MQA, PSB Speakers and hearables start-up company Sonical have partnered to produce a pair of "high-resolution audio headphones" that combines hi-res wireless transmission with a computer-in-your-ear operating platform. Indeed, these headphones – due to go on sale under the PSB brand early next year – sound 'next-gen' in more ways than one.
The high-quality wireless connection comes courtesy of MQA's latest technology, SCL6, a codec that has been designed to facilitate truly hi-res audio streaming for the first time in such products. We have an SCL6 explainer and hands-on review for those who want to dive deeper into the fledgling technology, but in a nutshell it has the potential to have a hugely positive impact on the quality of wireless audio in headphones and other portable devices.
“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," says Gordon Simmonds, president and CEO of Lenbrook Industries, PSB Speakers’ parent company. "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 details about the PSB-branded headphones are being kept under wraps for now, but already they have us wondering whether such a 'smart' and hi-res-supporting pair will give us a glimpse into the near-future of headphones. And that alone gives us reason to look to their arrival next year with keen anticipation.
