What is a .MQA file?
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is a hi-res audio format that folds high-frequency detail into a normal-looking FLAC or WAV stream so it can stream at modest bitrates. The container is lossless, but the MQA encoding inside it is not.
- Did you know
- MQA’s "origami" encoding hides the extra resolution below the noise floor, and a light-up dot in players signalled the file had been studio-authenticated. MQA Ltd went into administration in 2023, and Tidal finished moving its catalogue to plain hi-res FLAC in 2024.
- MQA came from Meridian Audio and was championed by Tidal, whose Masters tier streamed MQA files.
- MQA Ltd went into administration in 2023 and Tidal moved to lossless FLAC, leaving the format's future in doubt.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify many more audio formats: lossless/hi-res codecs (Monkey’s Audio, WavPack, TAK, True Audio, DSD/SACD, Musepack), pro containers (Core Audio, RF64/BW64, Wave64, Sun AU, Broadcast Wave with timecode), speech/mobile (Speex, AMR-WB, QCP, 3GA, M4R, GSM), MPEG Layer I/II, instrument banks (SoundFont, SFZ, DLS, RIFF MIDI, GigaStudio), ringtones (RTTTL, iMelody, SAP), tracker modules (MOD, XM, IT, S3M, OctaMED, 669, Oktalyzer), chiptunes (NES NSF, SNES SPC, VGM, Game Boy GBS, AY, YM) and Audacity projects. DJI waveform peak sidecars (PKF - the overview a DJI recorder writes beside its audio) are drawn as a waveform; Adobe Audition peak caches (also PKF) are identified.
- Depth of analysis
- .MQA is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .MQA file
- Drag a .MQA file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.