With Warner, Universal Music Group, and Sony as major shareholders/partners, it's no wonder that MQA figured so prominently in the CES Hi-res pavilion. MQA wasn't everywhereQobuz hasn't seen fit to embrace it as yet, and the majority of audio manufacturers have yet to get on boardbut it has certainly come to mobile phones and players.
An entire page of the High End magazin was devoted to an introduction to Meridian's MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) technology. Bob Stuart, who with Peter Craven, invented MQA, spent a generous amount of time with me discussing both the latest developments with the process, and some of the scientific research behind it. Already, Arcam, Onkyo, Roon, and Tidal have signed on as MQA supporters, and over 100 potential business partners have been identified...
The embrace of MQA by audio companies and labels has widened. At last weekend's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, MQA announced that its technology will be embedded in LG's new, globally distributed V30 flagship smartphone. In addition, two Sony Walkmans, the WM-ZX300 and WM-A40, will become equipped for MQA music playback. Worldwide music streaming platform Deezer is also planning to go the MQA route, with Bluesound, LG, Onkyo, Moon by Simaudio, and Sony amongst its partners.
Today, January 4, at "CES Unveiled" in Las Vegas, MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) launched major partnerships with Morten Lindberg's multiple Grammy Award-nominated, audiophile record label/download store 2L and playback partners Auralic, Aurender, and Bluesound. The entire 2L download catalog, starting with one of Lindberg's first recordings, made in 1993, and extending through his latest DXD (352.8kHz) recordings, has been scrubbed clean and born anew with MQA.
Digging MQA (from LR): Peter McGrath, Jason Victor Serinus, and Michael Fremer, with Bob Stuart anxiously looking on and Winai Pawitwatana behind. (Photo: John Atkinson)
CES 2016 marked the first time that three writers for StereophileEditor-in-Chief, John Atkinson; AnalogPlanet analog guru, Michael Fremer; and this Contributing Editorcould sit down in the same room with Bob Stuart of MQA/Meridian and spend a concentrated amount of time comparing before- and after-MQA encoded (Master Quality Authenticated) tracks.
On March 17, Japanese label Ottava will release the first MQA recording on compact disc, A. Piazzolla by Strings and Oboe. Recorded by the UNAMAS Piazzolla Septet, whose videos you can view online, the short disc was mastered by the Tokyo-based label's CEO, Mick Sawaguchi. The recording is also available for download.
When I entered the MSB room, a track from the JVC XRCD version of Sonny Rollins's Rollins Plays for Bird was transmitting all of the recording's smooth, warm, and sophisticated elegance. That last word isn't one I use often when describing high-end systems, but that's exactly what I experienced here.
Listening to HDTracks’ 24/192 download of the Jimmy Cobb Quartet’s Jazz in the Key of Blue, I finally heard what a well-tuned MSB system can do. “So musical!” I wrote in my notes. Instrumental timbres were excellent, with the warmth and fullness of Roy Hargrove’s trumpet portrayed with near tube-like roundness and warmth. Combined with the air and depth conveyed by the high-res recording, and the sheer presence of the drums, the experience opened a portal to audio nirvana. I could have spent hours exploring music in multiple formats on this system, and still have wanted more. It killed me to have to leave the room so soon. Only the reality of many more rooms to cover before show’s end kept me from staying longer.
"Slava" has died. The great Russian cellist, known as much for his defiance of the Soviet oligarchy as for the more than 170 compositions dedicated to him, had been hospitalized in Paris at the end of January, but chose to fly to Moscow shortly thereafter to spend his last months in his beloved homeland. He is survived, not only by his two daughters and his wife and frequent collaborator, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, but also by the huge number of recordings that attest to his eloquence.
Having visited the Aurum Cantus loudspeaker factory in China in 2009, and experienced every stereotype of shoddy Chinese manufacturing practices destroyed by what, to these eyes, were meticulous production practices, keen concerns for worker health and safety, and comprehensive testing, I am always delighted when Roger DuNaier of Audiophile Direct brings Aurum Cantus speakers to shows. Here, the Aurum Cantus V30M 2 stand-mount with aluminum-ribbon tweeter ($2600/pair) joined the Wells Audio Majestic 150Wpc integrated amplifier with phonostage ($14,000), Sound Science Music Vault Diamond music server ($4995), Benchmark DAC2 DX DAC ($1995), and assorted Dana Cable products to produce "the kind of sound that makes you happy."