The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and the 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick now support streaming music through Amazon Music HD at up to a 24 bit depth and a 192 kHz sample rate. Previously, the only Fire TV model that was capable of streaming the higher quality music was the 2nd-gen Fire TV Cube.
To stream at the improved quality, you need to have the latest version of the Amazon Music app installed, which is v3.3.581, and you need to manually enable HD audio within the app’s settings menu which can be accessed through the user icon in the upper right corner. Of course, you also need to have an Amazon Music HD subscription.
For the Fire TV Stick 4k, the device needs to be running Fire OS version 6.2.7.7 or greater and for the Fire TV Stick 3, the device needs to be running Fire OS version 7.2.2.3 or greater. Check for updates to both the OS and the Amazon Music app under Settings > My Fire TV > About. It’s unknown if other Fire TV models, such as the Fire TV Stick Lite, are also gaining support for the enhanced audio quality.
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Thanks for picking up on this. Do you know if usb audio can be enabled on the Cube?
I have the stick 4k latest version and plays 192khz but only at 16 bits, no 24 bits
Edit, after activating ultra hd audio in the app it plays at 24 bits perfectly
Yeah, the body of the text should say to enable UHD, you need to toggle the switch in settings. It’s the OS and app updates that enable support of the higher sample rates and introduce the switch.
And for clarification, the Fire TV devices will support up to the resolution of the device they’re plugged into – if it doesn’t support up to 24/192, the tracks won’t play back at that resolution
Janvier, what are you plugging the firestick into?
I have an Onkyo TX-RZ720 connected to stick 4k and a Onkyo TX-L20D connected to a 3rd generation Fire stick. Both play ultra HD up to 24-192k. I also have an older basic fire stick but only plays 16b-48k.
Use HEOS
I’m having the same issue as Javier. I updated OS and app, toggled to Ultra HD but it plays 16bit up to 192, not 24bit, despite being connected to a device with 24 bit capability. I tried restarting Fire TV 4k. No change.
Any suggestions?
Are you on FireOS 6.2.7.7 on the 4K stick, as well as 3.3.581 of the Amazon music app? Both are needed to get 24/192.
David, it doesn’t work 24 bit by default. You need to enable ultra HD audio in the Amazon Music app setting. If you have the latest version of the app v3.3.581 the ultra hd option will show next to app version in the settings. Hope that helps!
I’m running v3.3.581 and don’t see an “ultra HD option” shown next to the app version in the settings. I have the same problem as David. It’d sure be nice to know where the bottleneck is since it doesn’t seem to be on Amazon’s side of things.
I took some pictures of the 4k stick
https://i.postimg.cc/DZxhT9f7/IMG-20201230-095202.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/3N6Hy2D6/IMG-20201230-100147.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/cC6S4F6w/IMG-20201230-100227.jpg
As far as I know this works with the Fire stick 4K and fire stick 3rd generation with the latest versions of both Fire OS and Amazon Music app. I also have the stick basic edition and I can confirm that it is not capable of playing ultra HD audio.
Try changing the HDMI audio output from bitstream to pcm
I did that and there was no change for me. Still not sure if it’s a Firestick/Amazon, HiSense or Marantz AVR thing.
My HiSense, and Marantz AVR are current models. I have modern, appropriate HDMI cables. I have tried all the suggestions in this thread. Nope.
The only way that I get “documented” 24bit Amazon HD is thru my Marantz “primitive” HEOS APP.
The app is in the dark ages…but I do get the hi-Rez stream.
It’s not a problem with the HEOS app it’s a problem with Amazon Music opening their APIs to the public. Denom has clarified this many times But Amazon only allows access to Amazon curated music.
Go to your tv settings and make sure the tv input is set to pcm
I’m having the same problem with a Denon 4500 which can handle 192/24 inputs. I’ve checked and have the correct versions and have enabled HD music in the Music HD settings, however I can only get 192/16 playback.
I tried restarting the Firestick with no effect.
I’ve taken the same steps as you with my Denon 3500 with the same results.
Have all the updates. Stick is connected to a Denon X4700H. I can only stream 16-bit/192kHz. What can I do to get the 24-bit?
After corresponding with Denon, apparently their take is that you can’t get 24 bit because you can’t get 24 bit.
Help! Both Firestick 4K and app have appropriate updates listed above running HDMI ARC to Klipsch Fives which are 24bit/192 capable. Insignia TV- tried both “pass through” and stereo PCM setting and still get “device capability “listed as 16/44 when playing HD and Ultra HDtracks— app setting is set to “Ultra”
Is the TV the bottleneck “device”?? Thanks !
Same for me – my cube goes straight into my amp and shows 24/192, while my 4K fire stick plugged into my year old Samsung Tv shows 16/48.
I’m curious how one “carries” 24-94;or 24-192 to your DAC from a firestick? Toslink can’t carry that stream. Directly into a reciever with hdmi input? Your receiver is doing the conversion?
Thanks for your insight.
