Finally, The First TRUE Hi-Res Headphones Are Coming!
MQA, PSB and Sonical have partnered to bring to market the very first true hi-res headphones.
MQA, PSB Speakers and Sonical have teamed up to produce the world’s first “high-resolution audio headphones” combining hi-res wireless transmission with a computer-in-your-ear operating system.
The term ‘hi-res headphones’ has been bandied about by various manufacturers for some time now. But none of them have actually produced anything truly hi-res, thanks to the limitations of bluetooth technology.
So, what’s the difference here?
The high-quality wireless connection comes courtesy of MQA’s latest SCL6 codec, which has been designed to facilitate truly hi-res audio streaming for the first time.
The OS driving the headphones themselves comes courtesy of Sonical, and is called CosmOS; aka ‘Headphone 3.0’. The idea behind Sonical CosmOS is to open up headphones to apps, allowing users to install and use third-party apps.
The operating system will allow headphone manufacturers more choice in what they can offer. The system supposedly runs on powerful low-wattage processing cores, enabling it to reside in a portable, battery-powered product like wireless headphones.
Gordon Simmonds, president and CEO of Lenbrook Industries, PSB Speakers’ parent company said: “Our use of the CosmOS platform to make the world’s first software defined wireless headset, and the inclusion of MQA’s adaptive wireless codec helps set a new benchmark for a high resolution, mobile high-fidelity product. We believe this product underscores what Paul Barton and the PSB team have accomplished over the brand’s 50-year history in the pursuit of audio excellence for listeners at home and now on the move.”
Further information is unable at this time. We can’t even find so much as a mockup of the headphones themselves, and none of the companies involved are able to supply any imagery. But the announcement alone is exciting enough for us to wonder what Hi-res headphones and independent operating systems inside them might bring when they are officially unveiled early next year.
Could it be another debate similar to spatial audio versus stereo, or a genuinely incredible technological development we all end up using in a few years time? Time will tell.
