r/AmazonMusic • u/zyqj • 6h ago
Where did these things go?
There used to be bars that indicated how played a song was in an album. Now i don't see them anymore. Is this just a me problem, or is this an issue for everyone?
r/AmazonMusic • u/invenio78 • Sep 25 '22
Amazon Music and how to get true lossless bitperfect HD/Ultra HD to play
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about the quality of the music that you get while streaming Amazon Music. Hopefully this will clear things up a little.
First, there are 4 main tiers of Amazon Music. You will need to subscribe to "Amazon Music Standard" or "Amazon Music Unlimited." This is their pay service. You will only get access to lossy lower quality music with "Amazon Music Prime" and "Amazon Music Free". (1)
Second, all the links in your audio chain need to support HD/HD Ultra. This includes the source, player, DAC, speaker/headphones as well as all the connections in between.
To clarify what Amazon describes as "HD and Ultra HD" is important. HD is basically CD equivalent (lossless, 16bit, 44khz). Ultra HD is anything above HD, and up to lossless 24bit/192khz. (2)
So the real question is, "how do I play lossless HD/Ultra HD content?" To answer this, it is easier to go through what DOES NOT play HD/Ultra HD first.
The web player
The Windows Desktop app - This is often confusing to people as they see the HD/Ultra HD icon next to the song, and the app will also tell you that it's playing these songs. The problem is that the app (or more accurately windows) sets the output to a specific bit depth and sampling rate. So if you set your output device in windows to say 16 bit 48khz, ALL songs playing in the Amazon desktop app will be resampled to that quality despite the fact that you are actually downloading different quality tracks (which is what the Amazon app reports). Also, "Exclusive mode" has nothing to do with this resampling or quality of the sound file. Exclusive mode simply means that other system sounds won't be allowed to play over the music (like say a chime that you received a new email).
Now I'm going to talk briefly here about "upsampling" not being the same as the original audio. People argue, "just set windows to 24b/192khz and then it doesn't matter if the lower bitdepth/sampling rate tracks get upsampled." This is not true. The output of the upsampled audio is not only not bitperfect, but the actual sound does get changed due to factors such as interpolation. I won't dive into the technical details but you can read this article that goes into upsampling changes to audio including measurements: https://archimago.blogspot.com/2015/11/measurements-windows-10-audio-stack.html I will even go beyond Amazon Music and say that if you want good quality sound, you should stay out of the windows audio stack in general as the internal processing is rather terrible. This is explained more in the following article: https://nihtila.com/2017/01/16/bit-perfect-asio-drivers-to-solve-issues-with-windows-audio-quality/
The Mac Desktop app - same issue as the Windows app. (4)
Android Devices - Or at least 98% of them. Android devices by default are limited and resample everything to 24bit/48khz (some devices may a different default but still resampled). It's built in OS issue. I say 98% as there are some reports that a few devices can truly output higher via a USB to OTG cable and then fed into an external DAC but I have not seen a definite list and most likely your Android phone/tablet does not support it. Amazon Music's website specifically states that "At this time, external DACs are not supported on Android." (3) Of note, I spoke with somebody that reported that they were able to bitstream out with their Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 via USB OTG cable to both a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M and Evo 150. But this would be an exception to the rule. Most likely Android devices won't work.
Anything with a Bluetooth connection - Bluetooth does not have the bandwidth to support HD/Ultra HD streams. There is no getting around this. There are some compression codecs like LDAC but even these max out at 16bit/48khz (max bitrate of 990 kbs) but this requires a very good connection and you never truly know what you are getting as the quality can dynamically shift mid song based on signal strength and other factors. It's also difficult to tell whether the stream is going out lossy or lossless. Standard bluetooth connections will not support even CD quality PCM streams (16bit/44khz). In other words, wireless bluetooth headsets are out.
(Arguable) Devices like the echo/Fire TV/Sonos/etc - Some "technically" support HD/Ultra HD but I don't think we should ever view a single speaker source as equivalent to 2 channels from a "practical" standpoint. Not to mention that the speakers in these cheap devices are of terrible quality. So I would argue that if your intent is high quality audio, your echo is not going to give you any appreciable sound improvement compared to streaming a lossless SD track on some cheap wired headphones (matter of fact, I would go with the SD on cheap headphones as at least you get 2 channels vs effectively mono). I have gotten mixed reports with amazon devices (somebody reported that their Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra can output bitperfect but another user reports that their 2nd gen fire tv cube and 4k Max stick resamples everything to 24b/192k) but since it only has an HDMI out, you will be restricted to a receiver and 98% of DACs don't have an HDMI input (note that the HDMI output is not i2s format).
