Meridian's Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) Technology

[Sundog]

Link to an interesting article regarding Meridian's Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) Technology.

http://audioxpress.com/article/Meridian-Master-Quality-Authenticated-MQA-Technology-Makes-Lossless-Hi-Res-Audio-Streaming-Practical.html

[Sundog]

John Atkinson's take on Meridian's MQA technology. I'm intrigued. If you read nothing else scroll down to the Correcting The Source section and read the first paragraph.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/ive-heard-future-streaming-meridians-mqa

[David Ayers]

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

[Sundog]

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

Sure no problem. Very curious to see how this plays out since by all accounts the sonic differences are marked and considered positive.

[jcam_44]

Maybe I'm incorrect, but basically they are taking a higher source, studio masters at a bit rate higher than cd, and compressing it to a comparable MP3 size without the loss of the high end frequencies? Seems like an interesting process, but seems like it may be cost prohibitive in most applications.

[Sundog]

Maybe I'm incorrect, but basically they are taking a higher source, studio masters at a bit rate higher than cd, and compressing it to a comparable MP3 size without the loss of the high end frequencies? Seems like an interesting process, but seems like it may be cost prohibitive in most applications.

The packing and unpacking of the file is lossless and extremely efficient from a bit standpoint based on my limited understanding of the process. Meridian affectionately calls the process "audio origami" and it allows for backward compatibility with existing CD technology. The other piece that I find intriguing is the filtering (not sure if that's really the right or all encompassing term) they apply that apparently changes the musical presentation for the better.

The economics seem to make sense from what I've read however Meridian needs to do some serious lobbying to get buy in from record companies and equipment manufactures to have any real chance of bringing this to market. Of course this assumes that all parties are committed to providing consumers with the best possible sound. With respect to records companies that's a rather big assumption!