“High resolution” basics. What is the difference between DSD, FLAC, MQA, etc.? Part 7
MQA encoding processing can be performed on 44.1 kHz to 768 kHz linear PCM sound sources and can be stored in existing file formats (container formats) such as FLAC, ALAC, and WAV. If you use a compatible device equipped with a dedicated decoder, you can “open origami” and demonstrate the original quality. It can be played with an unsupported device, but in that case, “Origami cannot be opened”, so normal PCM playback will be performed that does not include the original MQA information.
MQA is available for download at e-onkyo music. It has the advantage that it can be used with a low communication volume even with streaming type distribution, and abroad, the “TIDAL” music distribution is developing a high quality 96 kHz / 24 bit MQA streaming distribution ” TIDAL Masters “.
High Resolution Portable Player “DP-X1” Quickly Achieved MQA Compatibility
Current Status of Supported High-Resolution Formats and Music Distribution Services (as of July 2017)
WAV FLAC ALAC DSD MQA others
e-onkyo music 〇 〇 — 〇 〇 Dolby TrueHD
blackberry — 〇 — 〇 — —
OTOTOY 〇 〇 〇 〇 — —
Recochoku — 〇 — — — —
My sound — 〇 — — — —
slots — 〇 — 〇 — —
Is FLAC a powerful option right now?
Generally speaking, the high resolution format has been “PCM or DSD”, and for PCM, the choice has been “lossless compression” or “uncompressed”. There may be circumstances on the side of the playback device and sound preferences, but in terms of the balance between data compression effect (file capacity) and sound quality, “lossless” is a reasonable existence.
Among them, FLAC, which is easy to use on smartphones, will remain high resolution as source code is published and royalties are not incurred, it is already compatible with many compatible high resolution audio devices, and will be supported in the system level in the next iOS (iOS 11), will be the centerpiece of the format.
Looking around, there are signs of change, such as the emergence of a new face, MQA, and the spread of streaming services, but the audio format must have attractive content. Above all, I would like to hope that the record company / distribution service company is actively working in high resolution.
