Hi-res tracks go beyond CD-quality by re-encoding the studio master recordings at a greater bit-depth and sample rate than was used to create the CD-quality files.

In borrowing from the TV world, Amazon calls the tracks HD.īut Amazon Music HD also offers a subset of these 50 million songs in a hi-res format it calls Ultra HD. These tracks will consume more bandwidth (in some cases up to twice as much as compressed music) - up to 820 kbps - but the tradeoff is better sound for those with high-quality audio gear.

These uncompressed digital files preserve 100% of the information on a CD but at a smaller file size.įLAC is the format used by Amazon Music HD (and Tidal HiFi) for its entire 50 million+ track library. CD-quality - the same resolution you’ll find on a professionally published CD - is considered a much better option by audiophiles, which is why many choose to use FLAC or ALAC files instead of MP3s. Not everyone finds these compressed digital files acceptable in terms of audio quality. This is especially important for people who like to stream on their smartphones while on-the-go, and who might have limited mobile data plans. These tracks stream at a rate of 320 kbps. Most on-demand music streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, and Pandora use a compressed format of digital music that attempts to preserve as much detail as possible while keeping file sizes (and thus bandwidth requirements) manageable. MQair is the new hi-res Bluetooth audio codec for fans of MQA

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Amazon music buy