QRONO is the platform for providing playback solutions to our hardware partners and licensees. We focus on the meticulous application of fundamental signal processing techniques. QRONO d2a applies filters and noise shapers to improve the overall impulse response and transparency of Digital to Analogue Conversion, ensuring we get the best from each DAC chip. QRONO dsd ensures that DSD conversion is handled with the lightest possible touch to preserve all the crucial time details in the recording. Our goal is to reproduce each recording as if the performance had travelled from the studio to your ears through just a few meters of air.
It looks like -once again- dCS owners can skip MQA Qrono:
MQA QRONO:
We started with a question, “what was missing from
digital music?”. Perhaps we should have asked, “what
was added by digital capture and playback?”. We now
know that the ADCs used in recording studios, and
our DACs used for playback, added time blur from the
ringing in their filters.
From: (The above linked White Paper)
dCS:
This is the reason a dCS DAC has so many filters to choose from – the DAC doesn’t (and can’t) know the filters which were used to create the signal, so several options allow the user to achieve the best musical experience irrespective of source material.
dCS’s experience with both ADCs and DACs leaves us in a very strong position to be able to create DAC filters which consistently perform to the highest standards, both in testing and with real-world musical signals.
I can understand that it may not be recognised by existing MQA enabled players ( especially not made by Lenbrook) but skimming through the press release it looks pretty similar in nature and (claimed) function to the one we know.
I meant to say: Lenbrook and its acquired MQA Labs again try to promote a proprietary music format, in order to make profit, by selling a “problem” to the community -for which they offer a solution, at a price- while the problem may very well be no problem at all.
Thanks Erno, that link provides a good deal of clarification. I must say that Darko’s speculation sabot Lenbrrok’s motivation is quite persuasive. However I have to admit that it took me some effort to read as anything containing the acronym MQA produces a feeling of ennui or fatigue .
Really? Which part exactly, his speculation that Lenbrook will launch a Streaming Service built around MQA?
IMHO Streaming services as a whole has a very challenging business case as it is. Even if Lenbrook were to white-label from someone (say Tidal), the backend cost associated with licensing content for MQA is going to crush their business case.
So, even if Darko’s speculation comes true. I don’t see Lenbrook being successful at all. I have no doubt Lenbrook will write-off the acquisition before long.
My interest was the overall idea of Lenbrook trying for a snout to tail integrated product system. The streaming service concept seems underway via some kind of relationship with HDtracks. However that is conceptually from the past having been planned and announced back in the early days of the original MQA.
Of course HDtracks already have a catalogue of repertoire from many labels which ( with expanded authorisation) could form a basis to build from. However , like MQA originally, it becomes harder to envisage commercially viable demand especially now that genuine hi-res streaming is available. Attractive to those with lowish connection speeds? I too have serious doubt as to likley success of the such a thing but Lenbrook adding a USP to its product range is a rational thing to try IMO.
According to the MQALab’s Press Release they’re apparently first introducing QRONO dsd (DSD-to-PCM) and QRONO d2a on the Bluesound Node Icon, their reference Streamer/DAC which has dual ES9039Q2Ms which already support DSD natively.
I wonder how they’re going to screw it up, I don’t think they have any other DSP in this box, just the NBM-3i compute board with an ARM Cortex.
The QRONO technologies can enable time performance that exceeds the best analogue systems.
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