I do not use Audirvana, so cannot comment on the questions there, but I have noticed a few misconceptions in the posts here regarding MQA, which relate directly to MQA use with Devialet.
Firstly, to get the "benefit" from MQA, it is the first "unfold" that is important. As has been mentioned in this thread, this can be done in software, such as Audirvana, Roon, the Tidal app etc.
The first unfold matters, as this extracts additional audio data versus uncorded MQA.
The second "unfold" does not extract any additional data. The second unfold is nothing more than upsampling in the DAC, and the addition of an MQA filter. This point is interesting. After all, if you run a Devialet, it will upsample all digital inputs to 24/192 anyway, so you could argue that Devialet products implement a "second unfold" irrespective of what file formats you are playing. Also, there was lots of marketing stuff about the MQA second unfold improving time domain performance and "deblurring" the audio signal. These MQA filters have been analysed and reverse engineered, it turns out that they are simply fairly conventional minimum phase filters. Such filters may help timing a little, but they also suffer from aliasing and other issues. This is little different to running Roon or HQPlayer and selecting different filters per taste or what suits your system. Indeed, we discussed MQA with Devialet at the Oxford Audio event last year, the view from Matieau Pernot seemed to be that the imposed MQA filters would not play well with Devialet ADH. Frankly, the second unfold is a bit of a con, if you have an MQA DAC, you could feed it the unfolded 24/96 signal, your DAC upsaples to 24/192, DXD or whatever, and proudly displays a blue light and DXD in the display, but you still only really have 24/96, in fact you have lossy 24/96, rather than full lossless 24/96 that you would get with hi res FLAC. Very naughty.
So, if you want to play MQA with a Devialet, use software decoding for the "first unfold", do not worry about the second unfold, you Devialet is upsampling, and you do not want the MQA filter with ADH anyway.
As another tip, if you wanted to take MQA to the max with a Devialet, you could use Roon to perform the first unfold. Then run Roon with HQPlayer. HQPlayer could be used to upsample, and HQPlayer also has some filters that are optimised for use with MQA. This is arguably the ultimate way to run MQA with a Devialet, but you will need another box, an NAA endpoint or similar, because a Devialet is not HQPlayer completable. Something like a NUC, microRendu or similar could be used.
If that all sounds a little too complicated, you could just run 24/96 FLAC, which is lossless and does not suffer from MQA's confusion and complexity, stop worrying about MQA and enjoy a tune or two.
I do have a little sympathy with those who want to use MQA, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that some of the Tidal MQA content sounds better than other releases, but this appears to be because different masters are used, rather than because of MQA itself. That said, some have reported that some MQA versions sound worse, so it is a bit of a lottery and perhaps a case of personal preference.
As for the third unfold, it does not exist. Or maybe it does? If it does exist, it is just something in the upsampling and MQA filter I described above and some MQA marketing speak, there is no actual unfold that retrieves audio data or does anything else for that matter. It is a similar concept the Lock Ness monster or Bigfoot, great for scary late night stories and getting the tourists in and parting with cash, but it does not really exist. I suspect the third unfold actually takes place in an Audiophiles wallet, as the bank notes are removed to pay for the latest MQA DAC.
Firstly, to get the "benefit" from MQA, it is the first "unfold" that is important. As has been mentioned in this thread, this can be done in software, such as Audirvana, Roon, the Tidal app etc.
The first unfold matters, as this extracts additional audio data versus uncorded MQA.
The second "unfold" does not extract any additional data. The second unfold is nothing more than upsampling in the DAC, and the addition of an MQA filter. This point is interesting. After all, if you run a Devialet, it will upsample all digital inputs to 24/192 anyway, so you could argue that Devialet products implement a "second unfold" irrespective of what file formats you are playing. Also, there was lots of marketing stuff about the MQA second unfold improving time domain performance and "deblurring" the audio signal. These MQA filters have been analysed and reverse engineered, it turns out that they are simply fairly conventional minimum phase filters. Such filters may help timing a little, but they also suffer from aliasing and other issues. This is little different to running Roon or HQPlayer and selecting different filters per taste or what suits your system. Indeed, we discussed MQA with Devialet at the Oxford Audio event last year, the view from Matieau Pernot seemed to be that the imposed MQA filters would not play well with Devialet ADH. Frankly, the second unfold is a bit of a con, if you have an MQA DAC, you could feed it the unfolded 24/96 signal, your DAC upsaples to 24/192, DXD or whatever, and proudly displays a blue light and DXD in the display, but you still only really have 24/96, in fact you have lossy 24/96, rather than full lossless 24/96 that you would get with hi res FLAC. Very naughty.
So, if you want to play MQA with a Devialet, use software decoding for the "first unfold", do not worry about the second unfold, you Devialet is upsampling, and you do not want the MQA filter with ADH anyway.
As another tip, if you wanted to take MQA to the max with a Devialet, you could use Roon to perform the first unfold. Then run Roon with HQPlayer. HQPlayer could be used to upsample, and HQPlayer also has some filters that are optimised for use with MQA. This is arguably the ultimate way to run MQA with a Devialet, but you will need another box, an NAA endpoint or similar, because a Devialet is not HQPlayer completable. Something like a NUC, microRendu or similar could be used.
If that all sounds a little too complicated, you could just run 24/96 FLAC, which is lossless and does not suffer from MQA's confusion and complexity, stop worrying about MQA and enjoy a tune or two.
I do have a little sympathy with those who want to use MQA, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that some of the Tidal MQA content sounds better than other releases, but this appears to be because different masters are used, rather than because of MQA itself. That said, some have reported that some MQA versions sound worse, so it is a bit of a lottery and perhaps a case of personal preference.
As for the third unfold, it does not exist. Or maybe it does? If it does exist, it is just something in the upsampling and MQA filter I described above and some MQA marketing speak, there is no actual unfold that retrieves audio data or does anything else for that matter. It is a similar concept the Lock Ness monster or Bigfoot, great for scary late night stories and getting the tourists in and parting with cash, but it does not really exist. I suspect the third unfold actually takes place in an Audiophiles wallet, as the bank notes are removed to pay for the latest MQA DAC.
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