I have used Amazon HD since it's inception. I think the sound is great but don't have anything to compare it with. When using it with Bluetooth speakers it is easy to use with clicks on genres, artists and albums. Searching is easy with autocomplete. These features do not work on Bluesound Node 2i player. There are other issues such as playing "random" from my song library. I have learned to work with it but it could be better. I run the player off my phone or laptop and adjust the system volume through these since I don't use a preamp. Works for me.
TIDAL &/vs Amazon HD
TIDAL vs Amazon HD - I’d like some more experienced input (mostly on TIDAL), and offer some of my experience.
Quick relevant system summary: HEOS Link Station2, (Rega Apollo - Original), MIT AVt3 Coax, Marantz AV7702MKII, Audioquest "Water" (Balanced), SMC Audio "GOLD" DNA 0.5, MIT AVt2 (x2-(Bi-wire)), Vandersteen Quatro (original cloth).
Quick Summary: For a few short weeks, I have been listening to Amazon HD (14.99/mo), and I am in AWE, WOW’d, disbelief. It makes what I had been listening to not even worthy of mention (Apollo CD as a transport over MIT AVt3 Coax). However, the technical geek in me rather dislikes the separate HEOS LS2 and being piped in via the coax configuration (I am on the brink of upgrading to a Marantz unit that has HEOS built/baked in just for that reason).
Just yesterday (10/27/2020), I discovered "Roon" ($11.99/mo) believing it could/would manage my Amazon streaming, and pipe it directly through the Ethernet connection on the AV7702MKII and completely bypass the coax connected HEOS LS2 altogether . Upon installation and configuration of Roon, I was disappointed find out it only managed Qobuz and TIDAL ($19.99), and not Amazon HD.
I decided to test drive the Roon/TIDAL (call it $32/mo) combo to see how it performed compared to the Amazon HD ($14.99/mo) I have been listening to for a few weeks.
The difference was rather staggering. On my configuration, Amazon HD over a HEOS LS2 and MIT AVt3 Coax very (let me emphasize that "very") comfortably out performed TIDAL in either or both of a Roon Stream configuration or account/subscription brokered through the same HEOS LS2 combo.
I want to be impressed with TIDAL, but in/thru/with my configuration, when compared to Amazon HD, I am not, not close.
What can I (reasonably) do to prove to myself that TIDAL is better than I have gotten to this point?
Quick relevant system summary: HEOS Link Station2, (Rega Apollo - Original), MIT AVt3 Coax, Marantz AV7702MKII, Audioquest "Water" (Balanced), SMC Audio "GOLD" DNA 0.5, MIT AVt2 (x2-(Bi-wire)), Vandersteen Quatro (original cloth).
Quick Summary: For a few short weeks, I have been listening to Amazon HD (14.99/mo), and I am in AWE, WOW’d, disbelief. It makes what I had been listening to not even worthy of mention (Apollo CD as a transport over MIT AVt3 Coax). However, the technical geek in me rather dislikes the separate HEOS LS2 and being piped in via the coax configuration (I am on the brink of upgrading to a Marantz unit that has HEOS built/baked in just for that reason).
Just yesterday (10/27/2020), I discovered "Roon" ($11.99/mo) believing it could/would manage my Amazon streaming, and pipe it directly through the Ethernet connection on the AV7702MKII and completely bypass the coax connected HEOS LS2 altogether . Upon installation and configuration of Roon, I was disappointed find out it only managed Qobuz and TIDAL ($19.99), and not Amazon HD.
I decided to test drive the Roon/TIDAL (call it $32/mo) combo to see how it performed compared to the Amazon HD ($14.99/mo) I have been listening to for a few weeks.
The difference was rather staggering. On my configuration, Amazon HD over a HEOS LS2 and MIT AVt3 Coax very (let me emphasize that "very") comfortably out performed TIDAL in either or both of a Roon Stream configuration or account/subscription brokered through the same HEOS LS2 combo.
I want to be impressed with TIDAL, but in/thru/with my configuration, when compared to Amazon HD, I am not, not close.
What can I (reasonably) do to prove to myself that TIDAL is better than I have gotten to this point?