TexasPorschelover

I was on Flipboard last week and read and article about Amazon music introducing a new service called HD. It's a like Spotify but the music is delivered in High Definition at a much higher bit rate. I signed up being a moderate audiophile type. I can say this - the music sounds much better. There is HD and Ultra HD depending upon the recording. Anyway its pretty cheap and definitely and very much noticeably improves how music sounds in my GT3 (I have the Musicar tweeter upgrade). However, I have a Mercedes S550 as my daily and it has the Burmeister system in it. It that car it is truly amazing. After listening to a Spotify, AmazonHD comparison, my kids want to switch over too.

crbiker

Appreciate the heads up. I've been streaming CD quality music via Tidal in my home and autos for a couple of years and am impressed with the sound. I have listened to true HD quality files streamed via Qobuz at my local audio store and have thought about signing up for it for home use. It's nice to learn of another option. I have not heard a Burmester car system, but have been highly impressed with the sound of their home amps and preamps. Thanks again.

80p

Just curious, did AmazonHD seem better than the "Very High" 320kb/s bitrate setting in Spotify?

mdrums

Correct. Amazon HD music service is like Tidal and other that deliver CD quality and above CD quality...Spotify, Apple and so for do not. What is good about the new Amazon service is it cost less than Tidal and others

TexasPorschelover

Yes very much. At very high volume settings the music is clear or better described as "bright" and very "punchy" with zero background noise on newer recordings. Older recordings there is only so much you can do but even they are vastly superior sounding with Amazon HD. Mind you while better on the Porsche Bose it is demonstrably better on the Burmester in my Merc S550 which arguably is the best production car sound system in the world.

Apex Ace

Have always been disappointed with the compressed sound of streaming services. The sound quality with Amazon HD is significant!

Make the most of your day!
-Dave

ChrisF

For those with Tidal, try enabling MQA for even better sound. Limited titles but the sound quality difference for home audio is huge.

I'm still skeptical though whether CarPlay or even the Music app on the iPhone pass anything higher than 256k. I need to do a true A/B to test it

TexasPorschelover

Amazon HD uses its own app not CarPlay or Music app.

What is Amazon Music Unlimited HD?

Amazon Music HD is a new tier of premium quality music with more than 50 million songs in High Definition (HD) and millions of songs in Ultra High Definition (Ultra HD), the highest quality streaming audio available. At just $12.99/month for Prime members or $14.99/month for Amazon customers, Amazon Music HD makes high quality, lossless audio accessible to all music fans. Existing Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers (Individual or Family Plan) can upgrade to Amazon Music HD for an additional $5/month.

What audio quality does Amazon Music HD support?

Amazon Music HD offers lossless audio in two quality ranges: HD and Ultra HD.

HD tracks are 16-bit audio, with a minimum sample rate of 44.1 kHz (16/44.1 is also referred to as CD-quality), and an average bitrate of 850 kbps. Ultra HD tracks have a bit depth of 24 bits, with sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps.

In comparison, most standard streaming services currently offer Standard Definition (SD) with a bitrate up to 320 kbps. These audio files use lossy compression, where details of the original audio are removed in order to reduce the file size. By contrast, Amazon Music HD preserves the original recording information to deliver the highest quality sound available, more than 2x the bitrate in HD and more than 10x the bitrate at the highest Ultra HD bitrate. Amazon Music HD will always play the highest quality content available, based on network, device capability and your selected settings.

Which Amazon devices support Amazon Music HD?

Alexa-enabled Echo devices (2nd generation and later), Fire TVs and Fire Tablets all support HD quality audio. For more information on Alexa-enabled Amazon devices, .

Which iOS devices support Amazon Music HD?

Most iPhones and iPads released since 2014 (devices running on iOS 11, or later) can support HD/Ultra HD (up to 24-bit, 48kHz) without any additional equipment. In order to play songs at higher sample rates (96 or 192 kHz), iPhone customers can connect an external DAC capable of supporting those higher sample rates.

Apple AirPlay supports HD quality playback.

Which Android devices support Amazon Music HD?

Most Android devices released since 2014 can support HD/Ultra HD playback (up to 48kHz). Please ensure that your device is running on Android Lollipop, or later.

At this time Amazon Music HD is not supported on Chromecast.

Which Mac devices support Amazon Music HD?

Any Mac from 2013 or later supports HD/Ultra HD. However, adjusting the default Mac audio settings is required to listen in the highest quality:

• Go to Applications/Utilities folder
• Open “Audio MIDI Setup.app”
• Update speaker or headphone “Format” setting to the highest sample rate for 24-bit (96 kHz or 192 kHz)

Which Windows devices support Amazon Music HD?

