[RogerHuston]

I'm curious to try it out. I've been an Amazon Prime member forever. I'm anxious to move away from Tidal as soon as I can, but their track radio prevents me from going all in on Qobuz. Roon looks like a viable alternative for track radio, but no integration into Roon. It seems like a closed ecosystem, I can't even import using Soundiiz, only export.

Is there a track radio feature? Discovery seems a bit primitive. I think Amazon could do good things here, but only time will tell and with Apple Music and Spotify going lossless I'm wondering if Amazon's offer is a bit too little too late?

 

[Brava210]

Comparing Albums I know very well, Amazon sounds much more faithful to the original LP's I had.
I don't know why this is so, but thats my ears telling me.
Nothing against any Streaming service, but value wise Amazon at the moment is unbeatable
The Blusound Node 2i is connected to my Denon X2300 AVR and then in Pure Mode to a pair
of Q Acoustic 3050 Floorstanders, It sound immense and does Gapless properly from Amazon

 

[3Putter]

Comparing Albums I know very well, Amazon sounds much more faithful to the original LP's I had.
I don't know why this is so, but thats my ears telling me.
Nothing against any Streaming service, but value wise Amazon at the moment is unbeatable
The Blusound Node 2i is connected to my Denon X2300 AVR and then in Pure Mode to a pair
of Q Acoustic 3050 Floorstanders, It sound immense and does Gapless properly from Amazon

I use Tidal to my NAD C368 and it sounds great to me but I'm curious about Amazon now. I've felt everything I've tried has sounded inferior to Tidal except Qobuz and their catalog is lacking to my tastes. I would be shocked if Amazon didn't have everything Tidal does. Just may have to try it - but all the work I have put into Playlists and discovery in Tidal is hard to abandon.

 

[RogerHuston]

I use Tidal to my NAD C368 and it sounds great to me but I'm curious about Amazon now. I've felt everything I've tried has sounded inferior to Tidal except Qobuz and their catalog is lacking to my tastes. I would be shocked if Amazon didn't have everything Tidal does. Just may have to try it - but all the work I have put into Playlists and discovery in Tidal is hard to abandon.

I've been on Tidal for years. While I'm not jumping on the MQA bandwagon as lossy is lossy, as a Hi-fi tier user I thought I was at least getting the lossless version. Turns out you are getting the same lossy MQA file, just unfolded. As a member for 6 years, I paid for lossless and that is what I expect when I choose the lossless tier. That Tidal pulled the switch is the reason I'm leaving.

Amazon HD seems like a viable option, but they have nothing in the way of integrations nor any of the niceties like track radio. It's very plain to start. I think they need to integrate into Roon to appeal to the audiophile audience as both Spotify and Apple going lossless will appeal to the general audience and they have years of a head start. So Amazon is kind of stranded at the moment.

 

[TK33]

Amazon HD seems like a viable option, but they have nothing in the way of integrations nor any of the niceties like track radio. It's very plain to start. I think they need to integrate into Roon to appeal to the audiophile audience as both Spotify and Apple going lossless will appeal to the general audience and they have years of a head start. So Amazon is kind of stranded at the moment.

It does work with BluOS and HEOS, although the HEOS integration is terrible (enough for me to get a Node 2i for my Denon X4300H).

 

[runssical]

This is not a unanimous opinion.

I tried Amazon HD and it sounded awful. The service does not send you a bit-perfect file. Instead, the stream is constantly modulating between different bitrates as backbone and local network congestion fluctuates. A service such as TIdal or Qobuz transmit chunks from (one) actual FLAC file that is identical to what is available from a retail download store. Tidal and Qobuz also have integration with most of the popular third-party desktop and mobile music players which when used yield even greater audio fidelity especially on Android. So the gap in terms of quality between these aforementioned services and Amazon's service is considerable. Qobuz is very good value at $15/$12 per month considering they are the only service that streams bit-perfect 24bit FLAC files up to 192khz and have a store front with powerful search filtering that integrates into the streaming service.

 

[senorx12562]

I tried Amazon HD and it sounded awful. The service does not send you a bit-perfect file. Instead, the stream is constantly modulating between different bitrates as backbone and local network congestion fluctuates. A service such as TIdal or Qobuz transmit chunks from (one) actual FLAC file that is identical to what is available from a retail download store. Tidal and Qobuz also have integration with most of the popular third-party desktop and mobile music players which when used yield even greater audio fidelity especially on Android. So the gap in terms of quality between these aforementioned services and Amazon's service is considerable. Qobuz is very good value at $15/$12 per month considering they are the only service that streams bit-perfect 24bit FLAC files up to 192khz and have a store front with powerful search filtering that integrates into the streaming service.

