So Michael Fremer joined the MQA Army with his absurd review of the Brinkmann DAC, linked below. This review is so flawed, it is difficult to know even where to begin.
It is also hard to know whether it was an infommercial for MQA or a DAC review.
"Listening to MQA files supplied to me for this review or streamed from Tidal HiFi/Master made two things clear: Those who claim they can't hear a difference between CD-resolution files and hi-rez MQA files either haven't bothered to listen, or don't want to admit that their claims of "CD sound is perfect" are just plain wrong."
First absurdity. MQA claims to encode HIREZ master files, so comparing MQA to CDs is DISINGENUOUS or just plain lazy and ignorant. You can choose.
"MQA has been convincingly demonstrated at Consumer Electronics Shows.."
Really???? Convinced WHOM?
"...and most recently at an event sponsored by New York City dealer Innovative Audio, where Wilson Audio Specialties' Peter McGrath, an accomplished recording engineer, played unprocessed hi-rez files of his simply miked orchestral recordings, followed by the time-corrected MQA versions. The differences were profound, and obvious to all attending: The MQA versions had greater image solidity and three-dimensionality, and wider perceived dynamics"
UNTRUE. It was NOT obvious to all who attended, here is proof:
"I heard a very hi-end demonstration of MQA about a month or so ago in NYC. Peter McGrath did the demo with his own recordings (24/96) that had been MQA processed. We had a chance to hear the original and then the MQA version. The setup was as follows: Wilson Audio Alexx speakers, top-of-the-line VTL preamp and amp. and Meridian DAC (of course). The music wasn't what I usually listen to, however, the difference was very clear to everyone in the room (including Michael Fremer, who was seated next to me). I expected to hear equivalence (i.e. that MQA had done no harm), however, there was clearly a difference. The MQA sounded somewhat brighter and had more presence! It reminded me at the time of the "loudness button" and old amps that I had 30 years ago (I had not seen the May 2017 Stereophile at the time of the demonstration).
I managed to corner one of the MQA guys who accompanied Peter and after some prodding by me he explained that they do DSP of the signal as part of the MQA encoding to "make it sound better". While he did not go into any great detail, he indicated that things are done to try to reduce pre and post ringing that are present in almost all digital audio signals. I can only speculate that this involves some kind of digital filtering of the original signal.
Based on this one demonstration I certainly would not advocate for spending time and money on MQA (and risking falling into the clutches of Meridian). Since my preferred digital is SACD I do not see any need for MQA and I certainly do not want anyone using DSP on my digital data streams to make them "sound better"
If I had been able to vote I would have voted for the following:
I won't use it as it doesn't offer me anything I don't already have
I think we have sufficient formats to manage high quality audio already
I think Meridian are focusing more on creating a revenue stream."
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/meridian-mqa-poll.4349
And this may take the cake:
"As for MQA's ability to "fold" and "unfold" very large files for streaming and playback, hearing 24/96 and 24/192 files streamed through the Nyquist via Tidal was an ear-opener. Had this been CD sound in 1983, I'd still be an LP guy-but I'd also be all in with digital."
Probably the most ridiculous and clueless statement in the review.
Fremer claimed to have a hard drive filled with hirez files. Why NO COMPARISONS with these files?????
And now we have entered, new, territory, maybe the lowest point for Stereophile for MQA...drum roll..MQA bettered an LP...
"For instance, when I played James Taylor's cover of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," from his Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (LP, Warner Bros. 2561), through a Lyra Atlas SL or Ortofon A95 cartridge and the CH Precision P1 phono preamp, it didn't sound as warm and full-bodied as did the MQA version through the Nyquist. I'd never before heard Leland Sklar's bass sound so voluptuous, or Taylor's voice so mellifluous, honey-coated, and round-bodied as it did digitally, through the Nyquist."
and
"The same was true of "My Home Is in the Delta," from Muddy Waters's Folk Singer-also an MQA file. The guitar and drums are in greater relief and with better articulation of transients on a vinyl reissue (LP, Chess/Analogue Productions AAPB 1483-45) but would probably not be so when using a Koetsu or other warm-sounding cartridge."