PC support for HD/Ultra HD playback depends on the built-in audio player and DAC, which varies by device. Please check your manufacturer specifications.

Which home audio devices support Amazon Music HD?

Amazon Music is integrated in to many home audio devices, including receivers, amplifiers, speakers, and sound bars. Often, you can control playback directly by signing in to Amazon Music within the manufacturer application. For a list of our preferred partners, .

We are constantly working to bring Amazon Music to more devices by partnering with leading audio manufacturers. If your device is not listed in our preferred brands, you may still be able to play Amazon Music HD through a wired or wireless connection on your device.

How do I know if I need an external DAC?

If your device has a built-in DAC that does not support HD/Ultra HD audio, then you need an external DAC when connecting your player to your headphones or speakers to listen in HD/Ultra HD.

In order to play Ultra HD, the external DAC at a minimum must be capable of processing files with a bit depth of 24-bit and sample rates of at least 44.1 kHz. Check the DAC specifications to ensure it can play higher sample rates available with Ultra HD (48 kHz, 96 kHz, 192 kHz).

On iOS, disable the Alexa Wake Word feature in Settings to ensure playback through your DAC at the highest resolution.

At this time, external DACs are not supported on Android.

Which headphones/speakers support Amazon Music HD?

Headphones and speakers with a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz are recommended to best appreciate HD playback. Headphones certified with a Hi-Res Audio logo have an even higher frequency response (greater than 40 kHz), and are best for Ultra HD playback. Most wireless headphones compress audio during transmission and are unable to support HD and higher quality playback. Some wireless headphones and Android devices that use advanced Bluetooth with either the Qualcomm aptX/aptX HD or Sony LDAC wireless standards, can support HD/Ultra HD playback (up to 24-bit, 48kHz).

How much space will Amazon Music HD files take up when downloaded to my device?

The size of a downloaded song depends on the file’s bit depth, sampling frequency, and compression codec used, with higher-quality lossless files being larger in size. Below are examples of file sizes for a 3½ minute song:

• SD (lossy): 9 MB
• HD (lossless, 44.1 kHz sample rate): 51 MB
• Ultra HD (lossless, max 192 kHz sample rate): 153 MB

By comparison, a 30-minute HD video (1080p) has an average file size of 1.8 GB. That means in the same space as a single episode of HD television, you can store more than 2 hours of HD music on your device.

What data speed does my internet connection need to be to listen to Amazon Music HD?

We recommend a steady internet connection of 1.5 to 2 Mbps for HD streaming and 5 to 10 Mbps for Ultra HD streaming – typically available in LTE signals. For data usage purposes, note that HD audio typically consumes up to 5.5 MB of data per minute, and Ultra HD audio up to 12 MB of data per minute (when listening at the highest sample rates).

How do I know the audio quality of content I am listening to?

When listening to music on Amazon Music HD, you can tap/click on the SD/HD/Ultra HD badge on the Now Playing screen and view the following streaming details -

• Track quality - The highest-quality file available for that track in the Amazon Music HD catalog.
• Device capability - The highest-quality audio that your device operating system reports that it is capable of.
• Currently playing at - The quality of the source file of the currently playing track. For streaming, the current source file quality may change due to varying network conditions.

Your choice of speakers, headphones, and listening conditions also impacts overall sound quality.

Where can I find more information on Amazon Music HD?

Bill Krauss

I have the burmester in a 2020 992. Amazon HD is probably the best sounding music so far. but if you have less than 4 bars on your cellphone reception, you will get pops and clicks and drops with amazon hd. i live in a semirural area and you might do better. i'm not even sure how 5G will impact the pcm. you will not get those if you simply stream amazon non-hd content. however, i've found that apple music sounds about as good without the reliability issues.
Still, I am not certain if any PCM stereo allows a bitrate higher than 320 on streamed content or anything else for that matter.
I have an Apple walkman with all flac recordings (lossless). That cannot even play at all through the pcm using a usb connection. i think it would probably play through a simple rca connection if one was available. i have an astell and kern player (all flac), same story. you can cast via a blue tooth connection to these devices. but then you may lose your phone connectivity. the walkman and astell have built in DAC processors.

probably the best music, reliable quality i've heard is mp3's ripped at maximum bitrates ("insane" setting on LAME).

and my 2019 macan is a much better place to determine music quality than the 992. the 992/911's have other noises to distract you.....if you want a silent car with a more audio friendly environment get a taycan....

usrodeo4

Lol...with the flaps open I can't hear my music anyway Which is pretty cool. Seriously thanx for the detailed info but I think SiriusXM is perfect for my audio tastes.