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vinhattieu
Avid Contributor II
January 4, 2022
Answered

Does Connect: Amp gen 2 support Amazon Music UltraHD

  • January 4, 2022
  • 19 replies
  • 667 views

I have just subscribed Amazon Music Unlimited and tried playing some UltraHD music on my system. The newer Sonos Amp played them just fine and there was the UltraHD badge. But my Connect:Amp only played the same album at HD. If I tried grouping the Amp and the Connect:Amp, then the badge changed from UltraHD to HD.

However, according to this link, the Connect:Amp gen 2 does support UltraHD playback. I think my Connect:Amp is gen 2 because it runs the S2 app, and the manufacture date at its bottom is 1608.

Any explanation or clarification is much appreciated.

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Best answer by Ken_Griffiths

My own understanding of this is… the Sonos devices that support 24-bit audio are:

  • 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) (Summer 2017–> onwards)
  • Connect:Amp (Gen 2)

Adding older players to a group, such as Playbase, Playbar, Play:1(Gen1), Play:3, Play:5(Gen1), ZP80, ZP90(Connect), ZP100, ZP120 (Connect:Amp) may cause Amazon Music station to change format. 

19 replies

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Ken_Griffiths
Ken_Griffiths
January 5, 2022

I can perhaps just briefly add that Sonos Staff have mentioned in the link below that the Qobuz service via the Sonos App operates slightly differently to the new Amazon Music HD/UltraHD service (at the moment at least) in that the Sonos Playbar supports 24bit audio streaming from Qobuz, but only 16bit HD audio from Amazon:

https://en.community.sonos.com/music-services-and-sources-228994/playbar-24-bit-playback-6863344?postid=16569069#post16569069

I assume there are some technical, or commercial reasons for these differences - I’m not complaining here by the way, as I’m not able to personally tell the difference between 16/44 and 24/48 audio anyway from my own A/B testing at Home, but it’s nice to have these slightly ‘grey areas’ clarified. 

vinhattieuAuthor
Avid Contributor II
January 7, 2022

Any clarification from Sonos staff, I wonder?

Mr. T
Mr. T
January 7, 2022

Any clarification from Sonos staff, I wonder?


You can contact Sonos Support directly either by telephone or chat and discuss it with them.

Contact Sonos Support

 

    James L.
    James L.
    Retired Community Staff
    January 7, 2022

    Hi @vinhattieu,

     

    Apologies for the delay - it took a little bit of time to find the answer.

    I’ve checked with our engineers, and they’ve confirmed that the Connect:Amp is not able to play Amazon Music UltraHD tracks.

    It does appear that the support page linked in this thread is incorrect, so I’ve notified our web team to get that corrected.

    Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
      Mr. T
      Mr. T
      January 7, 2022

      Hi @vinhattieu,

       

      Apologies for the delay - it took a little bit of time to find the answer.

      I’ve checked with our engineers, and they’ve confirmed that the Connect:Amp is not able to play Amazon Music UltraHD tracks.

      It does appear that the support page linked in this thread is incorrect, so I’ve notified our web team to get that corrected.


      In that case, the following Sonos webpage is also factually incorrect under the section ‘How to listen to hi-res on Sonos’

      Clarification should also be given around the Sub (all generations) as according to my previous telephone conversation with support, a DRM issue means Amazon Ultra HD is not supported when a Sub(gen2) is bonded outside a home theatre setup ie. Bonded with Ones/Fives etc.

       

      vinhattieuAuthor
      Avid Contributor II
      January 7, 2022

      Hi @vinhattieu,

       

      Apologies for the delay - it took a little bit of time to find the answer.

      I’ve checked with our engineers, and they’ve confirmed that the Connect:Amp is not able to play Amazon Music UltraHD tracks.

      It does appear that the support page linked in this thread is incorrect, so I’ve notified our web team to get that corrected.

      Thank you for your response. Though I am quite satisfied with CD-quality streaming and do not care much about hi-res, it is good to have a definite answer on the Connect:Amp’s capability.

        Ken_Griffiths
        Ken_Griffiths
        January 7, 2022

        Thank you for your response. Though I am quite satisfied with CD-quality streaming and do not care much about hi-res, it is good to have a definite answer on the Connect:Amp’s capability.

        I’m more than happy too with 16bit audio. Any benefit from 24bit is likely lost on my own personal hearing abilities.

          ratty
          ratty
          January 7, 2022

          Thank you for your response. Though I am quite satisfied with CD-quality streaming and do not care much about hi-res, it is good to have a definite answer on the Connect:Amp’s capability.

          I’m more than happy too with 16bit audio. Any benefit from 24bit is likely lost on my own personal hearing abilities.

          24-bit has its place in the studio, to avoid overflow errors during recording. As a final delivery format 16-bit is all that’s required. 

          Besides, with so many modern recordings being dynamic range compressed (the ‘loudness wars’) you could probably get away with 12 bits or less. :sunglasses:

            philg5140
            Contributor I
            January 9, 2022

            All:

             

            Should a May 17 Connect play Amazon Ultra HD. Summer 2017 seems a little vague?…

             

            Thanks!

             

             

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