Amazon Firestick 4K Max for Surround Music

[dobyblue]

I couldn’t get dts-MA pass through to work with MKV files but maybe there has been a firmware update since? I picked it up to test drive when it was first released for Canadians.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I couldn’t get dts-MA pass through to work with MKV files but maybe there has been a firmware update since? I picked it up to test drive when it was first released for Canadians.

Do you have one of the new '2nd Generation' Fire TV sticks?

 

[dabl]

I found this on a QQ thread on RA360 streaming clearly showing Amazon 360 playing on the FireTV. The new 4K Max can do this now based on its specs. It’s the Amazon Music app:

(this is a screenshot the AVRs 'info' overlay on top of the FireTV screen's Amazon Music app)
View attachment 99858

Thanks that is definitely significant progress. Will be interesting to see if Tidal and Apple follow with this kind of capability in their players.

 

[humprof]

With Amazon Music Unlimited play Atmos via pass-through to an AVR (this will play as real Atmos with a decoder or 5.1/7.1 if users only has DDPlus decoder)
(not tested but I'm convinced) With Amazon Music Unlimited play RA360 (MPEG-H) if the user's AVR has a MPEG-H decoder (a very recent Denon or Marantz)

Even some of the not-quite-so-recent models. The cheapest option right now is probably the Denon X3700H, currently US $849 at Accessories4Less:
https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...-ch-x-105-watts-8k-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

 

[dobyblue]

Do you have one of the new '2nd Generation' Fire TV sticks?

This one here, ordered before it was released and order fulfilled late Sep ‘23 - didn’t show MA in the specs either so I wasn’t surprised - had a discussion on Reddit at the time with others finding the same

All-new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max streaming device, supports Wi-Fi 6E, Ambient Experience, free & live TV without cable or satellite Amazon.ca

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Do you have one of the new '2nd Generation' Fire TV sticks?

This one here, ordered before it was released and order fulfilled late Sep ‘23 - didn’t show MA in the specs either so I wasn’t surprised - had a discussion on Reddit at the time with others finding the same

So sadly no, you don't currently have one of the '2nd Generation' Fire TV sticks!

Maybe you can get a trade-in deal...

 

[HomerJAU]

I couldn’t get dts-MA pass through to work with MKV files but maybe there has been a firmware update since? I picked it up to test drive when it was first released for Canadians.

That’s why I’m installing Kodi as the music player. These Firestick 4K Max support audio pass-through but you need a player that can do it with DTSHD-MA from an MKV file.

 

[dobyblue]

So sadly no, you don't currently have one of the '2nd Generation' Fire TV sticks!

Maybe you can get a trade-in deal...

Oh it’s Amazon, I expected it wouldn’t replace my Shield 4K Pro…I put it through its paces and returned it that day. I actually couldn’t even use the Shield 4K tube because 2GB ram isn’t enough for 4K Ultra HD bit for bit back ups using MakeMKV but was curious to see whether the new stick would be a feasible option. What’s the ASIN for the newer one? It’s got to be newer than 2nd gen as the one I linked for you literally says “2nd gen” in the product details

 

[dobyblue]

That’s why I’m installing Kodi as the music player. These Firestick 4K Max support audio pass-through but you need a player that can do it with DTSHD-MA from an MKV file.

I have Kodi on the Shield Pro because I find it more flexible for my FLAC 5.1 back ups of DVD-As etc and love the interface, but Plex works fine as the player on my Shield for dts-MA BD and 4KUHD backups but it wouldn’t work on the Amazon stick. I’m surprised they already have a 2nd gen stick over the new one from just three months ago, that’s pretty fast.

 

[HomerJAU]

because 2GB ram isn’t enough for 4K Ultra HD bit for bit back ups using MakeMKV

2GB is enough for playing 4K. The problem will be wifi bandwidth. I couldn‘t play 4K yesterday without stuttering over wifi but my Atmos room is a long way from my wifi router (and 4 walls in between, 1 is brick).

I bought a cheap USB to Ethernet adapter (1GBE) which arrives tomorrow. That should solve the problem.