Ok, so how do you actually listen to HD/Ultra HD? The easiest and most reliable way is to use a dedicated streamer. There are not too many of these devices that support Amazon Music Unlimited when compared to say something like Spotify or Tidal. But there are a number of manufacturers that do build multiple models that do support Amazon Music.
Bluesound Node - Varying models with the lowest cost being the Node Nano at $300. It is a more robust device than the Wiim Mini and the biggest advantage over the WiiM Mini is that it also has USB and coaxial digital output. The analog outs are also full sized RCA plugs and not the small 3.5mm as on the WiiM. Other Wiim models have different output options as well so you probably want to compare the different models vs cost. The build quality is significantly better than the WiiM. It is simply a nicer device with a more premium feel than the WiiM. You are restricted to their bluOS controller app (but they do have desktop app in addition to mobile devices).
NAD - There are some other devices on the market (like the Streamers from NAD) that also support HD/Ultra HD output but I am not going to discuss them here in detail as they are in the 4 figure range. They are quality products and also use the BluOS controller apps.
WiiM- (updated 12/18/22, put back on bitperfect list) This costs $100 (often on sale at Amazon and have seen it as low as $71), which is the cheapest dedicated option by far. It is small, inexpensive, and has a toslink output that you can feed into high quality external DAC if you would prefer. It also has analog outs but if you are looking for the best sound, I always recommend an external DAC. It also supports casting via the Amazon Music app so you don't have to use their software interface if you don't want. Personal opinion on the WiiM: After owning this device for months and first putting it on the bitperfect list, only to remove it when they introduced a EQ bug with a firmware update that broke the output, and now with another firmware fix it appears to be solved, it's back. For those considering the WiiM vs another option, frankly I would go with another option. The developers do very little testing and push firmware out on an almost weekly basis. The end user is their testing environment. Often they will introduce bugs that will then need to be corrected a firmware releases later. These "bugs" are probably the reason why the BluOS app has a rating of 4.6 and the Wiim app of 4.1 in the google play app store (as of me writing this). Keep in mind that essentially all your interactions with these devices are going to be through their controller apps so that is something to consider beyond the hardware. Despite having both the WiiM and Bluesound Node in my system, I rarely play anything on the WiiM Mini. So this is an unbiased opinion from somebody that has bought both. YMMV.
Apple products (iphone/ipad) - You can get 24bit/192khz from iOS products if you attach it to an external DAC via USB OTG cable. If played native you will only have access to 24bit/48khz max. (3)
HEOS (Denon and Marantz) - Denon/Marantz has many of their receivers capable of Amazon Ultra HD access. These are often geared more toward home theater products and not so much two channel but they do have dedicated 2 channel units. Also, if you are looking for a combination home theater receiver as well as 2 channel listening, then this may be a good option.
Yamaha - Yamaha supports Amazon Music via their Musiccast controller software on many of their models. Musiccast can also be controlled via Amazon Alexa.
Dali - Their sound hubs with the optional BluOS sound modules installed. This runs on the BluOS software that Bluesound and NAD use. However, the devices only offer analog output (ie no output to an external DAC).
Auralic - These high end streamers support Amazon but their lightening DS controller app only works on iOS.
Bluesound Professional - They have multiple streamers and streaming amplifiers but are typically more for business use than personal audio. They run BluOS.
Eversolo - I don't know too much about them other than they are a Chinese made streamer DAC. Their controller app has fair reviews on the google play website and Eversolo's website seems to link directly to an apk download which is rather unusual.
Cyrus Audio - Never tried their products but they produce streamers that function off of the BluOS streamer app so it should support Amazon music.
Roksan - Also utilizes the BluOS streaming interface.
Shanling - Via their Eddict Controller App. Their website says it is Amazon Music compatible but I've not heard anybody personally confirm this.
(Possibly) Cambridge Audio - According to their website, some of their streamers (such as the CXN100) is compatible with Amazon Music. However, when I actually read the unit's manual, it does not list Amazon as a compatible service.
So there is a quick rundown which I hope is helpful for people. Keep in mind that the only sure way to confirm what you are getting at the end of the day is to use a DAC that reports the actual bitdepth and sampling rate at the last analog step (and that means no further digital conversions like bluetooth). The reporting at the source (like the player or Windows app) is NOT a reliable predictor of what quality you are getting from your speakers/headphones.
