Amazon launches lossless high-res music service!

[day7a1]

what will happen as streaming crushes physical sales.

Physical sales are 9% of all sales. I'd like to know what you consider "crushing" if you don't think it's already happened. Regarding getting rid of a format, I'm sure they'll sell it to you any way you want it. Vinyl and cassette still exist. I don't see all jewel case manufacturers disappearing anytime soon, nor the CD itself. Doesn't take a lot of sales to maintain a format.

Worst case you can always burn your file. Cut out the middleman.

 

[Jorj]

Is anyone else who uses Windows for their media PC getting this to sound decent? Mine sounds like it's in the closet next door, two different PCs to my Topping DX7 DAC. Volume on the mixer is maxed and in the app volume control also, still just awful. DAC says 44.1 all the time.

This brings up the question of whether Amazon is just such a small and ignorant company that they could not manage to include WASAPI output in the desktop app code. I mean, they spent all that money creating the AWS ecosystem, I bet they're too broke to hire some real audio application programmers and a few audiophile program architects to update the app to actually take any kind of advantage of their decision to stream at Redbook or better. Factor in the lack of third-party integration (Roon, etc.) and the missing remote controls for media PC's and I'm out. Don't care how big their library is, if it sounds bad, what is the point?

 

[MusicNBeer]

Jorj, I'm getting the same thing through my Bluesound Node 2. Sounds like crap.

 

[Jorj]

Jorj, I'm getting the same thing through my Bluesound Node 2. Sounds like crap.

I'm hearing the same from my circle of audiophile friends. A great idea, dead in at birth due to lack of market understanding. Who in their right mind would pay the extra $$ for the HD stream when it sounds just as bad as the lossy stream? Laughable.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Physical sales are 9% of all sales. I'd like to know what you consider "crushing" if you don't think it's already happened. Regarding getting rid of a format, I'm sure they'll sell it to you any way you want it. Vinyl and cassette still exist. I don't see all jewel case manufacturers disappearing anytime soon, nor the CD itself. Doesn't take a lot of sales to maintain a format.

Worst case you can always burn your file. Cut out the middleman.

I think I used the term "crushes", which suggests an activity which is ongoing.

9% isn't rock bottom. That point may still come yet... or not at all.

The market is a funny place. Everyone was calling the end of vinyl ten years ago. Cassettes were dead, but even those dogs are coming back.

9% isn't a dominant position (LOL) but fortunes are made and lost on this percentage of market share.

 

[rmo]

Is anyone else who uses Windows for their media PC getting this to sound decent? Mine sounds like it's in the closet next door, two different PCs to my Topping DX7 DAC. Volume on the mixer is maxed and in the app volume control also, still just awful. DAC says 44.1 all the time.

This brings up the question of whether Amazon is just such a small and ignorant company that they could not manage to include WASAPI output in the desktop app code. I mean, they spent all that money creating the AWS ecosystem, I bet they're too broke to hire some real audio application programmers and a few audiophile program architects to update the app to actually take any kind of advantage of their decision to stream at Redbook or better. Factor in the lack of third-party integration (Roon, etc.) and the missing remote controls for media PC's and I'm out. Don't care how big their library is, if it sounds bad, what is the point?

Sounds just fine on my Mac

 

[Jorj]

Sounds just fine on my Mac

Well, I ain't changing to Mac....

By just fine, do you mean you've played some of your test tracks on bit-perfect mode via both Amazon Music HD and from local storage? The difference between them in my testing is not subtle.

 

[rmo]

Well, I ain't changing to Mac....

By just fine, do you mean you've played some of your test tracks on bit-perfect mode via both Amazon Music HD and from local storage? The difference between them in my testing is not subtle.

Problem is many of albums I listen to on Amazon are in 24/44 and my local ripped files are 16/44 . Amazon sounds better as it should at the higher bitrate . I will look for some exact matches when I get the chance and play them .

 

[MusicNBeer]

Something has to be wrong with the Bluesound integration. It sounds worse than when I just had regular prime. I tried 5 albums or so. Same sterile zero dynamics dull sound.

 

[amirm]

I tell you, their branding is genius!

So much better than some MQA "masters" label on Tidal. This is the only high-res service that has a shot of going beyond top of the pyramid audiophiles.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Here's a link some folks might find interesting:

https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/

Lots going on here...

1. Overall, sales are way, way off their peak in 1999 (why is it that I'm humming a Prince riff at the moment?) but...

2. Sales revenue are double that of the heyday of vinyl (ca 1969-72), so it's hardly like industry execs are dining on Kraft Dinner and Tuna tonight.

3. The marketplace is considerably more complex than during the heyday of physical format... many revenue streams in the digital marketplace. AND these revenue streams do not entail shipping, storage costs of physical format music.

