Jim Austin briefly discusses MQA in his review of the Explorer² in this issue, but a more complete description of MQA can be found in an article posted on Stereophile's website at the end of 2014.

MQA involves two fundamental concepts, discussed in a paper presented to the Audio Engineering Society in October 2014, the first responsible for a potential improvement in sound quality, the second responsible for a large reduction in the bandwidth required for storage and streaming of high-resolution files...

I was lying on a mattress on the floor of an empty apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Not as grim as it sounds—it's a nice apartment, and the mattress was new, and had just been delivered—but it was hot (no air-conditioning), and my family and my furniture were still in my condo up in Maine, and I was lonely. I needed some cheering up. Which is how I rationalized the decision to buy an Explorer², Meridian Audio's tiny, inexpensive ($299) digital-to-analog converter.

May 21, 2–6pm, Bill McKiegan, President of Sales at Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, will be presenting a day of listening at Audio Concepts (11661 Preston Rd #280, Dallas, TX 75230) in Dallas, Texas. The featured system will include the new Momentum M400 mono amplifiers, Momentum Preamplifier, and Momentum Phonostage (above), driving Wilson Alexx loudspeaker and using the AMG Viella 12 turntable.

Friday May 20, from 2-10pm, Hi-Fi Sales (1732 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003) is hosting an event in which audiophiles can get their first look at VPI's brand new ADS (Analog Drive System) speed controller…

If songwriting is a lost art, then Guy Clark will always be one of its greatest old masters.

Esperanza Spalding: Emily's D+Evolution
Concord 7238281 (LP, 24/96 FLAC from PonoMusic). 2016. Esperanza Spalding, Tony Visconti, prods.; Kyle Hoffman, Tim Price, engs.; Martin Cooke, Kyle McAulay, Erin Tonkon, asst. engs.; Paul Blakemore, mastering; Rich Costey, mix. Mario Borgatta, mix assist. DDA? TT: 43:41
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

It may have started back in 2011, when the crowd at the Grammy Awards let out a collective "Who?" as Esperanza Spalding was named Best New Artist, an award almost everyone had thought would go straight to Justin Bieber. Spalding was the first jazz artist ever to win that award.

The resulting notoriety took the jazz bassist and singer, who'd lived almost entirely in the rather insular world of jazz, by surprise. A child prodigy who played violin at five, and soon after learned oboe and clarinet, Spalding sings in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, and became one of the youngest teachers in the history of her alma mater, Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Note: All dialogue quoted verbatim from e-mail exchanges to which I am privy; the stage directions are imaginary.

Dramatis Personae:

bill, director of marketing for PS Audio

randy, amateur reviewer for a commercial audiophile website

dick, professional reviewer for an established audio magazine (not Stereophile)