AUDIO FORMAT
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)
Specifications
| Family | LOSSLESS-CONTAINER |
|---|---|
| Bit depth | 24 (base layer) |
| Sample rate | 44,100 Hz |
| Bit rate | ~1.5 Mbps stereo (base layer) |
| Lossless? | no |
| Extensions | .flac (MQA-encoded), .wav (MQA-encoded) |
| Specification | MQA Ltd. proprietary |
| Developer | MQA Ltd. |
Overview
Proprietary lossy-hybrid format: folds high-frequency content into the lower bits of a 24/44.1 or 24/48 PCM container, then unfolds in the DAC. Reconstructs to 192–384 kHz with full hardware decoding.
Typical use cases
- Tidal Master tier streaming
- select Hi-Res downloads