Earlier today, Apple announced that it's adding spatial audio with Dolby Atmos support and lossless audio quality to Apple Music. Not to be outdone, Amazon has announced that its existing lossless audio tier, which launched back in 2019 as Amazon Music HD, is now available to all Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers at no additional cost.
Much like Apple's offering, Amazon Music HD offers audio quality up to 24 bit and 192KHz, but there are different tiers. It starts with CD quality, which is available for over 70 million songs on the service and offers 16-bit audio with a 44.1Khz sample rate. If you go up to 24-bit audio, then only about 7 million songs are available right now, which is likely similar to Apple's offering, though the Cupertino company didn't share those details.
Additionally, Amazon Music HD also comes with sounds mastered for spatial audio, or 3D Audio, as Amazon calls it. Much like Apple Music, it includes support for Dolby Atmos, but also Sony 360RA formats. However, 3D mixes of tracks can only be played on one Amazon-branded device, the Echo Studio, or on Sony's RA5000 and RA3000 speakers using Alexa Cast.
Instead of waiting for June, Amazon is making these features available at no additional cost starting today. If you're already paying for Amazon Music HD, you should see your monthly price go down by $5 in the next billing cycle, while regular Music Unlimited subscribers will have the option to upgrade while keeping the same price.
Perhaps to sweeten this news even a bit further, Amazon is currently running a promotion on its Music offerings in the US and UK.
- Get three free months of Amazon Music HD in the UK or in the USA
The above offer is only available to new Amazon Music HD subscribers and it ends on May 24th, and as with other Amazon subscriptions, you can always choose to end your subscription before the billing cycle starts and the three months trial period ends.
As an Amazon Associate, Neowin may earn commission from qualifying purchases.
2 Comments - Add comment