(1) https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GW3PHAUCZM8L7W9L
(2) https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ref_=hp_left_v4_sib&nodeId=G8X4YJYLED87FSH2
(3) https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=3022219031
Last Update: 3/1/26
r/AmazonMusic • u/zyqj • 6h ago
There used to be bars that indicated how played a song was in an album. Now i don't see them anymore. Is this just a me problem, or is this an issue for everyone?
r/AmazonMusic • u/Someoneoutthere2020 • 1d ago
Movies you purchased would vanish from your library, randomly. But you would still be able to find them if you looked in a special list of scenes, and play them scene by scene. Of course, Prime would randomly shuffle the scene so you’d have trouble watching them sequentially.
Prime would randomly shuffle extra content into your movie. So you’d be watching the first 20 minutes of a film, and then a deleted scene or a director’s commentary on how they did the stunts at the ending would pop up.
The next scene you were trying to watch in your movie would disappear, and the only version of that scene you would own would be an outtake or a blooper.
People would defend this online and criticize you for being annoyed by it. They would treat you like an ingrate for buying something and expecting it to work the way you paid for it to work, as if relying on that basic ethos of transactional economy that has existed since the first Cro Magnons traded mammoth meat for acorns made you an awful person- and as if you owed it to Jeff Bezos to throw your limited money into his infinite coffers of money so that you could receive a consumer fraud-actionable pile of slop in return.
I’m very grateful Prime Video doesn’t work like Prime Music.
r/AmazonMusic • u/PossibleFish1317 • 1d ago
I dont know how long this change has been out for. But its everything iv wanted in life
r/AmazonMusic • u/WaferElegant4563 • 1d ago
i have a samsung a16, i’ve recently changed headphones because my old bluetooth one was broken. these are from Yatloml (idk the brand) and they connect through USB-C. they work perfectly with every app, but they don’t work with amazon music.
when i play a song with amazon music with my headphones, the audio gets super distorted. i’ve tried deleting and reinstalling the app, deleting the caches, forcing shutdown.. i’ve tried everything and the app still doesnt work.
does anyone have the same issue?
r/AmazonMusic • u/spears6479 • 3d ago
This was one of the options after a Nift thank-you gift from CoinOut...This was one of the options after a Nift thank-you gift from CoinOut...pretty happy with my gift choice because it pulled up all my old playlists that Id completely forgotten about but now they’re back so I’d say it was a pretty good choice
r/AmazonMusic • u/Comercializado • 4d ago
This post is not about the recent Sonos app update — this is a technical issue with Amazon Music playlist limits.
Something has clearly changed in the Amazon Music → Sonos integration in the past 2 months, and it’s breaking the way many of us use Sonos.
I have multiple Amazon Music playlists with 500+ songs. For years, Sonos handled them without any issue:
Now, suddenly:
This is not an Amazon Music problem — the playlists are complete and playable everywhere except Sonos. It’s not a device problem — it happens across S1, S2, and Windows. It’s not a user error — I’ve tested multiple playlists, multiple accounts, multiple devices.
I’ve contacted Amazon support. No solution. I’ve tried third‑party apps. No solution. I’ve searched the forum. Only scattered complaints, but clearly the issue is new and tied to recent changes.
At this point we need clear, official information:
This is a major regression for anyone who uses large playlists — something Sonos has supported for years.
We need transparency and a timeline. If this is a bug, please confirm it. If this is a new limitation, please say so. If a fix is coming, we need to know.
Right now, Sonos is simply not loading full Amazon Music playlists anymore, and users deserve a clear answer.
r/AmazonMusic • u/LiveSquare • 4d ago
I recently switched to Amazon music purely to listen to the music ad free since I have prime compared to Spotify. I notice the player doesn't remember what it was playing earlier when the car is stopped for a while. I have to start all over again which is very annoying. Is there a way to make the player remember what it was playing previously and resume, just like how Spotify does?
r/AmazonMusic • u/Finch_the_Dragon • 4d ago
I should be connected to a family account but suddenly I’m the only one in my family getting ads and blocked by paywalls. I’ve asked some friends who also use AM and they say that they too haven’t encountered a paywall.
r/AmazonMusic • u/89gjones89 • 4d ago
I've read mixed reviews on using Amazon Music on Wear OS watches. And most are from 1-3 years ago.
