MQA, PSB Speakers and start-up company Sonical have teamed up to produce a “high-resolution audio headset” that combines hi-res wireless transmission with a computer-in-your-ear control platform. Indeed, these headphones – which will go on sale under the PSB brand name early next year – sound ‘next-gen’ in more ways than one.
The high-quality wireless connection is thanks to MQA’s latest technology, SCL6, a codec designed to enable true High-Resolution Audio streaming for the first time in such products. We’ve got an SCL6 explainer and hands-on review for those who want to dive deeper into the new 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.
As for the headphone-based computing system that will be at the core, that comes courtesy of Sonical and is officially called CosmOS, though it’s dubbed “Headphone 3.0” for its next-level ambition. As we dug into recently, the idea behind Sonical CosmOS is to open up headphones to apps, allowing users to install and use third-party apps the same way they do on their phones. The system will give headphone manufacturers more versatility in what their sets have to offer, making them all the smarter as a result. The system supposedly runs on powerful, low-wattage processing cores, allowing it to be housed in a portable, battery-powered product such as wireless headphones. Well, that makes our current wireless headphones on our desk sound pretty dumb!
“Our use of the CosmOS platform to create the world’s first software-defined wireless headset, and the inclusion of MQA’s adaptive wireless codec help set a new benchmark for a high-resolution mobile high-fidelity product,” said Gordon Simmonds, president and CEO of Lenbrook Industries, the parent company of PSB Speakers, said: “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 today. en route.”
Further details about the PSB-branded headphones are being kept under wraps for now, but they already 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 forward to their arrival next year.
That certainly gives MQA time to start building out an ecosystem of products to give consumers an end-to-end option when the PSB headphones launch, many technologies also require SCL6 support from the source.
MORE:
Headphone 3.0? How a computer in your ear could change headphones forever
The best wireless headphones you can buy now
aptX lossless: what is the breakthrough bluetooth codec? How can you get it?