New BluOS firmware to support MQA for artist-approved music streams in the home.
TORONTO, Canada — May 31, 2016 — Bluesound, a leading manufacturer of wireless multi-room music systems, announced today that MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) music will be supported for wireless streaming on all Bluesound Players starting June 1, 2016. MQA has been heard on Bluesound by thousands, with successful listening demonstrations in major cities around the world. Now, Bluesound and MQA are excited for consumers to experience the magic of original studio recordings in the home.
"Bluesound is thrilled to be the first wireless multi-room system to support MQA and bring hi-resolution music to consumers so they can stream and listen to any room in the home," said Greg Stidsen, Bluesound Director of Technology and Product Planning. "This partnership is a huge success for Bluesound, and one more step in our mission to deliver the best-sounding music experience throughout people‘s homes."
MQA is a revolutionary end-to-end technology that captures and delivers master quality audio in a file that‘s small enough to stream or download. Bluesound worked closely with MQA to implement technology inside every Bluesound Player to ensure the listener will hear MQA encoded music and streams exactly like the source.
In the BluOS app, the MQA indicator glows green or blue to indicate that the Player is decoding and playing an MQA stream or file, and denotes provenance to ensure that the sound is identical to that of the source material. It glows blue to indicate it is playing an MQA Studio file, which has either been approved in the studio by the artist/producer or has been verified by the copyright owner.
Bob Stuart, MQA‘s creator, said “Being able to connect listeners with the artist‘s original studio recording through a premium wireless music system is incredibly exciting for MQA.”
The new BluOS firmware, version 2.2, also includes CALM Radio® integration on Bluesound, providing users with commercial-free access to over a 160 internet radio broadcasts in high quality. CALM Radio streams a collection of soothing music genres including Relaxation, Acoustic, Atmospheres, in addition to great Classical, Pop, Rock and Jazz choices. CALM Radio is a welcome addition to the growing list of music services available on Bluesound.
All users will need to upgrade to the new BluOS firmware, version 2.2, to fully experience the latest features enhancements and upgrades. In addition to this release, Bluesound is actively working with MQA to support select BluOS-enabled systems from sister company, NAD Electronics, in the future.
For more information on Bluesound technology visit http://bluesound.com/technology