Well, given the fire stick only has an hdmi connection, yes it’s directly into my receiver with hdmi input. Also, coax and optical can now carry 24/192
I have the same problem , I have two 4K Firestick with both the app and the Firesticks set to the correct levels and settings, my device is a Denon 4500 well capable of playing these rates and yet it doesn’t, 16 bit max, what’s going on here? Has anyone solved this or do I move to another music streamer that does this without issue ?
I have a Denon AVR-S750H and am not getting 24/192 from Fire Stick Gen 3.
I submitted a help ticket to Denon North America. After a couple of weeks of back and forth, this is their response. The ticket says “completed” now so I am unsure if it is in Amazon’s or Denon’s court to finally resolve:
“Good news. My Engineering team confirmed the issue with their 4K Firestick and an LG panel. They also tested with a Sony KJ-55A9F and got the same result. They confirmed that the TV’s EDID is causing the Firestick to not detect and output the proper bit rate info when going through the AVR. As I mentioned previously, this has to do with the EDID negotiation between the display, AVR and Firestick.
At this point, they’re going to investigate further to see what can be done. My guess is, if we can address it in the AVR with firmware a fix would be released during the next firmware cycle in a few months…
… EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) is info that the TV spits out every 3 seconds to the other devices. It typically includes model info, resolution info, which audio codecs it can handle, etc. The Firestick (and other sources) need to negotiate (authenticate) this data from the TV every 3 seconds. The data can be altered or lost when going through an *HDMI repeating device like an AVR, so the Firestick then can’t authenticate all the data properly. *HDMI repeating device is any device that accepts HDMI audio and video. It then strips the audio for processing and repeats the video out to the display. Usually the source or TV manufacturer has to address this with firmware, but my Engineering team is looking into what can be done from our standpoint.
Thanks,
Denon NA
Yeah Chuck. I have the same exact thing going on:
FireStick 4K (firmware update last week) plugged into my Marantz SR6015 via HDMI. 65” Hisense H9G connected to AVR via HDMI, ARC enabled. Pretty frustrating because everything is new and up to date, except my streaming playback! LOL!
Not comprehending why you would want to send the bitstream back to the AVR via the television?? Use the small HDMI extension dongle and connect the Firestick directly into one of the HDCP 2.2+ compliant HDMI in jacks on the Marantz. Wouldn’t want a Hisense playing with bass management or any other codec decryption. Don’t care if you select passthrough on the Hisense, it’s interfereing with the signal. Let the Marantz do it’s thing and as a side benefit you’ll decode the FLAC files as 24/196.
Works perfectly after following your suggestion. Bypassing the TV allows for 24 bit processing.
I had a similar problem with my new Firestick. However once I started using Denon’s HEOS app to play/open Amazon HD tracks (instead of playing tracks using only the on-screen Firestick app), that it immediately began playing tracks at the highest resolutions. At 24 bit etc.
Yeah, but that has an abysmal interface and you can’t access your library nor personal playlists. The search doesn’t even find everything that you can clearly see on the Amazon music app.
Yes…my excitement of having the Hi-Rez files playing on my system quickly wained as I realized how lacking the HEOS App is as an interface to manage and play the music.
That’s very interesting. It clearly says that the Firestick is the problem, not the Denon and not Amazon Music HD.
Unfortunately, as Brantome points out, the HEOS interface is pathetic.
Looking at this a bit more, I think what’s happening is that the HEOS app is directly sending the Amazon Music HD data as a FLAC stream to the Denon. Looking at the Audio Information in the Denon Setup menu, it says FLAC when using HEOS. However, when getting input from the Firestick, it says PCM with 192 sampling rate.
I think what’s going on is that HEOS just sends the file without interpretation, but Firestick does the decoding to digital and for some reason is only sending 16 bits.
I am having these same 24 bit problems. I have the latest software updates on app and Firestick. I have the stick plugged directly into Anthem 1120 with LG OLED vid. down stream. Thinking the culprit is the LG I tried to remove the LG from the stream by turning it off but that does work as I lose audio also. I though I may try and plug stick into the Oppo 205 and turning on Pure audio but I read that it still sends a video signal in a black screen… So that’s not going to work. I could go into Anthem setup and change the Firestick parameters not to send video but that not the answer I want. This is just a PIA just to enable a simple feature!
Found a fix for Amazon Music HD app not doing 24 bit . My set up is Fire TV 4K stick connected to Denon AVR ,Denon AVR connected to LG TV .
Culprit is the Amazon Music HD app version 3.3.581.0.
There is no direct way to downgrade the Amazon Music HD app version to 3.2.148.0
I tried the following convoluted steps to downgrade the Amazon Music HD app and it fixed the 24bit streaming issues
1)Reset Fire TV to factory defaults .Yes , you need to do all the setups again
2)After reset . Fire TV will automatically update the Fire OS to 6.2.7.7 . This is fine
3)Go to Settings – Applications – Appstore and disable automatic application updates
4)Launch Amazon music HD , if it prompts for update , choose ignore update and launch it.
5)Enable ultra hd streaming in the Amazon Music hd app.
6)Ensure the Amazon Music hd app is 3.2.148.0
7)Enjoy 24bit streaming . I hope Amazon fixes this issue in next update
I will give this a try and see if it works thanks!
