MQA AT CES 2018: MOBILE STREAMING & NEW PARTNERSHIPS DRIVE MASTER QUALITY AUDIO AVAILABILITY

Las Vegas/London, 5 Jan 2018: The MQA team will be based in the Hi-Res Audio Pavilion, located in the largest and busiest area of the convention centre (Central Hall #14735).

Mike Jbara, MQA CEO, states, “There are now more than 100 MQA-enabled products and services in the market, and we’re excited to be driving conversations around improving the consumer experience, both at CES as well as other key events throughout 2018. We are particularly pleased with how our label partners have incorporated MQA’s tools into their day-to-day production processes, enabling the availability of their catalogues and new releases. This year will see explosive growth in terms of the completeness of both catalogue and new release music in MQA.”

MQA’s CEO will be chairing a discussion focusing on the lifestyle trends and latest technology developments that are shaping consumer experience. “Music Streaming Is Only The Beginning” will take place at the Hi-Res Audio Pavilion (LVCC #14735) on Wednesday 10 January 2018, (11:00–11:30). Mike will be joined on the panel by: Andy Hood, Head of Emerging Technologies (AKQA), Brad Serling, Founder & CEO (nugs.net), and Geir Skaaden, EVP & Chief Products & Services Officer (Xperi).

In addition to MQA music availability on TIDAL, Onkyo Music, e-onkyo, HIGHRESAUDIO and 2L’s store, expansion continues with the launch of Groovers, the Korean hi-res music service, who are the first streaming service to showcase MQA on mobile. In association with LG, Groovers is offering a 3-month free promotional trial in Korea until 31 March 2018 for LG V30 smartphone owners, the world’s first global MQA-enabled handset. Nugs.net, the home of live music from iconic touring artists such as Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Phish, and Dead & Company, continues the expansion of MQA on mobile with the first ever iOS implementation of MQA, as part of the nugs.net HiFi streaming service. From 10 January 2018, nugs.net HiFi tier subscribers will be able to enjoy native MQA playback of thousands of full-length concerts on iOS devices.

Roon Labs is the latest software partner to announce integrated MQA support for its award-winning music player. Roon’s desktop software will support local MQA file playback, as well as TIDAL MQA streaming for HiFi subscribers.

Roon now joins MQA software partners Amarra and Audirvana, who both continue to work on their Windows implementation of MQA. Audirvana Plus for Windows 10 will be released by end of January 2018, enjoying the same feature levels as Audirvana Plus for Mac, and benefiting additionally from a totally redesigned user interface.

Playback adoption continues with launches of Esoteric’s N-01 Network Audio Player, the Oppo UDP-205 Blu-ray Disc Player, and Meridian’s 251 Powered Zone Controller; announcements by both Sonore* and Metrum Acoustics* of an MQA upgrade option across their product ranges; dCS adding MQA integration to their Vivaldi One, in addition to the recently announced MQA-enabled Rossini DAC; as well as an MQA upgrade for iFi’s Nano iDSD BL. There will be multiple opportunities to experience MQA music via our many partners based on the Hi-Res Audio Pavilion and in the Venetian, including AudioQuest, Bluesound, dCS, LG, Mytek, NAD, Onkyo, Pioneer, Pro-ject, Sony and Technics.

About MQA
Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, the MQA team has created a technology that captures the sound of the original studio performance. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream, while also being backward compatible, so you can play MQA music on any device. MQA’s award-winning technology is licensed by labels, music services and hardware manufacturers worldwide and is certified by the RIAA. MQA is a UK-based private company.