Munich Update: Meridian’s MQA

There was much anticipation that Meridian would make an important announcement about its Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) technology, but the press conference was more of an overview of how the technology works. I did, however, speak privately with MQA co-architect Bob Stuart, who told me that he was “delighted with the progress with the record labels” but feels its preferable for everyone to “cross the road at the same time.” Since my article on MQA appeared in the Issue 253, the number of MQA licensees has more than doubled to over 100. I’m scheduled to receive Meridian’s flagship 808 CD player/DAC with MQA and some MQA files in late June and will write a full report. Incidentally, Meridian has spun off MQA into a separate company.