You can use any analogy you prefer, but the other streaming services that offer high resolution have no problem with Exclusive Mode. Also, let me say this: I pay for Amazon Music. It's the only music streaming service I use. I want them to get this right. The fact that they have more $$$ than either of those other two combined, you would think they could get it right. It's really not that difficult if you have somebody that knows what they are doing. Now, in the grand scheme of things, it's really not a big deal with everything else that is going on, but it does make you wonder: Many users have contacted Amazon about Exclusive Mode. They pushed the current release out with a half baked version of it. Did they know it really wasn't Exclusive Mode and thought people wouldn't realize it or did they really believe they nailed it?
if we’re here to discuss SOLUTIONS, though - aren’t there setups that DO work? are you positive that Macs don’t output 24 bit, or are you only focusing on the Windows app inability to properly use Exclusive Mode? what about iPhones or Android phones? i think most users reading these threads would rather keep the “big picture” in mind, and that’s getting the full hi res audio to their speakers, rather than operating under the assumption that everyone here has only 1 Windows PC to work with. there is a whole other thread on Amazon HD setups working but nobody seems to be specifying if iPhones or Macs truly are outputting 24 bit audio - so i’ll ask it here - what devices DO output full hi res, and without using a dedicated streamer (laptops / computers / phones only - because obviously the dedicated streamers work). thanks
Thank you. I primarily use an Android phone (but can also access it on a Chromebook) and would love to hear if anyone else uses these and what experiences they might be having.
Quit Tidal last week....the app often crashed on me and there were other issues....i am now in my free month of amazon hd...........gotta say, the tidal user interface is much better and more intuitive. And why can't i get an indication of whether i am getting an HD stream when i stream from my mac?
I believe the streaming devices with heos and bluos are the only devices that ouput true high resolution, true exclusive mode. Neither windows nor Mac can do this currently and I am not aware of any phone that can.
Any tricks to getting output resolution to change with the song? I'm on an old MacBook Air connected to Marantz HD-AMP1. I'm able to set exclusive mode and choose a bit rate...the app says its varying the bit rate...but my amp continues to display whatever I've set the Midi Sound output to in Mac OS X. Any tricks here?
It’s the same situation with Windows. There’s really no tricks. It’s up to Amazon to change that. I think they will eventually, but....
No way around this as of now. Whatever resolution you set in the Mac sound output is what's sent to your amp or dac. If you set it higher than the amazon source, then Mac will upsample to that rate. If you set it lower, then MAc will downsample. It's the exact same thing with windows.
I have a few questions, hopefully someone can help me out. I decided to try out the Amazon HD today. Running it through my Marantz amp using HEOS. I already have found out that it won’t play My Music on the Amazon Music app which stinks. So I have to search for anything I want to play. But how do I make a playlist or Queue? It seems like I can play a whole album or song, but how do I add another song to be played after what is already being played?
To create a playlist in the Amazon Music App, click the three dots menu at the bottom right; select Create Playlist and name it. It appears in My Music (top left) > Playlists. Add to it by right clicking a track and select Add to Playlist. There are other ways of doing it, but that gives you a basic idea.
As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this. BluOs lets you create something called a "preset" and use that to access your amazon playlists - a clumsy workaround, but it does exist. Possibly there is a similar function in HeOs? I can't find one, but I haven't done an exhaustive search.
I just noticed that there might have been another update for the Windows app. Version: 7.11.3.2198 I haven't had a chance to try it because of Zoom meetings going on, but I will investigate later today. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it hasn't changed anything, but it did say "NEW" by the shortcut icon for the app.
That is the version that came out last week for pc. It seems to have been released a week or two earlier for mac.
That's strange. I downloaded the latest version last week after there were posts about it on hare. Not sure why it said "NEW" on the shortcut this morning.
‘Thanks, I did not think so. I don’t normally play 1 whole album at a time. I like to pick and choose songs or do random play. Since Amazon My Music will not work through HEOS this is a major problem for me with Amazon HD. The other problem with using it through HEOS is that you don’t know which albums / songs are in HD Ultra until you play them. I really only want this for Ultra and the only way for me to see what is available is to use the Amazon app first to see what is in Ultra then switch to HEOS and play it through there. I can play them through airplay using the Amazon app but Ultra gets down sampled, this is also the same if going through the Control4 system. Damn can’t they get this right, I am willing to give them my money just either HEOS or even Control4 get it together.
Go to Utilities folder, open Midi Setup app, select Format pull down menu, "2 ch 24-bit Integer 48.o kHz" Not sure if this will give you true 24/48 from Amazon. Worth a shot.
As far as I know, the Mac OS is taking the signal amazon gives it and upsampling it to achieve higher resolution. To me that isn't "true" 24 bit or true high res. If you like how it sounds, then that's another matter.
FWIW, my Amazon Music HD app on Windows pc just got an update. My new version is 7.12.0.2203 I have no idea what might be any possible advantage over the prior version.
Yeah I'm thinking about kicking it to the curb as well. I mostly use it when mobile, and Spotify is a) fine for that and b) has a larger - tho not more stable - catalog.
I love it - never a buffering issue, huge catalog, and it sounds great. Overthink it all day if you like, but it's the best streaming service I've tried by far. But then, I don't obsess on bit rates to the extent that some of you guys do.
If you don't "obsess" on bit rates, what's the point of Amazon Music? Just get Spotify. Larger catalog and vastly superior software and UI...