 

[HomerJAU]

I have both the Amazon Fire TV (the square pendant dongle) and Gen 1 4K stick, both of which support Tidal Atmos, but both stutter, even when used with the wired internet adapter.

Is the new version better?

I didn’t hear any stutter playing 3 or 4 Atmos songs on the 4K Max from Amazon. I do have a Tidal subscription and installed the Tidal app but have logged in or played anything yet. Will do so today.

 

[dabl]

Even some of the not-quite-so-recent models. The cheapest option right now is probably the Denon X3700H, currently US $849 at Accessories4Less:
https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...-ch-x-105-watts-8k-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

This is a great way to get recent model Denon/Marantz gear from an authorized reseller at much more affordable prices. I've bought multiple refurb'd Denon AVRs over the years from them with zero problems and they all look like they shipped from the factory with everything included in great shape.

I guess limited to the US though so not much use to our friends in places like Australia

 

[HomerJAU]

@HomerJAU Thanks for the evaluation! Seems besides the issue with 192KHz FLAC the only other thing missing is support for DTS-X pass-through as the spec says "DTS-HD pass-through (basic profile)" only? Anyway, not a big issue in practice as only a few movies are using DTS-X.

How about gapless play with Kodi? I assume only works with single m4a/mka files as usual?

The 192kHz workaround maybe to let Kodi Resample to 96kHz.

I’ll test DTS:X passthrough. I suspect Kodi may support it although DTS:X can by 96kHz (Atmos is limited to 48kHz)

Kodi has always been gapless for FLAC (All my MCH albums are converted to FLAC). For Atmos the only way to get gapless is to have a single album file (mka, MKV, m4a etc). Most albums don’t require gapless playback though.

 

[HomerJAU]

My personal set-up would be to connect the 'Amazon Firestick 4K Max' into my OPPO UDP-203's HDMI input, as I want to experience a more modern GUI to navigate to and play my stored music and video files.

The 4K Max is much faster than the Oppo for sure.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I have Kodi on the Shield Pro because I find it more flexible for my FLAC 5.1 back ups of DVD-As etc and love the interface, but Plex works fine as the player on my Shield for dts-MA BD and 4KUHD backups but it wouldn’t work on the Amazon stick. I’m surprised they already have a 2nd gen stick over the new one from just three months ago, that’s pretty fast.

The '2nd generation' models were released on Wednesday 18 October 2023

 

[dobyblue]

2GB is enough for playing 4K. The problem will be wifi bandwidth. I couldn‘t play 4K yesterday without stuttering over wifi but my Atmos room is a long way from my wifi router (and 4 walls in between, 1 is brick).

I bought a cheap USB to Ethernet adapter (1GBE) which arrives tomorrow. That should solve the problem.

I would never use WiFi for anything other than phones in the home - my entire LAN is gigabit, tested and measured at all connection points using LAN speed test. 2GB isn't enough for 4K Ultra HD MKV back ups using the Shield 4K Tube played using Plex, well documented on NVidia forums. It might work better using players that are less memory intensive, but I want to use Plex.

 

[dobyblue]

The '2nd generation' models were released on Wednesday 18 October 2023

Yes, I ordered in late September (24th) and it shipped via early release on October 11th 2023. I returned it on October 12th. When I click on my order it says THIS IS THE LATEST MODEL OF THIS PRODUCT - SEE WHAT'S NEW.

 

[dobyblue]

Actually early release date was Sep 27th, and many people note no passthrough of dts-ma at both Reddit and AVS, which leads me to again wonder if they've done a firmware update in the interim to add dts-ma passthrough

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/fi...-gen-2023-16gb.3284411/#nested_reply_top_posthttps://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tv/device-specifications-fire-tv-streaming-media-player.html
And it is only Kodi people can get dts-ma working with?

 

[HomerJAU]

Post 20 on your linked discussion above:

DTS MA/X passthrough fine with Kodi v21 using Kodi IEC packer as option.

Kodi v21 Beta 2 with the Kodi IEC packer Passthrough option is my testing system

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Jeez... I used to test XBMC software many years ago... It looks like I'm going to have to learn about it all over again