Do you see the master button on the screen when you play it? At the bottom of the screen where Current song playing is main view? Does it say master or hifi?
It shows âMasterâ. This is a screenshot just taken on my iPhone XS, latest version of iOS and TIDAL, using a standard Apple Lightning to USB 3.0 Adapter into a Chord Hugo 2:
And, again, the sample-rate indicator on the Hugo 2 shows the correct (96 kHz for this track), sample rate.
1 Like
Very interesting. I donât get the Master ever there. I only get HiFi. Latest version.
âMasterâ shows up for me with MQA content even without an external DAC or headphones connected (though the iPhone audio system will actually downsample that to 48 kHz for playback on the internal speaker). So I would work on getting that working before worrying about an external DAC.
Beyond that:
-
Which iPhone, what version and what version of iOS?
-
Which Lightning to USB Adapter (I donât know if the old âCamera Connection Kitâ cables still work for this).
-
Do you have âMasterâ enabled in ALL your streaming options in the TIDAL app?
-
If youâre streaming over Cellular not WiFi, is that set to âMasterâ as well? And if so, do you have âOptimized Playbackâ turned OFF?
-
If youâre playing local downloads, if they were downloaded in HiFi mode youâll need to make sure you set the âMasterâ option in the downloads section, then delete the file and re-download it to get the actual MQA version.
1 Like
Iphone XR with ios 12.2.2, tidal 2.7.2 build 1934. I have the Lighting to Camera Adapter (but still not seeing master when thatâs not connected), turned off optimized playback, put master on all options (just to test), redownloaded and downloaded albums, turned off downloading by cellular just to eliminate that factor. No matter what Iâm still not seeing âmasterâ button at bottom.
1 Like
No idea then, short of deleting the TIDAL app entirely and re-installing it or the actual file youâre playing not being an MQA file (if it doesnât have the âMâ icon, then itâs not MQA and wonât play at anything but itâs normal 44.1 kHz rate). But if it wonât work directly on the device then itâs clearly not the camera adapter or the DAC.
Iâll try the redownload and download again for Tidal app in the next day or so and report back.
I deleted and redownloaded tidal today. Itâs working now and showing 96k through SMSL SU-8 and the master button on tidal app.
2 Likes
@Torq=hello am new here and am replying to a 2018 topic of yoursâMQA playback& Supportâ on my ME2 I suddenly now get only 2-3 white LEDs when playing MQA albums on A+3 and weird electrical âpopsâ and then the blue LED will flicker on/off plus A+3 says blue LED in left lower corner at say 24/192/flac/mqa or what ever the rate may be and in the right lower corner it says 24/0!!!-- I donât get the âpopsâ and flickers when listening directly to TIDAL or on ROON(but never get blue LED on ROON only 3 white LEDs)
with AQDFRed I get a magenta fly and A+3 says 24/192 or even 384 in right lower corner do you know what gives here? the SQ is ok is there something wrong with the ME2? This is sort of a moot point as I am awaiting the arrival of Schiit yggdrasil GS and raganock 2(sic) and will continue to use ME2 and DFRed for comparisons
since I have seen you moniker on other headphone forums could you give me your opinion on my choice of DAC/AMP ?they will be mated to a pair of handmade Legacy Audio Studio HD monitors and I use Sennheiser rs-195s and 598 hds for my headphones (will the Ragg 2 be too much for them?) will only be listening toHD/MASTER/HiRes from TIDAL/Qobuz through their web apps or through ROON and A+3 plus my 800 ripped CDs in apple lossless incorporated into all above above services/players
thanks just happened on this forum and signed up for it hope you get itand reply bobbmd
3 Likes
Welcome. Iâve known a few "Dr. Bob"s in my online days, with good memories. Welcome here.
2 Likes
Welcome @bobbmd.
