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Amazon Music HD vs Unlimited: Which Is Better For You?[2024]

Amazon Music HD vs Unlimited: Which Is Better For You?[2024]

Here we are to discuss the comparison between Amazon Music HD vs unlimited.

The high-fidelity music streaming battle has suddenly gotten much more intense. Around the same time apple music announced a lossless streaming option, amazon made its music HD plan available to music unlimited subscribers at no extra cost starting today in the United states, UK, Germany, Canada, France, Italy and Spain.

Features- Amazon Music HD vs Unlimited

Amazon music HD offers premium quality music, with more than 75 million songs in lossless high definition (HD) and millions of songs in ultra HD — the highest quality streaming audio available.  Amazon music HD also includes thousands of songs in 3d audio, which delivers an immersive listening experience that offers more depth and clarity than traditional streaming music.

Costing

New and existing subscribers to the amazon music unlimited individual plan, at $7.99/month for prime members and $9.99/month for amazon customers, or the family plan, at $14.99/month, can now upgrade to amazon music HD at no extra cost.

Music unlimited costs $10 per month or $8 per month if you’re a prime member. A family plan costs $15 per month. Amazon previously charged a $5 premium for music HD, with the plan costing $15 per month or $13 for prime members.

Exposure

Music unlimited members in those countries now have access to more than 70 million songs in high definition, more than 7 million in ultra HD, and “a rapidly-growing catalog of 3d audio, including songs mixed in Dolby Atmos and sony 360ra,” according to amazon.

The lossless HD songs have a bit depth of 16 bits and a cd-quality sample rate of 44.1khz. Ultra HD streaming, meanwhile, has a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate up to 192khz.

The announcement puts amazon and apple on a level playing field when it comes to HD music streaming pricing. Apple also announced on Monday that it will bring lossless audio and spatial audio with Dolby atmos to subscribers next month at no extra cost. Apple Music is $10 per month for individuals or $15/per month for a family plan.

Amazon introduced music HD in September 2019 for $5 per month less than other lossless music streaming plans. Deezer and Qobuz lowered their hi-res subscriptions to $15/month to match amazon while tidal kept its hifi service at $20/month.

It remains to be seen whether other platforms will match amazon and apple’s HD pricing. Spotify said in February it will roll out its HiFi plan in “select markets” this year, but didn't confirm pricing at the time.

Conclusion

It's a great service: it's easy to use, has an extensive library of cd-quality and hi-res music and it is cheaper than its competitors.

FAQs

What audio quality does amazon music HD support?

Amazon music HD offers lossless audio in two quality ranges: HD and ultra HD.
Hd tracks are 16-bit audio, with a minimum sample rate of 44.1 kHz (16/44.1 is also referred to as cd-quality), and an average bitrate of 850 kbps. Ultra HD tracks have a bit depth of 24 bits, with sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps.
In comparison, most standard streaming services currently offer a standard definition (sd) with a bitrate up to 320 kbps. These audio files use lossy compression, where details of the original audio are removed in order to reduce the file size.
By contrast, amazon music HD preserves the original recording information to deliver the highest quality sound available, more than 2x the bitrate in HD and more than 10x the bitrate at the highest ultra HD bitrate. Amazon music HD will always play the highest quality content available, based on network, device capability, and your selected settings.

Which amazon devices support amazon music HD?

Alexa-enabled echo devices (2nd generation and later), fire TVs, and fire tablets all support HD quality audio. The echo studio, echo link and echo amp support ultra HD quality audio.

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