Amazon Launches Lossless "Hi-rez" HD Music Service

Short write-up from Stereophile:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/amazon-music-goes-high-rez

Will there be a discount for Prime members?

Yes.

Regarding Amazon's files:  "Both types of HD audio will stream as uncompressed FLAC rather than the MQA format used on Tidal."

From Extreme Tech: https://www.extremetech.com/internet/298538-amazon-pulls-the-rug-out-from-under-tidal-with-new-hd-music-streaming-service

@tuberist  The catalog rivals Spotify's catalog. No MQA (that I know of). The key (for us) will be how the different services adopt and integrate it into their systems. In my case, Roon.

Hopefully the added competition will result in lower prices from Tidal and/or Qobuz.

@big_greg  It will definitely be interesting to see how Tidal and Qobuz respond. Spotify and Apple also.

And Spotify will need to follow suit (finally)!!!

An early demo from CNBC:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/17/amazon-music-hd-promises-high-quality-music-difference-hard-to-hear.html

"Maybe I need better headphones, not a cheapo set that came in the box with a phone....The point is: Sound quality is not just about file size..."    : )

@digepix  You'll be fine. Either way (for Tidal and for Amazon) you will be limited to CD resolution. Share your findings if you sign up.

Here is the link:

https://www.amazon.com/music/unlimited/hd

Please note I'm not affiliated with Amazon. I also don't plan on signing up at present. I'm a happy Tidal and Qobuz via Roon streamer. : )

You are welcome.

Spotify is still the leader in our markets (Western) with 100 million plus paid subscribers to Amazon's ~ 32 million plus paid.

I have a TIDAL account with a Scott Nixon dac so no hi-rez necessary. Do you think switching over to Amazon is worthwhile? Yes I have a Prime account.

I don’t know which Scott Nixon DAC you have, but if it is only decodes / outputs CD quality I don’t see why not. How you value the other factors related to streaming, I can’t say.

From the Scott Nixon site, for his newer DACs:

"The usb models are not hi-rez, but I really think most listeners don’t need it yet (or ever). For hi-rez I recommend the s/pdif models and a pro-interface or usb/spdif dongle that will output 24/96. The Chibi and TD2.2 will decode 24/96 and output 16/96. There are usb hi-rez models in the works, but will be 4 to 5 times the cost of these offerings."

Today is the day High Resolution Audio went mainstream. This will do much, much more than "disrupt things a bit." The implications for our hobby are significant.

I’m excited for the wider catalog access, but truly excited for what this means for impact on hardware (major) choices and software support solutions.

Normally you get trickle down, but in this case we will get the opposite...a trickle up effect. Good news for everyone.

As a single example, can you imagine the impact on sales for Audioquest’s Dragonfly Cobalt....or OEM DAC chips...

Pertinent information from Apple Insider:

"HD tracks are 16-bit audio with a sample rate of 44.1kHz, or CD-quality, and an average bit rate of 850 kilobits per second. Ultra HD tracks 24-bit audio with a sample rate of up to 192kHz, and an average bit rate of 3730 kilobits per second. As Amazon points out, most streaming services only offer standard definition quality music, which reduces some of the detail in order to save on file size.

Because the files are lossless, it should be noted that they are significantly larger. A standard song comes in at just around 9 megabytes, where as an HD song comes in at 50 megabytes. An Ultra HD song comes in at 153 megabytes, meaning that devices will be able to hold less music at higher qualities.

This also means that streaming HD and Ultra HD songs will use up more of your data plan, so it's advised that people with lower data caps listen to music via Wi-Fi or download the music for offline listening later.

Additionally, the quality of the music is going to be heavily dependent on how you're listening to it as well. Playing the music through low-quality speakers is going to render a low-quality result."

https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/09/17/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-lossless-amazon-music-unlimited-hd

will be interesting to see how much WAN bandwidth is required

From GSMArena:

"If you want to stream music, you’ll need at least a 1.5-2Mbps LTE connection for HD quality and 5-10Mbps for Ultra HD. A large data allowance is a must too – a 3 and a half minute song eats up 51MB in HD quality and 153MB in Ultra HD. A lossy track is 9MB."

https://www.gsmarena.com/amazon_music_hd_launches_with_two_lossless_audio_options_in_four_countries-news-39226.php

Note: these figures are not verified.

@grannyring   Agree. Roon integration is key for me as well. It will be interesting to see how all of this shakes up the streaming marketplace.

"If you want to stream music, you’ll need at least a 1.5-2Mbps LTE connection for HD quality and 5-10Mbps for Ultra HD. A large data allowance is a must too – a 3 and a half minute song eats up 51MB in HD quality and 153MB in Ultra HD. A lossy track is 9MB."

Above (posted earlier) verified from multiple outlets. [Quote is from GSMArena]

Brief early "experience / use" feedback. Might be of help to those just starting out with the service.

Those of you with Bluesound / NAD products will be sitting pretty. : )

https://www.t3.com/news/amazon-music-hd-review

Agreed. I believe many will. 

@cedargrover  Thanks for that update. It's great news!

"audio quality matters v. seven notes and a set of vibrations"

Nice read. Brit humour. And truth.

https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/amazon-music-hd-dos-sound-quality-matter-2549294

Some [Some] current Amazon Products, Sonos, BluOS products, Marantz, Denon, etc. [Note: they may have restricted maximums for resolution / decoding]

https://www.whathifi.com/us/news/first-wave-of-product-support-for-amazon-music-hd-confirmed

https://positive-feedback.com/industry-news/bluos-among-first-to-integrate-amazon-music-hd/

Thoughtful post by John Darko:

https://darko.audio/2019/09/global-feedback-do-you-classify-cd-quality-as-hi-res-audio/

Awesome overview of streaming services available. Should be very helpful to members new to streaming.

https://www.consumerreports.org/streaming-media/best-music-streaming-service-for-you/

Note: not all services are covered. For example, Qobuz.

From inner/Fidelity:

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/amazon-hd-music-launches-questions-remain

@dynaquest4  Did you read John Darko's thoughts on this? Linked 10 posts above.

First Half 2019 performance (financial) for Streaming, etc. Impressive growth. From, the 'High Resolution And Digital Audio' site:

https://www.hiresaudio.online/us-music-revenues-grew-18-in-first-half-of-2019/

Uber, is your Ayre close to a TV? Also, have you considered output from an older video focused streamer which (generally) used to offer Optical Outputs? Current / latest units have moved to HDMI out only; some may offer USB (micro) out. 

FYI and interesting.... Dolby Atmos encoded music...

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/amazon-music-hd-new-echo-studio-smart-speaker-support-dolby-atmos-encoded-music

@mahler123 No worries.

One’s Interpretation and One’s Experience are not "constant"...   : )