If You Hate MQA Now What?

[Samuel T Cogley]

10 minutes ago, NOMBEDES said:

I have no interest in MQA but I will chime in regarding the subscription model.

 

Now here is a possible middle class household month budget for connectivity:

 

Telephone Service:   $100 (+/-)

Cable TV: $80 (+/-)

Hulu / NetFlix   $20 (+/-)

Internet:  $50 (+/-)

Amazon Prime: $11.  (music and video)

Tidal etc.... ?

 

Now comes Disney, CBS and other media companies wanting to build their own pay per view channels.  Where does it end?  Can we afford another bill for streaming?  Can we afford to pay $10. extra for MQA on top of the charge for streaming music?  Media is killing us with both the nickel and the dime.......

 

I don't have cable, but I do subscribe to Hulu (commercial free), Netflix, Amazon (only because I'm a Prime member for free shipping), and a couple of other video streaming services, and of course, Tidal Hifi.

 

While I can't get everything I seek in the video realm,   I achieve at least one important goal:  I haven't watched a commercial in years.  Of course, I don't watch sports, at all, because sports seems to be little more than a conveyance for commercials.

[james45974]

16 minutes ago, NOMBEDES said:

I have no interest in MQA but I will chime in regarding the subscription model.

 

Now here is a possible middle class household month budget for connectivity:

 

Telephone Service:   $100 (+/-)

Cable TV: $80 (+/-)

Hulu / NetFlix   $20 (+/-)

Internet:  $50 (+/-)

Amazon Prime: $11.  (music and video)

Tidal etc.... ?

 

Now comes Disney, CBS and other media companies wanting to build their own pay per view channels.  Where does it end?  Can we afford another bill for streaming?  Can we afford to pay $10. extra for MQA on top of the charge for streaming music?  Media is killing us with both the nickel and the dime.......

 

  

 

 

 

T

In some ways I am glad to live in a "dead zone" when it comes to high speed internet, I don't have it because it is not available.  I save all kinds of money!

 

[witchdoctor]

1 minute ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

I don't have cable, but I do subscribe to Hulu (commercial free), Netflix, Amazon (only because I'm a Prime member for free shipping), and a couple of other video streaming services, and of course, Tidal Hifi.

 

While I can't get everything I seek in the video realm,   I achieve at least one important goal:  I haven't watched a commercial in years.  Of course, I don't watch sports, at all, because sports seems to be little more than a conveyance for commercials.

I know you don't like DSP but I have my Fire TV box connected to the AM Pro and it is a marked improvement over going straight into the processor. The only thing is the AM will not do 5.1.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Just now, witchdoctor said:

I know you don't like DSP but I have my Fire TV box connected to the AM Pro and it is a marked improvement over going straight into the processor. The only thing is the AM will not do 5.1.

 

"improvement" is, of course, subjective

 

And I didn't say I didn't "like" DSP.  I treat DSP like salt on food.  Just because something is salty as hell doesn't mean it tastes good.

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 hours ago, Fair Hedon said:

Has it not been established this clown is a paid MQA shill, and that his "research" has been funded by Bob Stuart?

 

Isn't this enough for a banning? He has been shilling MQA 24/7 on numerous other forums with no other topics discussed.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sungyoung_Kim2

I haven't seen any information proving he is paid by MQA or even conducted research funded by Bob Stuart. Can you or anyone else point me to what I'm missing?

[esldude]

So I go and listen to the aftermaster pro demo.  Obviously it increases volume.  Like about 5 db.  It sounds like it adds some icy reverb.  It pumps the highs some, and lows though not as much.  It might be doing some variable dynamic compression.  Not a revolutionary step forward or even a step forward.  Yuck!  I can turn my own volume up thank you. 

 

wd's cred just  keeps going down.  

 

Hey wd, try this one out.  Not sure its my cup of tea, but it is better than aftermaster pro.  

 

https://www.aria3d.com/

 

 

 

 

[witchdoctor]

Just now, esldude said:

So I go and listen to the aftermaster pro demo.  Obviously it increases volume.  Like about 5 db.  It sounds like it adds some icy reverb.  It pumps the highs some, and lows though not as much.  It might be doing some variable dynamic compression.  Not a revolutionary step forward or even a step forward.  Yuck!  I can turn my own volume up thank you. 

 

wd's cred just  keeps going down.  

 

Hey wd, try this one out.  Not sure its my cup of tea, but it is better than aftermaster pro.  

 

https://www.aria3d.com/

 

 

 

 

Remember this thread is about MQA alternatives. I use the AM Pro between my Fire TV and my pre/pro. It works great on Amazon Music, Hulu, and all the movies available in 2 channel but not 5.1. It does boost volume but really clears up sounds in the background you might miss. YMMV

[plissken]

I put WD on my ignore list awhile ago. 

[PeterSt]

2 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

It does boost volume but really clears up sounds in the background you might miss.

 

Oh boy.

[Fair Hedon]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I haven't seen any information proving he is paid by MQA or even conducted research funded by Bob Stuart. Can you or anyone else point me to what I'm missing?