It worked as far as it will now do up to 24-bit/48kHz. Even though the track quality may be 24-bit/96kHz or even 192kHz. But I guess 24-bit/48kHz is still steps better than the 16-bit/192kHz I get with the updated app. Thanks.
I just did the setup following Kris’s instructions. Ok, what I have now when I check playback according to my Anthem it is playing the Ultra HD Beatles Abby Road 2.0, in Dolby Digital Plus? @ 48Khz. What I dont understand on the readout it shows under sample/bit rate 48Khz 32kbps?…32kbps??? what’s that all about? I thought kbps was internet speed? The Abby Road remastered sounds great but I am the type that wants to know exactly what I’m getting and I don’t!
I’m having the same problem with my Marantz I only get 48 kHz 24-bit through the Amazon Music app and the fire TV stick connected directly into my Marantz preamp. With the HEOS app I get one 192/24. I will continue trying to do this but honestly if you read the posts from all the audio mastering engineers on the audio forums they’ll tell you you can’t hear anything above 48 kHz 24-bit anyway and even that is almost impossible to hear from most people specially when you’re over 50 like me. The only thing you’re really doing is lowering the noise floor and at any reasonable volume you’ll never notice the difference. I’ve tried playing the music through the HEOS and the Fire TV and no one can tell the difference.
I have the exact equipment and predictably same problem as you (Anthem 1120 and LG OLED). I guess the only way to get the best quality is to use the Play-Fi that comes native with the Anthem 1120. The only problem with that is Play-Fi is less than stable.
I have gave up on the Firestick … on my main system with the Anthem I have a hard wired Acer laptop with a HDMI output into the Anthem and the Amazon HD works great that way. I got my hands on a Klipsch Gate and use it on another system for music out on the back deck. I have that attached to a dedicated NAD avr and play Amazon HD and control it with the Play-Fi app on my phone. It also connects wirelessly to my main PC for my music collection stored there. The Play-Fi on my PC and on the Klipsch Gate have been very stable
I have the latest version of Amazon Music, version 3.3.620.0. Still no 24 bit with my Denon!
Denon North America Support got back to me today with their engineers’ look into the issue. Pls read below. Just wish someone would tell me how to contact Amazon engineers so we could get this fix taken care of !!
Denon NA Support said “I received a response from my Engineering team and unfortunately nothing can be done from the AVR side to correct this. Engineering determined that this correction needs to be made by Amazon via an update to the Firestick.
We checked this behavior and found that this is Amazon Fire Stick 4K’s EDID confirmation issue, not AVR.
Confirmation Result:
When shows EDID audio capability to Fire Stick: 2ch 24bit, => It becomes 24bit,
When shows EDID audio capability to Fire Stick: Multi ch 24bit, => it becomes 16bit,
Fire Stick should output 24bit if the capability is more than 2 ch when 24bit capability is showed by AVR.
At this point, they recommend contacting Amazon Support to report this issue in the hopes that their Engineering team can duplicate the problem and correct it.
Thanks,
Greg
Denon NA “
Hey Guys,
same issue over here. Did you already get in touch with Amazon?
Cheers Michael
No one holding their breath at my house… spent quite a bit of time on phone with a CS rep who was nice, but not an audiophile. Not sure what location I was talking too, she was very polite and always addressed me as “Sir Charles” during our call :)
“Hello Charles,
Your question will be best handled by Fire TV Customer Support. I’ve relayed your problem to our specialists team and you should expect a response within 24-48 hours
You can reach Fire TV Customer Support by phone directly and toll free from many countries by clicking the Contact Us option on the support pages”
I once talked to the German customer support about 24 bit streaming on a 2nd gen stick. They had absolutely no clue what I was talking about. I finally gave up, had no chance to talk to a techie. However if you have any news on this, please let me know.
I’ve tried stereo, direct, and multi-channel stereo. They all only support 16 bit on my Denon 4500.
When I talked to Denon support they basically gave up.
My 4500 will support 192/ 24 but but only if the track is launched using HEOS . Also not all tracks are streamed at this rate so finding one is a bit of a challenge!
This forum was very helpful. Thanks. I tried both the fire stick and fire stick lite connected to an Onkyo Rz 730 AVR via the HDMI / ARC on a TCL 6 Series TV. The fire stick passes thru 24 / 192. The fire stick lite capped out at 24 / 48. FYI.
I agree, very helpful! Same deal here, only stream @ 16/192 with Marantz SR7008 (another D&M products like Denon). Using Firestick 4K plugged into HDMI port on AVR. Monitor is an older Samsung plasma. When I plug the Firestick directly into TV shows Device capability: 24/192. Digital out on Samsung is limited to 16/48 DD 2.0 returning to AVR. Tried to “trick the stick” by running through Oppo HDMI pass through…denied, still sees the Marantz. In the mean time I’ve rolled back the version per Kris’s instructions for 24-bit playback. Thanks for that idea.
I was using the Bluesound Node 2i with the Amazon HD music. The AVR would track whatever the incoming track quality was perfectly. The user interface was abysmal so I returned it…plus, it’s like $500 more than the stick!
