[exdmd]

Reports are sound quality is better on macOS than Windows but macOS still suffers from the same up and down sampling as Windows. You have to go into Audio Midi and set the sample rate manually. The Amazon Music HD program still needs exclusive mode enabled on both platforms.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Amazon Music HD sound quality right now just does not compare with Tidal or Qobuz. You can most likely put this down to the program using the Windows audio stack in shared mode. Regardless of the native bit depth and sample rate of the song played in Amazon Music HD Windows up or down samples to the user setting in Sounds. You can confirm this if you have an outboard DAC that shows the sample rate it is being sent. You could go into Windows Sounds and manually adjust for each song but you will still have the files sent through the Windows audio stack with some degradation: you are not getting bit perfect sound. For that you need ASIO or Wasapi exclusive mode. Tidal and Qobuz both offer exclusive mode which bypasses Windows audio and lets the stream be sent bit perfect to the DAC with automatic sample rate changing.

Amazon has great engineers so it is a mystery why they did not enable Wasapi exclusive mode in the Windows desktop app. If they had and sound quality matched Qobuz or Tidal it would be hard for them to survive. Right now audiophiles are staying with Qobuz and Tidal because they sound better, and if you have money investing in a resolving system an extra $10 a month is small change for the better sound quality. Amazon has gotten plenty of feedback about lack of exclusive mode, now we just wait and see if they care enough about the audiophile market to make changes. If they did not want to update the Windows app they could just open their API to Roon or Audirvana for a licensing fee. I think this is unlikely but we'll see.

I wonder if the app sounds worse in Windows for these reasons, than it does on the Mac OS. Seems like we could be talking about apples and oranges here.

I noticed a thread on the JRiver forums where people were streaming through the Jriver drivers to obtain "exclusive mode" for Amazon HD. I am technically inept on these matters but maybe somebody here may want to look at that, try it, and report back if it makes a difference.

 

[grokit]

I noticed a thread on the JRiver forums where people were streaming through the Jriver drivers to obtain "exclusive mode" for Amazon HD. I am technically inept on these matters but maybe somebody here may want to look at that, try it, and report back if it makes a difference.

When I was using Windows for audio, I liked Jriver. It's good if you're mildly technically inept (me2), maybe download a demo and give it a try?

 

[originalsnuffy]

When I was using Windows for audio, I liked Jriver. It's good if you're mildly technically inept (me2), maybe download a demo and give it a try?

I typically play Amazon HD through my phone and primarily through my Shanling M2 as a DAC. So I have no issues with the service at all; it sounds like regular Redbook FLAC to me. Must admit the Ultra HD tracks don't sound a whole lot better to me than the HD; but then again I am primarily playing it in a car.

For those who are beefing about the Windows exclusive mode issue I leave it to them to try this workaround. Its not really an issue for me at all but wanted to offer some more information to those who are not satisfied with the Windows app. I typically play via the Echo DOT in a home in ceiling speaker system and it sounds great. I can hook up the PC directly to this sound system also and it sounds about the same to me. So I am satisfied given the modest price point. Are there some bugs? Yep. Do I find those bugs so intolerable that I won't use the service? No. I like the Amazon ecosystem and its good enough for me and I think better than competing services that use lossy formats. I don't care to fiddle with Tidal etc.; the competition for me is with regular CD rips and HD Tracks purchases. True, with regard to HD Tracks I typically listen to those on hi res devices not a phone so I can't really offer a well considered or definitive opinion of Amazon HD Ultra vs HD Tracks.

 

[runssical]

Until they add exclusive mode, Amazon HD is useless to me. I have a 3 month trial and still just listen to Tidal which sounds better.

I think it's only a 30 day trial. Amazon makes you pay for the base tier $9.99 after 30 days. The HD tier is considered an "add-on" and that part is free for 90 days. It's kinda sneaky on Amazon's part.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

On the latest Win10 (1903) with matched sample rate and special effects disabled, the difference should be only dithering due to audio stack doing float32 and back to integer bit rate conversion. That's in theory, my experience is that version of Win10 and DAC in use can greatly affect the actual outcome.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I think it's only a 30 day trial. Amazon makes you pay for the base tier $9.99 after 30 days. The HD tier is considered an "add-on" and that part is free for 90 days. It's kinda sneaky on Amazon's part.

