Phantom Gold MQA

[davidadamson]

Understood,


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[Scubadon]

So, I have been using Tidal Masters from an IMac using optical. Sounds much better than Tidal with dialog 16/44. Today I ordered the Bluesound node 2. I will do an A/B/C and report. I am using Golds.

[davidadamson]

Look forward to your impressions


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[Scubadon]

I installed the Bluesound node 2 yesterday. There are a couple of things that are easily adaptable but need to be mentioned. 1) Once you are using spark, you need to unplug the replug the Bluesound for optical to work. If you go back into spark, then repeat. Otherwise you get no sound. Also, you will have the same problem if you are using a second optical, this is an easy fix since the node 2 has an optical input. It is an easy switch between Tidal. Optical in, radio, HDD, etc in the app on the ipad. You will need to use the IEEE cable provided, or your own, if you want to stream mqa without any dropouts. It is also much easier if you unplug and need to connect again.

The bluesound app on the ipad is much better than spark. I would just use spark for updates. It is actually a little better than the tidal app, once you get used to it.

Now for the important part, the sound:

The node 2 streaming tidal at "cd" quality sounds slightly better than spark or at least as good. Great, no need for spark except for upgrades!!!

On MQA, it is much better than spark, just as the Imac with optical out was. Same sound quality. Some music is a little better, some is a lot better. 24/96 vs 16/44 is significant on well recorded material!

With the Phantoms we are limited to 24/96 because of the DAC installed. We cannot get full MQA for that reason. 24/96 on a set of golds using bluesound noed 2 is still better sounding than anything I have listened to on the lower side of 50K!!!

[davidadamson]

The phantoms actually can handle 24/192


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[Scubadon]

The phantoms  actually can handle 24/192


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No wonder they sound so great!  Thanks for the correction.

[jonstatt]

The phantoms  actually can handle 24/192


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No wonder they sound so great!  Thanks for the correction.

However mqa output from the optical of the bluesound node 2 is only 96 max due to mqa licensing limitations

[jonstatt]

I installed the Bluesound node 2 yesterday. There are a couple of things that are easily adaptable but need to be mentioned. 1) Once you are using spark, you need to unplug the replug the Bluesound for optical to work. If you go back into spark, then repeat. Otherwise you get no sound. Also, you will have the same problem if you are using a second optical, this is an easy fix since the node 2 has an optical input. It is an easy switch between Tidal. Optical in, radio, HDD, etc in the app on the ipad. You will need to use the IEEE cable provided, or your own, if you want to stream mqa without any dropouts. It is also much easier if you unplug and need to connect again.

I do not need to unplug and replug the Bluesound Node 2 to make optical work at all. I guess you are expecting the auto detection of the Phantom to switch over to optical on its own. It won't do this because the Node 2 outputs at all times. It also means the Phantom will not go into power saving mode at all. The only thing you need to do is to switch to another source in Spark to get it to go into low power, and to select Optical in Spark manually when needed. No rebooting or disconnecting of anything required.

[Ovi]

Hello everyone, nice to meet you all.

I am little confused. I am a new and blissful owner of a Phantom Gold connected with an optical cable to a Macbook Pro playing from Tidal. No dialog. I am very new to the audiophile experience ( my only other experience is with a pair of shure 846) and I have trouble trusting my ears sometimes when it comes to perceived difference. I will take you through my basic observations so far.

I have noticed that playing through wi-fi does indeed make me want to tap my feet more than when playing through Bluetooth.

I have also noticed that when playing from airplay (wi-fi) on certain songs like Deadmau5's "Strobe" there's an annoying crackling sound. After a couple of tests and a brief panic attack thinking that I may have accidentally damaged the phantom by transporting to work and home, I came across a helpful thread in this forum.

I have cancelled my spotify subscription and signed up to Tidal which was also an improvement on certain songs.

So I started connecting it with an optical cable. I hate cables and it's one of the reasons I bought this golden egg in the first place but it is what it is I'll wait patiently for Spark 2.0 like everyone else.

I have been using it connected optically to a Apple TV and sometimes to a Apple Airport Express and when I can directly to the macbook pro. With Tidal.

My first question to you people:

Is there any difference between the airport express and apple tv in terms of streaming quality?

Part B of this question:

I use an LG projector connected through HDMI with the apple tv. Should I connect the optical cable to the apple Tv or it doesn't make any difference if I connect it directly to the projector since the HDMI provides a digital connection as well?

Thank you for your patience, I'm getting to the question actually relevant to this thread.

More recently I have started browsing the MQA content on Tidal and what I'm confused about is how to get the best out of it with my resources. I heard that airplay is limited to 16/44. I have given you all this context because I tried connecting the phantom directly to the macbook by optical cable and I have set the Tidal setting to MQA pass through. Is this the best way to connect it? Can the Phantom unfold the MQA content internally?

I'm saving up for a second Golden egg and a Dialog to link them as a stereo system. Can Tidal through spark transmit MQA quality files? Either on the computer or on a phone.

Thank you much for your advice, sorry for the long post.

[stevec]

Technically airport express is better as it plays all at 16/44. Apple TV resamples to 16/48. Whether you can hear the difference is up to you.

Phantoms/Spark do not unfold MQA. At this stage without an MQA DAC "only" the Tidal desktop PC/MAC app will do the first unfold to 24/88.2 or 24/96. Set the Tidal software to do the unfold. Passthrough is for MQA DACs only. I can confirm this as I have an iMac hooked up to a standard non MQA DAC and it shows the streaming resolution for the Masters tracks.

So yes in short the macbook via optical to the Phantom is your best solution for MQA at the moment. Or forget about it and just relax and enjoy the music.