Amazon Music HD and Apple Music HD

[RMutt]

Hello and happy new year. I've been happily using Spotify Premium through my various Squeezeboxes via spotty for ages. I've been waiting for Spotify HiFi but this seems to be on hold.
In the meantime both Amazon and Apple have become more affordable.
I'm looking for some assistance with getting either Amazon or Apple to my hifi. Ideally I would want to connect an ethernet connected device to my amp and choose songs on something like a phone app.
Is there a way of doing this that does not use the proprietary devices like Echo and Echo link? I'd prefer to avoid Bluetooth or having to choose music on a computer, laptop or TV screen.
Is anyone doing this? Is there a cost effective way of doing it?
Thanks. Andy.

[struth]

i dare say apple could be worked via an apple tv box. especially if tv has an optical out to dac. guess amazon can too. if tv is right type and has a good audio out like optical i guess you could do without the boxes etv

[RMutt]

Thanks Grant. I don't have a TV in the room. Chromecast uses HDMI I believe? As does a Firestick. It would need to be something that connects to the internet and my hifi via a DAC and where I could choose songs on a phone app. (I use ipenguin for this at the moment through Squeezeboxes). It might not actually be possible, I'm not sure.

[struth]

a rpi maybe?

[RMutt]

Possibly, yes. I wonder if anyone has used an rpi successfully with Amazon HD or Apple HD?

[Kit1cat]

Depending on the software, you can usually use Airplay from a Raspberry Pi, but I don't think it supports HD music.

[mikeyb]

Very few devices work natively with Amazon music.

Can't be done on a Pi, you need to hunt down devices that can work.

Only early versions of the Fire TV boxes have optical out.

Amazon won't release the required apk to allow it on devices like the pi I'm afraid.

Bluesound can use Amazon music, Sonos too

I'm editing as I search

Denon Heos

DTS Play-fi devices as listed here..

https://play-fi.com/products/

[bob4333]

Good question OP.

The closest I got was to plug the line out from one of my Echo Dots into the back of my preamp.

The result was far from overwhelming but this was just Amazon Music, not HD.

I didn't go as far as putting the Amazon app on my Android tablet that I use as a remote for my NAS and player, and couldn't quite get my head around whether this would work anyway. So it was just shouty commands to Alexa on what to play: probably requires more thought and dedication on my part.

I shall watch this thread with interest.

[RMutt]

Thanks, Barry, Mike and Bob. I didn't want to go down the Alexa/Echo route and am surprised as to how difficult it seems to be to apply to a hifi situation and not a smart speaker/Bluetooth/Sonos scenario. Apple and Amazon seem to have hamstrung their HD formats a little with their restrictions on application, given the HD versions are probably of little interest to the smart speaker brigade. I'll check out your links Mike.

[Kit1cat]

I have been running Amazon Ultra HD through my hifi for the last couple of months, in a round about way.

I have a fire stick pluged into my AV receiver (both support 24/192). I run the front pre outs from to AV receiver to the pre ins on my Audiolab stereo amp and select pure direct output on the AV receiver. Sounds very good to me. Pictue on tv confims I am listening in HD, when avaiable.