I'm going to start this post with a few pointers...
First off I'm highly on the spectrum, second I cannot spell well and have grammer issues. Lastly I talk to myself while taking to others (thanks ADHD). So please be kind 😇
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Anyways; As someone who loved MQA for the last 5 or so years today I came to a realization that I hope can atleast help 1 person out there reading this. I truly did enjoy MQA and thought the whole converstation around it being a 'SCAM' was just people upset about the up-charges that come from the company/label being added to our products, but I will admit i was wrong!
I started my "Hi-Fi" or "Audiophile" journey with a Bluesound Powernode2 (yes some of you see where this is headed and can skip to the end lol). I truly enjoyed the ease of use with my Kef Q150 bookshelf speakers and truly thought nothing was really better than hearing those MQA tracks as they played late night. The come to find out, 'boosted mid-range', added warmth to the compression (I mean tracks) that I enjoyed for many years.
As I got older I realized I didn't really like the treble coming from my Kef Q150 speakers and wanted to try something new. 100 YouTube videos later from Darko, Andrew Robinson, The British Audiophile, etc. along with this subreddit and the Audio Scenice's website, I sort of figured out what "my" sound, well... sounded like lol.
But one thing really stood out to me and that was everyone saying you needed to try out the equipment before purchasing (bare with me I'm getting there).
So I visited a few local 'Hi-Fi' shops looking to surely purchase something with MQA decoding like NAD or Cambridge. Each amplipher was so bright however I just couldn't vibe with it. In the end I knew I wanted a pair of Wharfedale Lintons as I loved the midrange and slight warmth they added, but didn't want anything source wise that had to much sibilance.
Before endeding up with my now Yamaha AS-1200, I tried the NAD 3050 and Cambridge Evo 150, but something was off. The dealer recommened I get a seperate amp and streamer, so I wanted to try something different from BlueOS, as the opperating system is getting a little long in the tooth. I ended up coming home with a EverSolo DMP-A6 just to try out the OS.
After hooking everything up (and getting some proper cables which is a whole different story because they actually do matter lol), I was shocked to not see that MQA symbol but in fact everything on Tidal was 16/44.1 FLAC.
I soon realized that each track now had much better volume leveling. Clarity in the top range and balanced sound all the way down to the lows my speakers could handle. Switching back to my Powernode just for a reality check, it hit me. The sound I've been searching for was not the actual music itself, but added compression and file manipulation that I also was paying extra for.
Long story short... You can get that same midrange you are looking for and much better by system matching your components. Trying out some vinyl with a tube phono stage. Or even just getting some slightly warmer speakers that boost the midrange instead of the defacto treble boosted starter speakers.
As much as it pains me, I now see how I fell for the marketing/engineering trick that is MQA. An for those still using Bluesound products that may have never tried something else, I'd say just give it a chance and you may be shocked that you enjoy music that doesn't have a "higher number attached for dramatic effect" alot more than you realize.