Stereophile - April 2018 USA

190 Pages·2017·7.77 MB·English

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THERE ARE AS MANY OPINIONS
AS THERE ARE EXPERTS
AS WE
BY JON IVERSON
SEE IT
THIS ISSUE: Whythetwoaspects
ofMQAencodingcannotbe
independentlyexamined...
MQA: Benefits and Costs
E
nough has been said by now about the techni- transparent on paper, even at the high resolutions where
cal details of how Master Quality Authenticated audiophiles dwell.
(MQA) works to fill several books. But the techni- There’s one problem: We have no way of separating
cal details are only part of the story, and probably MQA’s deblurring sweetener from its compression medi-
not the most interesting part—and they’re certainly not what cine, and thus no way to critically listen to and test each pro-
provokes the extreme emotional responses of many to the cess in isolation from the other. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if
format. So let’s jump into the business and practical aspects we could hear and test each process under ideal conditions
of MQA to which so many audiophiles are reacting. to assess what, if any, effect each has on the signal, and thus
From the point of view of MQA Ltd., what might success verify or refute the claims made for MQA?
look like? Of course, that would open up a nightmare scenario for
“Success” would be achieved when MQA is used to mas- MQA Ltd.: audiophiles deciding that the deblurring is good
ter most, if not all, new releases and back catalog of recorded and the compression is bad. We would then demand that
music for streaming, downloading, or other uses. The higher the compression scheme be scrapped, and that deblurring be
the percentage of recordings mastered and released MQA offered as a feature attached to noncompressed files.
encoded, the better. Nor must MQA be restricted to record- Gone, then, would be the benefits to record labels and
ings of music—all sound recordings, including podcasts and, streaming companies, and it would actually require even a
eventually, audio accompanying all forms of video, would be new inventory SKU: MQA Deblurred, or something like
likely targets. Low-resolution and multichannel versions of that. MQA’s crippleware aspect—partial resolution with
MQA are probably already waiting in the wings. non–MQA-licensed playback, full resolution with MQA-
More recordings released in MQA means more money licensed playback—would also go out the window.
in licensing fees for MQA Ltd. And somewhere is the So MQA will bind compression to deblurring tighter than
tipping point, when enough recordings have been released white on rice, and make it tough to objectively or subjec-
only in MQA and it becomes the de facto standard. Then, tively evaluate the compression scheme. This makes the job
as other formats such as FLAC and WAV slip away, MQA’s of the rational reviewer impossible: If, in comparing MQA
hegemony snowballs. When Spotify and Apple Music come to non-MQA files made from the same master, we hear any
aboard, game over. differences, we won’t know what has caused them. We will
How can MQA accomplish this? be forced to assume that any differences we hear are the
To entice music stakeholders, MQA offers the record results of the synergy between deblurring and compression.
industry significant benefits. First, its clever lossy compres- In my book, that’s not good enough.
sion scheme reduces bandwidth overhead, which translates There are two issues here, and with their PR campaign
to lower costs to store and distribute files. Second, MQA MQA Ltd. has done a great job of focusing our attention on
combines multiple resolution payloads into a single package, one—sound quality—and not the other: the hazards of a for-
thus reducing the need for multiple inventories—master mat monopoly. If MQA succeeds, I predict that it will lock
once and off you go. And to seal the deal, a third and final in for a decade or two, or even longer. That will mean that
benefit: Since the MQA file is a lossily compressed version all high-resolution files from the major labels during those
of the actual master recording (albeit a very clever one em- decades will be formatted in MQA. No alternatives.
ploying crippleware1), and not an exact reproduction of the Some smaller distributors will undoubtedly continue
master recording stored in the record label’s vaults, no more to offer old-fashioned uncompressed masters for sale in a
releasing the family jewels straight to the public. variety of formats, perhaps even via a boutique non-MQA
Once securely in place in the industry, MQA would be streaming service. But with the major labels committed to
very difficult to dislodge, and its very dominance would MQA, such efforts will remain at the margins.
deter the development of newer, possibly better formats— Which brings us back to sound quality. A possible format
or even discourage the retaining of such current alternatives monopoly is all the more reason we should be absolutely
as WAV, FLAC, etc., as viable choices in the marketplace. sure that MQA is a format whose sound quality we can
What does all of this look like from the consumer’s point accept for the long term. But without the ability to even
of view? In a nutshell, allegedly better-sounding music in evaluate the format’s compression scheme separate from its
a reasonably small stream or file. But here the benefit gets deblurring component, I don’t believe that, over the long
tricky, depending on what type of consumer you are. MQA term, MQA is in the best interests of audiophiles. I just hope
realizes this, and has added a spoonful of sugar to help the it’s not too late. Q
compression medicine go down. Jon Iverson launched Stereophile’s website in December 1997 and
If you’re an audiophile who dislikes anything that smells has been responsible for its content and growth ever since.
of compression, MQA has added a “deblurring” feature.
At the same time, they’ve sincerely done what I consider
1 See www.stereophile.com/content/more-mqa and www.stereophile.com/
a good job of creating a compression scheme that looks content/mqa-tested-part-2-fold.
stereophile.com Q April2018 3

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3 Toneff&SteveDobrogosz’sFairytales: Original Master
AsWeSeeIt
JonIversonwonderswhythetwoaspectsofMQAencoding, Edition (MQA).InClassicalthismonthwehaveareviewof
audioorigamiandtemporaldeblurring,cannotbeindepen- thelatestrecordingbyAmericanviolinistRachelBarton
dentlyexamined. Pine.InRock/Pop,thedeluxereissueofFleetwoodMac’s
epochal1975album,Fleetwood Mac,getsacriticallisten.
11
Rn1ee5ga adteLIinrvesedtltcuyeosromtsrnymoUeunprtdMaptQoesAiticvoevlyeraangde. AVYTISO WPITUH WTRIGLH WESEE.OT.C SF OATOOEMPRNRBUEOOMX-S! 1RAtro7unbmd9yipan tetJMtaeAzrauznBd,uinilofleaW,wcKtauurrezrficmeeorlasrdd,’BaCinreogelmsCrembavyneietnpowtia,seYndpis.stilSotne,faCnoonsBtoellllaantiioann,d
High-endaudionews,including
andHarbethrespondtoourreviewsoftheirproducts.
theshowsanddealer-sponsored
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eventstakingplaceinMarchandApril2018,plusamusic- AuralRobert
relatedbookreview,blindteststhatindicatelistenerscan Sayitain’tso!Thecassettetapeismakingacomeback?
heartheemotionalbenefitofhi-rezrecordings,andnews RobertBairdmusesontheunlikelynostalgiaforthoselittle
onthevinylresurgence. plasticcartridges.
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