Tidal was ALWAYS going to be in big trouble. Their $10/mo plan offers nothing better than the competition, and an inferior music selection. Their $20 high res plan only appeals to a limited number of listeners. Now that Amazon-with infinitely deep pockets--is competing in that space, Tidal is sunk. Especially since Amazon is undercutting them on price for Prime members.
I've signed for the 90 day free trial and I am finding that I cannot choose an audio output through their downloaded player. Music that Amazon HD says is 196 khz only plays on my system as 176khz. With the Qobuz player, I can choose a device that will play as 196 khz. Am I missing something? Does anyone know if an audio output device can be selected through the Amazon player? Also, I find no mention of a bit rate of the Amazon HD tracks. Are they streaming in 24 bits?
Is this being rolled out slowly? I cant find any mention of it on A.com. I get tons of advertising from them, but not about this. VERY interested!!! The link above only takes me to the regular Music Unlimited page with no mention of HD.
Ok, I found the bit rate. It is 24. You have to click on the yellow Ultra Hd at the bottom of the player. Still haven't found a way to change an audio output device through the player as you can in Qobuz.
So how does this functionally work? I have a USB out from my laptop to my DAC - is there a digital signal via Amazon that gets sent from my computer to my DAC just like when I use VOX to play my 196k FLAC files?
So, once you signed up, some of your auto rips are now available in HD for download? That might be worth the price of admission right there.
I think this is a step in the right direction. However, I find it hilarious that CD quality is now seen as 'HD'! And of course, $14.99 = £14.99, $12.99 = £12.99, etc. UK consumers always seem to pay more for the same thing!
I'm still confused with the quality of playback and a lack of audio device settings. When I play the Eagles' "The Long Run" in Ultra HD this is what displays when I click on the yellow Ultra Hd at the bottom of the currently playing page: Track Quality ………………….. 24 bit / 192 khz Device Capability ……………...24 bit / 192 khz Currently Playing At ………….24 bit / 96 khz I've had no problem playing at 192 khz on Qobuz.
I'll have to give this one a shot. I just canceled Tidal because I didn't use it enough for the price. $12.99 (I already have Prime) sounds like a much better price.
Are you using a MAC? If so you need to change the bitrate in the Audio/Midi Setup app to whatever you're playing. Yours might be set to 24/96? As of now, the Amazon app doesn't have the ability to change the bit and sample rate of the computer on the fly unlike Qobuz or Tidal.
Amazing, Amazon is going to make everyone step up their game. Jeff Bezos making audiophiles all over the world call him daddy.
If CD, 24/96 and 24/192 are indistinguishable in a blind test, why would one be HD and not the other? Where does the line in the sand get drawn? My main objection to Hi-Res Audio was that it discriminated against CD quality audio for completely nonsensical reasons, whilst ignoring the far more relevant issues of recording quality and mastering quality. In other words, the case that CD should be considered HD is stronger than the case it shouldn't. Going above CD resolution, differences become purely psychological; not necessarily a bad thing, but no reason to discriminate against lossless 16/44.1, either.
This was one of my questions. Can you locate the downloaded lossless file? and if so, I assume it's DRM'd? Right?
I know it's a very niche thing at this point, but I can't move over unless Amazon integrates last.fm with their apps, which I doubt they ever will. Bummer.
No, unfortunately it looks like when I download AutoRip tracks to my laptop they are Plain Jane MP3 files. I just thought it was cool that when streaming the AutoRip tracks they have been upgraded to HD/Ultra HD. Not the same for digital purchases in ‘My Music’ though. For example, a Beck album I bought as an MP3 download years ago is playing back Ultra HD whereas the MP3’s I bought for the Amazon Exclusive version of The Walkmen’s Lisbon is playing back in standard quality. This is extra weird because when I search the streaming library for that album they definitely have an HD version available. Go figure.
I'm not using a MAC but I did confirm that my audio device was set to play at 24/192. After I realized the bit and sample rate could not be changed through the Amazon player, I did indeed check the settings of the audio output device through my computer's sound setting.
There are some albums showing up in "Ultra HD" that I don't believe have ever been released in hi-res. I may have to call B.S.
Sorted out my iOS problems and currently got my iPad Pro connected to my Sony WM1A. My Walkman is showing every tracks as 192 so I think the app upsamples everything. For example when I use my Walkman with NYA my Walkman shows the correct quality for each track