Just hoping for a fix
On a side note, Amazon Music version is updating overnight even with Appstore>Auotmatic updates turned off. What a pisser
I just did the setup following Kris’s instructions. Ok, what I have now when I check playback according to my Anthem it is playing the Ultra HD Beatles Abby Road 2.0, in Dolby Digital Plus? @ 48Khz. What I dont understand on the readout it shows under sample/bit rate 48Khz 32kbps?…32kbps??? what’s that all about? I thought kbps was internet speed? The Abby Road remastered sounds great but I am the type that wants to know exactly what I’m getting and I don’t!
My Marantz 8015 also only plays 16 bit 192 khz with 4k stick.
But my Yamaha plays 24 bit 192 khz with same stick.
So i think its a Denon Marantz problem
Ah….I am having the same issues as everyone above. New HiSense TV, Marantz SR6015, 4K Firestick plugged into an HDMI port on the AVR. Only get 16bit 192khz, too. Firmware’s and settings all correct… Funny…I have a little Yamaha RX-V385 4K that I am selling. I bet that the would run 24bit 192khz just fine, too. (I am not about to spend the time finding out! ). I bought the Marantz so that I would have more power, etc. …but that little Yamaha has a much better user interface…etc, etc, etc!!! ….than the Marantz.
Damn this sucks!!, LOL!
I’ve got the same issue with a Sony receiver and a Samsung J5200 TV.
4K Firestick Ultra HD limited to 16bit 192kHz
I’m sure the issue has to do with the way Audio Capability is reported to the sending device. Typically audio capability is counterintuitively limited to that of the TV instead of the receiver.
I imagine that folks with nicer/newer TVs are not having this issue. I wonder if turning off or unplugging my TV would “fix” the issue, but that is not a real solution. I can check the signal received by the receiver and see if it changes, but the audio quality would revert every time I turned the TV back on.
I discovered this issue when sending HD audio from my computer to my receiver. I have a dedicated HDMI audio out hooked up to my computer that sends full 24bit 192kHz. And I use a separate display port for my two monitors.
My audio worked great (24bit 192kHz) until I turned on my TV connected to my receiver, and then it would take a nosedive.
Luckily, in that case, I had a separate surround sound receiver connected to my TV, and I rarely wanted to see video from my computer/receiver on that TV. I could disconnect the HDMI from the TV if I wanted to have the TV on/muted but listen to audio from the computer.
This worked out fine for me because it was both rare that I would want to see video from the receiver on that TV, and also rare that I wanted to listen to audio from the computer and have the TV on at the same time, so I rarely had to change the state of the HDMI cable regardless of how it was currently connected.
Obviously, this is a kink that the industry needs to work out.
I just gave up on using the Firestick Ultra for Amazon Music HD. I have an older Acer laptop (Windows 10) with HDMI out and installed the Amazon Music HD app on it. I have it plugged into my Anthem 1120 I now have 24bit 192kHz if it is available and control the amp with its app on my phone.
I have resigned myself to the fact that I will settle for using the Amazon interface @ 44.1 kHz for exploring new music, easy listening, playlists, etc… and if I want to sit down and pay attention I can go into Amazon Music thru HEOS and play the larger files that I have found while exploring. Very disappointing with all this incredible gear, but at some point I just had to end the insanity. LOL! So close….yet….
Good idea! Not worth the effort. I bet you with a blind Sound test you will never be able to tell the difference between 44K/16 bit audio and 96K/24Bit. I have a SACD player for years and cannot tell the difference. Maybe when I was a kid I could tell but my 50+ yard old ears dont stand a chance
I just looked up and noticed my Device Capability:24-bit/192KHz!!!
WTF?!!! Fire TV Stick 4K software version 6.2.7.7/3033, same as far as I remember. Amazon Music Version 3.3.664.0, also the same.
So…everything is the same, and then it just started working? Whatever!!
Got the stick plugged directly into HDMI input on Marantz SR7008.
Hope everyone else has the same experience.
Peace and love
Hey Scott…….I have been following this thread over the past few days…and I am happy for you…I do not know if you are aware that Amazon is doing a big update of FireWire devices over the last week. I am familiar with my 4K FireStick situation. It is supposed to update from version 6.2.7.7 to version 6.2.8.0, I had a weird experience. I saw that I had the old version when I check my firmware…so …I clicked look for updates. It found one and loaded it…and it was still showing 6.2.7.7????? (Yes, I did a restart)…and of course I was hoping that the update would fix the Amazon Music Ultra HD streaming problem to my SR6015…but nothing changed for me. Also, Amazon states that your device with receive an update when it gets one like they are rolling this out randomly and slowly or something. NO WHERE could I find data that would tell me what the update fixes or changes….so…I think that your experience has something to do with this firmware change…but since you are not showing 6.2.7.7 to version 6.2.8.0, update…that is a bit odd, too?!?! Thanks for posting the info…it leaves me hopeful!
Hi Bob,
After I saw your reply I went in and checked what the Marantz was reporting…48KHz DD+. Damn it!!
I saw the update you spoke of and tried it. Same results as you, except, Device capability back to 16-bit. April fools on us, eh?
I’ll keep checking for the actual update. Thanks for the info.
