Subscribers to Amazon Music’s Unlimited tier can now stream music mixed in spatial audio on more devices, without special equipment needed.
Customers can stream music mixed in Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos on their iOS and Android devices with their existing headphones, as well as select devices that support Alexa Cast.
Spatial audio, which was originally introduced to Amazon Music customers is 2019, puts the listener inside the music, with an immersive and multidimensional audio experience.
“We’ve always believed that the highest-quality audio possible should be the norm for streaming music, and that’s why today, we’re making spatial audio available to our customers without any special equipment needed, and no upgrade required,” said Steve Boom, vice president of Amazon Music.
“We can’t wait for even more fans around the world to be able to hear the vibrancy and nuance of music in spatial audio with just their favourite headphones and discover new details in the albums they love for the very first time.”
Amazon Music subscribers can now hear brand new albums in spatial audio, including Remi Wolf’s debut album ‘Juno’, FINNEAS’ recently released album ‘Optimist’, and Rüfüs Du Sol’s fourth album ‘Surrender’. Alicia Keys’ full catalogue is also now available in 360 Reality Audio. In November, Amazon Music will exclusively release ‘Mercury – Act 1 (Amazon Music Live)’, a brand new EP from Imagine Dragons, mixed in Dolby Atmos.
As well as being able to listen to spatial audio through their existing headphones, customers can also stream with Alexa Cast on selected devices, including the Echo Studio. Other devices that support 360 Reality Audio with Alexa Cast include Sony’s SRS-RA5000 or SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers, and home theatre systems such as HT-A9, HT-A7000, or HT-A5000.
Later this year, customers will also be able to hear music mixed in Dolby Atmos on the Sonos Arc and Beam soundbars when streaming Amazon Music from the Sonos app.
Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers with an Individual, Family, or Student Plan will now automatically have access to spatial audio and to HD and Ultra HD music at no extra cost without having to upgrade. This access was previously only available as a separate tier of streaming, but the company has now given all subscribers the ability to stream music in the highest-quality streaming audio.
Amazon Music Unlimited customers can stream more than 75 million lossless, HD songs with a bit depth of 16 bits and a sample rate of at least 44.1 kHz (CD quality). Customers can also stream more than 7 million songs in Ultra HD, with a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate up to 192 kHz. The selection of Ultra HD songs from Amazon Music has tripled since the format was introduced 2019.
The growing catalogue of songs mixed in Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio has increased by more than 20 times since spatial audio was originally introduced to Amazon Music customers.