Just when you thought it was safe to return to the rough waters of Bluetooth audio, we have another Bluetooth codec to consider. In addition to SBC, AAC, LDAC, and the growing family of aptX codecs, you can now add MQair (em-kyoo-air).
MQA
MQair (also known by its technical designation, SCL6) is the latest technology from MQA, a company founded by British audio pioneer Bob Stuart of Meridian Audio, and has just been licensed by the Japan Audio Society (JAS) to use Hi- Res Audio Wireless logo. It is the third certified Bluetooth codec, the other two being LDAC and LHDC.
High-resolution Bluetooth audio codecs, generally speaking, are capable of transmitting wireless audio at a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate of 96 kHz or higher. There has been an increase in demand for products using these codecs since Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other streaming services began offering high-resolution, lossless music within their libraries.
By itself, this high definition certification is not a reason to start looking for products bearing the MQair logo; after all, LDAC, LHDC, and even Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive all meet this standard. However, MQair has another attribute that will resonate strongly with fans of the MQA audio format: it allows the phone to stream the MQA Core format over the air while keeping that content intact.
MQA fans can probably guess why this is important. One day, when a headset or earphone manufacturer included full MQA decoding inside their digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the MQair could provide them with proper audio transmission. When (if) this happens, it will be the first time Tidal subscribers will be able to listen to Tidal Master tracks (all of which are MQA-encoded) at the highest quality on a set of wireless headphones.
For now, all this is very controversial. MQA has not announced any partnerships with vendors that will support MQair, let alone support MQA decoding in their onboard DACs. However, MQA says that if manufacturers are willing to participate, they will be able to add MQair using software on a wide range of existing Bluetooth chipsets. Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive, on the other hand, requires specific Qualcomm chips to work.
MQA says that even if you don’t intend to switch from MQA to MQair, the codec can still provide benefits. “The goal of MQair is not to introduce blur or time warp into the audio going over the connection,” Bob Stuart told Digital Trends via email. “This is a common shortcoming of low bitrate codecs that affects audio quality.”
MQair is a scalable codec, which means that, like LDAC, aptX Adaptive, and Samsung’s scalable codec, it can adjust its bitrate as needed based on different possible conditions, such as congestion or wireless network interference. But unlike those other scalable codecs, MQair’s bitrate flexibility is enormous, going as high as 20 Mbps, down to “less than 200 kbps,” according to an MQA press release.
That sounds impressive, but it’s worth noting that current Bluetooth connections, even with the latest version (5.3), can’t handle anywhere near 20 Mbps. Even Sony’s LDAC codec, which has a maximum bitrate of 990 Kbps, it often struggles to maintain this data rate, often dropping to one of the lower levels, such as 660 Kbps or 330 Kbps.
This leads to another question: how much bandwidth will MQair need to fulfill its promise to stream MQA intact over Bluetooth? And what happens when that bandwidth is reduced?
Aside from those problems, 20 Mbps makes MQair an interesting option for Wi-Fi transmission. Apple’s AirPlay technology is limited to CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz, Google’s rival Chromecast can go up to 24-bit/96kHz losslessly, but MQA claims that MQair, at its highest bitrate High, “will deliver bit-perfect PCM or MQA.” , ”, which opens the door to sample rates higher than 96 kHz.
MQA, both as a company and as an audio technology, has been at the center of controversy for years. Some who have experienced it have been deeply impressed by the quality of the sound they heard, but there have also been many detractors, most notably Neil Young, who claim that MQA encoding and decoding destroys and/or modifies the original audio tracks of ways that are considered to contradict the company’s superior quality claims.
Some feel that a proprietary system and MQA that requires a license fee simply adds unnecessary cost and complexity when the open source FLAC format can deliver the same or better results. Don’t be surprised if MQair attracts its share of supporters, skeptics, and critics.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn