How to Get the Most Enjoyment from Your Awesome Mark Levinson Sound System
#16
Got it. Thanks! I've set that to "Off" and listened to more songs. I'm hoping I'm now actually getting the highest resolution available through Amazon although the app does not seem to indicate the actual resolution for each song. I was parked in my driveway so my iPhone 8 was streaming though my 300 Mb house router. On three songs there was a several second pause after a few seconds of play as if some buffering was going on (a progress wheel showed when this happened). The rest of the songs played without any pauses although I didn't listen to most of the songs all the way through. I listened to HD Ultra tracks and the best sounding ones I heard were:
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
50 Way to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
The Way You Make You Feel - Michael Jackson
Charlie Puth - I Warned Myself
Janelle Monae - Make me Feel
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
Steve Miller - The Joker
Eagles - One of These Nights
Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly
James Taylor - You've Got a Friend
Fleetwood Mac - Rhianon
As I've said before, the 2019 ES Mark Levinson system is very revealing and it clearly showed every song's unique production and sonic quality. Each of these songs sounded terrific in their own way.
If I can get the app to stream successfully as I'm driving I think this Amazon Music HD Ultra should be pretty great!
Last edited by Barryabko; 09-25-19 at 04:12 PM.
#17
Got it. Thanks! I've set that to "Off" and listened to more songs. I'm hoping I'm now actually getting the highest resolution available through Amazon although the app does not seem to indicate the actual resolution for each song. I was parked in my driveway so my iPhone 8 was streaming though my 300 Mb house router. On three songs there was a several second pause after a few seconds of play as if some buffering was going on (a progress wheel showed when this happened). The rest of the songs played without any pauses although I didn't listen to most of the songs all the way through. I listened to HD Ultra tracks and the best sounding ones I heard were:
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
50 Way to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
The Way You Make You Feel - Michael Jackson
Charlie Puth - I Warned Myself
Janelle Monae - Make me Feel
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
Steve Miller - The Joker
Eagles - One of These Nights
Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly
James Taylor - You've Got a Friend
Fleetwood Mac - Rhianon
If I can get the app to stream successfully as I'm driving I think this Amazon Audio HD Ultra should be pretty great!
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
50 Way to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
The Way You Make You Feel - Michael Jackson
Charlie Puth - I Warned Myself
Janelle Monae - Make me Feel
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
Steve Miller - The Joker
Eagles - One of These Nights
Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly
James Taylor - You've Got a Friend
Fleetwood Mac - Rhianon
If I can get the app to stream successfully as I'm driving I think this Amazon Audio HD Ultra should be pretty great!
I download the songs to my phone before I play them to ensure there isn't any type of interruption.
#18
I also wasn't able to locate the quality on each song in the app or pc. It will probably be added in the future since the FAQ's state is should be on the "Now Playing" screen.
I download the songs to my phone before I play them to ensure there isn't any type of interruption.
I download the songs to my phone before I play them to ensure there isn't any type of interruption.
I think I read on the Amazon Music forum that the iPhone OS limits audio playback to 24/48 but there is a work around to get it to play full resolution. I'll post about that when I learn more.
For example: Heart of Gold by Neil Young is 24/192 but the device capability says 24/48 and it's currently playing at 24/48.
Last edited by Barryabko; 09-25-19 at 09:35 PM.
#20
I had the same issue when the song stops for a few seconds and that happened with a song that I downloaded to my phone. It seems to be on par with Tidal so hopefully, they add a lot more content soon.
Dolby announced yesterday that they will be releasing Atmos music on Amazon sometime in the near future, we shall see how that plays out.
Dolby announced yesterday that they will be releasing Atmos music on Amazon sometime in the near future, we shall see how that plays out.
#22
Under "Recents" there is a section that will appear named "Downloading" when there are songs queued for download.
#23
Thanks.
I'm having a problem navigating the Amazon app in CarPlay. I can't get back to the Now Playing screen. I can hear the track and switch to the next track with the button on the steering wheel but I can't see the name of the track that's playing. The app is listing Recents, Artists, Albums, etc. but I can't figure out how to get back to the Now Playing screen. I've tried hitting every available button, but no luck. In fact, most of the buttons just put me back on the CarPlay home screen, which doesn't seem like the correct result. I've been on the Now Playing screen before, but can't get back to it now.
I'm having a problem navigating the Amazon app in CarPlay. I can't get back to the Now Playing screen. I can hear the track and switch to the next track with the button on the steering wheel but I can't see the name of the track that's playing. The app is listing Recents, Artists, Albums, etc. but I can't figure out how to get back to the Now Playing screen. I've tried hitting every available button, but no luck. In fact, most of the buttons just put me back on the CarPlay home screen, which doesn't seem like the correct result. I've been on the Now Playing screen before, but can't get back to it now.
#24
Thanks.
I'm having a problem navigating the Amazon app in CarPlay. I can't get back to the Now Playing screen. I can hear the track and switch to the next track with the button on the steering wheel but I can't see the name of the track that's playing. The app is listing Recents, Artists, Albums, etc. but I can't figure out how to get back to the Now Playing screen. I've tried hitting every available button, but no luck. In fact, most of the buttons just put me back on the CarPlay home screen, which doesn't seem like the correct result. I've been on the Now Playing screen before, but can't get back to it now.
