So HIby does bitperfect using ANY android app? (i wonder why that's something Hiby can do, but Fiio and Ibasso cannot?)...and If I'm hearing you right, for some reason Tidal should be able to do Bitperfect as is on Hiby but Amazon HD cannot due to some way it works?
Hiby specifically worked on the software to make it bit-perfect output. Ibasso did not. Amazon music as currently set has some coding that runs at possibly the highest resolution it sees from the DAC. IT'S all software stuff that can be fixed in the app. As far as the DAPs, that is more about hardware and software implementation, so more work on getting them to work together. Something that is usually achieved in development.
I managed to get the 90 day trial and there was a note stating it was for new subscribers only. I had never subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited, which might be why I got the 90 day trial instead of 30 day?
I'm still on the fence between this and Tidal. Tidal has better PC and Mac app (audirvana) and the app on my music player (iBasso) says it's not capable of more than 24/44khz so it defaults to 16/44, so...identical to Tidal for me at least. Plus theres the political reasons you may not wanna go with Amazon. OTOH - Amazon is FAR less likely to suddenly go under, stop it's service etc, which I feel like is always a chance with Tidal?
What do you guys think so far? Switch to amazon music even if it offers the same audio? Now, the masters, compression etc may be better with amazon music vs tidal, idk yet.
I dropped Tidal for Qobuz a while back because SQ was a bit better on Qobuz for me. I took Amazon up on the 90 day free trial and after a few hours of listening it was pretty obvious to me that sound quality was always better listening to the same track on Qobuz than Amazon HD. If Amazon makes changes so that a DAC can have exclusive control of the music like Tidal and Qobuz does I bet quality would improve. I'll keep it around for a few months but right now I will be using Qobuz through Audirvana+ as usual.
I managed to get the 90 day trial and there was a note stating it was for new subscribers only. I had never subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited, which might be why I got the 90 day trial instead of 30 day?
I had contacted Amazon via chat about the IMDB 90 day promo they were running and they told me that the 90 day trial is only for new subscribers. I cancelled service in 2017. I told the agent that I have been getting random popups congratulating me on being eligible for a 90 day trial during the last few weeks (makes more sense now in light of this new offering). Of course, Amazon's fabulous customer support rep chose to ignore my comments and just read from the script (this assumes I was actually chatting with a person and not a robot). Later that day, I just opened up the app again and the promo popped up once again so I jumped on it before the Alexa popup could take over my screen again. I am currently using the 90 day trial (it is a 30 day trial with a renewal at $0/month for 2 months) and I was able to upgrade the trial to Amazon Music HD at no additional cost during the trial period so it is not only for new subscribers. Perhaps the promos are targeted? If it matters, I am in the US.
If I'm not mistaken, both of those devices are not bit-perfect with streaming apps, only the local player or apps with built in Android SRC bypassing. Dx 150 doesn't do direct transport audio, I don't think. Also, the LG DAC only bypasses Android SRC for Tidal MQA audio. Even the normal CD quality audio gets upsampled on the LG phones, because it runs through the Android Audio stack.
That's not quite true. Anything 24 bit will play at native resolution on these quad DAC phone. So anything hi-res is fine. 44/16 is the problem, but there is a work-around for that, because you can stream Tidal at the correct (original) sample rate via UAPP.
As for this Amazon "HD" music service - Amazon seem to have dropped the ball here. I don't know why they'd release this to the masses when their own app is crippled from the get-go on every single platform.
just started my free trial and here are my initial impressions:
1. UI isn't terrible (better than tidal) but vastly inferior to spotify; dark background is difficult to navigate
2. library seems deep, especially in jazz, and comparable to spotify; however there's less ultra hd content than advertised. they don't have the podcast and non-music offerings of spotify, but i expect that will change.
3. hd sound is vg and better than spotify premium, if not night-and-day different. ultra hd is superb
4. playlists and recommendations are adequate, though again much behind spotify.
i fully expect amazon will continue to upgrade and improve the app as it gains traction--they have a long-term plan for world domination and the $$$ for development. i assume this will force spotify to roll out a hi-rez tier; i don't see how tidal will remain relevant or viable.
Very Initial thoughts/issues
Catalogue seems huge.
I have seen issues trying to play items that appear to be there but on clicking are blocked due to 'unavailability in my region' (Biosphere: 'Substrata') specifically.
I downloaded some 192/24 stuff to my phone (there is no choice - UHD gives you whatever the highest is - It would only play in my car for about 2 mins then suddenly stopped and I couldn't skip/restart (Apple Carplay)
I quite like the desktop app but - I can't let the dac do what it wants. So - I have to set windows to allow 192/24 and the dac will always show 192/24 even if the track is 44.1/16 - the desktop player does show what's the source/what's playing and what the dac is capable of - I think that's pretty nice feature but - I'd far rather (like tidal) let the dac deal with everything directly.
I wholeheartedly agree this will be the kick in the proverbials that apple music / spotify need.
EDIT - this is weird too - a mix of HD/UHD tracks on the same album?! - the Desktop players says 'Ultra HD' but on opening the album only one or two tracks are - the rest being HD only.
I dropped Tidal for Qobuz a while back because SQ was a bit better on Qobuz for me. I took Amazon up on the 90 day free trial and after a few hours of listening it was pretty obvious to me that sound quality was always better listening to the same track on Qobuz than Amazon HD. If Amazon makes changes so that a DAC can have exclusive control of the music like Tidal and Qobuz does I bet quality would improve. I'll keep it around for a few months but right now I will be using Qobuz through Audirvana+ as usual.
I found Tidal to sound better over Qobuz, and this was based on comparing same album, but I generally felt Tidal for some reason sounds better, best of any streaming apps on the desktop. And I don't believe the difference are due to bit-perfect, as both have bit-perfect.
I would be interested if Amazon adds bit-perfect mode though. Other than that, I don't like the crippled desktop app and it's ui. Sounds fairly ordinary like any other streaming service to me.
I will say that "UltraHD" seems to be anything above 16/44.1. I am listening to "Sound & Color" by Alabama Shakes and it lists the max resolution possible as 24/44.1. I am assuming you have confirmed that all of the things you have tried are listed being available above 24/44?
Also, I am not sure what visibility options are available to you, but I know on the mobile app it does show the max resolution available, max resolution you can play on your device, and what resolution you are playing.
Edit: For Clarification, Sound & Color is listed as UltraHD in the app, but shows as 24/44.1, and my phone is listed as capping at 24/48.
It's interesting that Amazon is pushing this as a way of differentiating themselves from the other players, but none of their physical audio products are capable of presenting the improvement that HD, UHD bring over lossy in a compelling way. At least from what I've seen so far.
I will say that "UltraHD" seems to be anything above 16/44.1. I am listening to "Sound & Color" by Alabama Shakes and it lists the max resolution possible as 24/44.1. I am assuming you have confirmed that all of the things you have tried are listed being available above 24/44?
Also, I am not sure what visibility options are available to you, but I know on the mobile app it does show the max resolution available, max resolution you can play on your device, and what resolution you are playing.
Edit: For Clarification, Sound & Color is listed as UltraHD in the app, but shows as 24/44.1, and my phone is listed as capping at 24/48.
When I clicked on the UltraHD icon, it showed the track itself was 24/96, however my device capability was 24/44, pretty sure Rob Watts won't agree with that
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