1 Like
@pennstac thanks for the welcome I canât say that I remember you but I really only do CA/now audiophilestyle but thanks must mean you never thought I was a âtrollâ or âshrillâ thatâs nice to know
any thoughts on what I sent to @Torq especially in regard to what will be most likely my âFinal Rodeoâ/system the Schiit DAC (yggdrasil GS) and amp but especially those Legacy speakers and how those cans will do with the Schiit amp
thanks again
bobbmd
2 Likes
@prfallon69@pennstac-thanks for the replyânever received âwelcomesâ like this on other forums I read/belong to bobbmd
2 Likes
Letâs start with the MQA stuff (Iâll do a separate post in regards to your other question(s)):
I donât know which OS youâre running, nor what version, and it seems youâre on an older version of Audirvana (the current is called âAudirvana 3.5â, they dropped the â+â part for the 3.5 release), so unless thereâs a good reason not to, youâll want to update that.
Anything I say here will refer to macOS 10.15, Audirvana 3.5.24, Roon 1.6 (416) ⌠which are the latest versions.
The LEDs on the Meridian Explorer 2 mean the following (LED 1 is the one closest to the printed name of the device, LED 3 the one near the headphone and line-out ports):
- LED 1: Mode - White = PCM, Green = MQA, Blue = Authenticated MQA
- LED 2: Receiving data at at least 88.2/96 kHz
- LED 3: Receiving data at 176.4/192 kHz
If LED 3 lights, so should LED 2.
In your Audirvana case, it sounds like it is setup correctly in Audirvana itself (or youâd never get the blue light) but something is interfering with the data stream. If youâre running any plug-ins, EQ, effects etc. then youâll need to disable them for MQA playback. And Audirvana should should the DAC as an âMQA Decoderâ (if not, choose that manually) in its output settings.
Beyond that, either something is interrupting the playback - too much going on with the computer, a problematic USB port/cable, not a big enough buffer set in Audirvana etc. Itâs hard to say, though if TIDAL is working correctly (assuming everything else is the same) then itâs probably just Audirvana needing to be updated (especially if youâre on macOS and upgrade to Catalina).
The details at the bottom left of the Audirvana display should indicate the container format (FLAC), if itâs MQA next to that itâll say âMQAâ and there will be either a green or blue dot, which mean the same things as for LED 1 on the Explorer 2, above. Below that will be the sample depth and bit-rate that the particular playing MQA file expands to IF the DAC itself can handle that. Note that this display has no bearing on what your DAC is actually outputting, just what the file is.
The numbers on the bottom right are what Audirvana is actually sending to the DAC, which donât always make sense (but the âwhyâsâ arenât relevant and are too much to go into here).
For Roon, it sounds like it just isnât setup correctly (assuming the same machine, USB port, etc.).
Roon should directly recognize the Meridian Explorer 2 and automatically choose the right settings (if it doesnât show you a picture of the actual device, something else is wrong). When playing back a file, and clicking on the little light you should see something like this:
If that chain doesnât show MQA somewhere in the blue line under âSourceâ then youâve simply chosen a non-MQA file to replay.
The device settings should be like this:
Your DragonFly Red sounds like it is behaving correctly. The Magenta/Purple light indicates both 96 kHz playback and MQA. Again the numbers in the bottom right of the display do not always makes sense (the highest bitrate it can received is 24/96).
Hope that helps.
2 Likes
In regards to your new DAC, amp, speakers and your headphones âŚ
Iâve no experience with the Legacy Audio Studio HD.
Going by the specs, running flat-out Ragnarok 2 should be able to drive them to about 117 dB/SPL at 1 meter and 111 dB/SPL at 2 meters (etc.).
Iâm assuming Yggdrasil GS will sound fundamentally the same as the original Yggdrasil equipped with the USB Gen 5 board. That was one of my favorite DACs. Its signature has a powerful bottom end with excellent slam and impact, and a forthright and detailed treble.
How well that will all go with the speakers will depend on the nature of the speakers and how theyâre setup in the room (and, of course, the room itself).
