Fideliq started out as a project for two long time friends, Steve Landers and Michael Petrossian. They both share a love of good music and technology, and their early experiences with digital audio were frustrating and disappointing. Rather than putting up with a poor experience, both in terms of sound quality and user experience, Steve and Michael set out to do better.
Steve’s many years of experience in innovative software development complemented Michael’s background in electronics and product design, and so the first version of a Fideliq was born. What some would call an obsession with improving the product led to eleven iterations of the product over a number of years. Each iteration brought learnings on how to improve the product, whether it be minimising electrical noise, optimising the software or making the product simpler to use.
A few iterations later, a few audiophile friends joined Steve and Michael in using a fideliq and they had a small community to evaluate upgrades and provide feedback on quality and ease of use. It was after their encouragement that we realised the many obsessive iterations had delivered a server / streamer that competed with other offerings at double or more the price a Fideliq could be offered for.
Our statement “for the love of music” encapsulates both how we design and use the product. If a development doesn’t make the music better or the product easier to use, then it’s not been a good change.
To an audio-obsessive, what does “better” mean?
- Better means sitting down for a few tracks, playing the whole album and then telling yourself it’s not so late that you can’t listen for just a few more tracks.
- It means you listen to familiar tracks and hear new detail and nuance you never heard before.
- It means you’re no longer listening to your hi-fi, but you’re listening to your music.
- It means you find new joy in your music.
This is what the love of music and also simplicity is all about.