Amazon Music Sound Quality Issue

[Alexanderc]

Friends,

If anyone can shed some light on this, it's the people in this forum. I'm hoping someone would be willing to listen one of the tracks below and let me know what's happening.

Bach Orchestral Suite Number Two, Mvt. 1 "Overture"
-English Concert (Archiv label)
-Concerto Köln (Berlin Classics label)
(These were the first two items that appeared under "albums" in my search for "Bach Orchestral Suites")

Yesterday I wanted to listen to Bach Orchestral Suites, and looked for a recording on Amazon Music (the non-HD version). I started with the Concerto Köln recording of Orchestral Suite number 2 and when the Overture played what I heard was not right. There was this, I don't know how to describe it, tearing sound? in the background. It was sort of metallic and not subtle. The English Concert recording was similar.

Without boring everyone with a blow-by-blow procedural account of my troubleshooting, it appears this is an issue with Amazon, but not one I have encountered before. Over the past couple of days I have compared recordings on Amazon Music to recordings on YouTube and to CDs I own. I continue to encounter the same type of problem, but not on every recording. For example Melody Gardot "The Absence" seems fine to me, as does Norah Jones "Day Breaks." I am not one of those people who claims to hear a difference between 320kbps MP3 and high res audio (I failed the test that NPR had on their website a few years ago). I've also listened to a lot of music on Amazon over the past couple of years (so I have a baseline) and this is new to me.

My questions then: Has anyone else here noticed this on music you listen to? Would subscribing to Amazon HD make a difference? What is it that I am hearing exactly?

Many Thanks!

 

[SKBubba]

Watermarking?

 

[raindance]

You're hearing compression artifacts. I recently switched to Music HD and it sounds excellent. Now I just wish they'd fix their database so you could find an individual band instead of all different bands with the same name all rolled together. It would also be nice if they'd list albums from newest to oldest.

 

[Alexanderc]

Watermarking?

I hadn’t heard of this. I found some information online, but most was older (between 2008 and 2012). Is watermarking currently an issue?

 

[Alexanderc]

You're hearing compression artifacts. I recently switched to Music HD and it sounds excellent. Now I just wish they'd fix their database so you could find an individual band instead of all different bands with the same name all rolled together. It would also be nice if they'd list albums from newest to oldest.

I hadn’t been aware of this before, so did Amazon change something recently? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but if it’s always been this way it would be pretty embarrassing for me not to have noticed.
And switching to HD should clear this right up? I’m just surprised because I never actually thought I would hear any difference.

 

[kokishin]

Friends,

If anyone can shed some light on this, it's the people in this forum. I'm hoping someone would be willing to listen one of the tracks below and let me know what's happening.

Bach Orchestral Suite Number Two, Mvt. 1 "Overture"
-English Concert (Archiv label)
-Concerto Köln (Berlin Classics label)
(These were the first two items that appeared under "albums" in my search for "Bach Orchestral Suites")

Yesterday I wanted to listen to Bach Orchestral Suites, and looked for a recording on Amazon Music (the non-HD version). I started with the Concerto Köln recording of Orchestral Suite number 2 and when the Overture played what I heard was not right. There was this, I don't know how to describe it, tearing sound? in the background. It was sort of metallic and not subtle. The English Concert recording was similar.

Without boring everyone with a blow-by-blow procedural account of my troubleshooting, it appears this is an issue with Amazon, but not one I have encountered before. Over the past couple of days I have compared recordings on Amazon Music to recordings on YouTube and to CDs I own. I continue to encounter the same type of problem, but not on every recording. For example Melody Gardot "The Absence" seems fine to me, as does Norah Jones "Day Breaks." I am not one of those people who claims to hear a difference between 320kbps MP3 and high res audio (I failed the test that NPR had on their website a few years ago). I've also listened to a lot of music on Amazon over the past couple of years (so I have a baseline) and this is new to me.

My questions then: Has anyone else here noticed this on music you listen to? Would subscribing to Amazon HD make a difference? What is it that I am hearing exactly?

Many Thanks!

Mrs K and I listen to Amazon Prime Music (non Unlimited, non HD) most of the day, almost everyday on our HT system.

Recently, I feel the sound quality has deteriorated. Perhaps Amazon is playing with bandwidth limits because so many folks are staying home due to CV-19.