Knock me over with a feather. I did not peg Fremer for a company man and a pathetic shill for Bob Stuart.
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Topic - Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - Isaak J. Garvey 18:14:13 07/25/17 (128)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - nvinyl66 05:07:41 08/04/17 (2)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - ahendler 11:51:29 08/04/17 (1)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - nvinyl66 18:54:40 08/04/17 (0)
- I don't think you understand - josh358 14:36:16 07/28/17 (10)
- I don't think you understand - bjh 12:37:32 07/30/17 (9)
- I thought he just called it as he saw it - josh358 17:28:19 08/01/17 (8)
- Euphony? - jusbe 15:19:45 08/03/17 (7)
- Just a guess - josh358 17:32:54 08/03/17 (6)
- I see you're a "music industry professional". What do you do? nt - Rick W 08:54:42 08/04/17 (3)
- RE: Just a guess - josh358 10:31:08 08/04/17 (2)
- Thanks for the info, I was just curious. nt - Rick W 11:17:49 08/04/17 (1)
- No problem. nt - josh358 11:40:59 08/04/17 (0)
- Perhaps the hunt for 'tone' begins early in the gain structure. - jusbe 00:44:47 08/04/17 (1)
- RE: Just a guess - josh358 08:44:34 08/04/17 (0)
- Isaak, you need a vacation.... - Rod M 17:18:19 07/26/17 (87)
- Rod, Off-topic, I can no longer edit my posts before anyone has responded. - volunteer 12:33:56 07/27/17 (4)
- RE: Rod, Off-topic, I can no longer edit my posts before anyone has responded. - Rod M 12:55:48 07/27/17 (3)
- Hmmm.....I don't get the edit or delete options that I used to see. - volunteer 13:21:21 07/27/17 (2)
- RE: Hmmm.....I don't get the edit or delete options that I used to see. - Rod M 13:40:00 07/27/17 (1)
- That was it! - volunteer 13:49:38 07/27/17 (0)
- A request - 13th Duke of Wymbourne 12:09:25 07/27/17 (1)
- "Hollywood" could stand to be spelled correctly as well. Nt - viridian 13:02:23 07/27/17 (0)
- i don't know if you have read the reveiw but - fmak 11:03:46 07/27/17 (14)
- RE:"Fremer should really stick to analog . . ." -- - goldenthal 20:17:21 07/29/17 (0)
- RE: i don't know if you have read the reveiw but - Rod M 12:25:44 07/27/17 (10)
- Finally - tomcy6 19:22:40 07/31/17 (0)
- RE: i don't know if you have read the reveiw but - BubbaMike 17:10:09 07/27/17 (3)
- RE: i don't know if you have read the reveiw but - Rod M 18:01:10 07/27/17 (0)
- fmak has been 'vacationed' in the past... - Ivan303 17:27:22 07/27/17 (1)
- RE: fmak has been 'vacationed' in the past - not long enough - AbeCollins 07:22:15 07/31/17 (0)
- Exactly... - Ivan303 13:45:53 07/27/17 (0)
- Agreed Rod, and I am one of those inmates. It is not the content of the OP.... - viridian 12:56:30 07/27/17 (3)
- +1 (nt) - 13th Duke of Wymbourne 12:25:14 07/28/17 (0)
- I think MF may have been the one doing the baiting this time - Dave_K 16:11:59 07/27/17 (0)
- Agree----NT - lancelot 13:44:47 07/27/17 (0)
- ... however, frequently expressed? - DAP 11:12:54 07/27/17 (1)
- RE: ... however, frequently expressed? However - fmak 11:23:52 07/27/17 (0)
- No, thank you...(nt) - mkuller 20:51:14 07/26/17 (64)
- So, are you thanking Rod... - Ivan303 19:53:07 07/27/17 (59)
- Note the well placed comma...(nt) - mkuller 08:15:34 07/28/17 (15)
- I did, but I still have no idea whether you are thanking Rod for putting the OP on vacation.. - Ivan303 21:10:01 07/28/17 (14)
