I’m not seeing the “Ultra HD” badge when I stream Amazon HD on my Play:5 (gen 2) pair + Sub. It’s working fine on my Arc + Sub + Surrounds. Any thoughts?
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A few observations:
- Atmos plays on my Beam/gen2 + Play:1s + Sub/gen2
- UHD plays on the above, on a One/gen1, and on a One/gen2 pair
- It can take a minute or more for the faster stream(s) to kick in. In the case of the UHD examples above it went from SD, then to HD, then eventually to UHD. Independent bandwidth measurements confirmed that the stream was indeed starting in SD, and that the badging is correct.
- I don’t care for this behaviour at all. When you ask Deezer for FLAC that’s what you have from the get-go.
Userlevel 7
Added Sub to ‘Utility’ (One gen 2 stereo pair) and still getting ‘UltraHD’ here.
Thanks Ken, so it looks like an issue with the gen2 Subs…
Added Sub to ‘Utility’ (One gen 2 stereo pair) and still getting ‘UltraHD’ here.
Userlevel 7
I did note that it takes a short time for the ‘badge’ to sometimes appear on the ‘now playing’ screen. I’m now wondering if the local network conditions ‘perhaps’ might play a role in the audio format delivered to the player by Amazon?
Agreed, the local network conditions may be a factor, but all my sonos speakers are showing Green on the matrix and one of my Ones is wired.
Ken, are you able to bond a Sub to your Ones to see what badge then appears for you?
I only have the newer gen3 Sub, but happy to try that - give me a moment to try.
That would be a good experiment as if your gen3 Sub works then it shows the limitations of the gen2 Sub.
Or if your gen3 also restricts the stream to HD it is by design, or a bug in the software.
Cheers!
Userlevel 7
+21
Anyone have a Sub Gen1 to try?
Userlevel 7
Tried removing the sub. Result was i could not even get HD. Which doesn't make any sense!
Re added an get the HD symbol.
From my testing, it can take a moment before the applicable audio resolution badge appears after removing the Sub. But if I play a track for 5 seconds or so then rewind to start it again a couple of times, the Ultra HD badge then appears after either no badge showing, or the HD showing initially.
Tried again and waited and played a few tracks. Then eventually Ultra HD appeared. This is on 2 Play 5 Gen 2s WITHOUT Sub
Adding the Sub back and it is restricted to HD.
In this I have realised just how much better the Sub makes the Play 5s and that without Trueplay this rooms sounds terrible.
Of course I have to prance around the room retuning after each change :(
Yes exactly, the Sub/Trueplay makes the music sound so much better!
But it proves the Sub is causing the issue here…
I did note that it takes a short time for the ‘badge’ to sometimes appear on the ‘now playing’ screen. I’m now wondering if the local network conditions ‘perhaps’ might play a role in the audio format delivered to the player by Amazon?
Agreed, the local network conditions may be a factor, but all my sonos speakers are showing Green on the matrix and one of my Ones is wired.
Ken, are you able to bond a Sub to your Ones to see what badge then appears for you?
I only have the newer gen3 Sub, but happy to try that - give me a moment to try.
Userlevel 7
+21
Tried removing the sub. Result was i could not even get HD. Which doesn't make any sense!
Re added an get the HD symbol.
From my testing, it can take a moment before the applicable audio resolution badge appears after removing the Sub. But if I play a track for 5 seconds or so then rewind to start it again a couple of times, the Ultra HD badge then appears after either no badge showing, or the HD showing initially.
Tried again and waited and played a few tracks. Then eventually Ultra HD appeared. This is on 2 Play 5 Gen 2s WITHOUT Sub
Adding the Sub back and it is restricted to HD.
In this I have realised just how much better the Sub makes the Play 5s and that without Trueplay this rooms sounds terrible.
Of course I have to prance around the room retuning after each change :(
Userlevel 7
I did note that it takes a short time for the ‘badge’ to sometimes appear on the ‘now playing’ screen. I’m now wondering if the local network conditions ‘perhaps’ might play a role in the audio format delivered to the player by Amazon?
Agreed, the local network conditions may be a factor, but all my sonos speakers are showing Green on the matrix and one of my Ones is wired.
Ken, are you able to bond a Sub to your Ones to see what badge then appears for you?
I did note that it takes a short time for the ‘badge’ to sometimes appear on the ‘now playing’ screen. I’m now wondering if the local network conditions ‘perhaps’ might play a role in the audio format delivered to the player by Amazon?
Userlevel 7
Tried removing the sub. Result was i could not even get HD. Which doesn't make any sense!
Re added an get the HD symbol.
From my testing, it can take a moment before the applicable audio resolution badge appears after removing the Sub. But if I play a track for 5 seconds or so then rewind to start it again a couple of times, the Ultra HD badge then appears after either no badge showing, or the HD showing initially.
I’ve just gone away to test this and it looks to me like that the One (gen1 and gen2) are both supported for UltraHD
Here is a screenshot from a stereo pair of One (gen2’s) hardware version 1.26 called ‘Utility’ from my setup and they show ‘UltraHD’
If I play the exact same track to a stereo pair of One (gen1’s) hardware version 1.21 called ‘Patio’ from my setup it also shows as ‘UltraHD’
So it’s not that, as it shows all versions of the Sonos One hardware version 1.21 and 1.26 are supported.
Userlevel 7
+21
Tried removing the sub. Result was i could not even get HD. Which doesn't make any sense!
Re added an get the HD symbol.
Userlevel 7
Just tried this. I had to change the settings in the Amazon Music app to play HD in at least 2 places.
