Amazon music HD ( Hi-res)


Apple or Spotify next?
nguyen828
I was/ am shocked that Spotify have not gone to HD streaming yet.
I mean they already have a huge customer base that is not likely to be scared from a deal that undercuts Tidal and Qobuz.
HD streaming at $15 a month or less is where any new player will now need to be thx to Amazon.
Uber, I wonder what the percentage of "high-res" subscribers is on the services that offer that option. I'm guessing most users are listening with ear buds on their phones and want the cheapest option.
Greg
I would agree.... For now.

But I think there is a potential huge market out there that would be foolish to ignore.

Or it might already be too late.... Lol.
I used to stream using Tidal and Qobuz but dropped Tidal because the sound quality is slightly better on Qobuz. I have the free trial of Amazon Music HD and it is a mess out of the box, feels like Amazon just rushed this to market. You can't really consider it a "high resolution" streaming service IMO because it uses Windows mixer in shared mode for God's sake. They did not even take the time to enable Wasapi exclusive mode in the desktop app. Qobuz sounds significantly better than Amazon Music HD. I have no problem paying more for a streaming service that sounds better. I really doubt Amazon will steal any customers from Oobuz.
I’m hoping Spotify goes HD. I tried Amazon HD for the free 90 day trial which went into my first month of being a paying member. They charged me taxes on the $14.99 monthly price which angered me to no end. I figured the taxes were in the $14.99, but I was wrong.   Amazon made over $11B in 2018 and paid ZERO federal taxes, yet they want me to pay taxes. I unsubscribed just because of that.  I'll probably get some flak for this, but it just bothers the he!! out of me.

Come on Spotify, catch up!
Tried Amazon hi rez. It was a convoluted mess, interface is terrible, as was mentioned uses window mixer, no roon support. Decent music selection though. If Spotify goes hi rez route I'll drop Tidal and keep qobuz. All in all Amazon doesn't really gear it's streaming service to the audiophile crowd (obviously). Best to move on
Uber, I would take issue with you that there is a huge potential market for High Rez, although I hope that you are right and I am wrong.  I think that most people just don’t care.  I know many serious Classical Music lovers, with huge collections, and who are seriously knowledgeable about Music, who think that Spotify sounds terrific.  And the editor of Home Theater Review recently ran an article where, using subscription data from audiophile magazines and sales data, his best estimate is that in the English Speaking world there may be 150,000 Audiophiles.  Even if he is off by a factor of 10, that still isn’t much of a market, and no wonder why Spotify and Apple aren’t chasing it, especially considering that most Audiophiles tend to be older and more interested in Physical Media and less in Streaming.
   Given all of the above, the exciting thing about Amazon High Rez is that with all of it’s clout and ubiquity amongst Consumers, perhaps it might help create a new generation of Audiophiles