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Post by jackfish on Oct 28, 2019 13:38:51 GMT -5
Just got my 90 day free subscription to Amazon Music HD. Expansive library of songs (50 million in HD, a few million in UHD), albums, stations and playlists. Reset AudioMidi to 24/192 and downloaded the app for the Mac. HD tracks are 16/44.1 and Ultra HD tracks are 24/192. Browsing, playing and listening reveal a competent choice for hi rez streaming. Free for 90 days and $12.99 a month after that for Amazon Prime members.
13.3" MacBook Air, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, iTunes/BitPerfect
MacBook Air SuperDrive
Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB USB HD
Schiit Bifrost USB DAC and Audioengine D3 DAC
Emotiva USP-1, ERC-1 and two UPA-1s
Pro-Ject Xpression III and AT440MLa
AKAI AT-2600 and Harman Kardon TD4400
Grado SR80i
Wharfedale Diamond 225
Magnestand MMG
Rythmik Audio F12
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Post by Jean Genie on Oct 28, 2019 15:58:13 GMT -5
Senior citizen discounts?
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Post by AudioHTIT on Oct 28, 2019 17:25:39 GMT -5
Senior citizen discounts? Are you asking if they have them? I just looked and you can get a senior-type Prime discount if you’re on EBT, or Medicaid. However it appears that if you pay for Amazon Music HD annually it gets down to $10.75 / month, pretty reasonable and almost half of Tidal’s HD cost. I think I’ll be trying it 🎶 |
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Post by pdaddy on Nov 14, 2019 20:29:12 GMT -5
So what can I use to affordably stream Amazon’s ultra HD at full resolution into my XDA-2?
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Post by AudioHTIT on Nov 14, 2019 21:07:25 GMT -5
So what can I use to affordably stream Amazon’s ultra HD at full resolution into my XDA-2? I made this post elsewhere, it belongs here ... I’ve been trying the Amazon HD free trial, I’ve enjoyed the music and the sound; if you’re a Prime member and pay annually it gets down to about $10.75 a month.
However there’s a slight issue with the ‘bit perfect’ nature of the current Amazon Music HD desktop client for either macOS or Windows. Namely that the App does not allow you to select the output (USB, Optical, HDMI, etc), which means the output is sent to the current ‘system’ output, at the current bitrate and depth. So if say you have it set to 192/28 (what Amazon recommends), then the lesser bitrate files (like 96/24) will be upsampled. The common wisdom seems to be to set it to CD 44/16 (what Amazon calls HD), as that’s most likely the format of most material. This means however that higher bitrates like 96,192/24 (what Amazon calls UHD) will be downsampled. The Amazon HD desktop thread has a lot of dissatisfaction about this, but who knows if they’re listening, hopefully they’ll want to be competitive and fix it.
I’ve read that those with Denon HEOS and possibly some Bluesound products can play all the files properly, I imagine some Fire products too maybe, but Windows and Mac would seem to be a big chunk to fix.So, presumably if you have a Mac or PC, that’s pretty cheap, but you only get one resolution. I choose 44/16 on my Mac as most recordings are there and it sounds very good. Here’s a FAQ, including client recommendations. Amazon Music HD FAQAmazon Music HD Intro and Info |
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Post by dimora on Nov 14, 2019 22:06:30 GMT -5
You can use an Amazon Echo Link...but you'll also need an echo dot or other alexa/echo device to use voice control if desired. They are $199. It has optical in-out as well as coax in/out which you can hook up to your XDA-2 DAC...then your DAC can feed whatever you desire. I'm avoiding Amazon unless they get Roon support, since I only use Roon at home since it merges my personal collection with TIDAL. Amazon Echo Link |
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Post by Perpendicular on Nov 14, 2019 23:31:01 GMT -5
I received a HEOS firmware update a couple of days ago on my Denon AVR that state’s it now supported up to 24/192 on Amazon Music. I haven’t signed up yet but I’m planning on it soon.
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Post by repeetavx on Nov 25, 2019 13:55:37 GMT -5
Well, I've upgraded to Amazon Music HD. It doesn't sound quite as good as TIDAL, but it's so, so close that I can't justify almost twice the price for TIDAL. And I find the Amazon app easier to use.
