AUDIO FORMAT
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)
Specifications
| Family | HYBRID |
|---|---|
| Bit depth | 24 |
| 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
Master Quality Authenticated — a lossy/lossless-hybrid encoding format that folds high-sample-rate content into a 24-bit / 48 kHz PCM container using “music origami” frequency-domain folding. A compatible decoder unfolds the file back to (claimed) 24-bit / 192 kHz; a non-decoder plays it as standard 24/48.
Format adoption peaked with Tidal Masters around 2019–2022 and has been declining since Tidal moved its top tier to native FLAC hi-res in 2024. Whether MQA is meaningfully audible versus equivalent-rate PCM is debated; the format remains commercially significant primarily in legacy hardware.
Supported as decoder/renderer/passthrough on the reference portable DAP, the integrated DAC + amp and the desktop reference DAC.
Typical use cases
- Tidal Master tier streaming
- select Hi-Res downloads