NAD Partners with MQA to Bring the Original Studio Master Experience Home

Latest BluOS firmware will power select high performance NAD models with MQA for studio quality music streams in the home

Pickering, Ontario, Canada, July 5, 2016 – NAD Electronics, the highly regarded manufacturer of high-performance audio/video components announced a partnership with MQA, effective today. NAD announced that MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) music will be supported on select BluOS-enabled NAD components with the upcoming BluOS firmware release, version 2.2.5 for NAD users.

NAD is proud to partner with MQA to introduce high-end audio consumers to this revolutionary end-to-end technology that captures and delivers master quality audio in a file that’s small enough to stream or download. At release, MQA music will be supported on the NAD M12, M50, M32, and C 390DD, with a view to supporting additional BluOS-enabled models in the future.

“NAD and MQA are excited for consumers to experience the magic of original studio recordings in the home,” commented Greg Stidsen, NAD’s Director of Technology and Product Planning. “MQA’s first implementation within BluOS brought master quality audio to NAD’s sister company, Bluesound. We can now advise NAD users of BluOS that they will also have access to original studio recordings. It’s an exciting development and we are proud to be among the first high performance audio companies to deliver the MQA technology for music lovers.”

BluOS is a proprietary operating system shared by NAD and Bluesound that allows for interoperability among BluOS players and connectivity of these players to streaming music in the cloud or from network sources. Both the players and the music sources are controlled by the BluOS app, which is available free for download for iOS and Android devices.

In the BluOS app, the MQA indicator glows green or blue to indicate that the Player is decoding and playing an MQA stream or file, and denotes provenance to ensure that the sound is identical to that of the source material. It glows blue to indicate it is playing an MQA Studio file, which has either been approved in the studio by the artist/producer or has been verified by the copyright owner.

Bob Stuart, MQA’s creator, said “Being able to connect listeners with the artist’s original studio recording through premium audio components such as NAD is incredibly exciting for MQA.”

All users will be prompted to upgrade to the new BluOS firmware, version 2.2.5, to fully experience the latest features enhancements and upgrades.

About MQA
Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, the MQA team has created a technology that captures the full magic of an original studio performance. MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is a revolutionary end-to-end technology that delivers master quality audio in a file that’s small enough to stream or download. MQA is also backward compatible, so you can play MQA music on any device – the days of sacrificing quality for convenience are finally over. MQA is a UK-based private company.

For more information visit www.mqa.co.uk

About BluOS
BluOS is a proprietary operating system shared by numerous high-end audio brands, including Bluesound, NAD Electronics, and PSB Speakers. Unlike other solutions that rely on 3rd party software like UPnP, BluOS is a dedicated ‘music only’ operating system that allows for interoperability among enabled devices and provides connectivity to numerous cloud and network music sources. BluOS fully supports High Resolution Audio, as well as all popular lossless and lossy codecs. It is also features seamless integrations with common smart home controls like Control4, Crestron, URC, and RTI, among others.

About NAD
Founded in 1972 and now sold in over 80 countries, NAD Electronics is renowned for its award-winning line of high quality components for audio, home theater and custom installation applications. The company’s products consistently deliver outstanding performance, value and simplicity. With nearly forty five years of innovation and value, NAD products are proudly distributed in more than 80 countries around the world.

For more information visit www.nadelectronics.com