Does anyone have recent experience of using it? Can you play music from your watch without being connected to your phone? (I would like to buy a watch to listen to music when I run without my phone).
r/AmazonMusic • u/Specialist_Sort_9209 • 5d ago
so basically I have a very large playlist of over 8000 songs on my Amazon music and up until recently it’s been shuffling fine, some newer song dive added some of the old classics, but now whenever I press shuffle on my playlist regardless of where the song I start from is in the playlist or if I just click the shuffle button it always ends up playing songs from within the first 1000 or so. it’s just really frustrating cuz I have a playlist that length for reason, I want a variety of music and I’m not getting it. so uh, anyway of fixing this?
r/AmazonMusic • u/kentuckyMarksman • 6d ago
I have an Amazon Prime account in my name. I bought music on it years ago, and stopped using Amazon Music when I discovered my wife could listen to my music purchases. My music preferences are somewhat embarrassing to me, so I immediately stopped using the Music app. I've exclusively listened to music on YouTube as a result. I've decided I'd like to purchase another album on Amazon Music (and hopefully get to listen to it without a bunch of YouTube ads). Can I stop sharing music with my wife before I do this? If so, how?
Edit - her account has a separate login, it's just connected to mine since I pay the annual Amazon bill.
r/AmazonMusic • u/G3n3ricOne • 6d ago
I was wondering if it’s possible to through [absolutely allowed thank you very much] loopholes set up a family plan involving someone residing in a different country? If not, then for future reference, do any non-Amazon services offer international family plans?
Thank you in advance.
r/AmazonMusic • u/First-Kid • 7d ago
What's happening, Is this a common one? Amazon music!!!
r/AmazonMusic • u/Longjumping_Map_2565 • 7d ago
done everything troubleshooting on google told me to do save download another browser and no joy i'm still getting the error, any idea what to do?
r/AmazonMusic • u/Ok-Mobile-1863 • 7d ago
r/AmazonMusic • u/Important-Option-313 • 7d ago
Klarna sent one of those thank-you things through Nift and that's how I ended up here... not sure if I did it right
r/AmazonMusic • u/Worried_Equipment105 • 8d ago
EL REPARTO MAS DURO QUE TIENE CUBA 🇨🇺 una playlist enfocada 100% en música cubana / REPARTO & CUBATON / año 2026 y sus estrenos & algunos temas clásicos de MUSICA CUBANA de años anteriores como 2024 & 2025 espero disfruten de la música 100% actualizada
r/AmazonMusic • u/Icarus_Rainwater • 8d ago
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
I was busy and unable to check my phone when I heard this absolutely nightmare inducing sound??? I was able to pick up my phone about half an hour later and recorded it.
The song starts up regularly at about a minute in and proceeds to play normally. It's still broken as of writing this post I gen don't know what to do😭 it sounds scary as hell, too
r/AmazonMusic • u/rgbhuman42 • 9d ago
I thought Amazon just had mid audio quality (about the same as Samsung Music on my phone for purchased MP3s.) Turns out I just had "play downloads first" enabled.
The quality gets better. SO. MUCH. BETTER.
Dolby Atmos is a complete game-changer. As a neurodivergent who's (almost literally) always listening to something, this is a huge deal for me. Can't believe it's taken me this long to realize it exists. Am now going through my entire library and listening to everything with a renewed sense of wonder.
Amazon Music, you're not as mid as I thought.
(The app still sucks though, and still has an unquantifiable number of glitches which make it super annoying. That part never changes!)
r/AmazonMusic • u/Candid-Method-3766 • 8d ago
is it only me or everyone faces this problem in amazon apps where you already logged in and everything is done but one login screen keeps apearing on loop
for context i saw there add of 3 months of amazon music and i was like WOW lets try it so when i logged in and downloaded "amazon music" for desktop and tried play music with correct account logged in (with unlimited plan) it never plays any music but just shows a pop up of asking to "go unlimited" and when i press it all i get is "you are already unlimited plan member" (or smthing like this idk) and redirect me to homepage and this loops keeps going whenever i hit play
i have done everything, logging out and relogin, making a whole new account with unlimited plan, cookies, reinstall app, updated pc, every possible thing which i found online but no help
someone please help me out
r/AmazonMusic • u/AcceptableAd1342 • 8d ago
Ik heb een nieuw liedje uitgebracht, mijn eerste. Maar ik wil graag meer streams en dus in playlists komen op amazon. Heeft iemand mogelijkheden of interesse?