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The new Echo Dot is going for less than $50. Couple that with a monthly subscription fee of four bucks for Amazon Music and this could be very interesting.
Wondering, though, what is the bit rate for Amazon Music. 256k?
Wondering, too, if the Echo Dot will connect to my music server via WiFi.
Will report back when the product is released (Oct. 20) and it arrives here at the ranch.
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From the website:
Bit Rate
Where possible, we encode our MP3 files using variable bit rates for optimal audio quality and file sizes, aiming at an average of 256 kilobits per second (kbps). Using a variable bit rate allows us to allocate a higher bit rate to the more complex sections of music files while using a smaller bit rate for the less complex sections. The average of these rates is then calculated to produce an average bit rate for the entire file that represents the overall sound quality. Some of our content is encoded using a constant bit rate of 256 kbps. This content will have the same excellent audio quality at a slightly larger file size.
It's probably LAME encoder with Average Bit Rate option.It's a great encoder for MP3 (which is not as good as AAC).
http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php
Edits: 10/12/16
which is 320 kbps.
Why do the marketers think we want LoFi
Happy Listening
...look at all the iTunes downloads they sold without Lossless.
That's what makes them think we don't care about fi.
Amazon wants a high volume of customers. The audiophile community is a drop in the bucket.
BTW, I have an Echo as well as a Dot on order. The Echo has been very nice for background music and is a lot of fun to use.
As most people do, who cares.
Most people who listen to music aren't audiophiles.
It makes a difference on that setup too
ET
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936
I certainly don't.
During the holidays I stack up a bunch of Christmas thrift store records on a crappy Crosley changer and let em rip. It's nice.
Of course, as soon as I get my hands on a nice Dual changer, I'm mothballing the Crosley, but the point is that for easy, no stress background music, the source (in my opinion) doesn't have to be great.
Amazon Music through the Echo is a bargain and sounds pretty decent. One of the better values in wireless speakers...even without considering all the other cool stuff it does.
I often don't care -too much- whether internet streamed music is somewhat lossy or not. When I stream from a service I'm in it for the musical enjoyment and discovery, not to dissect and overthink sound quality to death as so many audiophiles do. I'm a music lover first, an audiophool second.
That being said, I find Amazon Music App to be a joy to use especially in the car. And it sounds comparable to Spotify, and better than Pandora.
In addition to Amazon's vast library, I can also stream anything that I have previously purchased from them on CD or Vinyl, and I have purchased plenty over the past decade or so.
I use my Echo mostly for weather reports, news, traffic, stock prices, weights and measures, etc. "Alexa, play Aerosmith".
Isn't Amazon Music "free" with Amazon Prime? I'm not paying extra for Amazon Music on my Echo or through the App on my iPhone.
For more serious sit down and listen sessions, I play my own Library consisting of CD rips and hi-res music files via my Mac Mini-> DAC or Mac Mini-> Network-> microRendu-> DAC
> > Isn't Amazon Music "free" with Amazon Prime? I'm not paying extra
> > for Amazon Music on my Echo or through the App on my iPhone.
You do get a "free" music service with Amazon Prime; they say it has about 2 million songs.
The new service is $7.99 a month for existing Prime members ($9.99 if you're not a Prime member) and they say they have tens of millions of songs, broader access I believe, along with "curated" play lists (which seem all the rage these days) and some other extra features.
I'm only talking about car listening and party stuff. For audiophool sessions I'm sitting in front of whatever crazy setup I have (it morphs as I find new things to restore).
I love Amazon Music and yes, included in the whole Prime goodness. Amazon Prime is amazing. I may even try out the crazy Prime Pantry thing and never ever go to the supermarket again!
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