Fingers crossed
OK…yeah…hmmmm….so you are confusing me…I am going by the Amazon Music screen read out.
I don’t have it in front of me…but if I am listening to Ultra HD it says something like:
File size: 24bit/196khz
Device Capability: 16bit/196khz
Playing: 16bit/196khz
Are you reading the video specs for Dolby Digital or something or are you saying that the music file is only playing at 48khz size??? Why would the Amazon music page be wrong?
Sometimes this is a little overwhelming! LOL!
I had the same issue, fire stick 4k would only output in dd+ 48khz, as long as the audio settings were „best match“. It even output stereo songs as 5.1, with only the left and right channels active, so the receiver couldn’t do any upmixing. With the latest fire tv update, i see an option for PCM in system audio settings, which was not there before. Enabling this, it now outputs decoded PCM multichannel, always at 192 kHz. Which is not ideal, since it is doing some upsampling, but 192 is a multiple of 48, so am not too worried about that, though it is in no way bit perfect.
As far as Denon support blaming the problem on LG due to EDID mismatch, i find that hard to believe. If i turn off my denon X4200, then HDMI passthrough to the LG oled tv kicks in, and „Device Capability“ in Amazon Music suddenly becomes 24/192kHz while playing through the tv speakers. If i turn the Denon back on, the capability switches to 16/192. have a sony tv lying around, might try it out, but i doubt i will get 24bit from the Denon. Funny enough, there is no way for me to check the audio resolution of incoming signals, only the sampling frequency is shown. Video Information shows the bit depth.
This reply is to vValentin (your comment has no “reply” link??? Every other comment does? So…I am relying to myself and hope that you see this. LOL!)
YES…I went into the FireStick sound preferences and changed the surround sound to PCM, but to no avail. I am still only playing at 16bit thru my Marantz. I have a HiSense TV …so I think that Denon support’s explanation about your LG is bunk! Plus, someone here had a Denon with the same problem as us and they switched to their Onkyo and the were able to get full HD hi-res at 24 bit.
That was a SMART of you to use bypass to test the TV! So…my only question is how did the 24/196 signal sound thru this TV speakers? Did they realize their full potential!
Oh yeah, those 5W speakers were blasting 24bits in all their glory!
Yes, it’s weird how I don’t have a reply button. Just have to accept that the Denon/Marantz models don’t get 24Bits, and hope that at least 24 Bit DTS MA and Dolby TrueHD from blurays don’t get downconverted to 16 bit audio. It even says on the front, AL24 advanced processing or some such, but alas…
I have a Denon AVR-750h and I could only get up to 16-bit / 192 kHz from my Fire stick 4k directly plugged into it with the most recent updates as of 4/13/01. Then I thought I would try my Onkyo TX-SR393 and BOOM I have up to 24-bit / 192 kHz. Playing Amazon HD directly from the their app is so much better than using it with the HEOS app. Let me know if you have any questions.
Well… I have a Marantz SR6015 with a just-updated 4K FireStick plugged into an HDMI port….and I am only getting 16bit when I attempt to play Amazon music thru it. Yes…I have ultra HD checked in the Amazon Music app… Not sure what the problem is? Denon and Marantz? I will take my Marantz any day of the week compared to that Onkyo piece of crap that I threw in the dumpster 2 months ago. The chip was fried and unfixable!
I’m new to audio visual technology and still on the precipitous part of the learning curve so I’m not adding anything new to this thread but I am encouraged to read that I’m not alone in experiencing the frustration of having Amazon music HD erroneously indicate that when streaming 24-bit / 192 kHz music that my device capability is only 16-bit / 192 kHz.
My set-up is:
Denon AVRX3600H
Firestick 4k connected to HDMI in #5 media player
Denon software version 2100-5224-2161-3085, DTS version3.90.50.54
Firestick software version 2.2.8.0 (NS6280/3233), home version 6311085.1
Amazon music version 3.3.739.0
I believe, but I’m not sure how to verify it, that when I stream music via HEOS that the 24-bit / 192 kHz capability is achieved.
I look forward to hearing that this issue has been resolved.
Allan…when I stream Amazon HD music via HEOS and have my TV on (obviously, I can stream with the TV off), The TV screen shows a picture of the CD and gives me the scan rate and bit depth that is currently streaming. Lots of the music that I listen to that way is 24 bit depth…according to the screen. A lot is 16/44 tho, too….
I do not know if there is an info panel that I can access thru/from my AVR that will give that info though. Is that what you are looking for…something outside the app to confirm the streaming rate/info?
On my Denon AVR remote there is an “Info” button that displays on my TV the quality of the input and output sound. See if you have an info option either on the remote or in the AVR setup software.
Hi Allan, my system is identical to yours – including software versions – and I too am limited to 16 bit. Playing via HEOS I get the full panoply up to and including 24 bit. My conclusion is that it’s a software handshake problem between the Denon AVR-X3600H and the Fire Stick 4k which may get sorted at some stage. However, the clunky HEOS app clearly plays correctly, which supports that the problem is not a hardware issue. None of this is spoiling my enjoyment of the music!
