There are good odds for this scenario to occur , particularly if Apple and Spotify react to Amazon’s hi -res offering with their own .
Amazon is the first monster size company to offer hi-res. It’s not going to close up shop
Whether you like it or not ,Amazon’s HD offering will lead to a shakeup of the industry.
I have nothing against Amazon, I just hope it don’t end with Roon having no streaming service.
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As of last month, Qobuz has only 200K subscribers world wide, and only 25K in the USA, and they’ve been around since 2007. It appears such companies can exist with relatively few customers. Roon has a tiny customer base as well.
Hopefully Amazon will simply put downward pressure on prices affecting Deezer, Tidal on Qobuz and everyone will chug along like normal. If Qobuz can survive with such a tiny market share, one would think the Beyoncé, Jay Z, Prince and Kanye fan base, which is much greater, would be enough to keep Tidal afloat. But who knows?!
And they are terrible I read…
Deezer does not have Roon integration…
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Oh, I see, I misread the Stereophile article regarding Roon & Deezer, its just about certain hardware like VIvaldi… but the overall point remains, that if Qobuz can survive with such a minuscule market share, its hard to see them going under because of Amazon. But who knows!
Qobuz just started in the US early this year. It takes a while to get market share.
True, but if after 12 years Qobuz only has 200,000 subscribers worldwide, its seems it doesn’t take many subscribers to stay afloat, which, for me, deflates the notion of Qobuz or Tidal going out of business because of Amazon… and I doubt Amazon will ever come up with anything approaching Roon’s functionality, so I suspect Roon makes it through this ok. The same crowd that’s willing to pay Roon’s high price is certainly willing to pay extra for a music service. Or so I baselessly speculate…
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It’s not on the same level, but Amazon’s (free) app already has a lot of similar features and functionality. They are just a few tweaks away from being close enough. Roon will still have niche appeal for people with $100,000 speakers and $4000 ethernet cables, because it goes to 11. Amazon is aiming for, and educating, the masses.
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I read the same about Chromecast Audio’s optical output… same with Airport Express’ optical output… Both sound fine to me…
It might depend on how the DAC deals with stuff, like jitter.
Well if Amazon come out with new Echo speakers with optical out that goes to 192k that I can control from my phone, that might be good enough for me. Just hook directly to my Hugo 2 and done with it. Think Amazon’s search is already better than roon’s.
Edit: see they already have something called an Echo link with optical or coaxial output. Only supports up to 96k so not good enough. Also heard new products being announced Sept 25th.
Okay, but why stop there with speculation? So then what?
That could be cause to integrate Roon and the only remaining Hi-Res music streaming service in existence. Whether Roon really likes it or not.
Or Tidal and Qobuz merge. Or with Tidal gone Qobuz thrives?
I don’t believe that something with as much value as Roon would just end up on the roadside.
There are lots of possibilities and many of them aren’t bad.
Amazon is more likely to aquire a company like Roon than making integration work for Roon. I do not expect either to happen. Buuutttt BluOs is already done so maybe? Yes if it happens we may be able to save the cost of a cup of coffee each month.
Folks, let’s support the folks that have initiated hirez and made it friendly. We did not engage with Roon/Tidal/Qobuz because they were cheap but because they are better.
Most prime members dont stream much of anything and music least of all. No I am not saying Amazon will not be bigger, they are now and they just launched. I am saying Amazon will treat it like new toy and like toddlers move on to the next one pretty quick. It could easily disrupt the small inovators if their customers flee and then Amazon would have stagnated hirez for a decade, vanilla ice milk with no toppings.
Amazon will be sourcing the same hirez music files that Tidal/Quobuz do (not MQA) so it will not likely be better quality. Nor are they known for generosity, i.e. supporting artists. They have the worst quality streamers but that can change fast and a new line which is in the wings now. I do not expect to be impressed.
I have Amazon now only because I have Prime. I have used it and it works with the music you know. It does nothing helping you discover anything. Roon has opened my music experience up every time I open the app.
We are a small community which makes us unique and vulnerable. Buckle up, change is speeding up… Not all change turns out like you hope.
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My Qobuz Sublime+ subscription ends early December. So far I have purchased around 50+ Hi-Res albums that and the cost of the service is a big investment. Also the albums I wish to purchase is diminishing rapidly so the cost of Sublime+ is something that perhaps I cannot justify hence downgrading to CD quality may be the only option?. As an existing Amazon Prime member the HD service is something to consider. Having several Bluesound products gives me a head start if you will and of course cannot use Roon for Amazon HD but not having a streaming service in Roon is not a deal breaker for me. I use Roon primarily for my purchased CD, MP3 and Hi-Res files. Probably will wait for a couple of months for the dust to settle before I decide what to do.
It seems Amazon lingo is CD Quality=HD; greater than CD quality = UltraHD.
In advanced settings you can choose output quality.
Am i the only one who thinks that the omission of MQA on Amazon Music HD is a good thing?
True Highres like 192/24 needs Bandwith. Amazon has it. Me too. Qobuz, TIDAL and AppleMusic is out for me. Roon is for my own library. Amazon for finding new Music i may buy and add to my library. If there is no way to add Amazon Music HD to my Library then it could be that next year or the year thereafter Roon gets replaced with Audirvana which i too have a license for.
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Same here. Annoying as heck.
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