I listened to Concerto Köln (Berlin Classics label) Bach Orchestral Suite number 2 just now. I didn't hear a "tearing" sound but it did sound somewhat metallic or brittle to me. In fact, it kinda grated on my molars.

I do not have the CD in my collection so I have nothing to compare it to.

I tried Amazon Music HD during the three month trial period at introduction. Since I use a FTV Stick 4K, it wasn't much of a step up in sound quality since the 4K Stick is limited to 16/48. So I punted. You might get better audio results if you use a Bluesound Node2i since it supports up to 24/192.

 

[maverickronin]

I hadn’t heard of this. I found some information online, but most was older (between 2008 and 2012). Is watermarking currently an issue?

Some more info on another thread here.

 

[raindance]

I hadn’t been aware of this before, so did Amazon change something recently? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but if it’s always been this way it would be pretty embarrassing for me not to have noticed.
And switching to HD should clear this right up? I’m just surprised because I never actually thought I would hear any difference.

I found the regular Amazon sound quality to be pretty dire. At one time it was acceptable, but it seemed to get worse after they released HD.

 

[Alexanderc]

Some more info on another thread here.

Thanks for linking this! Maybe that is what I’m hearing on at least some of them. Archiv is a subsidiary of DG, and they’re among those that have been implicated in this. Lots of my favorite albums are on that label, so many of my comparisons over the past couple of days have been Archiv recordings.
Doesn’t explain why I haven’t heard it before. Just chance? Could be I suppose.

 

[Alexanderc]

Mrs K and I listen to Amazon Prime Music (non Unlimited, non HD) most of the day, almost everyday on our HT system.

Recently, I feel the sound quality has deteriorated. Perhaps Amazon is playing with bandwidth limits because so many folks are staying home due to CV-19.

I listened to Concerto Köln (Berlin Classics label) Bach Orchestral Suite number 2 just now. I didn't hear a "tearing" sound but it did sound somewhat metallic or brittle to me. In fact, it kinda grated on my molars.

I do not have the CD in my collection so I have nothing to compare it to.

I tried Amazon Music HD during the three month trial period at introduction. Since I use a FTV Stick 4K, it wasn't much of a step up in sound quality since the 4K Stick is limited to 16/48. So I punted. You might get better audio results if you use a Bluesound Node2i since it supports up to 24/192.

Thanks for having a listen. For my own sanity, I’m glad I’m not the only one hearing this. On the other hand, I wish it was something in my equipment so everyone else didn’t have to hear it too.

 

[MarcT]

I'm listening to the Ouverture now in Amazon's HD quality, and I can't hear any "tearing sound". It sounds decent to me, about like most of their HD quality tracks. Amazon HD now accounts for almost all of my music listening and I usually listen at least a couple hours per day. I will say, when I first started with Amazon last fall, the stream would often slip into their Standard quality, and I could usually tell it, something just didn't sound right. Now days, I have it set to only play in HD or higher quality.

 

[Alexanderc]

I'm listening to the Ouverture now in Amazon's HD quality, and I can't hear any "tearing sound". It sounds decent to me, about like most of their HD quality tracks. Amazon HD now accounts for almost all of my music listening and I usually listen at least a couple hours per day. I will say, when I first started with Amazon last fall, the stream would often slip into their Standard quality, and I could usually tell it, something just didn't sound right. Now days, I have it set to only play in HD or higher quality.

Thanks. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t hear what I heard if it was there in the HD version. That’s good news I guess. Now I have to convince my wife that Amazon HD is a necessary expense.

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t hear what I heard if it was there in the HD version. That’s good news I guess. Now I have to convince my wife that Amazon HD is a necessary expense.

Just subscribe to a load of "adult" sites on your credit card. She wont care/ notice about the Amazon HD on the statement.

 

[MarcT]

Thanks. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t hear what I heard if it was there in the HD version. That’s good news I guess. Now I have to convince my wife that Amazon HD is a necessary expense.

Well, it doesn't really cost that much. Tell her you'll make up for it by forgoing a couple lattes per month!

But one caveat is that I just turned 66 and can't hear anything above 9 kHz or so. So, there is that.

 

[MarcT]

BTW, I just listened to bit of the Concerto Koln stuff that is in Ultra HD 24/96, and it sounds very nice to me. Now listening to the Brandenburg Concertos.