Hi Stephen, like you I’m enjoying the music despite being compelled to stream at the best available quality, which at the moment means using the HEOS app. I only recently subscribed to Amazon music HD and I’m now on a nostalgia trip rediscovering albums I’d all but forgotten.
I find forums such as this extremely helpful, it’s good to know when you’re not alone in experiencing a problem and also to discover alternative ways of doing something. A case in point being the option to set-up speakers manually (I’d used Audyssey before). This would never have occurred to me and I’d have missed out on a significant improvement in music and cinema sound quality.
Bob – thanks for taking the time to reply. I do sometimes use the TV to view the HEOS download info but from memory (my wife is watching TV at the moment) I thought the streaming info related to the input and not the actual sampling rate of the output. Although my hearing is well past it’s optimum I do believe I can tell that the HEOS sound quality is superior to that experienced with the Firestick but it would be nice to have this confirmed.
Allan…This is good…you are making me pay closer attention to what I am doing! LOL! OK…so yes…that TV screen matches my HEOS screen on my iPad… In the upper right corner HEOS includes the Amazon logo so that we know the source, and the upper left gives the “Now Playing” with the CURRENT scan freq. and bit rate…I think that that is valid info as HEOS as primitive as it is, is a Marantz/Denon proprietary software…so I bet the tech data is right.
HEOS is just so frustrating…that search engine is terrible…etc……but…it does work and it is free…
I think that it will take a little time for the streaming “players” (Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon), and the gear providers to start playing better together….It’s coming….It is the wave of the future….
Bob, thanks again for the reply. I see that the HEOS TV image includes the “Now playing” information but was unsure whether this referred to input or output. At least the Firestick data is unambiguous in that it clearly states track quality, device capability and currently playing at.
Fire TV Stick 4k will not play Amazon Music Ultra HD, regardless of it showing Ultra HD. The info shows that it only plays at 16 bit and says it is limited by the device, which is Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4k.
IMO, it is pretty sleazy for Amazon to sell and promote Ultra HD when their own, most popular 4k device can’t even play it. That should be a crime!
Only Fire TV Cube and regular Fire TV Stick, which is 3rd Gen but not 4k, can play Ultra HD. The 4k Fire Stick has not been updated since 2018.
IOW, unless you pay more than twice the price and buy a Cube, Amazon Music Ultra HD is a worthless and IMO, is essentially fraudulent by Amazon because they do not reveal this critical information.
It’s not limited by the fire tv 4K stick but the device you have it plugged in to. My 4K stick plays up to 24/192 when plugged into my amp, but only 16/48 when plugged into my tv. Others have reported UHD support on the 4k stick too.
Thanks so much now getting 24bit/192khz on my Onkyo txnr777 from my fire 4k stick with ultra HD subscription.
First, my 4K Firestick arrives today. Never had one before. I bought it hoping it would fix my problem using Amazon Music on my iphone to cast to my avr. Unfortunately when doing that, many, many songs skip to the next when under 30 seconds to go.
I don’t know how the Firestick interface works. Can I control it from my phone? Is the Amazon Music app you are referring to on my phone or the Firestick?
What I’ve gathered from the later posts is the major problem is that, even when connected to an AVR, the Firestick downgrades the music to fit the TV. I would imagine many of us play our music thru our HT speakers. Anyone tried disconnecting the TV?
I have Marantz gear…so the only work around I have found is to open HEOS (a primitive interface at best), then I open Amazon Music thru HEOS and I get all hi-def playback. What sucks is that I have to use my HEOS interface to interact with the extensive Amazon music library and it just does not have the fluid experience of the Amazon Music Menues and Playlists.
I have gotten use to it, though.
It also doesn’t give access to your Amazon music playlists, and I’m not convinced the HEOS app search actually finds all matches. It really is a dire app. Try plugging your fire tv stick into the avr and use hdmi out to show the fire tv stick video on your tv – that’s what I do to get full 24/192 playback using the stick’s music app.
Oh..the search engine on HEOS SUCKS! LOL! Is finds very few Amazon playlists. Also…if you do not have an EXACT spelling, name etc. It finds NOTHING. It’s really BAD!
I have learned to search on the Web first, and after I can plug careful specifics into HEOS.
I do have my Firestick 4K completely updated and plugged into an HDMI on my Marantz SR6015 AVR.
When I pull-up Amazon music and play off my HiSense TV Amazon Music App. I only get CD quality…but nothing above.
Yeah, not surprised the Amazon music app on a TV doesn’t do HD/UHD – it’s taken Amazon long enough to update the app on their own kit…
You can’t control the fire tv music app from your phone. I think the iphone/android app only lets you cast to alexa speakers and chromecast (not HD/ultraHD). I hope they add the option to cast to fire tv someday.
You need to have the tv on
I can cast from my Amazon Music app on iOS and Android to the latest gen fire tv stick, but strangely not to my 4K stick nor cube. However, I have my cube in a multi room music group with an echo which I mute and can cast to that group to play on my cube.
