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RE: How to utilise Tidal MQA effectively

Posted by PAR on January 29, 2017 at 05:26:20:
Thanks for the clarification.
It is not possible to get MQA if the file streamed from Tidal is reformatted in any way which it may be by the Chromecast device. Same with Bluetooth I would think as that uses a codec too.
So , on the face of it, what you wnat to do requires another solution using another way of accessing Tidal where its output is not reformatted in any way which seems to me requires a hard wired solution.
The obvious way is to use a USB output on the Macbook Air and connect that to a DAC. In fact to the DAC in your Cambridge amp. The review link posted shows a rear view of the CXA60 and there is a USB input. I wonder if Cambridge have updated an earlier version that you have without the USB? The review is of a 2016 model.
If you really don't have USB on your amp then you will need either a USB DAC or a USB/co-ax (SPdif) converter and use the co-ax input on the amp. remember the DAC in your amp does not need to decode MQA. That is done within the Tidal player app (at least up to 24/96).
That is probably the best way but you could also connect the headphone output from the i-pad to an analogue input on your amp. that would use the i-pad's inbuilt DAC but I don't like it as much as using the amp's DAC for various reasons. However it is a cheap solution.
USB/SPDif converters are available at many price points. So to recommend one it would be good to have some idea of any financial constraint.