I agree, despite those measurements it’s well regarded in its price range, one example review being Bluesound Node 2i review | What Hi-Fi? . I’m happy with mine overall although I should add that I’m not using its internal DAC. I primarily use the Node 2i to stream my own lossless FLACs from a NAS drive but I recently did a Tidal trial and it was pretty well integrated into the BluOS app. I just started the Amazon Music HD trial so I can’t comment much on that yet, but it looks like its integration is still a work in progress.
I was able to get WASAPI to work, but only through a very convoluted system that involved VB ASIO bridge, which as a free software (you can donate if you want), and using JPLAY as the ASIO driver to my Chord Hugo 2 DAC. In JPLAY settings I had to set it up as WASAPI (i.e., not Kernal Streaming or ASIO, as I normally would). The problem is that JPLAY isn't free, and I couldn't get ASIO4ALL to work with Amazon HD, and I realized that the DAC was getting fed whatever Windows 10 audio setting I had set up for "shared mode" default, i.e., it could go as high as 192/24, but I think then it was upsampling the Windows HD to that. Anyway, with JPLAY as the driver using AB ASIO Bridge, it was definitely in exclusive mode, as I couldn't play things on the internet at the same time.
Hello Hoffman forums, I was looking for some advice about a streaming setup. For the moment, my listening is done through an LG SL9YG Soundbar. I know soundbars don't have a good reputation, but I think this one actually sounds pretty good. It is capable of playing high definition audio, up to 24/192 in all of the standard formats. My dilemma lies in trying to find a way to make this happen. I'm currently trying the free trial of Amazon HD, and am enjoying it so far. I'm also a subscriber to Apple Music but I've been having a lot of weird connection issues lately. With Apple Music, I can stream to the LG via Bluetooth. I can also do that with Amazon, but obviously then I don't get the HD audio (it still sounds good, though). The LG also has Chromecast built in, but iOS support of Chromecast seems to be hit or miss, and I'm not sure if it can handle high res audio. I'm relatively new to the HD streaming thing, so I was wondering if there was a way to actually stream HD music to the LG. Here is what I have: iPhone XS (can output 24/48) 2018 Macbook Air (in a different part of the house) Roku Premier + (last model) The soundbar has an HDMI input (currently hooked up to a UHD player), an ARC HDMI input (hooked up to my TV), and an optical input (not hooked up to anything at the moment). The easiest solution would be if the Amazon Music app for Roku could pass HD audio, but it doesn't seem like it can and I doubt Amazon will make it a priority over their own hardware. Any options/advice? I'm open to other streaming services as well.
I think the Amazon HD problems with iOS and Windows based systems are different. There should be a good pass-through for the digital signal on iOS, though you may need some sort of BitPerfect plugin... The big problem with Windows is the lack of WASAPI or ASIO "exclusive mode" with the Amazon HD app itself. Right now I'm actually using the VB-Audio Hi-Fi bridge and ASIO4ALL driver. I also had to set the Hi-Fi bridge "shared mode" default at 24/96 in Windows settings, and on top of that, am limited to Amazon music that is 24/96 if I don't want any automatic upsampling or downsampling. Tidal is very simple, with an option for "exclusive mode" that sends bit-perfect signal to the DAC's asio driver, and I can see the color change on the dac showing which bit-rate is going through. Right now, my best advice for Windows users is to set the shared mode to whatever most of the music you listen to on Amazon HD is, so if it's mainly 16/44.1 then keep it there, otherwise Windows will upsample the lower bit-rate files and it doesn't sound that good. The upside is that Amazon HD seems to have a better classical catalog than Tidal, and a lot more new stuff in ULTRA HD (which is usually 24/96).