The Amazon Music app is on the fire tv stick and you’d normally use its remote or Alexa to control music playback. The fire tv will deliver a stream up to the capabilities of the device it’s normally connected to I.e. your tv, and has no idea what else you might have connected to the tv. If your tv HDMI input reports back it can support up to 24/192, that’s what the fire stick will deliver. However, if you then use, for example, an optical output from your tv to the amp that only supports, say 24/48, that’s what your tv will deliver to your avr.
Alternatively, you could plug the fire tv stick straight into an hdmi port on your avr which does support 24/192 (and use hdmi out to forward the fire tv video to the tv), in which case you hopefully should get 24/192.
If you use the Amazon music phone app to cast to the fire tv, you’ll not get full HD/UHD, just SD at best afaics.
As I mentioned in an earlier post I have the following set-up:
Denon AVRX3600H
Firestick 4k connected to HDMI in #5 media player
Denon software version 2100-5224-2161-3085, DTS version3.90.50.54
Firestick software version 2.2.8.0 (NS6280/3233), home version 6311085.1
Amazon music version 3.3.739.0
Although I can achieve 24/192 using HEOS I only ever get 16/192 with the Firestick
That’s why I said ‘hopefully’, I’m aware some AVRs have issues. I do get 24/192 using my Linn MDSM/4 as described
I am on the exact same page as you, but with a modern Marantz AVR. SR6015.
I an only achieve CD quality.
I can only get full hi-def playback thru HEOS!.
I’m playing Ultra HD Pop and track quality is 24/48. That doesn’t sound right for UHD. My Denon says sit is receiving Stereo PCM. I did choose PCM in the A Music app. Was that the right setting.
What should the setting be?
I meant to write 24/44.1. The audio info displayed in the lower left is:
Track Quality-Is this the the quality of the recording?
Device Capability-Is this referring to my AVR or my TV?
Currently Playing at: Is this what A. Music is sending to my AVR?s
What do the two figures in track quality? Can you have UHD with 24/44.1?
Track quality is the source quality, device capability is what the device the fire tv is connected to can support as previously mentioned (so your tv if that’s what the device is plugged into -it won’t know you have an avr unless it’s plugged directly into that) and currently playing can be anything from SD quality up to device capability, depending on network performance and other factors.
You mean the FS knows it is plugged into an AVR and that will determine device capability? My FS is plugged directly into my AVR.
It doesn’t know it’s an AVR or a TV or whatever, but by dint of the HDMI protocol, it can ask the device about its capabilities in terms of the audio and video resolutions that is can support, and consequently send it something it can handle. My point was it doesn’t know what’s at the end of the chain of devices, just the one it’s directly connected to.
Excellent. That’s the way it should work.
According to the Amazon music hd faq, HD is 16bit , say 16/44.1, while UHD is 24bit, anything from, say, 24/48 up to 24/192.
Thanks Brantome. I wonder if PCM is the right setting?
I have mine set to PCM given I’m just using a stereo digital amp, so I guess that or Best Available would do for an avr.
Also, make sure you have UHD selected in the fire tv stick Amazon music app settings
Thanks. In the FS OS there are selections for
1) Best Available
2) PCM
3) Dolby Digital +
4) Dolby Digital
When is select 1 or 2, same results. Only my L, R, and SW are used. If I select 3, all my speakers become involved and I have an Atmos system. Number 3 is best for me.
I’m not sure I’ve encountered a song above 44.1 even in the UHD playlists. Anyone know of one above the 44.1?
Couple of questions: 1) Does the FS ever power off? The power button on the remote powers off the TV. If I switch to watching TV, it seems like the FS will continue streaming. 2). I’ve yet to find a use for the hamburger button on the right, just below the wheel. What is it used for?
Thank you.
https://www.firesticktricks.com/turn-off.html
The menu button is used on some screens for more options e.g. when you show notifications, the menu button offers you the choice to delete , delete all etc
Interesting thread. I have the same problem with my new McIntosh MX123 preamp – and I’m using the newest Cube! Only 16-bit but up to 192 kHz sampling with Amazon music HD. Also can’t get Dolby Atmos tracks recognized. Works fine with Tidal Atmos tracks. Come on Amazon!
Support of Dolby Atmos tracks was only released two days ago for iOS and android but there’s no sign of it yet on fire tv devices.
I have the same setup, MX123 with a FireStick 4K Max and I cannot get it to recognize above 16-bit device capability (despite there being 32-bit actual support). It also lists Dolby Vision as not being supported under Audio Visual Diagnostics, do you see the same? Sounds like we need to report it to Amazon and hope for a fix…
I’m going to guess this is an issue with the ‘handshake’ between firestick 4k and av amps.
I have a pioneer vsx 1131 avr which carried the same issue with the fieestick, showing ‘device capability 16/192.
I have just bought a Denon 3700 avr to replace pioneer and same issue, showing 16/192 capability.
However, if I take the firestick 4k out of the amp and put into a hdmi socket on my lg cx, it feeds back to the denon avr as ‘device capability 24/192’.
Suggests to me it’s the firestick.
I’ve been searching for info on this for a few weeks now.
