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    The Computer Audiophile

    By The Computer Audiophile •

    Amazon Music HD Launches

    Amazon launched it's Amazon HD music streaming service today. Much more to come as details come out and people sign up. The cost is $12.99 for Prime members and $14.99 for everyone else. An interesting quote from Neil Young on this announcement, "earth will be changed forever when Amazon introduces high-quality streaming to the masses.” 

     

    So far it looks like CD quality music and "higher" up through 24/192. No mention of MQA in the first press releases. 

     

    I'm attempting to sign up right now and will release more as I have more. 

     

    Here's a link to get details from Amazon and sign up. It's an affiliate link so we make a a couple pennies if you sign up. We are beta testing this on items like books and music. 

     

    Amazon Music HD

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Screen Shot 2019-09-17 at 10.13.49 AM.jpg

     

    Screen Shot 2019-09-17 at 10.18.10 AM.jpg

     

     

    Screen Shot 2019-09-17 at 10.20.03 AM.jpg

     

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    RichardSF
    55 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    You can store the Amazon Music HD downloaded / offline music on a NAS and stream it from there. 

     

    Here is the setting.

     

    I want to clarify that you can select where offline music will be stored, but the files will be encrypted and can be played only through the Amazon app. In their license agreements, music labels require streaming services to encrypt locally stored files (except of course purchased downloads).

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    shadowlight

    @joelha only way that might happen is if your NAS provider has an app/support built in for Amazon HD which is dependent on if Amazon plans to release API's to call.

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    joelha
    1 minute ago, RichardSF said:

     

    I want to clarify that you can select where offline music will be stored, but the files will be encrypted and can be played only through the Amazon app. In their license agreements, music labels require streaming services to encrypt locally stored files (except of course purchased downloads).

    Thanks for the clarification, RichardSF. 

     

    Joel

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    joelha
    1 minute ago, shadowlight said:

    @joelha only way that might happen is if your NAS provider has an app/support built in for Amazon HD which is dependent on if Amazon plans to release API's to call.

    I'll check but I won't be surprised if that option doesn't exist yet. 

     

    Thanks shadowlight. 

     

    Joel

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    shadowlight
    Just now, joelha said:

    I'll check but I won't be surprised if that option doesn't exist yet. 

     

    Thanks shadowlight. 

     

    Joel

    I would give it couple of weeks/months to see if it makes any progress.

     

    Folks on the BubbleUPnP thread on xda-developers are already asking if there are plans to add support for that.

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    Gus141

    Yes, that’s going to be an interesting issue: who gets access to the APIs?

     

    TIDAL and Qobuz have been great getting their services integrated into third-party apps that support high-end streamers (e.g. DS Lightning, mConnect, etc.). Folks who own multi-thousand-dollar streamers (Auralic, Lumin, etc.) aren’t likely to leave a service that they can currently control with their remote apps, unless Amazon Music gets on those apps/streamers (like BluOS devices).

     

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    Superdad

    What these "hi-res" streaming services never tell you is the provenance/version of the mastering they are streaming.  This is relevant especially with older material for which there may exist at least a dozen versions.  I have downloaded HD releases, and ripped SACDs of many titles only to be sorely disappointed in the SQ in comparison to the better Redbook version of same. And I am not alone in this.

    And with the streaming services one never knows how many times the files were manipulated throughout their path to the drives from which they are eventually streamed.  How many cycles of compression, up/down sampling, etc. take place?  And that's even assuming the source was close to an original master as completed in the studio.

     

    I'm all for choice, I just like to have some idea of what I'm getting...

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    shadowlight
    12 minutes ago, Gus141 said:

    Amazon Music gets on those apps/streamers (like BluOS devices).

     

    Big assumption on my part here.  Since, BluOS already has support for Amazon there has to be some kind of API that exists.

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    Archimago
    47 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

    I really don't see Amazon getting into the audiophile market for streaming. I see Amazon as having a much more mass market appeal and because of that I see this failing because 99% of consumers don't care about the differences between their MP3s and 24/192 nor do they want to invest a bunch of money into it. However, if Amazon can get audiophiles and take over the streaming market I see it all going to hell and them destroying everything. Like Walmart and Amazon have done to Main Street USA.

     

    I don't think Amazon cares about the audiophile market at all - nor should they. Hi-res IMO for them is just a checkbox item to say they could do it. Hi-res streaming with the bandwidth we have these days costs peanuts and if this is their way to differentiate themselves from everyone else and tell the world they can do it ALL - lossy, lossless, hi-res at a competitive price, it's a fine business tactic to grab as many customers as they can.

     

    As we all know, bandwidth is not an issue. MQA was always barking up the wrong tree to claim that their proprietary compression scheme was anything more than a transitional step just slightly ahead of lossless 16/44 (ignoring the other nonsense like "authentication" and BS around "deblurring" to make us think there was anything more). Well, it looks like Amazon has now leap-frogged over everyone; including Apple, Tidal, Spotify and on the same streaming playing field as Qobuz.

     

    This is clearly very big news. I feel bad for the little guys even though as a consumer, I'm happy to give this a try when it comes to Canada (which is still awaiting Qobuz).

