Hi-Res CDs (Patreon)

Published:

2018-06-26 18:18:50

Imported:

2021-02

Content

When a parcel from Japan arrived a few days ago I dropped everything to prioritise it, as I feel that time is very much of the essence with this one.

On the 20th June, Universal music in Japan released one hundred album titles on a new physical hi-res music format, MQA-CD. These discs contain hi-res audio but are also backwardly compatible so they can be played at normal CD quality on any CD player.

However, while the discs themselves are quite reasonably priced, it seems that they've put the cart before the horse, because playing them back is anything but.

This video will inevitably irk any viewers who want to hear plenty of audio being played from the discs. I avoided playing 'with and without' MQA comparison clips because any demonstrations would give only a false representation of the sound quality. That's because the MP4 video file I upload to youtube only contains 256Kbps AAC audio, so isn't even up to normal CD standard. On top of this of course there's also the ever present issue of auto-content matches.

This video might be a bit rough around the edges in places, however I wanted to get it out ASAP while the topic is still relevant and fresh. This MQA video will be going live on youtube earlier than usual, in less than 24 hours.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. In fact, I'll have a new early-access video along for you before the weekend, I'm trying to add an outro on to it tomorrow, but no promises on that.

Files

MQA-CD : New Hi-Res CDs from Japan

MQA-CD is a physical Hi-res music format, but while the discs are relatively affordable, playing them back can be anything but. Useful Links below: Amazon have the MQA-CD Samplers listed (AFFILIATED LINKS) AMAZON US Rock & Pop https://amzn.to/2yGGP97 Jazz https://amzn.to/2IrjPKU Classical https://amzn.to/2tw2YSy AMAZON UK Rock & Pop https://amzn.to/2tHjUVl Jazz https://amzn.to/2lzauYl Classical https://amzn.to/2KpGjkm I bought my MQA-CDs from CD Japan http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/feature/Worlds_First_HiRes_CD_by_Universal_Music_Japan You can read up on MQA Audio here: http://www.mqa.co.uk Universal Music Japan’s MQA-CD page (in Japanese) https://www.universal-music.co.jp/international/mqa-uhqcd/ This is a useful site for downloading Hi-res Audio test files (including MQA) http://www.2l.no/hires/ This video will inevitably irk any viewers who want to hear plenty of audio being played from the discs. I avoided playing 'with and without' MQA comparison clips because any demonstrations would give only a false representation of the sound quality. That's because the MP4 video file I upload to youtube only contains 256Kbps AAC audio, so isn't even up to normal CD standard. On top of this of course there's also the ever present issue of auto-content matches. I really think this is something that you can only properly experience in person - perhaps MQA CD might make an appearance at a high end Hi-Fi show near you. ---------------SUBSCRIBE------------------ http://www.youtube.com/user/Techmoan?sub_confirmation=1 -------------Merchandise----------------- https://teespring.com/stores/techmoan-merch -------------SUPPORT--------------- This channel can be supported through Patreon https://www.patreon.com/techmoan Patrons usually have early access to videos -------THANKS TO ------- Jerobeam Fenderson for the intro animation: http://oscilloscopemusic.com/ ----------Outro Music----------- Over Time - Vibe Tracks https://youtu.be/VSSswVZSgJw ------Outro Sound Effect------ ThatSFXGuy - https://youtu.be/5M3-ZV5-QDM ------AFFILIATED LINKS/ADVERTISING NOTICE------- All links are Affiliated where possible. When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON Sites (including, but not limited to Amazon US/UK/DE/ES/FR/NL/IT/CAN)