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Apple vs Amazon

I'm not fully committed to streaming yet. DAC is low end. Finishing a 3 month free Apple Music trial. In truth, it doesn't sound that bad to me but tonight I started a 3 month Amazon Music trial and just after spending about an hour with it, it seems to sound better than Apple Music running through the exact same system. Fuller. Richer. More precise bass. No A/B testing, just a general impression. It might even be the music selection. I don't know. Is there any actual reason for this to be true? Or is it just me?
n80
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
System is pretty much like yours. I suspect my DAC is much lower end.

I stream from MacBook Pro or iPhone to Apple TV which feeds DAC via Toslink. Or, iMac or MacBook directly to DAC via USB (which does sound a little better than through ATV).

My point is that Amazon sounds better through the same system. Totally agree that it could be just the mood I'm in or the music I selected. Apple Music free trial has ended. I've got another 90 days free with Amazon. So far Amazon gets the nod for me.
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,733 posts
 
Get a Tidal free trial. Tidal has the best sound quality by far IMO.
ericjcabrera
567 posts
 
n80,

What is your Mac OS?
iTunes version?
Amazon Music version?

Mine is:
Mojave 10.14.1
iTunes 12.9.0.164
Amazon 6.8.1.1388

If your Apple / iTunes is ’buggy’ it may be time to wipe & reload your OS. I just did that a few weeks ago since all my important stuff is in the ’cloud’ - no loss. What a major difference in performance! After doing so, like I mentioned earlier, I'm having the opposite experience than you in both SQ & performance.

-E
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
OS is old 10.10.  iTunes is 12.8. Performance is better on my new iMac (latest versions etc) but still a bit buggy and the bugs I'm having are being reported fairly widely with lots of frustration.

Amazon Music would be the current version.
ljgerens
161 posts
 
My experience with iTunes has been very positive. I started ripping all my CDs as either AIFF or ALAC lossless files about 8 years ago. I really can't tell any difference between the two. I have 4 systems in different rooms and I stream my ripped files wireless from either an iMac or a MacBook Pro to either an Apple TV or an Airport Express and use the optical output to a DAC. We use our iPhones or iPads as remotes. In my opinion, the SQ is as good or better than several systems I have heard with dedicated music streamers.

In 8 years of use I have never had a dropout, cutout, navigation issue, or slow loading pages with iTunes. Actually iTunes has always worked flawlessly. During that timeframe I have installed several versions of MacOS and several versions of iTunes all with no problems.  

I typically do not use online music streaming services but i have had several free trials with Apple Music and Amazon Music. I found Apple Music to sound better than Amazon Music but both are fine for  casual listening or background music. For serious listening they don't compare with my lossless ripped files.


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