Thanks for the helpful contributions to this thread! Now what happens if you are playing a file on the Amazon app, and its resolution is the same as what your Windows shared mode is set to play -- does that file get messed with in some way, or does it simply "pass through" (my made-up non-technical term, hope you know what I mean) without up- or down-sampling? Thanks Elk
im really excited about this amazon hd music it sounds just as awesome as qoubuz and i can have a family plan for almost half the price then qobuz. im just curious,i have asio can i use it through jriver or just wasapi?
Here's my setup for 24-192 with amzn hd: ipad to usb camera adapter, to USB A to USB B cable, usb B side goes into Marantz PM7005 integrated amp with USB DAC. Sounds incredible. Also use with NY Archives. Haven't tried with my 24/192 flacs because my ipad is 32GB, and no micro SD card slots, where my flac library is. Also used a Dragonfly DAC black 1.5 with ipad and camera usb adapter, to line in of amp, sound was very very good, only up to 24/96khz.
I've used both "HEOS Amp HS2" and "HEOS Link HS2" with the Amazon Music IOS app for high-res Amazon Music HD, but my favorite set up is: Mac Mini (2018) with Amazon Music desktop app installed and "midi" settings properly configured for streams up to 384/32 (set unnecessarily high since the amp supports it, just for bragging rights) Denon PMA-150H integrated amp with USB-DAC input connected to the Mac Mini Larry
I have been playing around with different equipment that I have. I have had success with the following setups: I play Amazon Music on my windows 10 laptop, which is connected to Topping D10 . Topping D10 gives you the flexibility to output via RCA (analog), Optical (Digital) and Coax (Digital). I have all three outputs connected to my old NAD T761 receiver. The receiver itself has a 24/96 DAC built in. The Digital outputs from the D10 bypasses the DAC in D10 and routes the digital audio signal to the DAC in the NAD receiver. The sound is very good. The analog output via rca after going through the D10 DAC is not as good. Here is the most critical part - the Amazon Music app picks up the setting in the Topping D10 DAC (16/24/96 bits, 48/96/192/384 khz) to output the music at the highest resolution available. So if you set the Topping D10 at 24/96, the Amazon Music app will automatically pick that up and output at 24/96, even though the highest resolution available might be 24/192. I know that was a lot, but hopefully it makes sense.
I haven't used a Mac in a long time. I have similar setup as yours, but use Windows 10. When I set the sound settings for Topping D10, I select the highest resolution of the dac in my receiver (mine is a NAD T761 at 24/96). My Amazon Music app detects that setting and plays everything at 24/96 or lower, depending on the file resolution they have. I use an optical cable to bypass the dac in the Topping D10 and route the digital signal to the DAC in my receiver. Sounds so much better than the Topping D10 analog out, even though the Topping might have the capability to handle a higher resolution.
would this for all hi-res, including 24/192? iPhone X -> “lightning to USB adapter kit” -> USB to micro USB adapter -> Schiit Modi 3
just couldn’t figure out if it would output 16 or 24 bit. digital audio specs are pretty tough to figure out via google searches.
I'm totally lost on all this when it comes to phones. What little I know is android limits what a phone can output, but there are ways to change that. Are they good ways? Are they exclusive mode ways? Beats me. I know even less about iphones and their operating systems. In every case, the limits end up being how the amazon app uses any given operating system. The only ones I know for sure output full resolution, true exclusive mode audio are BluOs and HeOS.
Current set-up: Bluesound Node 2i > McIntosh MX110 Preamp > McIntosh MC30 Amp > Von Schweikert VR-4 Speakers. I just purchased the Bluesound Node 2i last week. I started out using the Bluesound app from my iPhone and connecting via wi-fi to the Bluesound Node 2i. I thought the Bluesound app was just ok. I then went directly from the Amazon HD app and connected to the Bluesound Node 2i via Airplay. I’m not sure if that is recommended, but I couldn’t hear any difference and I prefer the Amazon interface over Bluesound. I’m thinking about trying out the Schiit Modi 3 to see if an external DAC is better. My question has to do with the cable from the Bluesound Node 2i to the Schiit Modi 3 (Note: from the Schiit Modi 3 to the McIntosh MX110 Preamp, I would use RCA cables). 1) Toslink or Coaxial? Which one? Is there any difference? 2) Any affordable recommendations (brands)?
