Tidal and Meridian successfully stream high-res MQA files

The demonstration took place at Tidal's Oslo HQ, with Meridian founder Bob Stuart taking to the stage to run the demonstration, which used Tidal's streaming technology with MQA files and Meridian streaming products.

Pal Bratelund, Tidal's strategic partnership manager, told What Hi-Fi? at CES 2015 that Tidal was working with Meridian on a high-res music streaming service. And now we've had the first public demonstration of the technology.

Stuart said on the Tidal partnership: "We’ve been working very closely with Tidal and we appreciate their support very much. Today’s events clearly demonstrate that we can bring quality and convenience together with this innovative MQA technology. Streaming this sound quality is a big milestone, it’s an important moment for future generations of music lovers."

MQA is Meridian's own technology, promising to more efficiently package studio master quality files in order to take up less space when it comes to streaming and downloading high-res music.

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff and The Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).