What am I missing

rocknroll1

Well-Known Member
I am new to streaming and have a few questions. My set up is Denon HEOS to McIntosh D150 via optical cable and also MacBook Air to d150 via USB. I am playing mostly tidal. All music is being played at 44.1k since HEOS doesn’t support MQA. But I read somewhere that if played from computer thru there app it would play back as MQA. So right now I am playing a “master recording “ thru MacBook a but dac still reads 44.1k. What am I missing?
 
A file being MQA doesn't change the sampling rate. MQA just "makes" better use of those 16 bits. An MQA compatible DAC should indicate when an MQA signal is being decoded.
 
My DAC isn’t MQA compatiable but my understanding is that with the app on the computer it does the unfolding for you.
 
MQA has two folds. The computer will unfold the first layer for 96khz, you need an MQA dac to unfold the second layer for 192khz. Check your settings in tidal. There's an option for MQA passthrough etc. You should be sampling at 96khz
 
MQA has two folds. The computer will unfold the first layer for 96khz, you need an MQA dac to unfold the second layer for 192khz. Check your settings in tidal. There's an option for MQA passthrough etc. You should be sampling at 96khz
I went into settings, then to streaming and the only thing to change was quality (kb/s). the options are normal, high, hifi (lossless) and master (the best audio experience). Mine was already set to master. Then there was sound output with the options of system controlled and built in output. I have system control picked. From everything I read about my DAC there is nothing to change, it does it automatically.
 
I went into settings, then to streaming and the only thing to change was quality (kb/s). the options are normal, high, hifi (lossless) and master (the best audio experience). Mine was already set to master. Then there was sound output with the options of system controlled and built in output. I have system control picked. From everything I read about my DAC there is nothing to change, it does it automatically.

I re-read your first post and just wanted to be sure you're not expecting MQA on all tidal music. You are selecting MQA tracks right? You go to "New" and then select "Masters" or pick an artist and you might get lucky with a few MQA albums in their catalog...

If you have a 1/8" to RCA or optical out from the mac air you can bypass the DAC and see if you get 96khz. I can't remember the exact settings off top of my head as far as system controlled etc. With my setup, Tidal recognizes my DAC and it comes up as an output option.

If your Mac air runs OSX go to utilities and check your Midi settings too
 
I re-read your first post and just wanted to be sure you're not expecting MQA on all tidal music. You are selecting MQA tracks right? You go to "New" and then select "Masters" or pick an artist and you might get lucky with a few MQA albums in their catalog...

If you have a 1/8" to RCA or optical out from the mac air you can bypass the DAC and see if you get 96khz. I can't remember the exact settings off top of my head as far as system controlled etc. With my setup, Tidal recognizes my DAC and it comes up as an output option.

If your Mac air runs OSX go to utilities and check your Midi settings too
i do have OSX and found audio Midi settings but not sure what it should be set on. And by the way thanks for your help.
 
I am new to streaming and have a few questions. My set up is Denon HEOS to McIntosh D150 via optical cable and also MacBook Air to d150 via USB. I am playing mostly tidal. All music is being played at 44.1k since HEOS doesn’t support MQA. But I read somewhere that if played from computer thru there app it would play back as MQA. So right now I am playing a “master recording “ thru MacBook a but dac still reads 44.1k. What am I missing?

You're welcome, but it definitely makes the thread less cohesive when you edit your posts instead of answering questions being asked.

Something is bottle necking your signal. I'm really not familiar with your MacBook Air or the denon streamer. You should be getting 96khz
 
You're welcome, but it definitely makes the thread less cohesive when you edit your posts instead of answering questions being asked.

Something is bottle necking your signal. I'm really not familiar with your MacBook Air or the denon streamer. You should be getting 96khz

Not sure what you are talking about, I have not edited this tread?????
 
MQA has two folds. The computer will unfold the first layer for 96khz, you need an MQA dac to unfold the second layer for 192khz. Check your settings in tidal. There's an option for MQA passthrough etc. You should be sampling at 96khz

That is not correct. Yes the MQA stream is folded but Tidal MASTER will only playback at 16bit/48kHz from PC using Tidal’s App without a MQA licensed DAC. Two example are Meridian Explorer2 ($299) unfolds up to 24bit/192kHz. Dragonfly RED ($199) unfolds up to 24bit/96kHz.

I have found that a majority of Tidal MASTER tracks are 24bit/96kHz using my Meridian Explorer2 DAC. The Dragonfly Red DAC will be sufficient for most of Tidal’s MQA MASTER tracks.

E64C3382-9F2E-4EAC-8095-CA0B10D3593D.jpeg Meridian Explorer2 indicating full MQA MASTER quality Authenticated studio streaming 24bit/192kHz.
 
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