9/28/2023 0 Comments Amazon music sound qualityIn a slightly cringeworthy move, Amazon has elected to call lossless content ‘HD’ and Hi-Res ‘Ultra HD’ which makes little sense but is one of many kickbacks of companies telling customers for years that 320kbps MP3 was as good as it gets. The crucial aspect of the new service is the entirety of this library is available in either 16/44.1kHz lossless FLAC or in higher resolutions up to 24/192 (although, at the time of writing I have not located a 192kHz file). Now we exist in an age where most people’s internet cares not whether the file coming down the pipe is 320kbps MP3 or 24/96 FLAC, is this the point where convenience and quality dovetail again to the benefit of everyone? It demonstrated that for decades, the vast majority of people are not concerned by audio quality an issue masked by the highest performing format often being the most convenient. As someone first and foremost concerned with the reproduction of music in two channels in the best quality possible, the last fifteen years have been pretty tough. Amazon clearly feels that after the best part of twenty years, audio quality is a mainstream argument and this effort is pointed firmly at more mainstream rivals.įrom my personal perspective, before we go any further, it almost doesn’t matter if this review is positive or not. This is not a company that has decided to launch a service like this to make TIDAL and Qobuz’s life difficult. In fact, it is possible to argue that their risk aversion has at times cost them in the face of more dynamic opposition. Amazon does not, and never has, chased niches. What is new is that this is Amazon, a massive, infinitely funded leviathan of a company that exists to compete in the mainstream. What Amazon is offering (for now at least - more of that in a bit) is not new. We’ve tested three lossless services prior to this and two of those also offer high resolution material too (although, for accuracy’s sake, TIDAL didn’t when we reviewed it). On the face of it, this is not an especially remarkable thing. Amazon Music HD is an on-demand lossless and Hi-Res streaming service.
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