KEF launched a wireless, active version of its LS50 music system for its 55th anniversary. The LS50 Wireless features KEF’s Uni-Q driver, four digital-to-analog converters, a streaming amplifier and a bi-amp dual-mono configuration separated into 200 plus 30 watts per speaker, said the company. The system offers an end-to-end 192 kHz/24-bit hi-res digital signal path, KEF said. Spotify is the first service integrated into the KEF app, and the company plans to add more, a spokeswoman emailed us. Wired connectivity options are Bluetooth 4.0 with the aptX codec and dual-band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Wi-Fi. Wired inputs are asynchronous USB type B, optical and RCA line-level, it said. The system’s app, for iOS and Android, has features for network setup, streaming, playback and control, and three customizable equalization settings, KEF said. On plans for a multiroom solution, LS50 Wireless has DLNA network protocols built in, allowing users to run multiple speakers in different rooms using software such as JRiver Media Center, she said. In that type of setup, the router needs to have the bandwidth to deliver the music; if it's not robust enough, dropouts can occur during hi-res streaming, she said. The $2,199 system is due in December. The wired LS50 speakers currently sell for $1,499 from KEF Direct.

MQA billed the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, which began Friday, as the largest-ever public showcase of Master Quality Authenticated products, in a news release. Introductions at RMAF included Bluesound’s Pulse MQA-ready soundbar, MSB’s Select DAC (digital-to-analog converter), Cary Audio’s DMS-500 headphones and Aurender’s A10 music server. Bel Canto will introduce an MQA-enabled integrated amplifier in coming months, said MQA.

Kripton will add Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) music to its HQM hi-res download service in October, the company said in a Monday announcement. Labels offering MQA-encoded recordings on the service for the first time include Camerata Tokyo, Shinko Music Entertainment and Berkeley Square Music, said the company. Kripton President Masahisa Hamada said MQA solves the issue of large files for hi-res music. The company will also incorporate MQA technology in its hardware products, he said.

StreamUnlimited partnered with THX on a module designed to meet THX audio standards, said the companies. They also plan to work together on future multiroom solutions supporting high-res audio including DSD, FLAC (up to 384 kHz) and HD audio multichannel streaming. The Stream810 is targeted to flagship audio products, including low-power portable units, said the companies. The module was designed in conjunction with NPX’s iMX7 and Marvell’s 3x2 11ac Wi-Fi solution to give audio manufacturers a fast and efficient turnaround time from design to sale, without compromising reliable audio streaming, they said.

Sony expanded the number of its hi-res listening stations in Best Buy Magnolia Home Theater locations from 82 to more than 250, the companies said in a Wednesday announcement. Using the interactive displays, consumers can audition hi-res Sony Walkman and Sony MDR-1A headphones, and products from other audio companies: the Sennheiser Momentum M2, Polk Hinge and the V-Moda Crossfade, they said. Hi-res music clips are provided by Sony Music, Universal and Warner in various genres with album art. Titles are upgraded regularly, they said.

Bryston bowed the BDP-π, a $1,295 digital music player built on the Raspberry Pi and HiFiBerry platforms. The Roon-ready device supports files from MP3 to lossless 24-bit/192 kHz and can be connected to a digital-to-audio converter using supplied RCA, Toslink, USB or HDMI connectors, said Bryston. BDP-π, a third the size of Bryston’s full-size digital music player, is a response to dealer requests for a compact player at a lower price point, said the company. The player is covered by a five-year warranty.

Japanese hi-res music label Unamas selected 10 catalog albums for encoding in MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). The MQA recordings -- including Schubert’s "Death and the Maiden," performed by the Unamas String Quintet, and Hiroshi Fukamizu’s “Everything for Drums” -- will be available for download Friday at e-onkyo music for $29 each, it said. Unamas recording engineer Mick Sawaguchi said MQA’s two advantages are “excellent results” in the time domain for reproducing the timbre of music instruments and the balance between low transfer and high-quality sound.

Clarification: When we asked Jim Belcher, Universal Music Group vice president-technology/production, whether a Master Quality Authenticated-encoded hi-res audio title from his company would carry a pricing premium for consumers (see 1606020055), his representatives said he meant to say: “We haven’t approved MQA yet, so we haven’t discussed pricing.”

RIAA said the music industry’s official logo mark for Hi-Res MUSIC -- previously available primarily to high-quality digital download services -- will be available June 1 for adoption by music streaming services. New data packing technologies -- including MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) and MPEG 4 Audio SLS -- “support the streaming of hi-res music files to consumers in a more efficient manner,” said RIAA Wednesday, and will enable licensed services to display the Hi-Res MUSIC logo on their landing page or next to an individual album or track. If the resolution of a recording falls below the required minimum standards of the Hi-Res MUSIC definition at any time, users will be made aware of the change, it said. The announcement was made along with RIAA members Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group in cooperation with the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), and DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. The Hi-Res MUSIC logo and accompanying definition were announced in June by the RIAA on behalf of member labels, and focused on digital files and download services that met the definition’s requirements. The program was adopted by download services offering hi-res music including Acoustic Sounds Super HiRez, Blue Coast Music, HDtracks, IsoMike Recordings, ClassicsOnline HD*LL, PonoMusic, and ProStudioMasters, it said. The technologies ensure listeners hear “music that preserves, without loss of information, recordings from sources that achieve a minimum of 48kHz/20-bit resolution,” RIAA said. RIAA Chief Technology Officer David Hughes called the extension to music streaming services “the logical next step, one embraced by music labels large and small, that will provide an optimal listening experience to this growing consumer segment.”

Hardware and content partner updates from MQA led opening news at this week’s Munich High End 2016 audio show. Bluesound confirmed a June 1 release date for a free firmware update that will make all of its players MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)-compatible, the first wireless music gear to be MQA-compatible, it said. Bluesound also announced its line of wireless speakers and digital music players -- along with the NAD Masters, Classic, Theatre and Digital series products from sister brand NAD -- have been designated Hi-Res Audio products by the Japan Audio Society. Brooklyn-based Mytek showed its MQA-ready Brooklyn DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and a prototype of the step-up MQA-ready Manhattan DAC due in stores in August. German maker Brinkmann showed its Nyquist DAC with MQA support that's due to ship in Q4. Pioneer’s XDP-100R and Onkyo’s DP-X1 portable digital audio players -- recently updated with MQA -- also made their Munich debut. Download service High Res Audio announced consumers can download MQA releases from 2L, Acoustic Music Records, Bauer Studios/Neuklang, Eudora Records, Jazz Arts, Personality Records, Mons Records, Ozella Music and Triplet Records. The website showed 38 MQA titles Wednesday ranging from $15-$23, with more promised for the coming weeks. Nordic label 2L added to its MQA catalog with a remix of the Marianne Thorsen and Trondheim Solistene Soloists Violin Concertos 2006 release, it said. Morten Lindberg, founder of 2L, and MQA creator Bob Stuart attended to the remix, analyzing the original analog-to-digital-converters and revisiting each microphone feed from the archive, said the label. Spanish label Eudora Records is updating its full catalog, with MQA versions due out in spring and summer. “The fact that MQA’s encoding is tailored to each recording’s particular A-D converter speaks volumes about MQA’s search for excellence,” said Eudora co-Founder Gonzalo Noqué. Eudora is finalizing details of distribution deals with partners and content providers, it said.