Imagination's Caskeid wireless audio platform supports MQA technology to bring studio-grade sound quality to the mass market

     Imagination Technologies has announced that its Caskeid wireless audio IP platform will be the industry's first multiroom streaming solution to support Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) technology. MQA is a revolutionary technology successfully developed in the UK by Bob Stuart, founder of Meridian Audio, a company dedicated to giving music a whole new meaning.

     The addition of MQA support to Imagination's Caskeid wireless audio platform will enable licensed customers of Caskeid technology to develop wireless multi-room and multi-channel speakers that enable their customers to enjoy a high-resolution audio experience in every corner of their home. The Caskeid platform's leading less than 20µs synchronization technology gives it a unique ability to bring MQA's studio-grade sound quality to wireless multi-room or multi-channel environments.Caskeid's licensed customers and partners include Frontier Silicon, Media-Saturn Group, Onkyo, Pure, Meridian Audio and many others.

     Bob Stuart, Chairman and co-founder of Meridian Audio, said: "MQA is the culmination of many years of effort to improve sound quality for our customers while ensuring convenience. Imagination's Caskeid wireless audio platform is the only platform in the industry that truly delivers wireless multi-room synchronization for high quality audio. "The fact that the technology can now support MQA is very exciting because it allows us and others to achieve the best possible sound quality reproduction in a wireless environment while maintaining the integrity of the original sound source."

     HosseinYassaie, CEO of Imagination, said: "The integration of Meridian's MQA technology will enhance the listening experience and reproduce the audio quality of the scene. Allowing music fans to appreciate the authentic sound of the artist's original creation. We are excited to partner with Meridian, a highly respected audio professional, to advance this goal."

     Meridian Audio officially released MQA technology in December 2014, which allows listeners to hear the same sound as recorded in the studio. Without having to capture the highest sampling rate, MQA achieves the perfect combination of studio-grade sound, convenience, and end-to-end authenticity. It uses a new concept to capture the full essence of the original recording and present it to the listener in its entirety, ensuring that the sound heard is exactly the same as the final recording.

     MQA has been recognized by artists and producers since its inception. By using a new sampling method with the finest resolution of tone and important timing information, MQA can fully capture every subtle detail of the recording and transmit it to the player. This process is called Encapsulation, and recent neuroscience and psychoacoustic research shows how people recognize and find sounds, and how microsecond timing details are important. MQA also uses innovative coding techniques to create a file or stream that provides complex metadata and can be delivered in any of the lossless formats, such as ALAC, FLAC, or WAV. Unlike the large files of ultra-high sample rate systems, MQA files are encoded in a very efficient manner, but at the same time contain and protect all the original sound details.

     Caskeid is Imagination's wireless audio IP platform, combining leading hardware and software technologies that deliver efficient, accurate wireless multi-room and multi-channel audio. In particular, the Caskeid platform integrates advanced high-quality audio processing and wireless connectivity synchronization technology for optimal sound quality. It also features efficient low latency (instant response across systems), intelligent management and configuration of the speaker system, and can be used as a gateway for over-the-air cloud management and maintenance. Uniquely, Caskeid delivers outstanding acoustic-quality stereo playback with synchronization accuracy below 20µs, enabling a true "Wi-Fi Hi-Fi" experience that will not only replace wired technology, but will satisfy even the most demanding music audiophile.

     Imagination will work with leading digital music platform and MQA backer 7digital to ensure that its authorized customers can read the rich content of MQA's sealed soundtracks and stream it to speakers with built-in Caskeid technology.