Correct no hard evidence. However from what I understand, that is being investigated as week speak, and specific connections have been found and will be exposed.

[Norton]

WD,

 

I have no interest in MQA but I enjoy your posts, you somehow pull off the trick of being both deliberately provocative and controversialist whilst remaining  relentlessly upbeat and largely avoiding the ad hominems (akin to having the legs of your favourite trousers  chewed by a persistant but endearing terrier). I also don't think you are likely to be a paid shill for MQA, that would be a lost cause on this site...

 

But the fact is we don't need MQA.  We already have access to excellent hi res PCM and DSD files and quality non-MQA  DACs that allow RBCD to really shine.

If we want to add DSP then we have fine products  like HQP or can rely on the increasingly sophisticated up sampling and filtering options built in to current DACs.

 

I don't hate MQA, I've never heard it, but I suspect it's just irrelevant to my listening.

[Samuel T Cogley]

32 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

Remember this thread is about MQA alternatives. I use the AM Pro between my Fire TV and my pre/pro. It works great on Amazon Music, Hulu, and all the movies available in 2 channel but not 5.1. It does boost volume but really clears up sounds in the background you might miss. YMMV

 

I assume you're aware that most of what comes out of Hulu is Dolby Pro Logic II?  If you're trying to decode that as such, you wouldn't want to apply DSP.  "clears up sounds in the background you might miss" is typically an indication of dynamic range compression, which is the opposite of fidelity.

[kumakuma]

4 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

I assume you're aware that most of what comes out of Hulu is Dolby Pro Logic II?  If you're trying to decode that as such, you wouldn't want to apply DSP.  "clears up sounds in the background you might miss" is typically an indication of dynamic range compression, which is the opposite of fidelity.

 

If we've learned anything over the last few days, it's that high fidelity is not how WD rolls.

[Allan F]

2 hours ago, witchdoctor said:

Please go to www.aftermasterpro.com and scroll down the page. You will find a bunch of tracks so you can A/B compare. Come back and post your findings and we can discuss.

 

What is there to discuss apart from the fact that the A/B comparisons are a complete joke? The Aftermaster samples are probably 6dB to 10dB louder than the Originals, rendering any comparison absolutely meaningless.

[Samuel T Cogley]

1 minute ago, kumakuma said:

 

If we've learned anything over the last few days, it's that high fidelity is not how WD rolls.

 

I will admit, I was all sold on things like "5.1 stereo" and Audyssey room "correction" back when I believed my AV receiver was the end-all for high fidelity.  It wasn't until I was listening to a familiar two-track recording and I heard inexplicable ghosting and bizarre reverb artifacts that through experimentation, I turned all DSP off and listened to what the AV receiver called "pure direct" mode.  Mind. Blown.  I was so used to DSP, I had forgotten all the nuance and subtle detail in the recording.  I now use a dedicated two channel setup installed right in the midst of my video/5.1 setup.  Most of my friends think it's overkill, but I can crank tunes while gaming, with independent volume controls.  Most importantly, I can turn off the TV when listening to music.

[witchdoctor]

Thank you

8 minutes ago, Allan F said:

 

What is there to discuss apart from the fact that the A/B comparisons are a complete joke? The Aftermaster samples are probably 6dB to 10dB louder than the Originals, rendering any comparison absolutely meaningless.

All good, I have my unit installed with my Fire TV and its a marked improvement with lossy content.

[witchdoctor]

19 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

If we've learned anything over the last few days, it's that high fidelity is not how WD rolls.

At least you learned something

 

For "high fidelity" please check out my thread on immersive audio. 

[kumakuma]

1 minute ago, witchdoctor said:

For "high fidelity" please check out my thread on immersive audio. 

 

I have. It isn't.

[Samuel T Cogley]

2 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

I have. It isn't.

 

More like a bubbling caldron of DSP soup.

[witchdoctor]

5 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

I have. It isn't.

Let's suppose you have a low budget. A receiver, 2 speakers, a Fire HD and an Aftermaster Pro is not meant to be "high fidelity" It is supposed to be cheap, easy,fun, and much better SQ than what most people have on the same budget.

 

[witchdoctor]

For the complainers we are still waiting for your solutions. If you guys have a better low budget, easy to implement solution for the non MQA files/crowd feel free, to post. 

 

 

 

[lucretius]

2 hours ago, NOMBEDES said:

Media is killing us with both the nickel and the dime.......

 

You said it, brother!

[Allan F]

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I haven't seen any information proving he is paid by MQA or even conducted research funded by Bob Stuart.

 

True. But one does not necessarily have to be paid or funded in order to be a shill for a product.

[witchdoctor]

9 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

More like a bubbling caldron of DSP soup.

Yeah but look at the chef's. You still haven't posted any original ideas of your own, you won't play a file on a website, can you do anything beside moan?

 

http://aftermaster.com/team/

[Samuel T Cogley]

3 minutes ago, witchdoctor said:

For the complainers we are still waiting for your solutions. If you guys have a better low budget, easy to implement solution for the non MQA files/crowd feel free, to post.

 

Ok, I'll bite.  What are the problems that your "solutions" address?