- Without the comma - not thanking...(nt) - mkuller 17:03:11 07/29/17 (11)
- I need a vacation. This is crazy (nt) - 4everyoung 06:58:47 07/30/17 (10)
- Maybe you and Garvey can vacation together?... - musetap 17:14:51 07/30/17 (7)
- Maybe MQA is the new Intelligent Chip? - 4everyoung 22:48:34 07/30/17 (6)
- Or possibly, a bad idea whose time has come - DAP 09:46:25 07/31/17 (5)
- I believe there's precedent for this type of buyout... - Steve O 15:07:09 07/31/17 (4)
- RE: I believe there's precedent for this type of buyout... - raya 20:12:00 07/31/17 (3)
- But the question remains.... - Steve O 21:27:13 07/31/17 (2)
- How about a music label buyout? - Dave_K 13:05:28 08/03/17 (1)
- When you have so much cash you don't know what to do with it... - Steve O 14:04:04 08/03/17 (0)
- Kryptic Kuller......... - Ivan303 07:05:32 07/30/17 (1)
- Indecisive Ivan...(nt) - mkuller 11:55:57 07/30/17 (0)
- RE: I did, but I still have no idea whether you are thanking Rod for putting the OP on vacation.. - 4everyoung 03:07:45 07/29/17 (1)
- That's what I thought initially... - Ivan303 19:13:25 07/29/17 (0)
- In the context of a reply to Rod's msg it's pretty clearly "No, thank YOU "... - Steve O 20:56:59 07/27/17 (42)
- A lot of people are tired of it - Jeffrey Lee 18:56:38 07/31/17 (8)
- RE: You got that right! - Jeff Starr 12:34:30 08/01/17 (5)
- RE: You need a hug? - Eldragon 07:31:17 08/07/17 (3)
- RE: Not Me! - Jeff Starr 18:10:29 08/12/17 (0)
- So you're reduced to stalking fellow inmates on 'Critic's' now? - Ivan303 08:51:46 08/08/17 (1)
- RE: So you're reduced to stalking fellow inmates on 'Critic's' now? - Eldragon 18:28:41 08/08/17 (0)
- RE: You got that right! - ahendler 20:33:39 08/04/17 (0)
- OTOH, just a few direct complaints to the mods seems sufficient to torpedoed a thread .... - Steve O 21:34:30 07/31/17 (1)
- But personal impugnment will always torpedo a thread - DAP 14:54:28 08/01/17 (0)
- Not much of an MQA fan myself... - Ivan303 21:48:54 07/27/17 (32)
- Whither goes MQA won't depend on its technical merits - DAP 09:40:48 07/28/17 (31)
- Of course it will... - Ivan303 21:47:01 07/28/17 (30)
- And who pays any attention to what the magazine guys say anyway? - DAP 07:23:10 07/30/17 (14)
- Hmmm. Look around. (NT) - Kal Rubinson 15:11:06 07/30/17 (12)
- RE: Hmmm ... - DAP 19:32:24 07/30/17 (0)
- Huh? - Charles Hansen 19:15:40 07/30/17 (9)
- My subject statement was a response to the previous subject statement. (NT) - Kal Rubinson 20:17:31 07/30/17 (8)
- Ah, that subject statement is a quote from the message that preceded it. (NT) - DAP 20:46:19 07/30/17 (7)
- OK but..................... - Kal Rubinson 05:32:11 07/31/17 (5)
- The response was very good - DAP 08:10:51 07/31/17 (4)
- I meant for you to look around on this forum. (NT) - Kal Rubinson 09:14:10 07/31/17 (3)
- Did You Read Daniel's Post... - Charles Hansen 11:00:46 07/31/17 (2)
- RE: Did You Read Daniel's Post... - Ivan303 18:11:57 07/31/17 (1)
- Yup. - Kal Rubinson 05:42:01 08/01/17 (0)
- Exactly! /n - Ivan303 21:05:27 07/30/17 (0)
- Exactly! /n - Ivan303 18:04:09 07/30/17 (0)
- NAD vs. SCHITT... - Ivan303 07:49:55 07/30/17 (0)
- RE: Of course it will... - 4everyoung 04:24:08 07/29/17 (0)
- Do you really think that marketing hype doesn't sell products? - Charles Hansen 23:13:55 07/28/17 (13)
- So based on that, the worst thing that's likely to happen is... - Ivan303 19:37:37 07/29/17 (1)