My regular collection in the "my music" list was automatically updated to "HD". So far the lowest resolution I've gotten was 16/44.1, and several of my favorites are 24/96k.
As a matter of fact, I've just finished repositioning my bass traps and started streaming to check the sound out. OH MY. The Ultimate Santana album is streamed in 24/96k. Hearing the toms and bass drums ring, along with the plucking and decay of the bass guitar strings is almost magical. Streamed from my HTPC using the Amazon Music App, connected by HDMI to my XMC-1. Direct mode of course. I suppose I could get better, but this is pretty darn impressive.
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Post by SticknStones on Nov 25, 2019 17:42:33 GMT -5
It's getting complicated......Trying to trial Amazon HD music and listen through XMC
Okay, I have not had a TV or my XMC-1 (no 4k video card on it (on list to upgrade)) on in a few years. Long Story but I'm back and just got a new Samsung 4k TV.
At first I had DISH-input to XMC-HDMI 3 and XMC-HDMI 1 Out to TV in HDMI 1 slot. That worked fine until.... I tried to play apps and the audio was coming out of the TV and no option to choose HDMI.
I call Samsung and they said have Dish HDMI input direct to TV-HDMI4(ARC) and XMC-HDMI1 to TV-HDMI1. Okay this works and if I play apps it goes through Stereo but I don't know why it works.
Now I got the Amazon 4k Firestick($24.99 sale on now) and it will only play through the TV speakers as is in the HDMI-3 on TV.
There is a lot of redundancy with FireStick 4k and Samsung Apps but I wanted to trial the Amazon HD music and cannot get that happening as there is not a Samsung App for the Amazon Music HD. There is a Samsung app for Amazon Music but I cannot get the Samsung to connect to Amazon even though the activate code was entered successfully so trying to do this with the Firestick but can only get audio from TV speaker.
Any thoughts on this?
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Post by SticknStones on Nov 26, 2019 8:00:42 GMT -5
It's getting complicated......Trying to trial Amazon HD music and listen through XMC Okay, I have not had a TV or my XMC-1 (no 4k video card on it (on list to upgrade)) on in a few years. Long Story but I'm back and just got a new Samsung 4k TV. At first I had DISH-input to XMC-HDMI 3 and XMC-HDMI 1 Out to TV in HDMI 1 slot. That worked fine until.... I tried to play apps and the audio was coming out of the TV and no option to choose HDMI. I call Samsung and they said have Dish HDMI input direct to TV-HDMI4(ARC) and XMC-HDMI1 to TV-HDMI1. Okay this works and if I play apps it goes through Stereo but I don't know why it works. Now I got the Amazon 4k Firestick($24.99 sale on now) and it will only play through the TV speakers as is in the HDMI-3 on TV. There is a lot of redundancy with FireStick 4k and Samsung Apps but I wanted to trial the Amazon HD music and cannot get that happening as there is not a Samsung App for the Amazon Music HD. There is a Samsung app for Amazon Music but I cannot get the Samsung to connect to Amazon even though the activate code was entered successfully so trying to do this with the Firestick but can only get audio from TV speaker. Any thoughts on this? Now I am getting no audio from the XMC. Samsung asked me to call Emotiva which will be later this morning. |
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Post by AudioHTIT on Nov 26, 2019 9:18:27 GMT -5
It's getting complicated......Trying to trial Amazon HD music and listen through XMC Okay, I have not had a TV or my XMC-1 (no 4k video card on it (on list to upgrade)) on in a few years. Long Story but I'm back and just got a new Samsung 4k TV. At first I had DISH-input to XMC-HDMI 3 and XMC-HDMI 1 Out to TV in HDMI 1 slot. That worked fine until.... I tried to play apps and the audio was coming out of the TV and no option to choose HDMI. I call Samsung and they said have Dish HDMI input direct to TV-HDMI4(ARC) and XMC-HDMI1 to TV-HDMI1. Okay this works and if I play apps it goes through Stereo but I don't know why it works. Now I got the Amazon 4k Firestick($24.99 sale on now) and it will only play through the TV speakers as is in the HDMI-3 on TV. There is a lot of redundancy with FireStick 4k and Samsung Apps but I wanted to trial the Amazon HD music and cannot get that happening as there is not a Samsung App for the Amazon Music HD. There is a Samsung app for Amazon Music but I cannot get the Samsung to connect to Amazon even though the activate code was entered successfully so trying to do this with the Firestick but can only get audio from TV speaker. Any thoughts on this? Now I am getting no audio from the XMC. Samsung asked me to call Emotiva which will be later this morning. What if you plug the Firestick into the XMC-1, you wouldn’t get 4K but you should get picture and sound. Or are you now not getting audio from any source? |
