I forgot what music was meant to sound like. My "journey" started by talking to a friend about spending most of my time listening to music from my computer via my Spotify account. I had connected the headphone jack of my laptop to the input of a NAD C316BEE integrated amplifier which in turn fed a pair of Camber 3.0ti speakers that I bought back in the 90's (which I still absolutely love to this day). He told me the first thing I needed to do to drastically improve my sound was to upgrade to a DAC connected to the USB port which then could feed my NAD. He gave me a first-generation Audioquest Dragonfly that he used years ago which indeed improved the sound greatly. HOWEVER, he then told me of a DAC that he currently uses, the Meridian Explorer 2 which decodes MQA (via a subscription to TIDAL) which would be another quantum leap beyond Spotify and the Dragonfly. This was first time I had ever heard of MQA. After subscribing to TIDAL, hooking up the Meridian, and listening to MQA recordings, I can't go back. I'm ruined. I started this by stating that I forgot what music was meant to sound like. This isn't really accurate - after listening to MQA, I actually had never heard anything close to what was on the recording. This is the best $200 you'll ever spend (including the TIDAL subscription) to really begin enjoying music.

After 3 weeks, I've found myself searching out great recordings irrespective of the genre to let the recording shine through the MQA system. Recommendations - Fleetwood Mac - Rumors (entire album, incredible), Commodores - Easy and The Temptations - Papa was a Rolling Stone (phenomenal recordings), Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground (wow), I guarantee - you've never had so much fun listening to music. Makes me feel like a kid again.

If you are getting into Tidal, just buy this thing already. Are there better? Probably, but chances are you won't be able to tel difference. Audio reviews contain so much superfluous hyperbole that you just have to admit its an arms race with your wallet squared up in the crosshairs. I have a modest system containing Emotiva sources and SVS speakers and subs. Can I tell a difference? Absolutely yes! Even my wife noticed.

MQA is real. It and offers accessibility and convenience. A viewpoint that professional audio reviewers will certainly look down upon. I don't' care. I'll come to my own conclusions.

Don't buy this if:
You connect to a bluetooth speaker.
Don't have a laptop or desktop to connect it to. (you cant get the full quality resolution from a iphone/ipad)

Buy this if you have:
Decent preamp/pro/amplifier and want more detail out of your music.

I'm satisfied with the performance but certainly not wowed, my current setup includes my computer to one of my DACs (Oppo Sonica, Emotiva Little Ego, and now the Meridian) to an Emotiva preamp, two Emotiva Stealth 8s and an Emotiva 10' sub. What I noticed while listening to "regular" mp3's and flac files as well as Tidal's HiFi stream is that the Meridian was flat and honestly didn't even sound as detailed as the base soundcard in my computer... So it wasn't even close to the Little Ego let alone the Oppo. When playing MQA streams on Tidal is when the Meridian opened up a bit, the sound is much more detailed than it was previously (Still not as detailed as either of the other DACs on a HiFi stream) but very smooth, it has a very "analog" sound, it sounds very much like your listening to a brand new record... may be an odd description but the nearest thing I can compare it to.
I would only buy this DAC for just exploring MQA files, it works... Tidal recognizes it as such, but for all around music playback, NO you can do much better for the money, Little Ego, AudioQuest etc. which is very disappointing when buying a product from a company as reputable as Meridian.

Just got this a few days ago. Shipping was prompt. Packaging simple but item arrived in good shape. Plugged into my iMac and stereo and voila! didn't need to read the manual. Found some MQA files on the internet to stream and OMG, this thing is amazing. I almost jumped out of my skin with the shock of the realism I heard out of my (old) Tannoys. Listening to plain vanilla Spotify steams, CDs and AAC didn't produce quite the same jolt, but my old standby test music, Steely Dan, sounded very nice. I'm happy. Now, if only there were more places besides Tidal to hear MQA files.

For the past few months I've been reading about a new encoding system developed by Meridian Audio over in the U. K. It is called Master Quality Authenticated or MQA for short. Devoted music lovers will be hearing more about this process in the future. For more go to their website. While music encoded with this process is still being developed, music streamer TIDAL has thousands of tracks (they claim 30K) which are available in a section called "Masters."

I was anxious to give it a try but of course you need a decoder. Several high end products have incorporated it in their equipment, but most of these are outside my price range. This little gem from Meridian isn't. In fact, the price has dropped substantially from their original $400. I don't often listen to music from my computers and when I do it is usually over DLNA in the house. Normally I would listen to TIDAL using my smart phone either via Bluetooth or connected directly to my Oppo universal player.

With the Explorer 2, you must connect it to either a desktop or laptop computer using a USB port. It won't work directly from a phone or tablet without some sort of technical manipulation and even then I'm not sure it would work with MQA. In any case, I hooked the 4" long oval device to my Windows 10-based laptop. I actually placed an Audioquest Jitterbug between the USB port on the laptop and the Explorer 2. The Jitterbug is essentially an inexpensive noise filter and works great, but that's another review.

You have the option of plugging headphones/earbuds directly into the Explorer 2, but it also has a separate port that you can run into your preamp which I have done. Frankly I was a bit stunned by what I heard. What a difference this little device has on the overall quality of the sound. It not only decodes MQA material but has an excellent digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that is a significant improvement over what is included on most computers including mine. Even with TIDAL's standard streaming (HI FI setting 44.1kHZ/16bit), the sound is more robust, detailed and balanced. When you chose "Masters" you will get a list of options either by album or by playlist. With the MQA (96kHZ/24bit) engaged, the Explorer provides 2 variations of MQA.

Occasionally you will find tracks or albums called studio grade. You will know as the Explorer 2 will light up 3 diodes. One light is for normal HI FI, 2 lights for MQA content and 3 for MQA studio. With MQA content what I've noticed most is more detail. That is, brushes on a drum, breathing by a singer, fretwork by a guitarist, whispered comments, etc. You can more easily pick out instruments you haven't heard before. I've become a fan of a band called "War on Drugs." Their sax player often plays a huge bass or baritone sax. I love the sound but frankly, it's hard to pick out sometimes. Not with the Explorer 2 especially with MQA content. I've now found other bands using the same instrument, only I've not heard it before.

Finally, especially in "studio" mode, there is a feeling of being inside the recording studio. There is a bit of sound decay, modest echo that captures the actual sound of the session before engineering tricks are applied. As you might expect, the differences with MQA will be mostly heard with high quality equipment. I would consider my system modest but good (Martin Logan electrostatic speakers, Emotiva preamp and amps, Audioquest and Morrow cables, etc.) I'm a believer and at this price, you can't go wrong.