MQA NEW PARTNERS, PRODUCTS, MUSIC RELEASES AT RMAF / CEDIA 2019

A pair of major North American shows will see MQA reveal new partners, additional products and more MQA music.

The stage is set for RMAF (Rocky Mountain Audio Fest), the consumer audio show, running from 6-8 September, and CEDIA Expo, the leading connected technology show that follows on 10-14 September for visitors to see new products from MQA partners while experiencing master quality music and live demonstrations of MQA technology in action.

New MQA Partners

Following the landmark launch of Xiami Music streaming service in China earlier this year, users will be able to experience MQA on-the-go with the new wave of digital audio players from a range of Chinese-based manufacturers.  These makers sell worldwide with new products available across all international markets.

New partners and MQA-enabled products being announced at RMAF include Cayin who has recently integrated MQA into its new digital audio players, the N8 and N8 Brass Black. Also, there's iBasso Audio's DX220 digital audio player and HiBy's R5 portable audio player that was MQA-enabled this month.

Additionally, the recently announced SMSL Audio M500 DAC + headphone amplifier is now available to order. Finally, there's Ausounds, the US-based premium audio company that designs headphones and audio products, who is announcing its MQA partnership at RMAF 2019.

Meanwhile, at CEDIA, JBL Synthesis is the latest HARMAN brand to join the MQA family, following MQA implementation into Mark Levinson and Arcam products.

HARMAN will debut new products from the JBL Synthesis brand, including the SDR-35 AV receiver and the SDP-55 AV processor, while the Arcam SA30 flagship integrated amplifier gets its first US show outing.  Additionally, Monitor Audio will be announcing its new IMS-4 streamer, which incorporates the BluOS module with MQA capability.

New MQA Music

MQA music availability continues to expand rapidly, including within China where millions of new MQA songs have been made available via the Xiami Music platform.

Recent music highlights include the nugs.net exclusive Third Man Records live shows in MQA to download and stream, including live concert recordings from label owner Jack White, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes and The Dead Weather.

Additionally, marking the 30th anniversary of the legendary Brazilian hip-hop group, Racionais MC's, the band's entire catalogue is now available in MQA exclusively on TIDAL;

MQA-CD has breathed new life into the physical format – notably in Japan, the second-largest recorded music market in the world.  Warner Music Japan has recently released evergreen titles from artists including Joni Mitchell, Keith Jarrett and the Ramones, while T-TOC Records releases MQA-CDs monthly.  Evolution Music Group continues to champion the format, including Grammy Award-winning jazz artist, Bob James, with his latest “Espresso” album.

Mike Jbara, CEO of MQA, told StereoNET:

With the release of millions of new recordings, MQA enables labels, services and playback partners to continue to raise the audio bar.  Combined with the growing selection of MQA-ready digital audio players, more music fans are enjoying authenticated MQA music on the go.

MQA Partners at RMAF

Astell&Kern will showcase its new A&ultima SP2000 portable player in the HeadSpace area and plans to release the product in September.  Astell&Kern recently integrated nugs.net into a range of its high-end players, and 90-day free trial vouchers for the MQA-enabled service will be available to stand visitors.

NAD and Bluesound will host MQA listening sessions on 6 and 7 September at 11:00am.

MOON by Simaudio will demonstrate MQA in association with ListenUp, holding two dedicated MQA listening sessions on 6 and 7 September at 3:00pm.

EISA award-winners Hegel and Pro-Ject Audio Systems will be demonstrating MQA products at the show.

The DV2 integrated DAC from EMM Labs will be on display, while its NS1 network streamer is 'coming soon' to MQA.

MQA Partners at CEDIA

MQA playback partners showcasing their MQA products for the custom install market include Control4 who will be demonstrating MQA at its booth on the recently announced Triad One streaming amplifier.

Meridian Audio will demo its new 210 Streamer across several partner locations, including Barco Residential, Leon Speakers and Josh.ai. Also, NAD will have its EISA award-winning, MQA-enabled M10 streaming amplifier on display.

NB: New partner announcements and launches are subject to final test and certification.