âŚ
In regards to the headphones âŚ
The RS 195 is not much of a factor here. The headphones are going to use their own internal DAC and amp no matter what you do. If you send digital data to the base unit, youâll skip the ADC step there, otherwise thereâs a lot of processing and manipulation going on:
Source -> ADC -> Compression/Encoding -> Wireless Transmission -> Receiver -> Decompression/Decoding -> DAC (in headphone) -> Amp (in headphone).
I doubt what you feed it with is going to be particularly important, and I donât know how they sound anyway, so on that front I wouldnât worry about it.
The Sennheiser 598 will work fine out of the Ragnarok 2. They donât need its power, but theyâll sound pretty much as good as theyâre going to in that case. Youâll be well covered if you decided to upgrade them at some point in the future.
2 Likes
@Torq: thank you so much-your descriptions today & way back in 2018 are impeccable
right now on A3.5(sorry i described it incorrectly) latest version now shows blue LED and white LED and doesnât skip on/off no electrical pops and shows 24/192 in both left and right lower corners TIDAL web page playing masters shows blue LED BUT ROON only gives me 2 white/3 white LEDs and the signal path looks almost identical to what you show(even âenhancedâ not âlosslessâ and one of the grand poobahs at ROON says there is little difference between the two
you may have been correct might have ârunningâ too many other things and am glad it si not the USB board BTW my system is late 2012 Mac Mini i7 16GB RAM with brand new 4TB samsung SSD HD with El Capitan which I will never upgrade
will reread and experiment what you have said tonight have to get back to my office
thank you again response was great and very informative bobbmd
2 Likes
@Torq: again another timely informative response didnât realize that about the RS-195s but to my ears they sound wonderful and serve their purpose-- to sit on my enclosed back porch or on my 3rd floor where I am ALLOWED to smoke a cigar and have a Lagavulin in freezing cold CNY (the same CFO who ALLOWED me to buy the Schiits and the Legacy Audios wonât let me smoke in MY house! the 598âs do sound better what do suggest i move up toâŚ?
Thanks for reconfirming my decision to go with yggdrasil GS rather than Gungnir MB and with the Ragnarok 2 per Lrgacy(springfield illinois they are supposed to be âbutt kickinââ
BTW the Schiits have shipped and the speakers are on their way will keep you posted if you are interested
thanks again bobbmd
2 Likes
As long as you like what youâre hearing all is good. No reason to âmove upâ unless you feel thereâs something youâre missing, or want to change.
Of course itâs common to get a hankering for âsomething betterâ or âthe next stepâ, or just âsomething differentâ even without having a clearly defined idea of what that might be.
However, I wouldnât change anything until youâve spent some time with the new rig. And even then Iâd see if thereâs something that sticks out that you want to change/improve before actively looking for other cans.
2 Likes
Well one of the other Dr Bobs I knew had a calendar program. It could produce a month of all Sundays, for those times when your better half informed you that she wouldnât ⌠for a month of Sundays.
Clever man.
1 Like
@Torq: I thought about this and if there is an internal DAC in the rs-195s I think itâs bypassed the signal path is this: mac mini>usb out to either DFRed or ME2 > RCA out directly from either DAC to analog connection on the rs-195 tower> headphones( I donât use the digital optical option(never even tried it) there is a switch for either digital optical or analog) maybe thatâs why it sounds so good as I already have DAC conversion( and am getting 24/88 24/96 24/192)-am i correct? thanks again about being so interested and informative-- I have implied on other forums that this âstuffâ about SQ is so subjective and if itâs so good to my old ears(which I think are really good despite all those concerts in that galaxy far far away) then Iâll take your advice and enjoy and incidentally the sound is just as good maybe even better with the HD598âs and in my old system CDâs dvd-a sacdâs all sounded better/cleaner/ better separation etc than anything streaming especially my all time favorites American Beauty and Workingmanâs Dead in dvd-a