     

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    Gus141
    3 minutes ago, shadowlight said:

     

    Big assumption on my part here.  Since, BluOS already has support for Amazon there has to be some kind of API that exists.

    API or partnership? Who gets to play with Amazon is the question; Roon or Audirvana+?  Time will tell, but if Amazon wants the audiophiles, they need to support audiophile equipment.

     

    Desktop app mostly works to USB DACs but many prefer the tablet apps or at least all the options Roon software gets you with Roon endpoints.

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    Jud
    14 minutes ago, Gus141 said:

    Yes, that’s going to be an interesting issue: who gets access to the APIs?

     

    TIDAL and Qobuz have been great getting their services integrated into third-party apps that support high-end streamers (e.g. DS Lightning, mConnect, etc.). Folks who own multi-thousand-dollar streamers (Auralic, Lumin, etc.) aren’t likely to leave a service that they can currently control with their remote apps, unless Amazon Music gets on those apps/streamers (like BluOS devices).

     

     

    Listening to Lumineers at the moment playing on my main system from Amazon HD app on phone through microRendu via its Shairport app. The Amazon app acts as a remote.

     

    This means my DAC rather than Audirvana, which I'd prefer, is doing the upsampling. But it does mean that with one of the Rendus, or another device/minicomputer that supports Shairport or a similar application (perhaps some of the streamers themselves?), streaming to the main system with remote control by phone is already available.

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    Gus141
    2 minutes ago, Jud said:

     

    Listening to Lumineers at the moment playing on my main system from Amazon HD app on phone through microRendu via its Shairport app. The Amazon app acts as a remote.

     

    This means my DAC rather than Audirvana, which I'd prefer, is doing the upsampling. But it does mean that with one of the Rendus, or another device/minicomputer that supports Shairport or a similar application (perhaps some of the streamers themselves?), streaming to the main system with remote control by phone is already available.

    Good to hear, and it should only get better as time goes by.

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    shadowlight

    @Jud is the Amazon app the same one that you use for Amazon Music or is there a different one?  If different can you share the name.  Search apple store but not finding anything other than amazon music

     

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    The Computer Audiophile
    7 minutes ago, Archimago said:

     

    I don't think Amazon cares about the audiophile market at all - nor should they. Hi-res IMO for them is just a checkbox item to say they could do it. Hi-res streaming with the bandwidth we have these days costs peanuts and if this is their way to differentiate themselves from everyone else and tell the world they can do it ALL - lossy, lossless, hi-res at a competitive price, it's a fine business tactic to grab as many customers as they can.

     

    As we all know, bandwidth is not an issue. MQA was always barking up the wrong tree to claim that their proprietary compression scheme was anything more than a transitional step just slightly ahead of lossless 16/44 (ignoring the other nonsense like "authentication" and BS around "deblurring" to make us think there was anything more). Well, it looks like Amazon has now leap-frogged over everyone; including Apple, Tidal, Spotify and on the same streaming playing field as Qobuz.

     

    This is clearly very big news. I feel bad for the little guys even though as a consumer, I'm happy to give this a try when it comes to Canada (which is still awaiting Qobuz).

     

     

    Your comment reminds me of all the barking done by MQA Ltd and @Lee Scoggins about high resolution's inability to scale because the files were just so dang huge. It just scaled bigly :~)

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    emcdade

    Can’t wait to stream the new Amazonia Grande record while streaming reruns of the Big Bang theory on HBO.

     

    The future is bright indeed.

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    Jud
    23 minutes ago, shadowlight said:

    @Jud is the Amazon app the same one that you use for Amazon Music or is there a different one?  If different can you share the name.  Search apple store but not finding anything other than amazon music

     

     

    Hi @shadowlight - Same app. I found that after signing up, if I deleted and reinstalled the app it came back up as Amazon Music HD.

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    shadowlight
    Just now, Jud said:

     

    Hi @shadowlight - Same app. I found that after signing up, if I deleted and reinstalled the app it came back up as Amazon Music HD.

    Thank you.

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    Jud
    1 minute ago, shadowlight said:

    Thank you.

     

    De nada. 🙂

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    Jud
    39 minutes ago, Archimago said:

    Hi-res IMO for them is just a checkbox item to say they could do it.

     

    I think it's a little more than that. I think they're after making just a couple bucks per customer more than competing mp3/AAC services, aiming at the kid or 30-something with what they consider a decent pair of headphones. If you want to appeal to as wide as swath as Amazon, a couple bucks per can add up pretty quickly. 

     

    Think of it in somewhat the same way as Apple becoming a music industry behemoth, and launching iPods and iPhones, basically on the idea of the 99 cent download.

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    kennyb123
    2 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

     

    Many are here to learn, not be scolded because they have an incorrect understanding.  

     

    I’m sure most folks won’t be surprised that a certain someone reacted with Disagree to my statement above.  

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    wgscott
    Quote

    Here's a link to get details from Amazon and sign up. It's an affiliate link so we make a a couple pennies if you sign up. We are beta testing this on items like books and music. 

     

    Amazon Music HD

     

     

     

    I used the link. Do you get any feedback as to whether it worked, or do you only find out after 3 months and I forget to cancel?

     

    If Damien adds this to Audirvana, I think I will subscribe.

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