Amazon Music and Apple Atmos listening

[fearandloath]

I'm brand new here but have been an avid listener of surround music since the first DVD-A releases. I'm also older and pretty set on physical media. I have a nice 11.2 Atmos system with a Denon receiver and Sony Universal 4K player. I have been getting upset the last 2 years because of some great surround releases available only for streaming, especially with the streaming surround release of Revolver. I have a subscription to Amazon Music and cannot get their Atmos mixes to stream through my system. It only comes through as stereo. I have been in contact with Amazon and they offer no solution or explanation. I don't think they even know how their own system works. My question is... can I stream Amazon Music through my system and get the Atmos mixes? Some things I read suggest I need special speakers or headphones. Is this a true Atmos mix or something similar to an artificial mix that just spreads the sound around? Are the mixes high resolution? Is it even worth the effort? Also would Apple be any better at this than Amazon? I don't want to subscribe to a second service if it is no better than the first. I'm sorry if I'm repeating something here, but as I've said I'm new and getting frustrated with this Atmos streaming.

 

[marpow]

Welcome,
There are many here more advanced than myself, you will get some good answers.
I do not stream Amazon Music, and from what I have heard Amazon Music has just started adding Atmos content. I have been waiting on the sidelines to see how that shakes out.
I started with the Amazon, FireStick then went to the cube, listening to Tidal or Amazon Music all on stereo, years ago. When Apple got very aggressive in Atmos I jumped ship to what I use now, the Apple 4K box, Ethernet hard wired in and HDMI out to my Atmos signal enabled AVR. Never a problem.
I still can access Tidal via an app on my Apple 4K box, but never do. Not a problem playing Dolby Atmos with Tidal either.
Your message was good for me as I have now added the Amazon Music app to my list on my Apple 4K box, so I will check it out later.
In the settings of my Apple4K box I have audio all auto enabled which includes Stereo, Multi Channel and Dolby Atmos. My reciever does play 360RA but I have never stumbled on that output as of this writing.
Your question leaves me wondering, is it your settings in your Amazon Music, or your receiver. I will see if I can get a Atmos signal from Amazon Music and let you know.

 

[humprof]

Welcome to QQ. It can be hard to find threads here, although the search box works better than it used to, and sometimes simply Googling "quadraphonicquad" together with the right keyword or words will lead you to the relevant discussions you're seeking. You can also click on the "Forums" tab and see if there are any likely threads that catch your eye. (You can apply filters to sort or narrow your search.) As it happens, there's been some discussion about Amazon's latest Atmos-streaming developments in this thread (in the "Object-Based Surround" section of the Forums):
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...y-atmos-music-not-just-for-echo-studio.33735/
The short answer: things are still in motion. For the longest time, Atmos streaming on Amazon Music HD (not plain-vanilla Amazon Music) was limited to a smartphone paired with headphones or an Echo speaker. Now they've begun to enable support for other devices and full-room systems. But it sounds to me like there are still lots of kinks to be worked out.

In the meantime, it's much easier to get full-room Atmos streaming on Apple Music (most commonly with an Apple TV 4K connected to an AVR) or Tidal (most commonly with a Fire Stick connected to an AVR). Deezer also streams Atmos, and there are one or two other less common hardware configurations that I haven't experienced firsthand. All services still stream Atmos at or near the lowest allowable bitrate, typically 768kpbs.

Search the more active threads in the Object-Based Surround section and you'll likely find other answers you're looking for. Good luck!
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...sed-surround.178/?no_date_limit=1&last_days=7

 

[marpow]

I cannot get Amazon Music to be anything but stereo.
I searched Dolby Atmos and picked a recording called Solaris Dolby Atmos Theater Test, sounds very good as a tester, goes one at a time through each speaker, but signal is only stereo, so you are hearing a test through only two speakers, the test is supposed to be 7.1.2.
I'm confused at moment.

 

[marpow]

I dove a little further into my Prime Account, there is a subscription called Amazon Music Unlimited that offers what they call HD music, starts with Free Trial and then goes to $8.99 a month. No thanks, I have Apple4K, good enough.
Likely YOU NEED THIS SUBSCRIPTION FOR ATMOS SIGNAL

 

[olgitnorm]

I dove a little further into my Prime Account, there is a subscription called Amazon Music Unlimited that offers what they call HD music, starts with Free Trial and then goes to $8.99 a month. No thanks, I have Apple4K, good enough.
Likely YOU NEED THIS SUBSCRIPTION FOR ATMOS SIGNAL

Yep, that’s what you need! Oh and either 4K Firestick or Cube only stereo via Apple TV

 

[fearandloath]

I dove a little further into my Prime Account, there is a subscription called Amazon Music Unlimited that offers what they call HD music, starts with Free Trial and then goes to $8.99 a month. No thanks, I have Apple4K, good enough.
Likely YOU NEED THIS SUBSCRIPTION FOR ATMOS SIGNAL

Yes, Unlimited is what I have. I may have to switch to Apple.

 

[fearandloath]

OK so it' sounds like I should ditch Amazon Music and go with Apple. If I buy the Apple box what is the best way to route it into my receiver so I get all the movie streaming apps and still get the Atmos mixes? I am not a fan of the EArc connection and I have it turned off. I guess if I really had to I could turn it back on.

 

[mrcond]

OK so it' sounds like I should ditch Amazon Music and go with Apple. If I buy the Apple box what is the best way to route it into my receiver so I get all the movie streaming apps and still get the Atmos mixes? I am not a fan of the EArc connection and I have it turned off. I guess if I really had to I could turn it back on.

In my opinion, Apple Music with the Apple TV 4K is the way to go. You don’t need eArc, you just need an HDMI input in your Atmos-capable receiver. There are menu settings in the Apple TV 4K that you set to make sure it’s streaming Atmos - both music and movies.

 

[Blackwood]

In my opinion, Apple Music with the Apple TV 4K is the way to go. You don’t need eArc, you just need an HDMI input in your Atmos-capable receiver. There are menu settings in the Apple TV 4K that you set to make sure it’s streaming Atmos - both music and movies.

That’s the way I went and I’m very happy with it. I ended up getting an Apple family subscription that included not only music, but TV and Apple Arcade. The rest of the family loves the TV while I mainly stick to the music.

My setup is in my home office so while I mostly use Apple TV for music, it is nice to have TV-related apps available to me when I’m stuck in front of the computer for work.