29-Dec-2015, 13:43
MQA decoding is done in software, so Phantom should be able to support it with a firmware upgrade.
Then again, MQA is kind of pointless if you are able to select the streaming format: one of the primary features of MQA is that non-MQA equipment will be able to play it back almost losslessly (f.e. 12-15bit dynamic range instead of 16bit for 44/16 stream). Another feature is being able to receive only the lossy parts without the "touch-up" signal part, and getting a lossy version of full-range signal (96/24 f.e.) using lower bandwidth.
If you don't need this backwards compatibility feature, have enough bandwidth not to care about whether to add the "touch-up" stream or not, and same music source is available in FLAC/ALAC, there is really no point in using MQA. Simply stated: MQA is not "better" than standard lossless formats, unless your equipment cannot decode modern lossless formats, or you are interested in saving bandwidth and getting lossy quality, albeit from high-quality 96/24 source material.
Then again, MQA is kind of pointless if you are able to select the streaming format: one of the primary features of MQA is that non-MQA equipment will be able to play it back almost losslessly (f.e. 12-15bit dynamic range instead of 16bit for 44/16 stream). Another feature is being able to receive only the lossy parts without the "touch-up" signal part, and getting a lossy version of full-range signal (96/24 f.e.) using lower bandwidth.
If you don't need this backwards compatibility feature, have enough bandwidth not to care about whether to add the "touch-up" stream or not, and same music source is available in FLAC/ALAC, there is really no point in using MQA. Simply stated: MQA is not "better" than standard lossless formats, unless your equipment cannot decode modern lossless formats, or you are interested in saving bandwidth and getting lossy quality, albeit from high-quality 96/24 source material.
