Meridian Explorer2 with MQA firmware

[HAL]

Just downloaded and installed the new Meridian Explorer2 MQA firmware update.  This is the first MQA decoder firmware for the DAC. 

The 2L label has the Carl Nielsen Piano Music recording in MQA at 44.1KHz sample rate for purchase and have that downloaded.  Playing it with Foobar2000 and the LED goes blue for MQA decoding.

Giving it a try with the laptop and my old pair of Etymotic Research ER-4S phones.  Nice piano recording! 

Anyone else give this a listen?

[HAL]

It is interesting that a lot of the music servers are just announcing MQA for their streaming capabilities.

Since any HAL MS-1, MS-2 or MS-3 Music Servers can run the USB driver for the Meridian Explorer2 DAC, they could have started listening in February like I did with my MS-3 when the new MQA firmware was released with the 2L demo's and downloads.

[HAL]

In the latest Stereophile issue, Jim Austin reviewed the Meridian Audio Explorer2 USB DAC with the MQA firmware. His description of the sound quality are very accurate from my listening using the HAL MS-3 Music Server as the digital source. The 2L free demo downloads are a very good way to try the MQA function with studio quality recordings that light the blue LED on the unit to show it's recording lineage.

At $299.00 and with a headphone and line level outputs, it really makes a great digital audio front end for either portable or home systems. Bob Stuart is demostrating the real capabilities of minimum phase and apodising filtering for digital recording and reproduction. This sounds better.

[rollo]

Thanks for the heads up Hal.


charles