4. Paid subscriptions represent half of the revenue stream. But when you think about this, you'll recall that there are at least 6-8 significant players in the market (Apple, Amazon, Tidal, Spotify, Qobuz, XM/Sirius come to mind... and I know that I'm missing a few other big ones), each offering their own niche services like HD.

Nothing revolutionary, or even bright/insightful here. Just something to be mindful of as we look at this changing universe.

Edit: added "revenue" on point #2.

 

[Bamyasi]

Sounds just fine when streamed via my Chromecast Audio either, even though Amazon web page still lists CCA as officially not supported. Guess they've never bothered updating it after the recent truce agreement with Google.

What I have noticed however is that while their showcase "Ultra HD" albums and playlists you find on the app's home page immediately after registration do sound excellent, many of the other albums I checked out were not. These include both HD and SD marked ones. Most of "Ultra HD" ones seem to be recent remasters, so maybe this explains large disparities in sound quality.

 

[day7a1]

Sales are double that of the heyday of vinyl

Volume sales are less. Revenue is about the same in real dollars, i.e. after adjusting for inflation.

Still no Kraft dinner. Well, maybe with fancy dijon ketchup.

Thanks for the graphs!

 

[GrimSurfer]

Excellent point about sales volumes... so the margin has increased considerably.

So I wonder if Amazon figures that the critical problem facing the industry is "product exposure"? They have the means to solve that quickly, as their marketing reach is impressive!

 

[audimus]

Is anyone else who uses Windows for their media PC getting this to sound decent? Mine sounds like it's in the closet next door, two different PCs to my Topping DX7 DAC. Volume on the mixer is maxed and in the app volume control also, still just awful. DAC says 44.1 all the time.

It sounds like Windows resampling garbage.
If you are curious about investigating what might be happening, here are a few things to check:
This is for setting the Windows audio configuration when the shared exclusive mode is not being used (Amazon client is not using this)

1. From Windows Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Manage audio devices
2. Look for the item that is listed as Default Device (not just Default Communication device)
3. Select it. If the configure button below gets enabled, click it and make sure stereo is selected. Close the configure screen.
4. Double-click on the above default device item.
a. In the levels tab, make sure Input volume is set to 100%.
b. In the advanced tab, select the bit rate and sample rate that you would like. If it does not list the high bitrate/sample rate that you would like then, the problem is with that driver or the EDID sent by whatever is attached to it and this is likely the problem. Windows will then resample to whatever is selected there.
c. If you have a supported formats tab, check what sample rates and bit depths are supported. The combination you would like must be present there if the driver is configured correctly and the device reports the EDID correctly.
d. Make sure the setting is off in the Spatial Sound tab.
e. If you have an Enhancements tab, uncheck all items in the list inside the box and check Disable all enhancements

If you find no difference in sound after ensuring all of the above, I recommend (purely for curiosity) downloading Voicemeeter and installing it and making its device the default device. Select WDM or ASIO whichever is available to the same device that was set to default earlier in Voicemeeter’s A1 output.

This will bypass all of Windows audio processing and go directly to the sound card. See if that changes the sound. You can also check/change the bit rate in Voicemeeter.

 

[day7a1]

the margin has increased considerably.

You'll note that streamed music isn't counted in volume. Given that current volumes aren't much less than 70s era volumes even without streaming, we can conclude that a significantly larger number of people now have access to music.

I would expect actual revenues to increase to CD heyday levels once the streaming model gets sorted out and people get used to it. Demand is demand, after all. If we had $20B to spend in 1999, we'll probably have $20B to spend in 2029 or so.

Yes, that would likely mean subscription fees going up. Probably tiered.

 

[Jorj]

Problem is many of albums I listen to on Amazon are in 24/44 and my local ripped files are 16/44 . Amazon sounds better as it should at the higher bitrate . I will look for some exact matches when I get the chance and play them .

Y'all must not be from around these here parts....ain't you heered of that-there Nyquist fella? Always yammerin' on about bit-depth and samplin' rate bein' good 'nuff at Redbook, higher'n that bein' totally inaudible, or some such.

Seriously, saying a that 24 bit track sounds better than 16 is just wrong. <snark> Therefore, I have no choice but to discard your non-level-matched and sight-biased opinion. </snark>

 

[GrimSurfer]

Confirmation or expectation bias.

 

[Jorj]

It sounds like Windows resampling garbage.

Yes, I know all the tricks, the desktop app is just garbage and you cannot avoid the mixer. It uses Windows audio, and I've not been able to improve the situation, was hoping a few others could sound off with their Windows + Amazon Music experience.

 

[day7a1]

Confirmation or expectation bias.

I can confirm that I expect both.