if the device had no voltage regulators...
Hmm.. I think you are practicing and advocating pseudo scientific-analysis. i.e. pretending that you've analysed the science, and shown that it's wrong. Has anyone actually shown it to be pseudo-science?
Sure, people disagree with the science - surely it's engineering?? - but that is par for the course for all science (and engineering). Many of the greatest scientific theories that still hold today were originally disputed and "shown" to be wrong over and over again for many years.. then later shown to be correct.
That is part of *genuine* science (or engineering).
Not everything can be shown in black or white terms whether it's true or not. I mean.. an extrapolation of the belief that everything can be so black and white is in itself anti-science (and incidentally encouragment of that thinking is used as a means to convince people of things e.g. populism, conspiracy theory etc etc).
One could be a bit more calm and measured and simply say that you don't *believe* the science and that you can't hear the claimed subjective benefits.
Yes, it specifically depends on the success of Tidal, because no legitimate streaming service like Apple, Google, or Spotify will ever offer it.
It will probably end up in the dustbin within 10 years.
If lucky it will occupy a tiny niche like SACD, the worlds most cleverly masked attempt at DRM.
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Hmm.. I think you are practicing and advocating pseudo scientific-analysis. i.e. pretending that you've analysed the science, and shown that it's wrong. Has anyone actually shown it to be pseudo-science?
Sure, people disagree with the science - surely it's engineering?? - but that is par for the course for all science (and engineering). Many of the greatest scientific theories that still hold today were originally disputed and "shown" to be wrong over and over again for many years.. then later shown to be correct.
That is part of *genuine* science (or engineering).
Not everything can be shown in black or white terms whether it's true or not. I mean.. an extrapolation of the belief that everything can be so black and white is in itself anti-science (and incidentally encouragment of that thinking is used as a means to convince people of things e.g. populism, conspiracy theory etc etc).
One could be a bit more calm and measured and simply say that you don't *believe* the science and that you can't hear the claimed subjective benefits.
I’m not going down this road. I don’t need to prove to you it’s pure crap, it’s been done by others already. It’s a lossy codec that allows for aliasing, that’s factual and makes it bad. They are the ones making unsubstantiated claims about the sound. You should look again at Nyquist-Shannon and see if anything they are offering is helpful.
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Like CD?
I like to think CD still lives on as long as you can purchase uncompressed or losslessly compressed PCM versions of albums, even though there is no disc.
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I like to think CD still lives on as long as you can purchase uncompressed PCM versions of albums, even though there is no disc.
I wonder why uncompressed is so important. "Uncompressed" is a magic word, but in reality, MQA clearly sound better than uncompressed CD quality audio to my ears. It's all psychological, maybe.
It’s not important. I find high bitrate MP4/AAC to be transparent with normal music. I just like to own the “original”.
There are a lot of great looking JPEG compressed photos, but I’d like the bitmap if I’m paying for a picture.
It also goes against the spirit of achieving perfection.
I’d ask, why is it suddenly okay to have lossy compression? I seem to remember that MP3 would get you run out of town on most “high-end” audio forums. I guess when it’s supported by Meridian and coated in enough snake oil it goes down easier.
I am sure it sounds wonderful. Doubt it’s better than the original in a fair comparison.
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I see. I don't think Meridian have released original 96/24 and MQA file for comparison, and that is what Bruno Putzeys was complaining about, and makes people feel anxious about MQA. If there is no audible difference for me, I don't care (politics and business aside).
Bruno Putzeys - This isn't a prelude to suddenly becoming... | Facebook
* Oh hang on, actually I started by asking if besides speculations about neuroscience and physics they had actual controlled listening trials to back their story up. Bob Stuart replied that all listening tests so far were working experiences with engineers in their studios but that no scientific listening tests have been done so far. That doesn't surprise any of us cynics but it is an astonishing admission from the man himself. Mhm, I can just see the headlines. "No Scientific Tests Were Done, Says MQA Founder".
If they could prove audible superiority, it would be a huge boon to their business. They might get a mainstream service on board. It is in their best interest to do that and they are making no attempt. I think that is very telling.
I am all for the best technical solution. This looks like a money grab, not an actual improvement.
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