Get ready world, for there is a standardization of high quality digital audio on the horizon known as Master Recording Qualities, which will tell you everything you need to know about the lineage and quality of the file in three simple letters!
This could potentially put an end to the “lossy” MP3 file formats we’ve come to know (and love/loathe) over the last decade and a half.
What are the new file types, you ask?
MQ-P: From a PCM master source that is 48kHz/20 bit or higher (typically 96/24 or 192/24 content).
MQ-A: From an analog master source.
MQ-C: From a CD master source (44.1 kHz/16 bit content) in which legacy CD masters are employed as source material and upsampled to high resolution.
MQ-D: From a DSD/DSF master source (typically 2.8 or 5.6 MHz content).
