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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
 
I think Apple Music uses AAC. But I'm pretty clueless on file formats. I do not think they stream ALAC files.

I can't find a clear answer as to what file format Amazon Unlimited Music uses but they were mp3 years ago.

Anyway, I'm still experimenting. Feel like I would need a better DAC and wireless set up to take advantage of Tidal hi-fi. Not sure how Tidal standard res compares to other streaming services.

There is a $2 per month discount on Amazon music for Prime members, which I am.
mofojo
2,311 posts
 
I know you are specifically asking about apple vs amazon but if you ever want to try something different you may want to do a Deezer trial. Huge library and good interface IMO. I switched from Tidal to Deezer. 
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
I'm willing to preview anything with a free trial. ;-)
wtf's avatar
wtf
307 posts
 
Amazon has been a bit coy about the mp3 rates they use and have said they vary. I liked the sound quality of their Unlimited tier better than Apple Music (256 AAC). I now use Deezer HiFi, which I like better than Tidal, BTW.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
ALAC should be better than MP3 imo, higher sampling rates and bit depths.
MP3 is the lowest quality.

That's what I expected, but I'm getting superb results with my XMOS USB interface.  It's important to add one of these:

https://sotm-usa.com/collections/sotm-ultra/products/copy-of-tx-usbultra-regenerator-1

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

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