Tidal plays in Atmos but Amazon Music HD plays in Ultra HD (which is not real Atmos)?

[zzorchering]

As mentioned in my (only) other thread on here, I'm a newbie to Atmos so I'm still discovering set-ups etc. As far as I can see - & I'm hoping its a set up issue & I want to be corrected - Amazon Music HD doesn't / can't actually play in Atmos, whereas Tidal does?

I'm streaming from a Fire Stick 4k via HDMI into a Denon 3700 (connected as 7.1.4) and contolling the Fire Stick apps directly on the monitor screen attached to the Denon (ie I'm not using any remote apps on a phone or via HEOS etc). I also have a 4k bluray player.

I'm using the Kraftwerk 3-D disc as my reference... Playing the bluray gives superb 3D Atmos with sounds pinging off all round the room. The display on the Denon amp correctly shows that the bluray is playing in Atmos.

This is the same if I also stream the Kraftwerk 3-D tracks on Tidal, again with the Denon amp display correctly showing Atmos and if I press the info button on the Denon remote it shows the input signal is Dolby Atmos - DD+, and the sound out is Dolby Atmos. Again, the sounds are pinging off around the room, the same as they do on the bluray.

However, no matter how much I try on Amazon Music HD app, I cannot get any of the Kraftwerk 3-D Ultra HD tracks to actually play in Atmos - I have Ultra HD selected within the Audio Quality menu and the app is playing at 24 bit/44.1 kHz. The tracks all have the Ultra HD logo, so I assume Amazon Music HD thinks its correctly playing in Atmos.

But, the info button on the Denon remote shows the input signal is Dolby Audio - DD+, and the sound out is Dolby Audio - Dolby Surround. A direct listening comparison between the bluray, Tidal and Amazon Music HD shows that the Amazon Music HD app is NOT playing in Atmos - it is a far less impressive surround mix with no 3D / pinging off around the room elements.

What is more puzzling, is that if I stream a 4k / Atmos film from the Amazon Prime Video app - the Denon display correctly shows the film is playing in Dolby Atmos (& it is).

I'm assuming its an issue with the Amazon Music HD app? What am I doing wrong? Or is it a known fact that Amazon Music HD can only play pseudo-Atmos?

NOTE - Interestingly, if I ask Alexa to "play the best of Dolby Atmos Music" as suggested on the Dolby site, it replies with "playing the best of 3D music" (it doesn't use the word Atmos!) ... and tracks such as Harry Styles and Sam Smith (apparently Ultra HD tracks) also are NOT playing in Atmos - just Dolby Audio DD+ ?

 

[humprof]

As mentioned in my (only) other thread on here, I'm a newbie to Atmos so I'm still discovering set-ups etc. As far as I can see - & I'm hoping its a set up issue & I want to be corrected - Amazon Music HD doesn't / can't actually play in Atmos, whereas Tidal does?

I'm streaming from a Fire Stick 4k via HDMI into a Denon 3700 (connected as 7.1.4) and contolling the Fire Stick apps directly on the monitor screen attached to the Denon (ie I'm not using any remote apps on a phone or via HEOS etc). I also have a 4k bluray player.

I'm using the Kraftwerk 3-D disc as my reference... Playing the bluray gives superb 3D Atmos with sounds pinging off all round the room. The display on the Denon amp correctly shows that the bluray is playing in Atmos.

This is the same if I also stream the Kraftwerk 3-D tracks on Tidal, again with the Denon amp display correctly showing Atmos and if I press the info button on the Denon remote it shows the input signal is Dolby Atmos - DD+, and the sound out is Dolby Atmos. Again, the sounds are pinging off around the room, the same as they do on the bluray.

However, no matter how much I try on Amazon Music HD app, I cannot get any of the Kraftwerk 3-D Ultra HD tracks to actually play in Atmos - I have Ultra HD selected within the Audio Quality menu and the app is playing at 24 bit/44.1 kHz. The tracks all have the Ultra HD logo, so I assume Amazon Music HD thinks its correctly playing in Atmos.

But, the info button on the Denon remote shows the input signal is Dolby Audio - DD+, and the sound out is Dolby Audio - Dolby Surround. A direct listening comparison between the bluray, Tidal and Amazon Music HD shows that the Amazon Music HD app is NOT playing in Atmos - it is a far less impressive surround mix with no 3D / pinging off around the room elements.

What is more puzzling, is that if I stream a 4k / Atmos film from the Amazon Prime Video app - the Denon display correctly shows the film is playing in Dolby Atmos (& it is).

I'm assuming its an issue with the Amazon Music HD app? What am I doing wrong? Or is it a known fact that Amazon Music HD can only play pseudo-Atmos?

NOTE - Interestingly, if I ask Alexa to "play the best of Dolby Atmos Music" as suggested on the Dolby site, it replies with "playing the best of 3D music" (it doesn't use the word Atmos!) ... and tracks such as Harry Styles and Sam Smith (apparently Ultra HD tracks) also are NOT playing in Atmos - just Dolby Audio DD+ ?

My understanding is that so far--perversely, pointlessly--Amazon Music HD will only stream Atmos to the Echo Studio speaker. (And possibly Atmos for Headphones over cans?)

 

[popshop]

Amazon currently only works with their silly spy devices. Tidal is currently the only service with streaming atmos.
You chose a good one with Kraftwerk.

 

[zzorchering]

My understanding is that so far--perversely, pointlessly--Amazon Music HD will only stream Atmos to the Echo Studio speaker. (And possibly Atmos for Headphones over cans?)

Yes it does seem odd seeing that the Echo Studio is a relatively cheap & small device. Again, Amazon talk about 3D music using Atmos technology - which makes me think that even the Echo doesn't / can't produce a real Atmos listening experience.

Its a shame, as I was hoping to drop my free Tidal subscription, given that for the same monthly cost you can pretty much get Prime Delivery / Prime Video / Prime Football and Amazon Music.

That said, I can't get the search / user interface for Fire Stick Tidal app to work - or link correctly to be driven by the app on my iPhone. It correctly links to my account (by the "link this Fire Stick device to your account" via a generated password) - but I'm still having to go into the Tidal website or iPhone app, add tracks to my favourites collection, then return to favourites within the Fire Stick app to play them....! Again, I'm still learning )

 

[humprof]

Again, Amazon talk about 3D music using Atmos technology - which makes me think that even the Echo doesn't / can't produce a real Atmos listening experience.

Since Atmos is object-oriented, it does its best with whatever system it's being fed to. But yes: I think most of us would agree that a 5 (or 7, or 9).1.2 or .4 system would give more satisfying results...

I can't get the search / user interface for Fire Stick Tidal app to work - or link correctly to be driven by the app on my iPhone. It correctly links to my account (by the "link this Fire Stick device to your account" via a generated password) - but I'm still having to go into the Tidal website or iPhone app, add tracks to my favourites collection, then return to favourites within the Fire Stick app to play them....!

Same here. (And of course when you search from a non-Atmos-capable device, the Atmos tracks aren't marked as such.) If you have a bluetooth capable keyboard, you can link that to your Fire Stick, and that will make searching somewhat easier.