VIA Vinyl Audio and QSound Technologies – State of the Art High Definition Audio

Since its inception in 1986, QSound Labs, Inc. has become a world leader in audio enhancement technology. The company has developed proprietary audio solutions that include virtual surround sound, 3D positional audio and stereo enhancement for PC/multimedia, mobile devices, consumer electronics, and Internet markets. QSound's ever growing family of sonic algorithms includes active spectral enhancements, dynamic range control and wavetable synthesis in addition to the proprietary spatial processes upon which the company was founded: positional 3D audio, virtual surround sound and stereo sound stage expansion. QSound Labs' cutting-edge audio technologies create rich 3D audio environments allowing consumers to enjoy stereo surround sound from two, four and up to 7.1 speaker systems. The company's customer and partner roster includes leading audio platform and product companies from around the globe.  

The earliest commercial applications of QSound technology were within integrated sound generation circuits for arcade video games and the multi-channel QSystem professional processor used in the production of pop music and film audio. While producer-side applications continue to be exploited today, current emphasis is squarely on consumer-side implementations. However and wherever listeners enjoy electronically-produced sound – be it via MP3, CD, DVD, radio, TV or internet broadcast, through earbuds, headphones, stereo or multi-speaker surround systems – QSound technology adds new dimension to the audio.

» Read more about the benefits of QSound technology.

QSound QHD®

QSound Labs offers the broadest range of audio enhancement technologies available. Today's entertainment devices such as TVs, multimedia computers and laptops now support a wide range of formats: DVD, DVD-HD, HD television broadcast and new streaming Internet video formats, various audio CD standards as well as MP3 and similar compressed audio files.

The audio from these players or online sources is predominantly two channel stereo, and in the case of most audio content (CD, MP3, WMA and broadcast streaming) this is a default. These products are ideal candidates to benefit from stereo sound stage enhancement, thus delivering a 'must have' surround-like experience.

Supporting internet audio formats such as MP3 presents unique challenges since compressed recordings often suffer in clarity, frequency response and stereo imaging when compared to the superior DVD and linear audio CD formats.

QHD combines several audio technologies while addressing the unique demands of multi-format audio playback. QHD provides an extremely attractive feature set coupled with substantial improvements to the listening experience.

QHD® Product Suite

QXpander® earphone/speaker 3D sound stage expansion.
QSizzle™ active mid/high-frequency spectral enhancement.
QRumble™ active low-frequency spectral enhancement.
QEqualizer multi-band equalization

Feature Set Description

QXpander®:
QXpander is QSound Labs’ patented stereo sound stage expansion algorithm. QXpander accepts any ordinary stereo signal and produces an output signal with dramatically widened stereo imaging and enhanced realism. It even produces a stunning synthesized 3D sound stage from mono to stereo! QXpander requires no extra speakers or special encoding of input signals and provides excellent results in low-power or limited bandwidth systems. QXpander employs purpose-specific algorithms for maximum spatial impact on regular or narrow geometry speakers as well as headphones.

QSizzle™
An adaptive mid to high-frequency spectral enhancement, QSizzle restores a natural-sounding sonic punch to highly compressed audio formats like MP3.QSizzle selectively adds upper spectrum energy according to the real-time characteristics of the input signal. The result is lively, sparkling highs without the strident, harsh side-effects of simple frequency boosters.

QRumble™
The low-frequency counterpart to QSizzle, QRumble also adds energy in a selective fashion, bringing substance and warmth to the low end of the spectrum without overloading on loud passages.

QEqualizer
A multi-band equalizer, provides users with an interface for shaping the overall frequency response to QSound QHD.

Resources

	QSound Home Page » www.qsound.com
	QSound Audio Demo Rockstar » Download Audio! (wma / 1.3MB)
	QSound Audio Demo Tour of London » Download Audio! (mp3 / 2.9MB)