Set up:
4K FS – Dolby Digital Plus setting
Yamaha TSR-700 5.1 config
65in Samnsung
Amazon Music UHD
While I was getting 24bit/192khz since the purchase of the receiver earlier this year, only when I updated the firmware on the Yamaha about 2 weeks ago did it stop showing up as 24bit and now reads as 16bit/192khz. Rather frustrating. I have tried all HDMI ports, I have reset the Firestick, reset the firmware to the receiver with no luck. Playing through the TV it does show as 24bit/192khz, I switch back to the receiver output and it reverts to 16bit/192khz.
At this point I blame the firmware update and question whether I should be investing this much time for a number on my screen. Of course I should! Something isn’t working as it should!
I have the same issue with Yamaha RX-A4A.
I reached out to Yamaha support, they blamed it on the FS.
If you could reach out to them and see if they can fix this bug in their firmware. supportreply@yamaha.com
They did inform me that Yamaha Japan has been made aware of the issue. If more people contact them, it might drive them to push an update sooner than later.
FIX!!! Like all of you, I’ve had the same annoying issue. 16 bit only. I have a Hisense 4K TV,a Denon 1500h Receiver and a Firestick 4k max. All fully capable of 24 bit. After spending an entire afternoon, fiddling with every switch combination, I finally had success getting the 24 bit to work. I hope this solves your problem too. I originally had my Firestick plugged directly into an HDMI port on my receiver. I took that out and plugged the Firestick directly into an HDMI port on my TV. The TV is connected via ARC to the receiver. And, voila! 24bit on the Amazon Music App. I hope this helps someone else out there. And thank-you for all of your tips, as it was a combination of all of what I read on this post that helped me as well. PS. I also had a heck of a time getting 4k to work on some apps. Turns out the my HDMI cable was old and inadequate. I bought a 8k HDMI cable and now no problems. Cheers!
Perhaps this excerpt will help you sleep better at night lol:
A little background—since the 1980s, the reference standard has been the audio CD, which uses 16-bit, 44.1kHz audio. This format provides 96dB of dynamic range and covers the frequency range of 20Hz – 20kHz— basically matching the range of human hearing. Dynamic range is simply the difference in the volume of the softest to loudest musical moments. The dynamic range of classical music rarely goes beyond 60dB while pop music may have as little as 12dB of dynamic range. Traditional analog audio systems like tape and vinyl provide a maximum of about 70- 80dB of dynamic range. FM radio provides about 50dB.
The HD and Ultra HD formats provide up to 24-bit, 192kHz audio. 24-bit digital audio provides 144dB of dynamic range, though no analog system can reproduce anywhere near that. A sampling rate of 192kHz provides a frequency response that reaches up to over 90kHz, while the human hearing range tops off nearly two octaves below, at about 20kHz. We can see that while HD and Ultra HD formats do provide more audio bandwidth, the 16-bit, 44.1kHz audio CD standard provides both dynamic range and frequency response that surpasses human hearing
I complete understand your POV, however I believe you should try to understand everyone else’s as well else’s POV as well. While you are technically correct there are some aspects that you are overlooking such as, this isn’t binary, but rather a spectrum. There are some individuals who can and do hear a difference when audio is played back at 16bit vs 24bit. I being one of them, I don’t need the UHD status on the screen to tell me so. More often than not, AMHD will play at 16bit when the music should be playing at a higher bitrate and I’ll think to myself, well this doesn’t sound just right, I go and look and yes, it is playing at a lower bit rate. So coming on here and trying to convince folks that they are wasting their time trying to listen to an audio format higher than 16bit is pointless, regardless of whether it’s a placebo, or factual. It’s called having a preference and I as well as other prefer a higher bit rate, that’s our preference and it needs to be respected and its the driving reason why this post even exists..
Well said :)
It’s been 14 months, and now it FINALLY works on my Denon AVR-S750H. Yesterday my Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen) updated to Fire OS 7.2.7.3 and Amazon Music ver 3.4.301.0 says I have 24-bit / 192kHz device capability. I checked, and my Denon firmware is the same it has always been (ends in -3085).
Confirmed. Since the latest updates my Stick plays 192/24 on my Denon.
Just got firestick 4k max. Updated to is 7.2.5.5 and says it’s up to date. Still no 24 bit capability using my denon avrx6700h
Thanks for alerting me to this update. Just checked and I can confirm that device capability is now showing 24 bit 192 KHz. For info I have:
Denon AVRX3600H
Firestick 4k connected to HDMI in #5 media player
What os does your firestick show after latest update? Thanks
Software Version OS GB 6.2.8.7 (NS6287/3768)
Fire TV Home Version 6350077.1
Great news!
The OS version Chuck is quoting is significantly different to mine (I’m in the UK) but nevertheless my Firestick/Amazon Music now indicates a device capability of 24/192 whereas it only showed 16/192 the last time I used it a few weeks ago. Is it possible that improvement is due to some factor other than software OS? Regardless, I’m thankful that 24 bit is no longer limited to HEOS.
When it first came out on the cube, it was the amazon music app version that triggered it for me afaicr
Only after my 4K Max upgraded from 7.2.5.5 (PS7255/2465)to 7.2.5.5 (PS7255/2466)was able to upgrade to Fire OS 7.2.7.3. I now have 24/192 on my Denon.
Congratulations!