The Explorer 2 is also an award winning headphone amp and is small enough to pack in a laptop bag when jet-setting. The Explorer 2 has line level outputs on a 3.5mm jack which can be hooked directly into a Hi-Fi system (ideally with something like a Kimber GQ Mini cable). The most inexpensive way to experience full MQA decoding is pairing a computer running Tidal to a Meridian Explorer 2 DAC / Headphone Amp which is currently priced at NZ $350. MQA compatible Meridian DAC's & streaming products
To discover MQA content, download and install the PC/Mac Tidal application and view available albums under the "Masters" section which is growing daily but at the time of writing contains approximately 450 albums of various genres.
MQA content is available to stream on Tidal for any users with a " Tidal Hi-Fi" subscription (NZD25.99/month). We'll leave that up to the experts to explain. With this months Tidal "Master" service launch, the format is set to take off so below we will explain a few things you need to know so that you can get the most from MQA.
The format caused quite a stir at CES and music lovers around the world are quickly switching on to the sonic & practical benefits of the format.Īs you may know, Meridian and specifically Meridian's founder, chief engineer & head guru Bob Stuart launched MQA in 2014 but as with most new formats it has taken some time before end users are actually able to get their hands on content.
We have been having a lot of fun at Denco HQ the past few weeks since Tidal began streaming MQA content.