Jordan O'BrienSelect Pioneer Hi-Fi components are receiving an early Christmas present today, as the company has released a firmware update bringing MQA support and TIDAL Masters streaming.
MQA delivers high-resolution sound in a file that’s small enough to stream and download. TIDAL Masters, meanwhile, is TIDAL’s bandwidth-friendly MQA-based Studio Master audio streaming format offered exclusively to TIDAL HiFi members that’s now available to enjoy on any of the Pioneer products detailed below following this firmware update.
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)
Leveraging scientific research into how people hear, the MQA team created a technology that captures 100 per cent of the original studio performance. MQA files are fully authenticated and are small enough to stream or download. The format is backward-compatible, meaning MQA music can be enjoyed on any device. This award-winning technology is licensed by labels, music services, and hardware manufacturers worldwide.
TIDAL Masters
TIDAL has partnered with MQA to deliver master-quality recordings from the source for an audio experience as the artist intended. TIDAL Masters are authenticated, unbroken, and delivered at high resolution (typically 96 kHz/24-bit), creating a facsimile of the sound in the mastering suite. TIDAL offers a catalogue of thousands of TIDAL Masters albums for TIDAL HiFi members.
Onkyo Music
Onkyo Music is an online Hi-Res Audio retailer open to listeners in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Onkyo Music offers an extensive MQA catalogue.
This firmware update is for the following Pioneer hi-fi components:
[FW Update Activates MQA and TIDAL Masters]
Network Audio Player – N-30AE
Network Stereo Receiver – SX-N30AE
[FW Update Activates TIDAL Masters]
Network Audio Players – N-70AE / N-50AE
Network Audio Receiver – NC-50DAB
To automatically update compatible network-connected Pioneer product, navigate to the system setup menu and follow the instructions, or visit www.pioneer-audiovisual.eu to download the update and perform installation manually.