Lenbrook Media Group Will Take Its Scalable Codec – AIRIA – Live with New HDtracks Streaming Service

(June 12, 2024) And future plans involving Lenbrook's acquisition of MQA become a little less murky...

Last week, we reported on three new technologies announced by MQA Labs, a division of the Lenbrook Media Group (LMG). Two of these technologies, FOQUS and QRONO, handle digital-to-analog (and analog-to-digital) conversion, while the third tackles wireless transmission.

First launched by MQA under its technical name, SCL6, AIRIA (as it's called by LMG and MQA Labs) is designed to ensure the best resolution possible regardless of bandwidth availability. According to LMG, AIRIA can be used as a distribution codec by streaming services while also posing as a wireless transmission codec delivering Hi-Res audio with operational savings and reliability.

Today, LMG has announced that AIRIA will make its debut as part of a newly formed partnership with HDtracks, a pioneering service for audiophile-quality music downloads. The partnership, says LMG, will develop a streaming service that allows subscribers to choose their format—either PCM/FLAC or MQA—while experiencing high-resolution playback, whether listening via Wi-Fi or through a cellular network. In either case, AIRIA delivers the benefits of a format-agnostic, scalable codec with audio quality, reliability, and data efficiency.

“Our industry has been built by providing discerning music enthusiasts with choices while using innovation to advance digital music delivery,” explains Lenbrook’s Chief Strategy Officer, John Banks. “As audiophiles ourselves, it’s an exciting prospect to bring a service to life for the millions of global audiophiles that care so passionately about the quality of the music they listen to.”

While a launch date has yet to be set, LMG says the service will be available across platforms. In addition to its own mobile applications, the service will find its way into many of the world’s leading high-end audio ecosystems, apps, and brands that count on service providers for their content.


Additional Reading:

• MQA Reacts to Recent Allegations, Says Youtube Video by GoldenSound Is Fundamentally Flawed
• Lenbrook's MQA Labs to Roll Out AIRIA, FOQUS, and QRONO by the End of 2025
• For Better or For Worse, MQA Survives Through Lenbrook Acquisition
• MQA on the Ropes? Files for the US Equivalent of Chapter 11

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Hmmm ... wonder if Roon will work something out with Lenbrook to offer HDTracks. Now that Harman owns Roon, that might kill the possibility.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Good question.

The last thing people want is a divided ecosystem of internet-based sources. It just becomes too expensive and too inconvenient.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I don't really think HDTracks would necessarily offer anything that I don't already have access to with qobuz and Tidal, so it may not be that big of a deal for me.

I would have to suspect that HDTracks downloads have fallen off with all the streaming offered these days, so why not get into the streaming business? Sounds like a good move on their part.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Totally… digital downloads have take a huge dive in the last decade. And, to your point: why do we need another streaming music option?

I’m not convinced there’s a need - tho I suspect they’re going to try and sell this primarily on the merits of the new streaming codecs.

Will be interesting to see if folks will dig up reasons to dislike it - and what they’ll be