Not sure it's universal, you can click on Account Settings in app and it shows renewal date for base service and separate for HD add on. Mine shows Dec-20th for both.
But thanks for heads up, wouldn't hurt for others to check their due dates.

 

[Soundizer]

Anyway Amazon MUSIC HD has just completely failed after October 14th iOS update. After about a minute the quality drops from ‘24bit/96KHz’ to ‘Standard’ [can see this on yellow label and hear it].
And you can easily hear the difference when jt happens.

This ‘Standard’ quality is much worse than even Spotify or Apple Music. It sounds compressed.

so if they don’t fix this, there is no HD, ULTRA HD, HIGH RES - it’s all mush.

 

[Soundizer]

If you have an iOS device - iPhone/iPad.
Play the track ‘Meet the Family’ from Disney Dumbo Album.
Let it play and after 1minute 32seconds click on ULTRA HD yellow label - it will have changed to STANDARD quality.

 

[a-LeXx]

Anyway Amazon MUSIC HD has just completely failed after October 14th iOS update. After about a minute the quality drops from ‘24bit/96KHz’ to ‘Standard’ [can see this on yellow label and hear it].
And you can easily hear the difference when jt happens.

This ‘Standard’ quality is much worse than even Spotify or Apple Music. It sounds compressed.

so if they don’t fix this, there is no HD, ULTRA HD, HIGH RES - it’s all mush.

That's what I've been complaining about from beginning, it never worked for me, also not before the update. That's why I download music first, then listen. Streaming is completely broken. When they say 'Standard' - it's not even close to their real 'standard' 256kbps. Sounds like 64kbps to me, too many artifacts. Not listenable at all. But downloading and then playing from the internal storage works.

 

[Soundizer]

That's what I've been complaining about from beginning, it never worked for me, also not before the update. That's why I download music first, then listen. Streaming is completely broken. When they say 'Standard' - it's not even close to their real 'standard' 256kbps. Sounds like 64kbps to me, too many artifacts. Not listenable at all. But downloading and then playing from the internal storage works.

How do you know that it really does download in ULTRA HD? That’s my concern. I don’t really care about streaming as I will always download it.

which Country are you in? might be down to AWS Amazon designated Servers inefficiency.

i am in the UK

 

[Left Channel]

I wonder if the app sounds worse in Windows for these reasons, than it does on the Mac OS. Seems like we could be talking about apples and oranges here.

I guess we really do, it seems sound quality is really suffering on windows. I do not perceive anything similar on my iOS devices. The app has many problems, SQ is fortunately not among them...

macOS and iOS have similar issues. If you don't perceive any, then I envy you. Just enjoy!

 

[a-LeXx]

How do you know that it really does download in ULTRA HD? That’s my concern. I don’t really care about streaming as I will always download it.

which Country are you in? might be down to AWS Amazon designated Servers inefficiency.

i am in the UK

First, there is an easily audible difference, secondly - the battery consumption is very different for sd vs. hd vs. uhd. Worst are 24/192 albums, 4 albums with a fully loaded battery, and it‘s empty again on my new iPhone 7 with 100% battery health...

 

[a-LeXx]

macOS and iOS have similar issues. If you don't perceive any, then I envy you. Just enjoy!

As I said, I did not compare to tidal. And you might perceive Amazon HD bright compared to tidal, I cannot say from memory, canceled tidal half a year ago. I did however compare to Apple Music, and there is no difference in brightness there, amazon has less ‚digital glare‘ in a A/B comparison
with instant switching... so, it might be that it‘s other way around, tidal is ‚softer‘, while Apple Music and Amazon are truer to the original. Difficult to tell what‘s right and what‘s wrong... Or it‘s ‚cable sound’ altogether, one first started this ‚brighter‘, and now everyone is hearing it...

 

[3Putter]

As I said, I did not compare to tidal. And you might perceive Amazon HD bright compared to tidal, I cannot say from memory, canceled tidal half a year ago. I did however compare to Apple Music, and there is no difference in brightness there, amazon has less ‚digital glare‘ in a A/B comparison
with instant switching... so, it might be that it‘s other way around, tidal is ‚softer‘, while Apple Music and Amazon are truer to the original. Difficult to tell what‘s right and what‘s wrong... Or it‘s ‚cable sound’ altogether, one first started this ‚brighter‘, and now everyone is hearing it...

Editing my post - I either misread your posts or I don't understand them. I'm glad you like the service sans the battery drain. Enjoy it!