It seems like a lot of you have gone the Bluesound Node route for your lossless/hi-res streaming needs. Gotta admit, it’s a sexy looking box, and I am very intrigued by it, but I need something that will also do video. I have started another thread - Digital media player needed to replace my ‘Boxee Box’ - inquiring about what my options might be, but haven’t had too much success finding THE unit that will work for me. Do you guys know of anything in the same ballpark as the ‘Node’ that might have an HDMI output and that can also handle the standard video formats and surround audio formats? I’d like to stay in the same price range, and I don’t really need the DAC, so I would happily swap out that feature for the video capability.
Have you listened to anything hires using the node 2i internal DAC? I would think it would out-perform a modi, just curious.
I have been listening to some hi-res through the internal DAC. I think it sounds very good, but I'm hoping that a Modi 3 or Multibit (I haven't decided yet) would offer up a fuller, more three-dimensional soundstage. In the end, if I don't hear any difference, it's only a $99 experiment if I go with the Modi 3. The Multibit would be $249.
I noticed that you're using a Schiit Modi Multibit. By chance, did you happen to compare it to the Modi 3? Also, are you using a toslink or coaxial cable between the Bluesound Node 2i and Schiit Modi Multibit?
Update. I went with the Schiit Modi 3 and Audioquest Pearl Toslink. I'm very happy with the results! The music fells fuller and warmer. Bluesound Node 2i > Schiit Modi 3 > McIntosh MX110 Preamp > McIntosh MC30 Amp > Von Schweikert VR-4 Speakers.
After some discussion about streaming Amazon low-rez and high-rez, I have found out a few things. Many people like myself are using their desktop or laptop computers to stream Amazon Music, however things seem to really get complicated when we computer/DAC folks try to stream Amazon's HD/Ultra HD High-rez content. Please let me offer this information I found out after speaking to some technically oriented people. Hope this helps some of you. My Original Question: I have jumped on the bandwagon with Amazon streaming for the three month free test ride. I will be using an HP Envy I-7 computer (laptop), however I am feeding the signal via USB into my Marantz SA-10 DAC which up samples everything to DSD. My Internet is AT&T, so it should be fast enough. I can include all the technicals on the SA-10 DAC if that is necessary, but here is my question. If I subscribe to Amazon HD/Ultra HD, with the equipment mentioned above, will I be getting their highest quality streaming when I use my equipment. I believe I WILL, but I want to be darn sure. Thanks so much for some input!! My First Good Answer: short answer: NO The amazon app will not bypass the windows or mac operating systems for true bit perfect playback. This is an amazon problem, not a limit on your hardware. They might fix this issue or they might not. Even as is, the service sounds really good and the selection is awesome. As of today, the only way to get true bit perfect streaming is using a Heos or BluOs device. My Next E-Mail Describing My Equipment (Sent to a technically oriented member): Hi Jim: I'm going to bet you know the answer to this mystery! The DAC in the SA-10 handles all optical and coaxial inputs files up to 192KHz/24 bit. Also offers digital inputs for a USB-B asynchronous input for the direct connection of a computer compatible with PCM and DXD music files up to 384 KHz/32 bit as well as DSD2.8 MHz and DSD 11.2 MHz. PCM and DXD inputs are all up converted to DSD at 11.2 MHz using proprietary MMM-Stream converter, and then the high-frequency signal produced is processed by the unique MMM-conversion stage. Jim, you and all the ACE repair electronic guru's know exactly what all this is, but for us laymen, I'm sure the SA-10 is a very capable DAC. You know I had a Marantz streamer with Heos, however it was not compatible with all the various streaming services so I sold it. My HP ENVY laptop computer has a newer I-7 processor, it's a quick and powerful computer. So you couple that with a capable Internet service (AT&T). I connect the HP computer via USB to the Marantz SA-10 DAC, and with that combination DARN, I should be able to score some HD/Ultra HD streaming from Amazon, but as Tim S says, it ain't gonna happen, yet