Article: Amazon Music HD Launches

[charlesphoto]

2 hours ago, miguelito said:

Good news that Amazon is letting access to other UIs... Maybe there's hope for Roon.

 

There's hope for Roon as long as supposed audiophiles don't bend over for Amazon in order to cheap out. May as well just forget all the linear power supplies, cables, etc and  just get a Bose or a Sonos. It's really the same thing, all this talk of jumping ship. 

[charlesphoto]

I have an old friend who works for Amazon in streaming (not the music side of things). He's also a singer in a band, record collector and has a pretty nice traditional hifi setup (cd player and TT). For the life of him he has no idea how to stream to his system despite working in a very technical computer field. Partly due to lack of time to research, but also a lot of people just can't grasp moving beyond the one device/one click paradigm, whether it be a phone or a turntable. Roon? May as well be talking about some obscure code writing software. And that's pretty much what's going on behind the scenes at Amazon, if you ask me. I would bet somebody heard that hi-res is a thing and a hundred meetings or so later, here you go. I would seriously doubt the name Roon ever materialized in any of those meetings. 

 

Of course, the whole premise behind streaming was to make our lives simpler (no cd/lp storage, access whenever/wherever, etc). But sometimes I look at my setup with it's fiber bridges, linear power supplies, etc and shake my own head, let alone visitors. Of course, I come from a family of tinkerers, so it's all in fun (and sounds glorious for not a lot of $) but for most people it would be a bit like the first time I encountered Naim gear - what are all those boxes without knobs doing! 

[charlesphoto]

My point exactly. My ten year old wants a Spotify account - but what about the great Roon setup we have? Too complicated.... my wife prefers to just Alexa on the Sonos in the kitchen vs wrangle with Roon. Pretty normal I would imagine. 

[charlesphoto]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

HiFi is often like the world of Super Cars. Can be complicated, expensive, and not for everyone. 
 

My family loves the one button presets on the Dynaudio Music speakers. Nothing simpler (after I set it up). 

 

Let's face it, we're really nothing more than hobbyists with really expensive train sets.  

 

For most people music is about the connection, an emotional marker in their lives, not about the quality of sound. Which can be tantamount to pulling nose hairs if stuck on a bus for hours with a blaring out of tune radio, or heavenly if at the beach on a windy day and an impromptu dance breaks out over the tinny cafe's outdoor speakers.

 

I've been fortunate enough to have a pretty strong connection with music in my life, so I'm pretty comfortable with dis-connecting to a degree, same with no longer needing a darkroom. Yea, I miss record stores and making my own silver prints, both better in their own ways, but I also need the storage space and no longer feel like killing myself with chemicals. But I can see how people still need that connection, the pride of ownership, and the feeling that the physical medium brings them that much closer to the artist.

[charlesphoto]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

 

Nice boots and belt buckle Charles. But you might want to ease up on the cervezas. 

 

You really don't want to see me dance, cervezas or no cervezas. Or sing (ask my wife). Actually two years off the drink and working my way towards a black belt in kenpo karate. Helps with the stress levels of the times. 

[charlesphoto]

Hmm, I wonder if Amazon HD would sound better here in Seattle than Qobuz, you know, shorter cable and all...

 

[charlesphoto]

5 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

The other night I connected the Sonore Signature Rendu optical and EMM DV2. I played Bob Seger’s greatedt hits. Not an audiophile album by any means.

 

Lights off, volume up. The experience was amazing. I had chills several times. I was transported in my mind to the 1970s recording studio. I enjoy this album from YouTube via iPhone speakers, but through my system the other night I had a physical reaction in addition to the emotional. 
 

 

 

Well, we've got a soft spot around here for ol' Bob. Back in the days house parties would end up with Seger playing one way or another and how can you resist? One of my fondest memories of dj'ing was when I had a short residency Friday nights in a side lounge at a popular cutting edge EDM club here. I played for four hours, mostly EDM but I usually had a few off-genre bombshells in my crate. Sometimes Nasir who was main dj downstairs, co-owner, and friend, would come upstairs for a round of one on one after his set ended. One night he had on Daft Punk or something like that, and I segued in" Anarchy in the Uk," and all 30 or so people that the lounge could fit went nuts. And then HE segued "Fly Like an Eagle" out of the Sex Pistols and the place went freaking ecstatic.