Lenbrook has acquired the belongings of MQA Ltd
Lenbrook
Canadian audio group Lenbrook has introduced in the present day that it has acquired the belongings of MQA, the British-based know-how firm that developed the MQA high-resolution audio encoding method utilized by the music streaming service TIDAL and embedded in lots of audio units.
Grasp High quality Authenticated is a know-how developed in 2014 by UK audio firm Meridian Audio, based by trade figures Bob Stuart and the late Allen Boothroyd. MQA is a proprietary audio coding commonplace for lossy digital audio compression. The thought behind MQA was to offer high-quality and authenticated audio encoding that could be a real and unadulterated model of the studio grasp recording.
Sadly, MQA went into administration on April 3, 2023. MQA was one of many high-end streaming tier provided by Tidal. Though TIDAL nonetheless gives MQA as a format on its HiFi Plus tier, the streamer has added high-resolution PCM alongside MQA, presumably as the way forward for MQA was in some doubt. The acquisition by Lenbrook ought to deliver readability to the way forward for MQA as a high-resolution audio format.
The acquisition boosts Lenbrook’s mental property portfolio, which now consists of an assortment of serious patents and introduces two distinguished audio codecs – MQA and SCL6.
Gordon Simmonds is the CEO of Lenbrook and has this to say concerning the acquisition: “Lenbrook’s imaginative and prescient is of a thriving hi-fi trade the place applied sciences that promote each client alternative and the pursuit of the very best sound high quality are deserving of funding and nurture. We view this acquisition as a possibility to make sure the applied sciences developed by the scientists and engineers at MQA proceed to serve the trade’s pursuits moderately than be confined to any single model or firm.”
George Massenberg, a Grammy-winning producer and recording engineer, reacted to the information by saying “I’m so relieved that MQA and SCL6 will proceed beneath Lenbrook. MQA’s know-how, with its trustworthy rendering of element, complexity, and sound stage, gave us the rationale to return into the recording studio and reverse a 20-year decline within the high quality of audio supply strategies.”
MQA was based from the insights and assist of document trade executives, recording artists, and audio engineering consultants. The challenge sought to offer creators with the means to effectively protect the element and nuance of recordings in high-resolution recorded codecs, marking a pushback in opposition to the development towards closely compressed music.
“I’m delighted that MQA will proceed in good palms with Lenbrook,” added Morten Lindberg, Grammy-nominated Grasp Engineer at 2L. “For 2L, utilizing MQA has allowed us to boost the expertise of our recordings, past the uncooked seize, with elevated entry to sonic particulars, transparency and decrease listening fatigue.”
Lenbrook is well-capitalized and tends to take a long-term view of investments and market growth. The corporate owns NAD, Bluesound and PSB Loudspeakers. The acquisition of MQA will deliver certainty for the technical developments and monetary viability of the know-how. As a part of the deal, Lenbrook has retained a core group of engineers and builders, plus some gross sales and advertising and marketing personnel, together with Andy Dowell, beforehand the Head of Licensing for MQA, who will proceed to guide enterprise growth actions.
“MQA is the one know-how that considers your entire audio sign chain, from studio to listening room, to guarantee constant high quality of replica. The patents and analysis that underlie MQA characterize vital contributions to digital audio high quality attributable to their concentrate on time area points that haven’t been properly understood till not too long ago,” defined Greg Stidsen, CTO of Lenbrook. “We’re decided to proceed to develop our market and encourage the chances these applied sciences can obtain.”
Andy Dowell added: “As certainly one of MQA’s most important licensees and the proprietor of the award-winning BluOS high-res content material platform, Lenbrook is properly positioned to construct on what was began. Its BluOS platform work has confirmed that the Lenbrook workforce understands it takes a certain quantity of neutrality to be a licensor, however it may well additionally take a buyer view in relation to the needs and wishes from a product growth standpoint.”
Remark: MQA know-how has introduced high-resolution audio streaming in a multi-layered format that’s extremely environment friendly at being unfolded utilizing software program and {hardware} at numerous resolutions. There was an opportunity that MQA might have sunk with out a hint, however it’s a good and environment friendly method of streaming and unfolding high-resolution music and TIDAL has performed quite a bit to make sure the uptake, as has {hardware} producers like Pioneer and Onkyo. Warner Bros. additionally has a long-term licensing deal for utilizing MQA. Now that the know-how is safely within the palms of Lenbrook, the way forward for MQA appears much more sure.
Extra information: lenbrook.com
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