Amazon HD Music Streaming Service

So for those that partake in the audiophile hobby or in general just like music Amazon has waded into the realm of Tidal and Qobuz for high qualityHD streaming.

The price point is substantially less than either of those two services and even less if you are already a Prime member.
Free 90 day trial if you haven't used it before.
So far the general biggest complain seems to be the inability to run in exclusive mode or select a specific output for dedicated DAC's.
At this early stage no Roon integration or other similar appreciation tie ins.

Overall I'm blown away by it and could care less if the inevitable, "evil empire" people show up. I'm a huge fan of what I'm seeing after 2 days since launch so can only imagine how the offering matures over time.

www.stereophile.com...

I use the regular prime music app that comes with prime.

It's terrible sound quality for anything other than headphones.
Not to mention they regularly make songs unavailable for no good damn reason, other than to get you to upgrade to unlimited for an additional fee.

I'm getting sick of modern people's buisness models resembling a mediocre snare trap.

We all know Jeff bezos is broke and Amazon is broke, so it's totally cool that they keep needing more cash for basic sh%t...

a reply to: Notoneofyou

Got it but what does that have to do with the Amazon HD service that competes with Qobuz or Tidal HQ?

Try Spotify, it's bitrate is decent and as far as I can tell, isn't run by spooks.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
Try Spotify, it's bitrate is decent and as far as I can tell, isn't run by spooks.

Not quite what Im going for being in the audiophile hobby world though Im not one of those high end snobs that thinks $1k interconnect cables and obscure tube amplifier names makes a difference.. =)

In the HD streaming world you have Tidal HQ, Qobuz and now this.
Currently Spotify, Pandora, Google PLay Music and Apple Music don't push the limits on sound quality.

Also the run by spooks part doesnt mean anything to me as my career has me so interconnected to technology that leveraging Amazon is the least of my worries. =)

originally posted by: opethPA
a reply to: Notoneofyou

Got it but what does that have to do with the Amazon HD service that competes with Qobuz or Tidal HQ?

Perhaps the paid subscription to prime should already be hd quality?

I'm not an audiophile, but the sound quality, and settings/equalizer is atrocious.

Why should people continue to pay more and more to get decent playback quality?
A mass produced dvd that you can buy for 5$ at Wal-Mart has hd picture and decent sound, Amazon cant manage this without more cash?

I find it hard to believe.

originally posted by: Notoneofyou

originally posted by: opethPA
a reply to: Notoneofyou

Got it but what does that have to do with the Amazon HD service that competes with Qobuz or Tidal HQ?

Perhaps the paid subscription to prime should already be hd quality?

I'm not an audiophile, but the sound quality, and settings/equalizer is atrocious.

Why should people continue to pay more and more to get decent playback quality?
A mass produced dvd that you can buy for 5$ at Wal-Mart has hd picture and decent sound, Amazon cant manage this without more cash?

I find it hard to believe.

Fair enough though a lot goes into what your final listening experience is .
On my basic setup I always got average sound from basic Amazon Music or Google PLay Music.

In a bit perfect world or really best practice on straight two channel sound is not use an equalizer anyway as you want things flat playing just the source material.

As for paying more for Audiophile quality vs standard it's just basic good business for the companies doing it. If you dont have the hardwareDAC to gain from MQA , DSD or HD then it's probably not worth it.

I still rip all of my music to ALAC lossless files. We do stream music with the regular Prime membership for background music, parties, etc. Not for critical listening. I may sign up for an HD streaming service someday but for now, I have more digital lossless music and vinyl than I know what to do with.

originally posted by: jtrenthacker
I still rip all of my music to ALAC lossless files. We do stream music with the regular Prime membership for background music, parties, etc. Not for critical listening. I may sign up for an HD streaming service someday but for now, I have more digital lossless music and vinyl than I know what to do with.

Nice..Im about to do a rip of my CD collection especially as I just picked up a new DAC , Marantz HD-DAC1 , to pair with my Integrated Amp.

Holding off on dropping way too much money on the McIntosh IA I want. =)

Do you leverage Roon for your setup or something else?

a reply to: opethPA

I am in the Apple ecosystem and have been since the original iTunes. I don’t buy music, I just use it as my media manager. I have about 30k ALAC songs and counting along with about 300+ Blu-ray rips. Lots of people crap on iTunes but it works well for my use. We have 6 Apple TVs, several iPads and iPhones that are all able to share the music and movies which is convenient.

My hi fit setup consists of a Mac mini, 8TB external drive, Cambridge Audio DAC feeding a Yamaha CR-2020 receiver. Speakers are a pair of Yamaha NS-1000M’s. Also have a vintage Yamaha turntable for vinyl.