Morbius McDalek says oh no, it should work perfectly, so I don't know what to think. Jim, at this time I do not have the HD service up and working, only the low-rez MP3 stuff that comes in the FREE 3 month package. Hopefully I can get this all figured out by the time the three month trial period is over. I do like the service, but wish to have the highest resolution, and am simply not going to pay the price of admission to have Qobuz, which goes for as much as $300.00 annually. I don't understand what this (exclusive mode) is on Amazon, and what it does, and you already know I do not have Heos or BluOS either as the Marantz streamer is gone now. After looking at some other threads and posts it seems many people are simply assuming they are actually getting the real HD or Ultra HD resolution from Amazon, they say, we "think" we are getting it. As you are very technical, can you please simplify what is happening here, and do I stand any chance of getting the full resolution I would be paying for, when this is all said and done? If anyone can make a neophyte feel a bit educated on this subject, it would be you! Help! His Answer to me: Your Marantz contains a superb DAC, and it is not the problem. The problem, as I understand it, is that Amazon's own software is presently incapable of bit-perfect operation. It does not support any of the types of drivers which support bit perfect operation, and instead it will always send its audio through the OS itself, rather than through one of these specialized drivers. Quality audio software such a JRiver, Foobar, etc all allow sending their output through multiple different types of high-performance audio drivers which support bit perfect operation. But for whatever reason, Amazon's own music app does not presently support any of these drivers. It only supports the stock windows drivers. And the stock windows drivers sample the output to something along the lines of 24/48, regardless of the input sampling rate. Until Amazon updates their app to support the use of specialized bit perfect audio drivers, I do not know of any way around this limitation. But perhaps somebody who is more knowledgeable about windows configurations than I am may have a solution for you.
Hello, this is my first post. I've now spent 24 hours with Amazon Music HD Unlimited. I've been testing it in two scenarios: (a) On my PC; (b) With HEOS in my Marantz AVP (the AV7705 pre-pro). Here are my observations so far: 1. To get bit-perfect audio with the Amazon PC app (Windows 7), I must set my Presonus audio interface Windows driver to whatever sample-rate matches the particular track. 2. If I don't do the above (even when when I check the Amazon Music Windows GUI "exclusive mode" box!) then Windows OS will just upsample or downsample the track to whatever sample-rate and bit-depth is currently set in the Windows sound playback device options. 3. Conclusion: Amazon's Windows player does not use ASIO or WASAPI to control the sound device's sample-rates directly. If they did (use ASIO or WASAPI) then we wouldn't have this problem. I will suggest it to them. Maybe you folks can too. 4. With my Marantz AVP's built-in HEOS mode I have no such problem: The Marantz correctly switches to the sample-rate and bit-depth of the original track -- up to 24bit/192kHz. And you can see that confirmation on-screen, and also on the front LED of the Marantz AVP when I press the "Status" button on the front panel. My opinion so far: I'm liking Amazon Music HD. Moreover, I'm confident that with further updates and improvements to Amazon's Music HD service (such as full ASIO device driver support for the PC app; and personal playlists with the AVP HEOS app. etc.) then it will be excellent. As of now, I would say it is "getting there". But Amazon clearly still have some work to do... Martin.
i'm trialling it at the moment with the 90 day free trial, been with Spotify for years that has been seemless but Amazon Music HD will take some patience two ways i'm getting it is on my phone for headphones, annoyingly my dedicated Fiio DAP will not play it at all so thats a minus point as phone device capability is 24-bit/48 KHz using the HEOS app for my Marantz AV amp, don't like the interface with no personal playlists (i have dozens built on spotify and is my usual "go to" when I want to use it) so not the best start but i'll keep trying
