Just a reminder, you can only get bit perfect high resolution from Blu OS and HE OS devices. I know it sucks, but that's the way it is.
I currently run both Amazon Music HD and Qobuz. I was a longtime Todal-Subscriber, but I lost my faith in MQA and I am not willing to pay for MQA-enabled Hardware. Why Amazon HD AND Qobuz? Because with Amazon HD I can get my HEOS-System to incorporate Amazon-"Radio"-Stations in their playback, which is kinda neat for casual listening and to discover some new material. Sonically, Qobuz is the king (for me). No fuzz about compatible hardware, just honest old FLAC. And with the Mconnect-App, which costs about 6 or 7 bucks, I can stream Qobuz to my HEOS with up to 24/192, which is more than any sane person could ask for. I am happy with this setup, and if I was an Apple-Person, I would definately be happy with Apple Music, but it is a pain on PCs and on Apps. Also: I enjoyed Dolby Atmos on Tidal, but they put out so few titles, that even my ancient SACD and DVD-Audio-Collection had more titles in Surround. I personally do not care for anything that Apple or others NOW call Dolby Atmos or "spatial" or whatever, which is all aimed at headphones and all just mucks up the music. In my opinion, if you want surround music, get yourself a capable Player and Amp for Multichannel-SACD or DVD-Audio, OR use the meager offerings on Tidal. Surround means, to me, at least four Speakers, one in each corner of your room. Dolby Atmos means additional speakers above you. It is a joke to think Atmos, or any real surround sound, can be enjoyed with headphones. It always was and always will be an distorting and echoing mess. Well, except for tracks specially recorded for this and Amps and cans especially designed for this. But why would I want all that when I have decent speakers and headphones? Btw, the only albums, I enjoyed in surround were "Dark Side Of The Moon" and some Steve Wilson remixes of Yes and Jethro Tull. Everything else just made a perfectly good stereo-sound collaps into nonsense. But well, maybe this time, they found the key to win over the masses. They did not with Quad in the 70ies, they did not with SACD and DVD-Audio, but maybe now the miracle will happen and people want to hear their latest highly compressed autotuned song of gthe week in "spatial" audio? Sorry fpr ending on such a sarcastic note
How do you know it isn't bit perfect on an Android phone? Pardon my ignorance if this is a stupid question!
Because your Android Phone is only the "remote". You need a streamer, be it blu OS or HEOS, and then the Android or OIS tells this streamer what to stream. It does not go from Smartphone to streamer, but from Internet to streamer.
I'm really not a phone guy - I actually got my first smartphone in the mail today. I'm sure someone else can explain it better than me.
How do we know it isn't bit perfect when the Amazon app plays 24/48 directly to my headphones? How would you know if it is bit perfect or not? Why would it not be? I understand a Windows computer processes the sound, but how do we know that Android does? Am just trying to understand, thanks.
Because the Android phone isn't actually playing anything in that use case - it's being used as a remote control for another device.
What device am I using my Android phone as a remote for? I don't think I am. I am listening to headphones from the app on the phone itself. There is no other device. What am I missing?
People who have a Denon receiver or other device capable of streaming direct from Amazon HD are using the Android phone as a remote for that device.
Maybe they are, but why wouldn't it be playing bit perfectly when listening directly from Android app on an Android device?
Because presumably it's going thru the Android system mixer, which doesn't provide bit-perfect playback. You can code apps to go around that I believe, but AFAIK Amazon hasn't bothered with their Android app.
There is an Android app called USB Audio Player Pro that can bypass the internal Android (24/48) limitations. It works with some streaming apps (Qobuz, Tidal), but unfortunately it does not work with Amazon.
It's an issue for any operating system that has a global mixer capable of mixing audio from multiple apps. Which presumably is all of them these days. Apps can be coded with special modes that go around the OS mixer to output bit-perfect streams to external devices. But Amazon has been pretty anemic about providing that ability in their streaming app across platforms.
I finally understand! Haha. Thank you! I personally have high hopes for Spotify's improvements this year! I even emailed them telling them about Tidal and Amazon's pitfalls, urging them to offer 24/192 bit perfect. [email protected] for anybody who wants to do the same. I told them that if they do it right I will be a user for life. Amazon has really been pissing me off with their Frankenstein albums compiled from various sources. One example, the Bob Marleys are all messed up with certain tracks on the "albums" coming from different sources. Unforgivable. Absolutely brutal. My buddy also found a totally different and wrong version on one of their "albums". And with Tidal, MQA and "360" are deplorable gimmicks. Brutal.
Everything I've said is true - don't just go by me, look at other knowledgable posts or google the same information.
So, the only way for me to get the highest res without the degradation of a computer is a Denon or other receiver that has the Amazon HD app already installed on it? I have an Oppo 105 - Tidal on it. Guess that’s my only option. Not into Hip-Hop/Rap. What a bore.
TIDAL has a lot more than just Hip-Hop/Rap, their selection is the same if not better than Apple Music/Amazon HD.