- Not if MQA gets applied too early on in the process. - jusbe 11:07:20 08/01/17 (0)
- Or let's put it another way... - Charles Hansen 00:03:12 07/29/17 (10)
- RE: Or let's put it another way... - Ivan303 19:26:34 07/29/17 (0)
- Ok, so what's the explanation for all the coverage? - Rick W 17:13:54 07/29/17 (6)
- Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner! - Charles Hansen 21:45:48 07/29/17 (5)
- That puts some "members" of the reviewing community in a fairly negative place... - Steve O 20:42:34 07/30/17 (1)
- RE: That puts some "members" of the reviewing community in a fairly negative place... - Charles Hansen 11:05:29 07/31/17 (0)
- No Proper Comparisons ... ? - Doug Schneider 17:38:12 07/30/17 (0)
- "A veil was lifted." :-) nt - Rick W 22:28:46 07/29/17 (1)
- Where's Vanna White when we need her? - Charles Hansen 18:57:42 07/30/17 (0)
- Your posts on this subject have been illuminating - DAP 03:52:02 07/29/17 (1)
- RE: Your posts on this subject have been illuminating - Charles Hansen 21:56:23 07/29/17 (0)
- +1 (nt) - Charles Hansen 21:22:45 07/26/17 (3)
- +2 (nt) - kootenay 21:26:52 07/26/17 (2)
- What they said. /n - Ivan303 07:06:53 07/27/17 (1)
- The Inmate - E-Stat 10:46:21 07/27/17 (0)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - John Atkinson 15:26:44 07/26/17 (14)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - josh358 14:26:28 07/28/17 (3)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - ahendler 18:06:52 07/28/17 (2)
- "comparing before- and after-MQA encoded tracks." - DAP 19:38:40 07/26/17 (0)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - Isaak J. Garvey 15:44:31 07/26/17 (8)
- Dick, Shill, is there really any difference? - Ivan303 17:18:59 07/26/17 (5)
- It's just that [name calling] doesn't do well in forum postings n.t. - DAP 06:10:28 07/27/17 (4)
- Also, complaining about name calling doesn't do well... - Ivan303 07:50:43 07/27/17 (3)
- Can you cite an instance? Didn't think so :-) n.t. - DAP 08:18:27 07/27/17 (2)
- Not referring to 'you' you... - Ivan303 08:56:26 07/27/17 (1)
- Fair enough, no disagreement from 'me' me n.t. - DAP 09:09:13 07/27/17 (0)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - faskenite 16:35:24 07/26/17 (1)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - Isaak J. Garvey 16:36:11 07/26/17 (0)
- So are you saying that you don't care for MQA? You should start a thread about that. nt - viridian 10:33:15 07/26/17 (2)
- It's a comment on a review. - DAP 11:54:49 07/26/17 (1)
- RE: It's a comment on a review. - Isaak J. Garvey 13:37:42 07/26/17 (0)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - pytaniedodcf@gmail.com 07:23:51 07/26/17 (1)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - Isaak J. Garvey 07:36:08 07/26/17 (0)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - faskenite 18:53:03 07/25/17 (3)
- But are the critics worthy of their forum? - DAP 19:43:04 07/25/17 (1)
- RE: But are the critics worthy of their forum? - Isaak J. Garvey 19:46:46 07/25/17 (0)
- RE: Fremer Brinkmann DAC/MQA Shill - Isaak J. Garvey 18:56:44 07/25/17 (0)
- "MQA has been convincingly demonstrated at Consumer Electronics Shows.." - DAP 18:33:44 07/25/17 (1)
- RE: "MQA has been convincingly demonstrated at Consumer Electronics Shows.." - Isaak J. Garvey 18:55:21 07/25/17 (0)