I then stopped the Amazon music stream and re-authorised Amazon Music within the Sonos App.
Now the HD appears when playing. This is on 2 Gen2 Play 5s and a Gen2 sub.
But is the song you’re playing actually capable of being Ultra HD? If so, then your stream is being downgraded to HD.
Correct it only shows HD never Ultra HD.
If I play an Ultra HD track in the Amazon App and share to Sonos it shows Ultra HD still on the Amazon Music app but no HD or Ultra when displaying on Sonos App.
As a trial, if you remove/unbond your Sub from your Play:5s, do you then see Ultra HD?
Playback has to be started from within the Sonos app to get the higher quality streams.
Userlevel 7
I have several Sonos One (Gen 1s) and they do not play HD or Ultra HD from Amazon Music.
Have you enabled HD playback in your Amazon music settings? I first had to upgrade before the higher quality would play.
https://www.amazon.com/music/settings
Can you play HD/Ultra HD directly from the Amazon Music app?
Also playback has to be started from within the Sonos app to get the higher quality streams on Sonos, rather than the Amazon Music app.
Userlevel 7
+21
Just tried this. I had to change the settings in the Amazon Music app to play HD in at least 2 places.
I then stopped the Amazon music stream and re-authorised Amazon Music within the Sonos App.
Now the HD appears when playing. This is on 2 Gen2 Play 5s and a Gen2 sub.
But is the song you’re playing actually capable of being Ultra HD? If so, then your stream is being downgraded to HD.
Correct it only shows HD never Ultra HD.
If I play an Ultra HD track in the Amazon App and share to Sonos it shows Ultra HD still on the Amazon Music app but no HD or Ultra when displaying on Sonos App.
+20
I have several Sonos One (Gen 1s) and they do not play HD or Ultra HD from Amazon Music.
Userlevel 7
I have a gen 1 and gen 2 in a stereo pair, and another two gen 2’s in a stereo pair. Same issue with both stereo pairs. I can get Ultra HD on the One (gen1)
Just to perhaps assist, in the Sonos App ‘about box’ the hardware version begins…
Sonos One (gen1) : 1.21
Sonos One (gen2): 1.26
Userlevel 7
Thanks for that link
. It certainly reads to me like ANY Sub should work with the other devices listed (including the Play:5 (gen2)). It’s worth in your case trying rebooting/unbonding/bonding the players, I think, as my thoughts are that this should be working for UltraHD playback IMHO.
Tried all that before and it didn’t help… Reboots of modem/router and lost count of how many times I’ve unbonded and bonded the Sub and every time with it bonded, only HD. Changing SonosNet channel doesn’t help either. I’ve even tried a hard-wired Sub and turned WiFi on the Sub off and still didn’t get UHD.
In this article it states that all generations of Sub are supported for hi res.
How to listen to hi-res on Sonos
As of this post’s publish date, the following Sonos products are capable of playing 24-bit music at 48 kHz: Roam, Arc, Beam (both generations), Five, Sub (all generations), Move, One, One SL, Port, Amp, SYMFONISK Bookshelf, SYMFONISK Table Lamp, Play:5 (Gen 2), Connect (Gen 2), and Connect:Amp (Gen 2).
I have three gen 2 Subs. I have no issue playing Dolby Atmos/Ultra HD on my Arc, Play:3 surrounds and Sub gen2 setup. Therefore the Sub gen 2 is supported for hi-res but maybe only when bonded with Arc/Beam…
Thanks for that link. It certainly reads to me like ANY Sub should work with the other devices listed (including the Play:5 (gen2) and Sonos One). It’s worth in your case trying rebooting/unbonding/bonding the players, I think, as my thoughts are that this should be working for UltraHD playback IMHO.
Userlevel 7
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I thought it might be the sub. I didn’t remove it, I turned it off though earlier and still didn’t work. I think it’s gen 2 sub.
Definitely seems that it’s being downgraded due to one of the devices.
I would perhaps try the Sub (gen2) ‘unbonded’ and ‘bonded’ with the pair and just see if it changes anything. It might be a case that a Sub (gen3) is required, but I’ve not (yet) personally seen anything mentioned about the different Subs in the release notes/media reports.
In this article it states that all generations of Sub are supported for hi res.
How to listen to hi-res on Sonos
As of this post’s publish date, the following Sonos products are capable of playing 24-bit music at 48 kHz: Roam, Arc, Beam (both generations), Five, Sub (all generations), Move, One, One SL, Port, Amp, SYMFONISK Bookshelf, SYMFONISK Table Lamp, Play:5 (Gen 2), Connect (Gen 2), and Connect:Amp (Gen 2).
I have three gen 2 Subs. I have no issue playing Dolby Atmos/Ultra HD on my Arc, Play:3 surrounds and Sub gen2 setup. Therefore the Sub gen 2 is supported for hi-res but maybe only when bonded with Arc/Beam…
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I thought it might be the sub. I didn’t remove it, I turned it off though earlier and still didn’t work. I think it’s gen 2 sub.
Definitely seems that it’s being downgraded due to one of the devices.
I would perhaps try the Sub (gen2) ‘unbonded’ and ‘bonded’ with the pair and just see if it changes anything. It might be a case that a Sub (gen3) is required, but I’ve not (yet) personally seen anything mentioned about the different Subs in the release notes/media reports.
Userlevel 7
Thanks Ken, yes aware of that setting too which was also turned off in my trial. I may be wrong but I believe the Amazon Music settings are only relevant for the relevant controller (ie. iPhone/iPad etc), rather than having any impact on the stream when playback is initiated from within the Sonos app.
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