I'm having a problem navigating the Amazon app in CarPlay. I can't get back to the Now Playing screen. I can hear the track and switch to the next track with the button on the steering wheel but I can't see the name of the track that's playing. The app is listing Recents, Artists, Albums, etc. but I can't figure out how to get back to the Now Playing screen. I've tried hitting every available button, but no luck. In fact, most of the buttons just put me back on the CarPlay home screen, which doesn't seem like the correct result. I've been on the Now Playing screen before, but can't get back to it now.
I'm on iOS 13 due to new phone otherwise I don't recommend you update your phone since ios 13 has a lot of bugs. Although, Carplay looks a lot better on iOS 13 and will display album covers even while driving.
I don't have navigation in my vehicle and for me, there is an icon on the top right corner. Within the icon there is an EQ band that is constantly moving.
#25
The Now Playing screen somehow appeared, but I don't know why or how. I think it has something to do with turning the car off and then on. But now I have a split screen with half map and half Now Playing. I don't how I got that setup or how to get rid of it.
I'm an Android user, so Apple is a foreign language to me. I bought a refurbished iPhone 6s for $180 that came with iOS 13 just to use CarPlay, high end audio downloads, and the remote app.
#26
I have been doing some reading about about high quality audio streaming. I believe that Tidal only has up to CD red book (16/44.1) capability for the vast majority of it's catalog. Amazon has just announced HD Ultra audio streaming with up to 24/192 resolution at $14.99/month for new sign ups or $12.99/month for existing Prime members. They claim 50 million titles in their library. Unfortunately, early adopters have not found the APP to work very well it's not very clear (pun intended) whether full 192/24 resolution is actually being heard. It seems Amazon still has a few kinks to work out. When they do, I think it may be a very viable option.
Anyone on this forum using Amazon HD Ultra audio yet? What is your experience?
Anyone on this forum using Amazon HD Ultra audio yet? What is your experience?
#27
I signed up a day after they launched it. Their HD and Ultra HD albums sound really good. It took me a little while to figure out the app. I also use Amazon Music on a Marantz AV7705 pre-pro that has Heos. It plays all the Ultra HD music without any issues. There are quite a few 24 bit albums. I am at a point where I will probably drop Tidal.
I wonder if Tidal is going to lower their subscription fee to match Amazon. Other than the subscription fee, what factors make you prefer Amazon over Tidal?
#28
It's still frustrating. Traded in non-ML is350 and "my music" sounded great.
With ML "upgrade", I can replace all my music from fringe, inconvenient sources, and it will sound great. "My music" that used to sound great, that I play on iPhone/Mac/iPad/Homepod/AppleTV conveniently? Yeah, not so much.
I must not be a "true" audiophile.
With ML "upgrade", I can replace all my music from fringe, inconvenient sources, and it will sound great. "My music" that used to sound great, that I play on iPhone/Mac/iPad/Homepod/AppleTV conveniently? Yeah, not so much.
I must not be a "true" audiophile.
#29
It's still frustrating. Traded in non-ML is350 and "my music" sounded great.
With ML "upgrade", I can replace all my music from fringe, inconvenient sources, and it will sound great. "My music" that used to sound great, that I play on iPhone/Mac/iPad/Homepod/AppleTV conveniently? Yeah, not so much.
I must not be a "true" audiophile.
With ML "upgrade", I can replace all my music from fringe, inconvenient sources, and it will sound great. "My music" that used to sound great, that I play on iPhone/Mac/iPad/Homepod/AppleTV conveniently? Yeah, not so much.
I must not be a "true" audiophile.
#30
It's still frustrating. Traded in non-ML is350 and "my music" sounded great.
With ML "upgrade", I can replace all my music from fringe, inconvenient sources, and it will sound great. "My music" that used to sound great, that I play on iPhone/Mac/iPad/Homepod/AppleTV conveniently? Yeah, not so much.
I must not be a "true" audiophile.
With ML "upgrade", I can replace all my music from fringe, inconvenient sources, and it will sound great. "My music" that used to sound great, that I play on iPhone/Mac/iPad/Homepod/AppleTV conveniently? Yeah, not so much.
I must not be a "true" audiophile.
A high quality sound system will make poor quality source material sound worse. To get the most from you ML system, you need to use high quality source material. The higher quality, the better. You don't need to be "an audiophile" to tell the difference. I've demoed my ML system to a few people and they're all very impressed. None of them are audiophiles.
Also, you need to get your sound settings right. What sound settings are you using? My preferences are:
Treble -1
Mids 0
Bass 0
Fader -1 towards the rear
Surround Off
Try these, but adjust to your own ears. Everyone's hearing is different. As we get older, many people lose their high frequency hearing. These folks need to turn the treble up a bit to suit them.
Note that each input source (AM, FM, SXM, USB stick) has it's own sound settings. If you change one of them, you haven't changed the others.
The following users liked this post:
Mike728 (10-03-19)