If you’re listening with a phone or other mobile device, you’ll need an external DAC (digital-to-analog converter) to deliver that higher quality to your headphones or an attached speaker or hi-fi system. Of course, to enjoy that higher quality of Ultra HD high-res, you’ll need equipment that supports the format.

No matter what device you’re using, you should be able to benefit from Amazon’s HD streaming titles. If you’ve previously bought MP3s from Amazon or CDs that included the company’s AutoRip feature, Amazon Music Unlimited automatically populates your library with that music.Īs I’ve spent time with Amazon Music and its streaming competition, I could hear an obvious difference between CD quality and standard-definition streaming. If your taste runs towards the margins and your ears can hear the difference, that’s a big strike against the service. Think 1980s hair metal bands like Bang Tango, Junkyard, and Trixster, or alternative rock groups like Phantom Planet, Jason & the Scorchers, and Remy Zero. That would’ve been impressive just a few years ago, but other services like Apple Music are now offering everything in at least CD quality. Most of the rest of the catalog is streaming in lossless quality, but there’s a surprising number of lesser-known major label catalog titles that are streaming in 320kpbs standard quality. There’s an impressive catalog of high-res music available, including pretty much the entire catalogs of Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Taylor Swift, Marvin Gaye, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, and a lot of other artists those names would suggest. Amazon uses the FLAC format, labeling its lossless CD-quality (16-bit at 44.1kHz) streams “HD” and its high-res tracks “Ultra HD,” the latter of which top out at 3,730Kbps, 24-bit at 192kHz quality.

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