Has anyone else tried it? I really like it. I don't have the Mark Levinson audio system, just the standard system. There is a free 90 day trial out there right now. I've read that it is comparable to TIDAL, but with a larger amount of music available. (I can REALLY tell a difference in my Toyota Sienna, which has the worst audio sound I've ever owned.)

 

I'm about 30 days into my 90 day trial.I like it but also have Tidal. I probably won't subscribe after the 90 days since they don't integrate with Roon which I use for my home audio integration. Nice for now though.

 

I'm about a week into my Amazon trial and I like it, but the app has some issues I'll post about later. I haven't tried Tidal yet.

How would you compare/contrast Amazon vs. Tidal? In particular, how do you rate the apps working in Apple CarPlay?

 

I have also been using Amazon music hd for about a week and noticed that they offer different songs in UHD than what Tidal has available in Master quality. The sound quality of UHD and Master seem to be about the same. The Amazon app doesn't offer crossfade which I love on Tidal and occasionally there is a delay while listening to a song. Hopefully, Amazon will release some updates to address those issues soon.

 

Both work fine in CarPlay but Amazon is missing some very important features IMHO. I can't choose a song and from that song tell the system to start a playlist or station (something EVERY other platform does). This is something I use a lot in Tidal and Spotify. I also cant migrate playlists from outside of AmazonHD. This is paramount I feel. Soundiiz can handle this but it is disable in Amazon (export only).

Was there something specific you'd like me to answer? Are there features you like or need? Happy to answer any followup questions.

 

I've encountered the following limitations in Apple CarPlay using Amazon Music.

1) Can't FF or rewind (the Lexus native app lets you do this)

2) Can't browse music to select a track while moving (the Lexus native app lets you do this)

3) If you select a track from Recents (& Albums, etc?), when it ends if you hit the next track button on the steering wheel, nothing happens. If you're moving when this happens, you're stuck because you can't browse.

4) I like to view the Now Playing screen in full screen mode. Every time I start my car, I have to jump through hoops to get to see this screen. Sometimes the Now Playing icon shows up in the upper right corner of the screen and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't show up, I have to toggle back an forth between the other screens to get it to appear. When it does show up, and I click on it, it usually goes into a split screen mode with the map app and I have to toggle back an forth between the other screens to get it back to full screen Now Playing mode. I can't discern a pattern as to when it does these things. I just know that by dancing around in this manner, the full screen Now Playing mode eventually appears. Very annoying. I have to repeat this drill every time I start my car.

Are there any workarounds for these limitations?

 

I just changed back to Amazon HD from Tidal last night. I started out with Hi-Fi from Tidal sometime ago, but ended up changing to Premium, because I couldn't justify $20 a month for a little time as I spend in the car Amazon's lower price helps.

The real reason I went back to Amazon is that I didn't like the user interface for Tidal. I generally listen to 1 of my playlists that has several hundred songs that I play using Random Mode. I like it because I can just get in my car, my phone connects automatically (Bluetooth) and starts playing. I never have to take the phone out of my pocket! I also get to hear uninterrupted music, all of which I have selected, without hearing the same piece twice. With Tidal, when I get back in the car, it would start on the same song it started on last time I was in the car, then plays the same music in the same order. The only way to hear new music was to re shuffle the playlist on the Tidal app on my phone, or hit skip until you get past where you stopped last trip. The next time I connected to the car, it was the same thing. Except I had to hit SKIP more times. It was like Groundhog Day! Also, there was no rewind, and no fast forward.

It was really annoying. Of course, this morning (after changing back last night, and looking forward to the HD music all night), I got in my car, and couldn't make Amazon play using either Bluetooth OR Apple CarPlay. I blame poor Lexus Infotainment integration for that right now, but I could be wrong. I haven't had an opportunity to look into why.

 

If you're strictly using Bluetooth I would suggest using Spotify since they have the best UI IMO. Due to the limited bandwidth of Bluetooth, there isn't any significant advantage of using Amazon music HD (UHD) or Tidal (Master) songs.

 

I agree about Spotify's UI!! But the sound is important when I'm not in the car. I have wondered how using Bluetooth would effect sound quality. I would think I would have the same issue using Bluetooth earbuds, huh?

 

If sound is important the you need to plug in your device and use carplay

 

Yes sir, the best Bluetooth codec at the moment is Sony's LDAC and it streams audio at up 990 Kbps at 24 bits/96 KHz. It's best practice to plug it in even though it is not as convenient.

 

So I've been using Tidal for a while now, and I just got the trial for Amazon Music HD. Listening to the same tracks in the LS with ML back to back in Amazon Ultra HD and Tidal Master IMHO Tidal sounds noticeably better still. Amazon does have a wider catalog of Ultra HD music though.

 

Better in what way(s)? Could you be more specific?

 

It sounds warmer, richer, more detailed. Same phone, same car, same equalizer specs. Both set to require HD/HiFi and not allow connections at lower quality even if it disrupts playback.

 

People reading this, who are not aware, welcome to the world of "Audiophile". Where things like warmer, richer and more detailed are used as if they are quantifiable. Usually, it means: I paid more for it, so it sounds better.