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.
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
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 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….
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.