This is also not a unanimous opinion, and has definitely not been my experience thus far. Maybe my network is more robust/less congested, or the fact that I rarely use a pc /phone makes more difference than it should, but clearly many different variables matter.

 

[rsbrsvp]

If Blueos plays Amazon Bit-perfect, why cant a programmer develop a simple software app to allow a PC to do the same? Should be simple...

 

[senorx12562]

If Blueos plays Amazon Bit-perfect, why cant a programmer develop a simple software app to allow a PC to do the same? Should be simple...

It shouldn't even require much more than tweaking their existing app. But imo the number of people who care about bit-perfect playback is vanishingly small. Most probably use the onboard dac in their computer/phone, in which case it would be of no benefit to them.

 

[Marlowe]

Most probably use the onboard dac in their computer/phone ...

I would change "Most probably" to "99% of Amazon Music users undoubtedly."

 

[originalsnuffy]

When I want my music to be 100% glitch and stutter free, I play my FLAC files etc. When I want convenience....Amazon HD.
I get Ultra HD on my Windows computers and HiBy DAP (R5). For the iphone, I download in HD which works well with BMW carplay and syncs just fine with the lossy but sweet sounding Apple Airpod Pro.

 

[originalsnuffy]

I would change "Most probably" to "99% of Amazon Music users undoubtedly."

I just picked up a cheapo lightning compatible DAC (Zorloo) for my iphone. It actually sounds pretty good with Amazon HD.

 

[GlenAppleton]

One thing I noticed with Amazon Music HD in the two weeks I've been listening to the service is that they seem to have several versions of different tracks. Some of those versions are set at hi-res, but they sound like they've been mixed for 90s radio (much loudness added). In any case, here's a few other things to consider when deciding:

1. Does Mr. Bezos really need more yachts?
2. A service like Qobuz pays artists more than 4x the amount per stream: https://www.soundguys.com/qobuz-review-50100/#howitsupportsartists
3. The Amazon Music HD app for windows doesn't actually support exclusive mode on the DAC (if that matters to you)
4. Does Mr. Bezos really need more flights into (nearly) outer space?

Ultimately, in my mind, if you can afford the extra few dollars each month, it might be better to support the other services. I cancelled my Amazon Music HD service today (trial period), and now I'm trying Qobuz which seems to work great on my setup (so far). Just my 2 cents.

 

[14christ]

My experience with Amazon HD unlimited has been nothing short of excellent. Coming from Deezer, then Apple Music, then Tidal and finally to Amazon HD Unlimited and comparing the same songs I can whole heartedly state that Amazon is the clear winner IMO. In terms of resolution Amazon is the highest, clearest, and true to CD quality that I have personally witnessed. Don't even mention the fact that it's one of the cheapest options available...I'm sold.

Some of the live music remasters are leaps and bounds above the other options. For example some of Pink Floyd's remasters at 24/192 on Amazon compared to Apple Music's version is the difference between a burr brown and sabre chip implementation.

Amazon sounds detailed and accurate whereas Apple sounds melted and more laid back. Two different signatures and I personally prefer the analytical, sharp, detailed signature of Amazon.

Also, make sure and check out the Ultra HD albums. There are tons of them and the recordings are very much enjoyable.

 

[senorx12562]

One thing I noticed with Amazon Music HD in the two weeks I've been listening to the service is that they seem to have several versions of different tracks. Some of those versions are set at hi-res, but they sound like they've been mixed for 90s radio (much loudness added). In any case, here's a few other things to consider when deciding:

1. Does Mr. Bezos really need more yachts?
2. A service like Qobuz pays artists more than 4x the amount per stream: https://www.soundguys.com/qobuz-review-50100/#howitsupportsartists
3. The Amazon Music HD app for windows doesn't actually support exclusive mode on the DAC (if that matters to you)
4. Does Mr. Bezos really need more flights into (nearly) outer space?

Ultimately, in my mind, if you can afford the extra few dollars each month, it might be better to support the other services. I cancelled my Amazon Music HD service today (trial period), and now I'm trying Qobuz which seems to work great on my setup (so far). Just my 2 cents.

Courageous political statement dude. Have at it.