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Radio Paradise MQA launches exclusively on BluOS

Exclusively on systems equipped with BluOS, Radio Paradise MQA will be available from April 2021 for the first time as a streaming service in the form of Internet radio encoded in MQA. This is made possible by a cooperation between Radio Paradise, Lenbrook Group and MQA Ltd.

Radio Paradise MQA is the name of an extended service initiated by the Internet radio station Radio Paradise in cooperation with Lenbrook Group and MQA Ltd. The aim is to offer a high-quality, versatile programme package, exclusively on solutions with the BluOS streaming platform.

Radio Paradise MQA – listener-supported Internet radio station

Radio Paradise sees itself as a so-called listener-supported Internet radio station, which has already relied on particularly high-quality audio streams, and which was founded by Bill Goldsmith.

Now they want to take a further step in the direction of a high-quality offer and rely on the audio codec Master Quality Authenticated, or MQA for short, developed by Meridian Audio Ltd. in 2014. The audio codec developed by Bob Stuart, co-founder of Meridian Audio Ltd. and now marketed under the name MQA Ltd. is in principle a lossy algorithm, but its developers promise unprecedented quality, albeit only in conjunction with the corresponding hardware.

Master Quality Authenticaded

MQA should actually primarily serve to enable hi-res audio via streaming services. At approximately the same data rate that occurs with conventional “CD quality”, MQA should deliver master quality in conjunction with appropriate hardware for decoding studio.

In principle, the offer that is now provided via Radio Paradise MQA is the prime example of the sensible use of MQA encoded content.

“For us as music lovers, it was a revelation to hear the performance difference in the music when it’s encoded in MQA.”

Bill Goldsmith, long-time radio presenter and founder of Radio Paradise

Radio Paradise MQA in partnership with Lenbrook Group and MQA Ltd.

Radio Paradise MQA’s new offering is the result of cooperation with two other partners. First and foremost, of course, there is MQA Ltd., which has thus gained another distribution channel for its licences, as well as the Canadian Lenbrook Group.

Lenbrook Group is the company that owns the brands NAD Electronics, Bluesound, Bluesound Professional, psb Audio and BluOS. With BluOS, it is the group that develops and offers one of the leading technology platforms in the field of hi-res audio multi-room streaming.

“Radio Paradise MQA is the perfect medium for Bill and the Radio Paradise team to create music. We’re proud to play a part in showcasing their talent and expertise along with our long-time collaborators on the BluOS platform team.”

Mike Jbara, CEO of MQA Ltd.

Exclusive to BluOS

The new Radio Paradise MQA offering is to be available exclusively on systems based on BluOS. In addition to a wide variety of NAD Electronics brand products, this applies to the entire Bluesound portfolio as well as Bluesound Professional, but also to selected solutions from partners such as Dali Speaker A/S, Peachtree Audio, Monitor Audio Ltd, and soon Roksan Audio Ltd.

“The BluOS ecosystem has the largest selection of MQA-enabled players in the world. We wanted to offer our discerning customers something they can’t get anywhere else.”

Gord Simmonds, President & CEO of Lenbrook Group

Content to be available via Radio Paradise MQA on four mix channels from April 2021.

Update for BluOS from 6 April 2021.

All BluOS devices, according to the joint release from Paradise Radio, MQA Ltd and Lenbrook Group, will receive an update on 6 April 2021 to enable Radio Paradise MQA as a native music streaming option. The feature will be available in all current and future BluOS devices from leading manufacturers, according to the promise. These currently include Bluesound, NAD Electronics, Dali Speaker A/S, Monitor Audio Ltd, Roksan Audio Ltd, Peachtree and psb Speakers, as mentioned earlier.

Getting to the point

Unfortunately, Internet radio is often associated with rather mediocre quality. The offer, which will be offered exclusively for systems based on BluOS in the form of Radio Paradise MQA from April 2021, will be completely different. As the name suggests, this will be streams encoded in MQA.

Manufacturer:Radio Paradise
Distribution:Radio Paradise

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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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