The Deep State Squashes MQA!
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) has filed for the Appointment of Administrators in the UK, which is essentially the equivalent of filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy projection in the US. This is a blow to all audiophiles that were hoping that MQA would finally be adopted as the defacto audiophile standard for hi-rez streaming. Clearly, this is the Deep State squashing MQA at the behest of big audio! Or is it?
What Happened
MQA has been trying to get their MQAir codec to be adopted by and added to the Bluetooth standard. That apparently failed when the most recent release didn’t include it in its latest release. We have no proof, but it is clear to us that “big audio” is afraid of MQA’s superior codec and has worked behind the scenes with the Deep State to squash it.
It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that MQA is nothing but a container and there have been widespread reports that many tracks don’t sound any different from other formats (video). In fact, their proprietary process is easily circumvented to the point that the “authentication” indicator means nothing.
Will MQA Files Still Work
For the time being, yes. In fact, MQAir has been renamed SCL6 probably so that it can be sold off separately from the MQA brand. If you are an MQA fan then, for the time being, your favorite format will still operate as it has. What this does mean is that widespread adoption of the MQA format is less likely.
Wrap Up
Audiophiles and many enthusiasts love to see conspiracies around anything that contradicts their worldview. Clearly, the deep state (and the completely fictional “big audio”) isn’t squashing MQA. The real problem is that they failed to convince Bluetooth that their format has value. And frankly, that’s on MQA.