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Post by SticknStones on Nov 26, 2019 9:30:17 GMT -5
Now I am getting no audio from the XMC. Samsung asked me to call Emotiva which will be later this morning. What if you plug the Firestick into the XMC-1, you wouldn’t get 4K but you should get picture and sound. Or are you now not getting audio from any source? I did a reset on the TV and started over. Same result. I called Emotiva and they said the PCM status on the info screen was the XMC waiting for a signal and not getting it. They also said that since I do not have a 4k video card and that HDMI is fickle that this could be blocking. The dish box does not have much on audo output settings except to say no to Dolby Digital. So now I do not have XMC audio for the Dish box. |
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Post by AudioHTIT on Nov 26, 2019 9:45:24 GMT -5
What if you plug the Firestick into the XMC-1, you wouldn’t get 4K but you should get picture and sound. Or are you now not getting audio from any source? I did a reset on the TV and started over. Same result. I called Emotiva and they said the PCM status on the info screen was the XMC waiting for a signal and not getting it. They also said that since I do not have a 4k video card and that HDMI is fickle that this could be blocking. The dish box does not have much on audo output settings except to say no to Dolby Digital. So now I do not have XMC audio for the Dish box. Sounds like you have some troubleshooting to do, I’d start with speaker setup tones, to test the XMC and amps audio path, then move to an HDMI input. I still don’t understand if you’re plugging the FIrestick into the TV or the XMC? |
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Post by SticknStones on Nov 26, 2019 10:50:11 GMT -5
I did a reset on the TV and started over. Same result. I called Emotiva and they said the PCM status on the info screen was the XMC waiting for a signal and not getting it. They also said that since I do not have a 4k video card and that HDMI is fickle that this could be blocking. The dish box does not have much on audo output settings except to say no to Dolby Digital. So now I do not have XMC audio for the Dish box. Sounds like you have some troubleshooting to do, I’d start with speaker setup tones, to test the XMC and amps audio path, then move to an HDMI input. I still don’t understand if you’re plugging the FIrestick into the TV or the XMC? Okay, I used the Optical from the TV to the XMC so now all audio from the TV, FireStick, Samsung Apps all go to XMC. Emotiva helped me get it going. There is a HDMI Arc on the XMC too that I had not engaged but the Optical is working great. |
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Post by SticknStones on Nov 26, 2019 12:26:32 GMT -5
Sounds like you have some troubleshooting to do, I’d start with speaker setup tones, to test the XMC and amps audio path, then move to an HDMI input. I still don’t understand if you’re plugging the FIrestick into the TV or the XMC? Okay, I used the Optical from the TV to the XMC so now all audio from the TV, FireStick, Samsung Apps all go to XMC. Emotiva helped me get it going. There is a HDMI Arc on the XMC too that I had not engaged but the Optical is working great. Okay, I could not get the Amazon Music to connect to the Server from the Samsung app. I then tried the Firestick and installed the music app and that is working pumping out to the XMC. It should be noted that if you logon to Amazon and look at your music services account that after my trial I could do a single device subscription like the FireStick for only $3.99 a month instead of $12 for the HD music.  The Firestick is on sale for 50% off at $24.99 for those that might be interested. |
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Post by Perpendicular on Nov 30, 2019 21:46:52 GMT -5
I went to sign up for it this morning and the 3-month trial is now a 30-day trial.
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The Firestick is on sale for 50% off at $24.99 for those that might be interested. 