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Chasz99
Contributor I
April 16, 2020
Answered

Tidal now displays “MASTER” - does SONOS now support MQA?

I just noticed that Tidal displays “MASTER” now on MQA tracks where before it would kick down to “HIFI” - has SONAS started supporting MQA?  
 

my understanding before was that even if you were playing the master quality music, it would downgrade to hifi and this was reflected in the display.  What changed?  Audio Quality or just the display?

i have two gen 2 Play 5s with the sub in my office.  I enjoy the sound 😁

 

Thank you for any input!!!

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ratty
rattyAnswer
April 16, 2020

Sonos doesn't support MQA decode. It would make no sense to unfold lossy ultrasonics which could, if anything, damage the sound. Evidence does however suggest that Sonos is able to play the files by interpreting the top 16 bits, out of which some 13 bits evidently contain useful PCM music data. 

Where do you see the word "MASTER"? A screenshot would be useful. 

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ratty
ratty
April 18, 2020

The most important question for me would be: have you noticed any difference in the quality of the sound?

Given the widely known characteristics of the MQA format I await the answer with baited breath...

Chasz99Author
Contributor I
April 19, 2020

Is there an improvement in sound quality?

I love the psychological effect of seeming “MASTER” on the stream quality - my systems has always sounded very good (2 Play 5s 2nd gen and the sub with Trueplay).  Is there a difference in sound quality?  I have no idea - human interpretation has some limitations.  Am I enjoying it? Yes 😉  

Has something changed in the delivery of the music resulting in the change in the display that now indicates Tidal’s “MASTER” label to the stream?  That  was the question which remains unanswered.

johnbeardwell
Contributor I
May 4, 2020

I've noticed the same but it only happens when I'm using an iPad. Not when using my Samsung S9. 

jorgen2a
Lyricist III
May 4, 2020

I have also seen this, do not know if it is a bug.  My connect gen 2 hooked up to an external DAC still shows 16 / 44.1.  It looks like MQA is in the next version of the Sonos platform (S2).  Doubtful though if you will hear any major difference.  Have tested MQA via Roon and raspberry pi as an endpoint. It's always nice to see the DAC light up to high resolution, but as I said, I do not notice any major difference. But still it Would be nice to have MQA on Sonos :)

    knopper
    Contributor I
    May 17, 2020

    I believe it is a bug in the iOS App. If you use Airplay instead of direct cast/control, it will say HiFi.

    Side note/question, because I dont see many active Tidal/Sonos users in this community, could you try my most recent question I posted about and see if it replicates? It would be a huge help.

    https://en.community.sonos.com/music-services-and-sources-228994/control-sonos-directly-from-the-tidal-app-issues-6841012?postid=16430090#post16430090

    Chasz99Author
    Contributor I
    May 18, 2020

     

    Chasz99Author
    Contributor I
    May 18, 2020

    It also says “Master” when airplay is used.

    knopper
    Contributor I
    May 18, 2020

    Wow this is weird. It seems my direct control is HiFi now and my Airplay is Master. I have the Sonos beam, perhaps there are different symptoms for us as you have a different product, or this has a mind of its own and it is randomly going to show Master at times.

     

      LuvMusic
      Lyricist I
      May 18, 2020

      Wow this is weird. It seems my direct control is HiFi now and my Airplay is Master. I have the Sonos beam, perhaps there are different symptoms for us as you have a different product, or this has a mind of its own and it is randomly going to show Master at times.

       

      **Edit again. This is changing abruptly as I explore it more.**

      Earlier my IKEA Symfonisk was playing on MASTER (Direct play) and HiFi (Airplay). And then iPhone was playing on HiFi. This has reversed now with the latest update. Now IKEA Symfonisk plays on HiFI (Direct play) and MASTER (Airplay). And now the iPhone plays MASTER.

      knopper
      Contributor I
      May 18, 2020

      Wow this is weird. It seems my direct control is HiFi now and my Airplay is Master. I have the Sonos beam, perhaps there are different symptoms for us as you have a different product, or this has a mind of its own and it is randomly going to show Master at times.

       

      Even I am facing the same issue. Looks like the last update messed with this. Earlier it was exactly opposite.

      Hello LuvMusic, if you have time would you mind checking out the post I linked a few comments up and let me know if you have the same issue? Seems there aren’t many Tidal-Sonos users active on here

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