Data Stream rates to Sonos from Pro plus using Tidal show up to Flac 2000+/ 24 /192 vs only up to 900 , 16/44.1 from Amazon HD ultra?

[Zipgear]

My understanding is that Sonos only streams up to 16/44.1 , however I'm am seeing Flac 2000 + kbps , /24/192 on many songs being played thought my Sonos speakers when using Tidal , whereas AmazonHD (ultra) only shows 16/44.1 ? Are the data rates shown under the song playing, what's actually being played through the speakers, or is it just showing the song data rate and Sonos degrades the rates to 16/44.1?

 

[Burnside]

It’s not clear to me from your post how your Pro Plus is connected to your Sonos speakers, nor how you are playing Tidal or Amazon Music Unlimited

 

[ratty]

Later Sonos units support up to 24/48. That's what my Roon Core sends them.

 

[merifon]

My understanding is that Sonos only streams up to 16/44.1 , however I'm am seeing Flac 2000 + kbps , /24/192 on many songs being played thought my Sonos speakers when using Tidal , whereas AmazonHD (ultra) only shows 16/44.1 ? Are the data rates shown under the song playing, what's actually being played through the speakers, or is it just showing the song data rate and Sonos degrades the rates to 16/44.1?

There are two HD setting switches to have Amazon music in HD from WiiM. Did you set them?
One is in WiiM app settings > Amazon Alexa, the other on WiiM app browsing > Amazon music section.

 

[Burnside]

There are two HD setting switches to have Amazon music in HD from WiiM. Did you set them?
One is in WiiM app settings > Amazon Alexa, the other on WiiM app browsing > Amazon music section.

The setting for Alexa is only there for the Mini in relation to multi room music groups, it's no longer present on other devices

 

[merifon]

The setting for Alexa is only there for the Mini in relation to multi room music groups, it's no longer present on other devices

I'm obsolete...

 

[Zipgear]

It’s not clear to me from your post how your Pro Plus is connected to your Sonos speakers, nor how you are playing Tidal or Amazon Music Unlimited

I have a Sonos roam paired via Bluetooth out in the Wiim app. I can select either music service and select a song to play, I then go to my Sonos app, select Roam , click on speaker icon and select any additional speakers (rooms) to group with the Roam.

 

[Zipgear]

The setting for Alexa is only there for the Mini in relation to multi room music groups, it's no longer present on other devices

Thanks , yes I have the HD switch selected to on

 

[ratty]

I have a Sonos roam paired via Bluetooth out in the Wiim app. I can select either music service and select a song to play, I then go to my Sonos app, select Roam , click on speaker icon and select any additional speakers (rooms) to group with the Roam.

In that case all the bit-depth/sampling-rate stuff is totally academic. IIRC Bluetooth from WiiM doesn't use any of the higher quality codecs, and in any case Sonos Roam only accepts SBC and AAC. Few devices other than mobiles/tablets transmit at AAC, and only Apple does it acceptably.

Bottom line: you'll only be using SBC from WiiM to Roam. Forget about audio quality.

 

[Zipgear]

In that case all the bit-depth/sampling-rate stuff is totally academic. IIRC Bluetooth from WiiM doesn't use any of the higher quality codecs, and in any case Sonos Roam only accepts SBC and AAC. Few devices other than mobiles/tablets transmit at AAC, and only Apple does it acceptably.

Bottom line: you'll only be using SBC from WiiM to Roam. Forget about audio quality.

Got it , thanks

 

[Zipgear]

Got it , thanks

Since I am wanting to obtain the best audio out of the Sonos and the direct connections for the Sonos speakers are limited to optical, 3.5 line in or hdmi which of these would provide the best bit depth, sampling going into an era 100, era 300 , 5 , beam or ray soundbars ? Since I'm limited by Sonos 24/48 rates would the line in provide at least 24/48 rates? is a coax cable connection sampling rate higher or better than an optical connection? As you can see , I'm in learning mode and you're providing great insight so thanks so much for any feedback on these questions !

 

[Zipgear]

I have a Sonos roam paired via Bluetooth out in the Wiim app. I can select either music service and select a song to play, I then go to my Sonos app, select Roam , click on speaker icon and select any additional speakers (rooms) to group with the Roam.

Update , today I've connected the pro plus to a Sonos Ray via optical , set the Wiim optical to 24/48 rates in the setup and am seeing Amazon HD , an Ultra sampling rates now at 1900/24/48 pretty consistently on songs that I curated for HD and HD ultra , whereas before I was only seeing 16/44. Not sure I need Tidal since my Sonos is limited to 24/48 and hearing is limited to 24/48 and below ..ha!
Plus Amazon has a great "ai" playlist creation option

 

[Burnside]

Plus Amazon has a great "ai" playlist creation option

Where in the app is that? I guess it might only be a USA option though…

 

[ratty]

Update , today I've connected the pro plus to a Sonos Ray via optical , set the Wiim optical to 24/48 rates in the setup and am seeing Amazon HD , an Ultra sampling rates now at 1900/24/48 pretty consistently on songs that I curated for HD and HD ultra , whereas before I was only seeing 16/44.

Using optical from WiiM to the Ray's TV input is only a partial solution. Rooms grouped with the Ray won't sync perfectly, even if you fiddle with the Ray's TV lip-sync setting and, if memory serves, grouped rooms receive 'TV' audio as a lossy compressed stream.

AirPlay casting from WiiM might have offered a solution, had it not been withdrawn. DLNA casting from WiiM could be the answer, when it eventually emerges. Sonos players should function as DLNA renderers.

 

[Zipgear]

Where in the app is that? I guess it might only be a USA option though…

 

[Burnside]

Thanks - seems it's only on beta and for a subset of customers in the USA. As usual with Amazon, non-USA users suffer when it comes to feature rollouts

 

[Burnside]

It looks like you're noticing that the data stream rates for Tidal's Pro Plus plan show higher resolution (FLAC 2000+ kbps at 24-bit/192kHz) compared to Amazon HD Ultra, which maxes out at around 900 kbps at 16-bit/44.1kHz. The key difference here is in the streaming quality and the formats each service offers.

Tidal, with its "HiFi" and "Master" tiers, supports high-resolution formats like FLAC up to 24-bit/192kHz, which is why you’re seeing those higher bitrates. They also offer MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) for their "Master" tracks, which can further enhance the sound quality at higher bitrates.

Amazon HD Ultra, while offering lossless streaming in FLAC format, tends to stick to a more standard resolution of 16-bit/44.1kHz for many of its tracks, though it does offer some 24-bit audio, just not as widely available at the higher resolutions like Tidal’s Master tracks. The 900 kbps you're seeing on Amazon HD is likely for the standard lossless 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC tracks.

If you're looking for the highest possible resolution and streaming quality, Tidal's Pro Plus plan definitely provides a more premium experience in that regard.

By the way, if you still want to enjoy Amazon Music, you can seek help from third-party tools like AudFree Amazon Music Converter to get high quality.

AI generated spam. Reported

 

[QuarryHunslet]

AI generated spam. Reported

Thanks, the details were well out of date regarding Tidal subscription tiers, but this has now been dealt with.

 

[Burnside]

Thanks, the details were well out of date regarding Tidal subscription tiers, but this has now been dealt with.

While it was another example of AI generated garbage, the ad for a dubious music downloader was what triggered me…

 

[slartibartfast]

While it was another example of AI generated garbage, the ad for a dubious music downloader was what triggered me…

I wonder if AI can recognise AI generated garbage as well as a human can