Article: Amazon Music HD Launches

[Hugo9000]

30 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Bluesound and BluOS now support 24/192 from Amazon Music HD. Update your device is you haven't already today. 

 

Sorry for the off-topic comment, but the Benchmark gear looks great!  Luckily for me I can't decide if silver or black looks best, so my bank account is spared haha!  (Not that the prices aren't great for the performance level of the equipment and the level of product support and customer service!)

[Hugo9000]

4 hours ago, bbosler said:

as for the so called "free" trial

 

I signed up yesterday thinking what's to lose with a free trial. Then I see a $7.99 charge from Amazon Music on my credit card today. I call and am told that the HD trial is free but you have to have a $7.99 unlimited account to get the free trial. Of course, I ask how can it be free when I get charged $7.99? They said again, only free if you pay for unlimited

 

I canceled and got my $7.99 back

 

first they have a setting that says you get HD downloads when it turns out that is not actually a download even when you pay for the song like I foolishly did,  it is only for offline listening, any actual download is low resolution MP3, now this

 

f**k em, I'm done with em

I wonder what happens if someone does the 30-day free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited, and then tries to do the Music HD trial right away. 

 

I wondered about the bit in the wording of the 90-day trial offer:  "This 90-day free trial offer is a limited time offer. This offer applies only to the Amazon Music HD Individual Plan and the Amazon Music HD Family Plan and is available only to new subscribers to Amazon Music Unlimited."  I thought they meant that if you were a current subscriber of the existing music service, you couldn't get the free trial of the new service (they do other promos sometimes for people who have never tried Prime, for example, or if it's been over a year or whatever).  They should just come out and say that you'll be paying the $7.99 as a new subscriber to Amazon Music Unlimited, while receiving the Music HD service at no additional charge beyond that $7.99 subscription for the length of the trial.  They should realize that ambiguous wording can lead to confusion and disappointment and/or anger.  

[Hugo9000]

6 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

I did. Getting both free.

Thanks, @Jud, good to know! 

[Hugo9000]

In addition to Atmos, Sony's 360 Reality Audio is coming to Amazon Music HD:

 

https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/26/echo-studio-360-reality-audio/

 

Quote

Amazon's newest addition to its smart speaker lineup, the Echo Studio, doesn't only offer higher quality audio than its brethren. It also supports new audio technologies like Dolby Atmos and Sony's 360 Reality Audio for an immersive listening experience. To coincide with the launch of the speaker, Sony has announced that 360 Reality Audio content will soon be available to stream through Amazon Music HD.

The 360 Reality Audio format uses "object-based spatial audio technology" which maps out different types of sounds such as vocals or instruments with positional information.

 

Quote

As well as offering content via Amazon Music, Sony is also working on its own ecosystem of products based around 360 Reality Audio including headphones which are calibrated specifically to your ears using a smartphone app and speakers like the prototype Reality Audio speaker shown off at CES.

That sounds like it would be more interesting to more people than MQA on Tidal.  lol

 

Amazon could of course f*** it all up in the delivery and user experience.

 

Edited to add that back in January, Sony apparently stated they wanted 360 Reality Audio on other streaming services such as Deezer and Tidal, so there's that, I guess.  I've never heard of Deezer outside of people mentioning it here, whereas everyone I know in the real world is at least aware of Amazon, and everyone I know other than my mother has some kind of Amazon account already.  lol

 

Second edit:  Count me out on the Sony headphone app.  You have to take good resolution photos of your ears to share with Sony, who will then sell them to "security" companies or the NSA or Mossad or whomever.  As if facial recognition wasn't dangerous enough without detailed photos of our ears.  It's well known that identification of individuals by unique ear shape has been possible for decades.  (It was one of the ways in which that woman who claimed to be Anastasia was shown to be a fraud, before DNA testing was available.)  Make sure your tinfoil hat covers your ears, people!