 

[kokishin]

BTW, I just listened to bit of the Concerto Koln stuff that is in Ultra HD 24/96, and it sounds very nice to me. Now listening to the Brandenburg Concertos.

What streamer do you use for Amazon Music HD?

When I was subscribed to Amazon Music HD, I tried the following:
As I stated earlier. FTV Stick 4K is limited to 16/48 plugged into my Denon 6200 avr.
Also tried my Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus cell phone connected to my 6200 with a USB-C to HDMI adapter but the S9 is limited to 24/48. It was inconvenient to tie up my cell phone.

 

[MarcT]

What streamer do you use for Amazon Music HD?

When I was subscribed to Amazon Music HD, I tried the following:
As I stated earlier. FTV Stick 4K is limited to 16/48 plugged into my Denon 6200 avr.
Also tried my Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus cell phone connected to my 6200 with a USB-C to HDMI adapter but the S9 is limited to 24/48. It was inconvenient to tie up my cell phone.

Oh, I listen from my laptop pc, via a USB cable to my DAC. I get up to 24/192 with this setup.

 

[StevenEleven]

Friends,

If anyone can shed some light on this, it's the people in this forum. I'm hoping someone would be willing to listen one of the tracks below and let me know what's happening.

Bach Orchestral Suite Number Two, Mvt. 1 "Overture"
-English Concert (Archiv label)
-Concerto Köln (Berlin Classics label)
(These were the first two items that appeared under "albums" in my search for "Bach Orchestral Suites")

Yesterday I wanted to listen to Bach Orchestral Suites, and looked for a recording on Amazon Music (the non-HD version). I started with the Concerto Köln recording of Orchestral Suite number 2 and when the Overture played what I heard was not right. There was this, I don't know how to describe it, tearing sound? in the background. It was sort of metallic and not subtle. The English Concert recording was similar.

Without boring everyone with a blow-by-blow procedural account of my troubleshooting, it appears this is an issue with Amazon, but not one I have encountered before. Over the past couple of days I have compared recordings on Amazon Music to recordings on YouTube and to CDs I own. I continue to encounter the same type of problem, but not on every recording. For example Melody Gardot "The Absence" seems fine to me, as does Norah Jones "Day Breaks." I am not one of those people who claims to hear a difference between 320kbps MP3 and high res audio (I failed the test that NPR had on their website a few years ago). I've also listened to a lot of music on Amazon over the past couple of years (so I have a baseline) and this is new to me.

My questions then: Has anyone else here noticed this on music you listen to? Would subscribing to Amazon HD make a difference? What is it that I am hearing exactly?

Many Thanks!

This is why I use lossless streaming. Not because I’m worried about if I could hear a difference (I really don’t think I would), but because for just a few extra sheckles a month I know that there is no “difference” to worry about not hearing.

FWIW, I like Qobuz lossless, too—I thinks it’s better in terms of gapless playback experience and seeing track and album notes and musician and recording engineer credits. Much better for jazz and classical for me for those reasons. OTOH Amazon HD has a bigger catalog and gives you lyrics. I have both.

 

[raindance]

I use Music HD on my Galaxy S8 streaming APTX Bluetooth to my main audio system. I also use my Galaxy Tab this way. I haven't had the desire to improve the results in any way and the difference between HD and standard was clearly audible. In fact I can't stand listening to MP3 quality as I hear the artifacts in the cymbals all the time. Bluetooth is lossy and exaggerates the mp3 losses. But with Music HD the effect is inaudible.

 

[kokishin]

Oh, I listen from my laptop pc, via a USB cable to my DAC. I get up to 24/192 with this setup.

Did Amazon release a Waspi or Asio driver for Music HD?

Otherwise, the Windows audio driver is resampling the Music HD audio instead of playing it natively. If your DAC is constantly getting 24/192, then Windows is resampling it.

Back in Jan 2020, there were folks clamoring for a Wasapi or Asio driver support form Amazon. Haven't kept up with it since.

However if you have a Mac, it will natively support Music HD up to 24/192.

EDIT: I just read that Amazon Music HD ver 7.11.3.2198 for Windows now offers an Exclusive Mode for Windows which is supposed to provide native mode support.

I wish Amazon would offer a Fire TV device (stick or cube) with an HDMI out that offers Music HD support minimally up to 24/48. Mrs K really likes seeing the lyrics on our TV and likens it to karaoke.